Devil in the White City Unit Calendar
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Day One: Unit Overview
 Picture into Words
 Thematic Questions
 Unit Goals
 Study Guide Overview
Homework: pp. 1-8 (Study
Guide Questions)
Day Two: “The Black City”
 Plot Synopsis Chess
 Word Journals pp. 11-13
Homework: pp. 11-34 (10
words; Study Guide
Questions)
Day Three: “The Chicago
Psyche – Then and Now”
 Two essays (read and
annotate
 Compare and Contrast
Chart
Homework: pp. 35-47 (10
words; Study Guide Questions)
Day Four: “Becomingness”
 Debrief C/C Charts
 R.A.F.T. – model, group
writing “Surviving Life in the
Black City”
o RAFT Rubric
Homework: Complete Letters
Home from the Black City
Day Six: “What Makes
This Book So Tough?”
o Tracing Reference
Words—pp. 81-82
Homework: pp. 75-109
(10 words; Study Guide
Questions)
Day Seven: “What Makes
this Book so Tough?”
o Scoring and Annotation
Homework: pp. 113-145 (10
words; Study Guide
Questions)
Day Eight: ”The Architect v.
the Demon”
o Sense Web – Daniel
Burnham
o Group Writing: 3 ¶
Character Mini Essay –
Daniel Burnham
o Mini-Essay Rubric
Homework: Sense Web – H.H.
Holmes; Character Mini-Essay
Day Nine: “Remains of the Day”
o More Compare and Contrast
– What can go wrong:
Burnham v. Holmes
o Debrief Character MiniEssays
o The Essential Question:
Your project and your
essential question
Homework: pp. 146-167 (10
words; Study Guide Questions)
Day Five: Catching Up
 Stations :
o SSR – should be on p.
48
o Achieve3000 – “Insert
Article Title Here”
o Essay Debrief: Ind.
Student writing
conference (RAFT)
o Vocabulary review
station
Homework: pp. 48 -74 (10
words; Study Guide Questions)
Day Ten: “Dedication Day –
10-21-1892”
o Stations
o SSR – should be on p.
168
o Achieve3000 – “Insert
article title here”
o Mini Essay Debrief:
Ind. Student Essential
Question conference
o Vocabulary review
station
Homework: pp. 168 – 182 (10
words; Vocabulary test review
Boran and Hartrich – Devil in the White City Unit Calendar, v1 at September 14, 2011, p. 1.
Monday
Day Eleven: DITWC Vocab
Test
o What makes a good
essential question?
o Save the last word for
me
o Getting the
explanatory essay
write
Homework: pp. 183-205
(10 words; Study Guide
Questions)
Day Sixteen: “Vertigo”
o Stations
o SSR – should be on
p. 269
o Achieve3000 –
“Insert article title
here”
o Mini Essay
Debrief: Ind.
Student Essential
Question
conference
o Vocabulary review
Tuesday
Day Twelve: Soapstone
Poster -- “Marketing the
White City”
o Model Teachers’
Soapstone Poster,
Marketing the “Black
City” (kids score on
rubric)
o Small Groups team up
and create poster
marketing “White City”
o Kids score on rubric
Homework: Opening
/Closing Paragraph,
Explanatory Essay
Day Seventeen: “DITWC
Vocab Test”
 Choral Montage
“Mudgett v. Larson”
Homework: Explanatory
Essay Draft #2
Wednesday
st
Thursday
Day Thirteen: “1 Draft –
Explanatory Essay
o Peer Editing Checklist –
Model against teacher’s
Opening and Closing
Paragraphs
o Peer Edit partner’s essay
o Teacher conference –
Vocabulary test
Homework: 206-231 (10
words; Study Guide Questions)
Day Fourteen: “Vertigo”
Day Eighteen: “The Strange
Case of Dr. H. H. Holmes”
 Stations:
 Peer Edit Explanatory
Essay #2
 Video Clip v. Graphic
Novel
 SSR – should be on p.
269 (really)
 Vocabulary Review
Station
Homework: pp. 269 – 298 (10
words; Study Guide Questions)
Day Nineteen: “Detective
Greyer and the 24-Hour News
Cycle”
Model Teacher-Written Cheesy
CNN Reporter and Breaking
Story
 Students score on rubric
 Teams form to create 5
minute “news blocks”
 Storyboarding the news
blocks
o
Picture Into Words – HH
Holmes’ Castle
o Compare and Contrast
Chart: That’s What He Said
(Larson v. Mudgett)
Homework: pp. 235 – 268 (10
words; Study Guide Questions)
Friday
Day Fifteen: “Nightfall”
o Picture Into Words –
Ferris’ Wheel then and
now
o Group Write Mini
Explanatory Essay on
Chicago’s Psyche: White
City v. Black City
Homework: Mini-Essay
Day Twenty: “Storyboarding”
o
Teams work on
Storyboards
o Teacher conferences with
students on vocabulary
results
Homework: pp. 299-336 (10
words; Study Guide Questions)
station
Boran and Hartrich – Devil in the White City Unit Calendar, v1 at September 14, 2011, p. 2.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Day Twenty-One: “Should
the Fair be Held
Accountable – The Trial of
Daniel Burnham”
 Hotseat
Homework: pp. 339 – 390
(10 words, Study Guide
Questions)
Day Twenty-Two: “Grand
Conversation”
 Discussion Web
 Is there a Chicago
Psyche?
 Modeling the Story Copy
 Student Critique
Homework: Draft Story
Copy
Day Twenty-Seven:
Celebrate – and Reflection
on the White City
Day Twenty-Three:
“Rehearsing the 24-Hour News
Cycle”
 Story copy oral reading
 Peer Critique
Homework: Polish News
Reading/Finesse Copy
Day Twenty-Four: “Filming and
Polishing”
 Stations
o Videotaping
o Polishing
o Ind. Essay Conferences
Day Twenty-Five: “Filming
and Polishing”
 Stations
o Videotaping
o Polishing
o Ind. Essay Conferences
Veteran’s Day
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Day Twenty-Six: Editing
Comments:
o Why 27 days? The unit was originally intended to begin start of second quarter and go through to the Winter Break. That means at least three vacation
days.
o Do the kids really have to read the entire book? They will in college, less than a year away. If not now, when?
o Doesn’t that slow pacing? Yep. That’s why you have to stay on them, use the SSR time wisely and continue to do the Study Guide Questions as tight,
targeted “Do Nows”
o How do I know which activity targets which standard:
o Excellent question. See the DITWC UDI.
Do I really have to make the model poster and write the model paragraphs, mini-essays, and story copy? You only have to do yourself what you
expect them to do. So, essentially, yes.
Technology:
Handouts: (See UDI) Rubrics:
Quizzes:
Essays:
o Video camera
 Journal (Study Guide and Vocab)
 Vocabulary (optional)
 Character Mini
o Computers for writing
 Soapstone Poster
 Study Guide (optional)
 Explanatory Mini
o Elmo/overhead for
 News Copy
 Essential Question
Pictures into Words
 Essays (Mini and Final)
 Story Copy
o DVD “SCODHHH”
 Peer Editing
 RAFT
Boran and Hartrich – Devil in the White City Unit Calendar, v1 at September 14, 2011, p. 3.