Matilda Unit Plan
Unit Title
Matilda: Brain power
Unit Summary
 In this unit, students read the story of Matilda. As
they work through the unit activities, students learn
more about the literary genre, and study character
development, problems or goals that occur, the
feelings generated in reaction to the events in the
story, then make predictions of what may happen
next.
 After reading the story, students work on
solutions to parents’ problems, such as
communicating and showing no interest at all in
their children. Students work in teams to make
plans and products targeting their chosen
issues to positively impact parenthood. Each
team researches the current needs and
resources for parenting skills, and determines a
course of action.
 Subject Area
 Language Arts
 Grade Level
 9-10
 Approximate Time Needed
 5 weeks, 60-minute lessons, daily
Targeted Content Standards and
Benchmarks
 Language Arts Standards:
 Students read a story to build an understanding of
the many dimensions of human experience.
 Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and
visual language to communicate effectively with a
variety of audiences and for different purposes.
 Students use spoken, written, and visual language
to accomplish their own purposes.
Student Objectives/Learning
Outcomes
 A good book can touch our lives like a good friend.
It can stimulate our imaginations, inform our minds,
inspire our higher selves, and fill our time with
magic! With a good book, we are never lonely or
bored. And a good book only gets better with time,
because each reading brings us new meaning.
Each new story is a treasure to cherish forever.
Student Objectives
 Students will be able to:
 Understand and interpret the use and purpose of
narrative language and imagery in Matilda.
 Analyze the relationships among the main and
supporting characters of Matilda and how their
interactions affect the plot.
 Gather information from a variety of sources
 Use information to write a diary.
 Analyze a character, and make connections to
self with a character, issues, and themes of a
story
 Identify or summarize a sequence of events,
main ideas, and supporting details in literary
selections
 Predict future outcomes supported by the text
 Identify the qualities of the character (such as
courage, cleverness, and ambition), and
analyze the effect of these qualities on the plot
and the resolution of the conflict
Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential Question
 How does literature help us better understand
ourselves?
Unit Questions
 How can you tell if someone is honest?
 What makes a good teacher?
 Content Questions
 How does the author think parents should treat
their children?
 How does the author show that Miss Honey is
poor?
 What happened to Matilda when her family left
town?
Assessment Plan
Assessment Timeline
Before project work begins
 Questioning
 Journals
 Students work on projects and complete
tasks
 Questioning
 Peer Feedback Form
 Presentation Rubric
 Blog or Story Rubric
 Wiki Checklist
After project work is completed
 Questioning
 Blog or Story Rubric
 Presentation Rubric
 Journals
Assessment Summary
 One of the most critical differences between studentcentered learning and teacher-centered learning is in
assessment. In student-centered learning, students
participate in the evaluation of their learning. This means
that students are involved in deciding how to demonstrate
their learning.
 Developing assessment that support learning and
motivation is essential to the success of student-centered
approaches. A successful student-centered learning
environment will be open, dynamic, trusting, respectful, and
promoting the natural desire and curiosity to learn.
 This experiential learning involves the whole person -- their
feelings, thinking, goals, social skills, and intuition. The
result is a person who is empowered to be a lifelong
learner, a student who embraces their own abilities and is
accepting of others
 Questioning occurs throughout the unit to probe
student thinking and allow student reflection.
Anecdotal notes assist in keeping track of
individual student needs. These notes can also
provide information on how well students
understand certain concepts and can be used to re
teach difficult concepts.
 The presentation rubric is used by students to selfasses their presentations before teacher
assessment. The blog or story rubric describes the
criteria for their writing from a different point of view
and is used while students are writing and again to
assess their final products.
 When students finish their drafts, a peer
feedback form is used to give and receive
feedback on their stories. Students use this
feedback to revise their final products.
 Students use the wiki checklist to plan and
monitor their progress. Students’ responses to
the Essential Question in their writing journals
provide information about how students have
connected their work in the unit with broader
issues.
Unit Details
 Prerequisite Skills
 Basic research
 Internet
 Computer skills
Instructional Procedures
 Prior to Instruction
 Prepare bookmarks to use during readings to
guide critical thinking and understanding.
Distribute the Project-Based Learning brochure
to introduce parents and other community
members to the concept of projects in the
classroom.
 Introduce a discussion about why people like a
good story. How does writing about characters
help them “come alive” off the page?What kind
of characters can students identify with? What
do stories do for us anyway? Next, introduce
and discuss the Essential Question that will be
used all five weeks, How does literature help us
better understand ourselves? Talk about how
the units that will be studied this year will help
the class answer the Essential Question.
Matilda
 As a whole class, fill out the questionertohelp
students access their prior knowledge and
provide useful information about student
attitudes and possible misconceptions. Explain
how, in this unit, they will work to answer the
Unit and Essential Questions, along with
learning to appreciate—or at least
understand—Roald Dahl’s novel, Matilda.
 Briefly explain that the students will be
completing a project where they will apply the
themes and issues within the novel to address
a current-day problem along with real solutions.
 Ask students to use the Internet to find
information about Roald Dahl, his life, and
share what they have learned with the class on
chart paper, or through a blog or wiki. Some
notable online resources are roalddahl.com *
and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda(novel)*.
 Before students begin to read, Matilda it will be
interesting to become familiar with the geography
of England. Find England on the globe and/or
world map. Look up books on England while doing
research in the library. Students can work in
groups and report their findings in presentations to
the class.
 Even though England and the United States are
both English-speaking countries, some of the
words we use do not mean what they do in
England. Spellings of words differ also, and some
of these words have been included in the
vocabulary lists: for example, ploughed = plowed
and honourable = honorable. Have students note
differences in spelling in their Writer’s Workbooks
as they read the book.
 There are also some generic pre-reading ideas
that help students focus on literature. Here are
some activities that may work well in class.
 1. Predict what the story might be about from
hearing the title.
 2. Predict what the story might be about from
looking at the cover illustration.
 3. Discuss prior knowledge that students
might have about England, mean or uncaring
adults, etc.
 4. Discuss fantasy.
 5. Discuss other books by Roald Dahl that
students may have heard of or read.
 6. Answer these questions:
 Would you ever . . .
. . . walk to the library
alone and spend the afternoon there?

