World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1 of 3
The Kite Runner
Overview
Overall days:
20
(1 day = 50-55 minutes)
Purpose
The purpose of the current unit is to introduce students to Southwest Asian literature through The Kite
Runner and selected texts from the World Literature textbook. The specific focus of unit instruction will
be on literary analysis of themes, symbolism, and motifs in the novel and texts studied.
Content to be learned
Processes to be learned and used

Evaluate internal and external conflicts.


Synthesize interpretations of literary devices.
Identify literary devices as evidence to support
an interpretation of events in a story.

Support conclusions about a literary text or
texts.

Interpret and compare literary elements within
or across text(s).

Explain how author’s style conveys theme.

Draw conclusions/judgments, supporting them
with evidence.

Examine the development of a theme.
Essential questions students should be able to answer by end of unit

Why are some sacrifices acceptable and others
unacceptable?

How is redemption possible?
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin

How can we right our wrongs?
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World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
The Kite Runner (20 days)
Written Curriculum
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Reading
Reading Standards for Literature
Key Ideas and Details
RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the
course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details;
provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or
develop the theme.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.9-10.7 Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums,
including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux
Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).
RL.9-10.9 Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how
Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a
play by Shakespeare).
Reading Standards for Informational Text
Key Ideas and Details
RI.9-10.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RI.9-10.7
Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in
both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
Writing
Text Types and Purposes
W.9-10.1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
a.
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Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims,
and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
The Kite Runner (20 days)
World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
b.
Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s
knowledge level and concerns.
c.
Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion,
and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and
evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
d.
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
e.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument
presented.
Production and Distribution of Writing
W.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1–3 above.)
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
W.9-10.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
a.
Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws
on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a
theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by
Shakespeare]”).
b.
Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and
evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is
valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious
reasoning”).
Range of Writing
W.9-10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences.
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
a.
Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study;
explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research
on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
b.
Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g.,
informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear
goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
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World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
The Kite Runner (20 days)
c.
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current
discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the
discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
d.
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and
disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and
understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning
presented.
Language
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.9-10.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based
on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.9-10.5
a.
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s
position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b.
Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or
parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
c.
Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries,
thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or
clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology.
d.
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by
checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word
meanings.
L.9-10.6
a.
Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their
role in the text.
b.
Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.
Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases,
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness
level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a
word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Language Progressive Skills
Language skills and understanding below have been marked with an asterisk in CCSS as they are likely to
require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and
speaking. Please reference the Language Progressive Chart by grade (CCSS, page 56 and Appendix A) at
www.corestandards.org for additional information.
Knowledge of Language
L.6.3
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Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
a.
Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.*
b.
Maintain consistency in style and tone.*
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
The Kite Runner (20 days)
World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
Notes, Clarifications, and Prerequisites
In the previous unit, students have completed a study of African literature focusing on Things Fall Apart
and selections from the novel. The focus of the unit was on analysis of character, conflict, theme, and
cultural/historical perspective.
The purpose of the current unit is to introduce students to Southwest Asian literature through The Kite
Runner and selected texts from the World Literature textbook. The specific focus of unit instruction will
be on literary analysis of themes, symbolism, and motifs in the novel and texts studied. This will prepare
students for the next unit, in which they will write a research report on a human rights issue in a specific
country and give a multimedia presentation to the United Nations persuading it to act on the human rights
issue.
In this unit, students will most likely struggle with keeping up with the reading and completing the ondemand writing in the time required. Students will also struggle to complete the unit summative
assessment/research paper in the time allotted.
In order to support students in meeting the objectives within the given time frame, introduce, at the end of
this unit, the research paper prompt so that students can generate ideas to develop further in the next unit.
Taught Curriculum
Learning Objectives
Resources
Students will be able to:
World Literature, Glencoe McGraw-Hill, Teacher
Edition, 2009

Evaluate characters’ actions and interactions
with regard to internal and external conflicts.

Synthesize interpretations of literary devices
from multiple literary selections.

Draw conclusions based on quotations and
annotations from both short and lengthy
literary selections.

