Gate-10 Integrated Studies, 2008-2009
Literature Chosen to Meet the Following Goals:
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Balance between classic/contemporary works within a variety of genres
Literature that lead to interdisciplinary connections and future exploration in social studies and the arts
Use of advanced plot structures, syntax, and vocabulary
Rich and complex use of literary devices/elements with a focus on abstract connections
Complex characters who seek to resolve conflicts of tremendous consequence to themselves and the world. (Especially powerful when
characters exhibit characteristics of gifted children and encounter issues relevant to giftedness).
Vividly drawn minor characters who provide texture, advance the plot, and serve as meaningful foils and allies for the protagonist.
Rich settings, both real and imaginary, evoke experiences of different lives
Deft pacing, skillful use of suspense, flashbacks, and other manipulations of time sequence
Narratives told from various points of view
Thematic issues that matter not only to kids but to everyone, such as the quest for justice, savagery of war, and the struggle of achieving
love, acceptance, and understanding.
Sources:
www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol4no3_connex.html
Some of My Best Friends are Books, Judith Halsted, 2002.
Enduring Understandings for Language and Literature
(1) Analysis and interpretation of literature leads to discovery of
authors’ style and use of literary devices in order to make our
own writing and reading decisions.
(2) Reading and reflecting on contemporary and past literature, art,
music, and theater help us uncover deeper meanings so that we
can express opinions about who we are and how we view others.
(3) Meaning is created through multiple levels of language
structures.
Essential Questions
(1a) What distinguishes a good read from great literature? Who decides?
(1b) Why do people create literature and the arts? (What do they say or omit? What do
they mean? Why do they matter?)
(2c) How is language influenced by bias and perspective? Does language manipulate
us?
(2a) How does the study of fiction and non-fiction help us construct our understanding of
reality?
(2b) How does culture reveal the values and influence literature/fine arts and
literature/fine arts reveal the values and influence culture?
(2c) What character traits define me? What traits define the various communities in
which I live? What traits are universal?
(2d) What actions could I take to strengthen the traits to which I aspire for the world and
myself?
(2e) Is it possible to have culture without language?
(3a) How do word parts control meaning and conventions?
(3b) How does grammar affect the meaning and power of written and spoken language?
(3c) How is genre structured?
(3d) Is it possible to think without language?
3rd Grade Gate-10 Integrated Studies
2008-2009
Year Long Theme: Establishing Identities within Various Communities
Enduring Understandings:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
We learn about ourselves by studying the lives of others.
My personal qualities can help or hinder the formation of relationships.
What others think about us (or our community) affect how we think about ourselves (our community).
In a culture where we are bombarded with other people trying to define us, the individual has responsibilities to various communities who, in
turn, have responsibilities to us.
(5) Parallels exist between our “growing up” and a community’s maturation.
Quotes:
-- The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community. – William James
-- Human beings are fundamentally communal; our individuality is a product of community, and our choices are shaped by our being with others.
Judith Plaskow
Text
Genre
Setting/Time
Period
GT Issue(s)
Literature
Theme(s)
Content Area
Connections
Related
Readings
Fine Arts
Connections
Writing
(Including
Poetry and
Read-Alouds)
Harriet the
Spy
Realistic
Fiction
Present Day
(1960s)
Upper East
Side Manhattan
Uniqueness
Using ability
Relationships
Moral and
Professional
Integrity
Loss
Parks and
community
architecture
Year of the
Dog
Memoir/
Fiction
Present
Bullying
Fitting In
Growing Up
Friendship
Asian and
American
communities/
Culture; The
Silk Road
Fat Like Me,
Roxaboxen,
Slower than
the Rest
Sheep
I’m Nobody
Aesops fables
The Road Not
Taken
Vanity Fair:
Chinese
Folklore;
proverbs;
haiku;
American
Dragon; The
Empress and
Silkworm;
Emma and
the Silk Train
Norman
Rockwell
Yo Yo Ma’s
the Silk Road
Project;
Chinese
landscapes,
tangrams;
Grace Lin’s
work
detail; bias;
Reporter’s
Formula –
Newspaper
The way I
want to feel,
interviewing
Responding to
reading.
Proverbs,
Haiku,
Memoir
Text
Genre
Setting/Time
Period
GT Issue(s)
Literature
Theme(s)
Content Area
Connections
Fine Arts
Connections
Writing
Natural
communities
Related
Readings
(Including
Poetry and
ReadAlouds)
Emily
Dickinson
Poppy
Allegory
Nature
Aloneness
Castle in
the Attic
Fantasy
Present &
1000 – 1500
Using ability
Aloneness
Arrogance leads to
consequences
Quest
Tyranny
Courage
Independence
Gender roles
Quest
Ancel Adams
Natureinspired music
Nature &
Concrete
poetry;
Allegory
Medieval
Communities
The Castle
Corona
Pieter
Brueghel; Jan
Van Eyck
Midieval
music
Fantasy
Wordsmith
4th Grade Gate-10 Integrated Studies
2008-2009
Year-Long Theme: Adaptations to Adversity
Enduring Understandings:
(1) There are many universal adversities which result in universal adaptations.
