Unit 1
Learning goal: I can describe how a narrative’s plot unfolds, as well as how the
characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
Essential Question: What can we learn from challenges in our lives?
4
In addition to score 3.0 performance, I have demonstrated the ability to
make inferences and cite textual evidence that go beyond what was taught.
3
Describe how a narrative’s plot unfolds, as well as how the characters respond
or change as the plot moves toward a resolution
2
I understand vocabulary, such as:
Narrative elements (character, setting, conflict, resolution, mood, theme)
Plot elements (exposition, rising and falling action, climax) and additional
vocabulary identified in literature…
I am able to:
Describe the plot of a narrative
I Identify character traits of major characters in a narrative
1
With help, I have partial success at score 2.0 content and score 3.0 content
Small Steps:
The Year I got Polio
By: Peg Kehret
Polio: What it is?
Poliomyelitis or Infantile Paralysis
• A viral, infectious disease that usually affects
children
• Highly contagious, it spreads easily through human
contact
• Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache,
vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs
• Polio attacks the central nervous system of the body.
It travels on nerve fibers and destroys nerve cells,
which control your muscles. This leads to paralysis:
sometimes it’s temporary, sometimes it’s permanent
Historical Background
• Epidemics of polio occurred all over the world; but it wasn’t
recognized as a distinct condition until 1840
• It was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the
20th century
• In 1950s, at the height of the polio epidemic, over 60,000
cases were diagnosed, and 3,000 deaths were from polio in
the U.S. alone
A family at Christmas during the 1940’s –the child on
the left suffers from polio
FDR
"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was president of the U.S.
from 1933 to his death in 1945
• In 1921, at the age of 39, FDR became ill with polio. The
disease left him unable to walk without the use of a cane or a
wheelchair
• The public rarely ever saw FDR in a weakened state. He was
careful to present himself strong, standing, and independent
whenever he gave a speech or was in public
• He became a champion for people with disabilities; creating
programs for the handicapped and starting charities to help
other polio victims
FDR
Vaccines
• The March of Dimes, an organization founded with the help of
FDR, funded much of the research done on polio
• They found that bad sanitation and hygiene spreads polio.
Children are at a higher risk because they have not developed
the antibodies to fight it off
• Dr. Jonas Salk researched polio and developed a vaccine in
1955. It was not completely successful though until 1963,
when Dr. Albert Sabin improved it
• Because of the success of the vaccination, polio has been
eradicated from most countries in the world. It may soon be
the 2nd disease to be completed eradicated by a vaccination
Albert Sabin (left) and Jonas Salk (center) meeting
with Basil O’Connor of the March of Dimes in 1961
Also, vaccination given to children (on top a sugar
cube!)
Polio poster to
raise awareness
The Iron Lung
• By definition the iron lung is "an airtight metal tank that
encloses all of the body except the head and forces the lungs
to inhale and exhale through regulated changes in air
pressure.“
• Developed in 1927, an iron lung cost about $1,500—the
average price of a home.
• In 1959, there were 1,200 people using tank respirators in the
United States; in 2004, there were 39.
Iron lungs-used on a Hollywood set missing
tubes and wires to make them work.
Peg Kehret