Part One: Southwest Asia (pp. 436-443)

The Parable of the Prodigal Son from The New
Testament (pp. 486-490)

from The Qur’an (pp. 491-495)

“The Letter from Persepolis: The Story of a
Childhood” (pp. 532-541)

Use interpretations of literary devices to
support conclusions about a literary text or
texts.
Unit 3 Teacher Resources: Writing, Speaking,
Reading, Listening, Glencoe McGraw-Hill,
Teacher Edition, 2009 (pp. 316-325)

Explain how author’s style—including literary
devices, such as symbolism—conveys theme.
Writing Constructed Responses, Glencoe McGrawHill, Teacher Edition, 2009

Analyze representations of the Prodigal Son in
art and literature

Section 2: Writing a Literary Analysis (pp. 3641)

Rubric for Short Constructed Responses
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, Riverhead,
2003
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
D-55
World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
The Kite Runner (20 days)
The Kite Runner Companion Curriculum, Amnesty
International USA Human Rights Education
Program (pp. 37-48), www.amnestyusa.org/
education/pdf/kiterunnerhigh.pdf
Materials
Sticky notes
Instructional Considerations
Key Vocabulary
atone
Pashtuns
Tajiks
conflict in change
sacrifice
Uzbek and Turkmen
Hazaras
social forces social standing
wisdom literature
Vocabulary from The Kite Runner
unatoned (p. 1)
façade (p. 97)
unrequited (p. 219)
harelipped (p. 2)
sluiced (p. 108)
etched (p. 227)
atrophied (p. 8)
silhouettes (p. 119)
animosity (p. 228)
veracity/veracious (p. 12)
encapsulated (p. 123)
ruminate (p. 231)
nemesis (p. 29)
reputable (p. 148)
emaciated (p. 231)
coup d’etat (p. 36)
reticence (p. 157)
contemptuous (p. 236)
trepidation (p. 41)
chastise (p. 165)
ramshackle (p. 246)
integrity (p. 54)
humility (p. 168)
unadulterated (p. 247)
morose (p. 61)
reverberate (p. 174)
absurdity (p. 251)
resignation (p. 76)
ambivalent (p. 186)
benevolence (p. 248)
guileless (p. 78)
bemoaned (p. 188)
cataracts (p. 249)
insomniac (p. 86)
Planning and Instructional Delivery Considerations
The purpose of the current unit is to introduce students to Southwest Asian literature through reading The
Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini and selected texts from the World Literature textbook.
BEGINNING of the unit (2 days)
Introduce the Unit: Discuss the Essential Questions and Learning Objectives. Review the unit’s key
vocabulary to build background knowledge.
As a foundation for understanding The Kite Runner, students should read the Overview of Unit 3 and the
selections from The Qur’an from the World Literature anthology, using the strategies included in the
Before You Read section. As students read, help them focus on the Big Idea, Literary Element, and
Reading Strategy questions. Use graphic organizers (Unit 3 Teacher Resources: Writing, Speaking,
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Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
The Kite Runner (20 days)
World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
Reading, Listening, pp. 316-325) with these stories for building scaffolding for the summative
assessment.
Use the resources at the Kite Runner Companion Curriculum site listed in the Resources section to
introduce students to Afghanistan culture and politics, especially as they relate to the Taliban and its
control of women and children.
MIDDLE of the unit (16 days)
Class discussions should focus on answering the Essential Questions.
Assign students to read The Kite Runner in sections. Students should respond to the text using the reader
response stems below. Responding to the stems on sticky notes in the margins helps students remain
focused on the information on the page as it relates to the stem on the sticky note. As students read, they
should pay special attention to the relationship between cause and effect in the plot, character actions in
relation to internal and external conflicts, and literary elements such as motif, theme, setting, and
characterization. Possible chapter assignments are listed below.
Possible reader response stems for the marginal sticky notes include:

I think . . .

I wonder if . . .

I am confused by . . .

This reminds me of . . .

I predict . . .
Listed below are prompts for chapters or groups of chapters. Students should be assigned a reader
response journal that incorporates both the stems above and the prompts below to help them in
understanding the novel. Assign the following prompts or the Essential Questions.