(2) Personal characteristics (habits of the mind) enable one to adapt and rise above adversity while others do not.
(3) Adaptations in nature serve as a model for humankind’s adaptation to adversity.
(4) Individuals, communities, or nations endure great sacrifice as they adapt to the adversities they face.
(5) One’s cultural history and personal experiences shape our adaptations to the world in which we live.
Quotes:
-- The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man. – George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Anglo-Irish playwright, critic
-- Not being able to control events, I control myself; and I adapt myself to them, if they do not adapt themselves to me. Michel de Montaigne (1533–
1592), French essayist
-- Adapt yourself to changing circumstances. Chinese Proverb
Text
Genre
Setting/Time
GT Issue(s)
Literature
Content Area
Related
Fine Arts
Writing
Period
Theme(s)
Connections
Readings
Connections
(Including
Poetry and
Read-Alouds)
Esperanza
Rising
Historical
Fiction
1930’s Mexico/
California
Justice/Equality
Entitlement
Using Your Abilities
Change
Layers of Love
Prejudice
Migratory
workers
Voluntary
deportation
Pre-Chavez
Labor Unions
Pictures of
Hollis
Woods
Realistic
Fiction
Present Day
New York
Identity
Creativity
Belonging
Home
Hardship
Family
Foster Care
Art
Bud, Not
Buddy
Realistic
Fiction
1936
Flint and Grand
Rapids, MI
Identity
Family
Racism
Tolerance
Sign of the
Beaver
Historical
Fiction
1800s
Maine
Isolation
Power of
Language
Hardship
Perseverance
Fruit Bowl
Project?
Alarcón,
Francisco X.
Poems to Dream
Together
Poems
Essay: My
Grandmother’s
Hair
Pinballs,
Rylant’s family
books
Fishing in the Air
Carla Lomas
Kernal essays
Please Write in
the Book
Perspective
Wood carving
Sketching
Color
Georgia O’Keefe
Persuasive
essays and
letters
Depression-era
Classic Radio
Hughes and
Angelou
Jazz - W. Meyers
Aliens Are
Coming! The
True Account…
Blues, Jazz
Suitcase writing
Radio plays/
elocution
Native
Americans
Nature
Robert Frost
Legends
Ancel Adams
Sand painting
Artifacts/Gifts
Multi-genre
capstone (nonfiction, fiction, and
creative piece):
Elements of
culture/TX
immigrant cultures
5th Grade Gate-10 Integrated Studies
2008-2009
5th Grade – Year-Long Theme: Diversity and Conflict Enable Opportunity
Enduring Understandings:
(1) Potential conflicts arise when one person’s reality is another person’s illusion.
(2) Conflict is an inevitable part of relationships.
(3) Opportunities arise as a result of differences.
(4) Conflict influences an individual, community, or nation’s decisions or actions and diversity is a consideration when making decisions.
Quote:
If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that
differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear. Gene Roddenberry.
Text
Genre
Setting/Time
GT Issue(s)
Literature
Content Area
Related
Fine Arts
Writing
Period
Theme(s)
Connections
Readings
Connections
Bridge to
Terabithia
Realistic
Fiction
Virginia
1970’s
Being different
Confidence
Bullying
Friendship
Imagination
Growing Up
George
versus
George
Historical
NonFiction
Philadelphia,
1793
Red Moon
at
Sharpsburg
Historical
Fiction
Civil War
Choice
Moral and
ethical
ambiguity
Obligation
Duty
Human issues
beyond politics
and war
History of
Medicine
Civil War
Slavery
The Cay
Adventure
/Historical
Fiction
Caribbean
Dutch Antilles
WWII
Entitlement
Imperialism
Prejudice
Survival
WWII
Geography
Oceans/
Coral Reef
Extreme weather
perspective
1970s
Gender roles
Current U.S.
capital:
Washington
D.C.
Elections past,
present, and
future
(Including
Poetry and
Read-Alouds)
Song: Pocketful
of Sunshine
Short story:
Scouts Honor
Poem: Deeper
Declaration of
Independence
Primary
Documents
Colonial Voices
Bull Run
Moon Over
Tennessee: A
Boy’s Civil War
Journal
Pink and Say
Henry’s
Freedom Box
Rip Van Winkle
Jack Plank
Tells Tales
The Greatest
Skating Race
Free to Be
You and Me
Fantasy
American/
Patriotic Art
Art as
Propaganda
Colonial
folksongs
Mathew Brady
Multi-genre
writing: Nonfiction, fiction,
creative piece
Caribbean
music
Primitive art
Writing from
pictures