. . . put super glue in someone’s hat?

. . . try to move objects with your mind?

. . . make a plan to help a friend?
 7. Take quotes from the story and have
students read them to predict what the story
will be about. Then have students keep these
predictions in mind as they read the book.
 Introduce the reading response journal (a
notebook) to students. These journals give
students a place to document reading, record
thoughts and responses to important questions,
and cite examples of literary terms. Some
students may want to keep their response
journals in the form of a blog. Students may
also choose the option of keeping a blog from
the point of view of one of the characters. While
reading Matilda, the students may use this
Writer’s Notebook in many ways. Here are
some suggestions:
 1. List the characters as they appear in each section. Write
descriptions.
 2. Note the setting or settings of each section.
 3. Note important events as they happen.
 4. Note major changes that occur in characters or settings.
 5. Note problems or goals that occur and/or are solved.
 6. Note pages and paragraphs where vocabulary words are
found, along with definitions.
 7. Note the feelings generated in reaction to the events in
the story.
 8. Make predictions of what may happen next.
 Another use for the Writer’s Notebook is to record any writing
assignment that may be given from
 Vocabulary Activity Ideas. Teachers may also choose to encourage the
students to write short stories or poetry that the reading selections
inspire.
 If a student has a question while reading, noting it in the Writer’s
Notebook will save constant interruptions. The questions can be
addressed during the appropriate group discussion period.
 At first, taking notes while reading will slow the readers down, so allow
ample time to finish each reading selection. Remind students that
inventive spellings and incomplete sentences are acceptable (in most
cases) while taking notes.
 After the reading is completed, go over the
notes during group discussion time. This will
give students an opportunity to learn from each
other. The extra time taken in the beginning
will be worthwhile as the students become
more aware of the material they are reading.
Getting to the fifth section, the students should
understand what expected of them.
 Take some time to evaluate their workbook
entries. Nonjudgmental responses will please
and encourage the students to write more.
 Each of the lessons suggested below can take
from one to several days to complete.
 Lesson 1
 -Introduce and complete some or all of the
pre-reading activities.
 -Initiate Writer’s Notebook.
 -Read About the Author with the students.
 -Read the book summary with the students.
 -Introduce Section One vocabulary.
 Lesson 2
 -Read chapters 1 through 4. As you read, take notes in
your Writer’s Notebook.
 -Discuss the vocabulary words in the context of the
story.
 -Introduce a vocabulary activity.
 -Make a storyboard.
 -Learn how to tell if someone is honest.
 -Discuss using the library to make a book report.
 -Start a Personal Library List.
 -Introduce Section Two vocabulary.
 Lesson 3
 -Read chapters 5 through 8. Take notes.
 -Discuss the vocabulary words in the context
of the story.
 -Introduce a vocabulary activity.
 -Make a diorama.
 -Discuss the qualities of a good teacher.
 -Be a Feature Teacher.
 -Write your own report card.
 -Introduce Section Three vocabulary.
 Lesson 4
 -Read chapters 9 through 12. Help students
understand the vocabulary activity.
 -Have a bake sale.
 -Consider personal freedoms.
 -Introduce Section Four vocabulary.
 Lesson 5
 -Read chapters 13 through 16. Help students
to understand the vocabulary words in context.
 -Introduce a vocabulary activity.
 -Have a throwing contest.
 -Plan to reach a goal.
 -Introduce Section Five vocabulary.
 Lesson 6
 -Read chapters 17 through 21. Help students to
understand the vocabulary words in context.
 -Introduce a vocabulary activity.
 -Discuss _How Can We Help the
Underprivileged?
 -Learn about a charity.
 -Have a food drive.
 -Keep a Helping Others Journal.
 Lesson 7
 -Discuss any questions students may have
about the story.
 -Assign a book report project.
 -Begin work on the culminating activity.
 Lesson 8
 -Celebrate with the kindness party culminating
activity.
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction
 Special Needs Students
 Use cooperative grouping
 Provide written and oral instructions in a variety of ways
 Use visuals and illustrations to develop vocabulary and
understanding
 Encourage support from students who are more proficient
in English
 Work with a parent or a teacher's aide for assistance
 Provide teacher-created templates to guide work
 Provide fill-in-the-blank plot worksheets to help the student
simplify and identify the characters and action
 Gifted/Talented Students
 Emphasize that the culminating project
provides a wide range and choice of
community projects and outreach that would
specifically draw upon the strengths of the
gifted student
 Encourage the student to create a multicultural
mural
 Encourage the student to look beyond the
obvious and come up with creative solutions for
difficult problems
Materials and Resources Required
For Unit
 Technology – Hardware
 Computers
 Internet Connection
 Projection System
 Technology – Software
 Internet Web Browser
 Word Processing
 Printed Materials
 Text of Matilda story
 Internet Resources
 www.roalddahl.com
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda(novel)*.
 http://www.buildingrainbows.com/bookreview/reviewid/
11069
 http://h10050.www1.hp.com/activitycenter/us/en/maker/
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