Chapters 1 and 2: At the end of Chapter 1, the narrator says “…and made me what I am today.” Think
of the experiences you’ve had that have shaped you into who you are today. Write about one of them.

Chapters 3 and 4: What makes someone a friend?

Chapters 5 and 6: On page 22, Baba says “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who
can’t stand up to anything.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain and connect to the reading.

Chapter 7: What is a coward?

Chapter 8: Loyalty, truth, sacrifice, and punishment: What does each word mean and how do these
words relate to one another?

Chapters 9 and 10: Does anyone deserve to be forgiven?

Chapter 11: How do people hide or escape from their problems and why?

Chapter 12: What is it about love that heals wounds?

Chapter 13: In Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, the concept of karma means the belief that the quality
of your current and future life is determined by your behavior in this and previous lives. It also means
destiny and fate. Do you believe in karma?

Chapters 15 and 16: Can a wrong really be made right?
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
D-57
World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
The Kite Runner (20 days)

Chapters 17 and 18: Under what circumstances would you lie to someone you love?

Chapter 19: Why is going home sometimes the hardest thing to do?

Chapter 20: Do you think it is acceptable to sacrifice one’s life for the good of many lives? Explain.

Chapter 21: Is Farid right when he says, “Just forget it all. Makes it easier . . . to go on.”
(p. 263) Explain.

Chapter 22: What lessons do children really need to learn to grow up well?

Chapter 23: Why are father and son relationships so important?

Chapter 24: Should you ever make a promise you can’t keep? Explain.

Chapter 25: “If someone were to ask me today whether the story of Hassan Sohrab and me ends with
happiness, I wouldn’t know what to say” (p. 357). What do you say? How do you think the story
should end?
Read “The Letter from Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood” to make comparisons between the way
Marji accepts their maid Mahri and the way Amir treats and accepts Hassan. A comparison can also be
made between how their respective societies treat people of different social classes.
Read “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” in the World Literature textbook around when students are
reading Chapter 16 of The Kite Runner. Use the “View the Art” prompt on page 489 to discuss
representations of the story in the art and in The Kite Runner (in Chapter 16 of The Kite Runner, Hassan’s
mother returns and is forgiven by Hassan).
END of the unit (2 days)
Toward the end of the reading of the novel, begin having discussions with students about the human
rights issues in the novel, specifically those related to the Taliban (around chapter 20).
Use the tools on the following pages when preparing students for the summative assessment: Writing
Constructed Responses Section 2: Writing a Literary Analysis (pp. 36-41).
In preparation for the summative assessment, have students answer these two questions using the above
resource: Why does a person have a need for atonement? How does the sacrificial lamb symbol show
itself in The Kite Runner?
Assessed Curriculum
Formative Assessments
Journal entries kept during this unit also serve as the formative assessments. The journal entries contain
answers to reader response stems and prompts such as the ones found in the Planning and Instructional
Delivery Considerations section of this unit.
The journal entries can be assessed using the Rubric for Short Constructed Responses in the Glencoe
Writing Constructed Responses teacher resource.
D-58
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
The Kite Runner (20 days)
World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
Summative Assessment
Students will write a literary analysis/argumentative essay that makes an interpretive claim in the form of
a thesis on an identified theme from The Kite Runner.
Students should select one of the following topics for their essay:

The desire for atonement is an important theme in the novel. How does Amir atone for his sins, or
does he? Why is it so important that he try? Can his desire to atone be compared with Baba’s?
OR

The sacrificial lamb is a recurring symbol (motif) in the novel. Why is this image important in the
context of the novel? What does it show? What characters and situations does it apply to?
Use the following Common Core State Standards for argument writing as the basis for criteria and rubric:
W.9-10.1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
a.
Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims,
and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b.
Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s
knowledge level and concerns.
c.
Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion,
and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and
evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
d.
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
e.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument
presented.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
D-59
World Literature, Quarter 3, Unit 1
Version 2
The Kite Runner (20 days)
Notes
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Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin