New York City Department of Education
Magnet Program District 25 & 28
JHS 185
Acceptance
Essential Question: How are my views on acceptance of others shaped by
people with disabilities?
Suggested Time Frame: 5 weeks
Theme: Medicine/Disabilities
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Graphic Overview of Unit
Suggested Time Frame:
Essential Question: How are my views on acceptance of others
shaped by people with disabilities?
Unit name: Acceptance
Mini-unit name: Rules pgs. 1-49
Mini-unit name: Rules pgs. 50-97
Mini-Units
* It is
recommended
that each miniunit end with a
standardized test
that reflects the
state / city
assessment
Mini-unit name: Rules pgs. 98-154
Mini-unit name: Rules pgs. 155-200
Unit’s Culminating Project: (briefly explain in 2-3 sentences):
Students will write an essay in which they reflect on and explain how their views
on acceptance of others in middle school have changed through reading about a
character’s experiences with people with disabilities.
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Stage 1- Desired Results
Standards-Based Learning Goals:
ESL 2: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for literary response,
enjoyment, and expression.
ESL 3: Students will l, s, r, w in English for critical analysis and evaluation.
ESL 4: Students will l, s, r, w in English for classroom and social interaction.
Concepts
Big Ideas for this Unit
Magnet School Theme:
Acceptance of others
Medicine
How does the Big Idea in your unit
connect to your theme?
Disabilities affect the way people view and
accept others.
Enduring Understandings
“Normal” is difficult to define.
Overarching Essential Question: (this
question should connect to your school
theme)
Rules of behavior are less important than
acceptance of others.
How are my views on acceptance of others
shaped by people with disabilities?
Content
Students will know…
Content and Skills
Skills
Students will be able to…
-content vocabulary (disability, autism,
paraplegic, speech disorder, normal, rules,
behavior, embarrass, sensitive, clinic,
occupational therapy, wheelchair,
communication book, speech therapy)
-define content vocabulary words
-literary elements (characters, setting,
conflict, theme, point of view, climax)
-identify literary elements from the text
-characterization
-describe and analyze characters
-summary
- write a summary of the text
-responses to literature
-write responses to literature using text
details
-write a description of autism, speech
disorder, and paraplegic
-examples of disabilities
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Stage 2- Summative Assessment Evidence
If students understand, know and are able to do the items in Stage 1, they should be
able to show their understanding by completing an authentic task found in the
world beyond the classroom.
 Design the Culminating/Summative Task:
 Please note: The Essential Question and the Grasp are interconnected. The
GRASP is a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding
unit by answer of the Essential Question. Or you can say, they are answering the
essential question through their GRASP.
G- (goal)
Your goal is to write an essay comparing how your views on acceptance of others have
changed based on one person’s experiences with people with disabilities.
R- (role)
You have been asked to reflect on how your views on acceptance of others as a middle
school student have been shaped by people with disabilities.
A- (audience)
Your target audience is your peers and your teacher.
S- (situation)
The context you find yourself in is a middle school environment where there is
tremendous pressure to gain acceptance by your peers.
P- (purpose and product)
The purpose of this essay is to reflect on and share how your views on acceptance of
others have changed after reading about one person’s experiences with people with
disabilities.
S- (standards for performance)
Your work will be judged by the planning, organization, thoughtfulness of reflections
based on the novel, and overall writing quality of the essay.
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Student Task
Essay prompt:
How are my views about acceptance of others shaped by people with disabilities?
Task:
What does it mean to be accepted by your peers in middle school? How do you
gain acceptance in middle school? How do disabilities affect the way people view
and accept one another?
In this essay, you will reflect on and explain how your views on acceptance of
others in middle school have changed through reading about a character’s
experiences with people with disabilities.
Assessment:
You will be graded on the planning, organization, thoughtfulness of reflections
based on the novel, and the overall writing quality of your essay.
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Rubric for Culminating Project
4
3
2
1
Essay clearly
explains how
your views on
acceptance
have changed
through
reading about
people with
disabilities.
Essay
explains how
your views on
acceptance
have changed
through
reading about
people with
disabilities.
Essay does
now explain
how your
views on
acceptance
have changed.
Relevance of
details
Details are
relevant and
fully support
your ideas.
Most details
are relevant
and support
your ideas.
Organization
Ideas are
Ideas are
clearly
mostly
organized and organized.
easy to follow.
Grammar and
punctuation
Writing is
mostly free of
errors.
Writing is still
clear and easy
to
understand.
Essay shows
excellent
effort and
improvement
through all
drafts. Final
essay is typed
or written
neatly.
Essay
somewhat
explains how
your views on
acceptance
have changed.
It may or may
not show how
people with
disabilities
affected the
changes.
Some details
are relevant
and only
somewhat
support your
ideas.
Ideas are
somewhat
disorganized
and may be
difficult to
follow.
Writing has
many errors
that may
make it
difficult to
understand.
Essay shows
some effort
and
improvement
through the
drafts. Final
essay is written
somewhat
neatly.
Essay shows
little or no
effort and/or
improvement.
Final essay is
not written
neatly.
Project
Component
Reflection
Effort and
improvement
Writing has
some errors,
but it is still
mostly clear
and easy to
understand.
Essay shows
good effort
and
improvement
through all
drafts. Final
essay is typed
or written
neatly.
Details do not
support your
ideas.
Ideas are
disorganized.
Writing has
not been
edited for
grammar and
punctuation.
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
Unit’s Essential Question:
Mini-Unit
Title
(each mini-unit is
approx 1 week
long)
Rules pgs. 1-49
Rules pgs. 5097
Big ideas of the
mini-unit / concept
statement
(macro)
Diversity
Acceptance of
others is a
process
Key Content
/Knowledge
(micro)
Skills
What should the
students be able to
do?
List of Topical /
Content Based
Questions
Mini-Unit
Assessment
(must be aligned to
the NYS / NYC
exams.)
vocabulary (all
content), literary
elements
(characters,
setting, conflict,
point of view),
summary, lit.
responses,
definitions of
disabilities
define
vocabulary,
identify literary
elements, write
summaries,
respond to
literature,
define
disabilities
What does it
mean to be
“normal?”
vocabulary
quiz, literary
elements
graphic
organizer,
disabilities
multiple choice
questions, short
answer
literature
response
Write a
reflection on
your views
about people
who are
different.
Literary
elements
(characters,
conflict)
characterization,
summary, lit.
responses
Identify literary
elements
(characters,
conflict),
describe how a
character
changes, write
summaries,
respond to
literature
characterization
graphic
organizer,
multiple choice
and short
answer
literature
response
questions
Write a
reflection on
how you view
people with
disabilities. Do
you feel the
same way as
Catherine at
this point in the
story?
How do I view
people who are
different from
me?
How does
Catherine view
people with
disabilities?
Does
Catherine’s
view of people
with disabilities
change?
Explain
Scaffolding
towards the
culminating
project
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
Rules pgs. 98154
Acceptance of
others is a
process
characterization, Describe how a
summary, lit.
character
responses
changes, write
summaries,
respond to
literature
How does
Catherine’s
relationship
with David and
Jason change?
How does it
stay the same?
Why?
Rules pgs. 155200
Acceptance of
others
literary
elements
(climax, theme),
characterization,
summary, lit.
responses
How does
Catherine’s
relationship
with David and
Jason change?
Why?
Identify literary
elements
(climax, theme),
describe how a
character
changes, write
summaries,
respond to
literature
multiple choice
and short
answer
literature
response
questions,
Write a
reflection
comparing your
views on people
who are
different now to
your views
before you
started reading
the book.
Literary
Would you have
elements
done what
graphic
Catherine did at
organizer,
the end of the
characterization story?
graphic
organizer, short What did you
answer
learn about
literature
accepting
response
others from
questions
Catherine’s
relationship
with David and
Jason?
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
Week 1
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Monday
Content Focus:
What does it mean to be
“normal?”
(pgs. 1-12)
Hook:
What does it mean to be
“normal” in middle school?
Daily Assessment:
Write a clear definition of
“normal.”
Write Catherine’s definition
of “normal.”
Tuesday
Content Focus:
What is a disability?
(pgs. 13-28)
Hook:
Do you think David is
“normal” according to
your definition?
Daily Assessment:
Define and give
examples of disabilities.
Write defining
characteristics of
autism and Jason’s
disabilities from the
novel.
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Wednesday
Content Focus:
Identify literary
elements in the novel
(pgs. 29-32)
Hook:
Review definitions of
literary elements.
Daily Assessment:
Literary elements
graphic organizer
Write defining
characteristics
characters’ disabilities.
Thursday
Content Focus:
How does Catherine
view people with
disabilities?
(pgs. 33-40)
Hook:
How would you feel if
you had a sibling with
autism?
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
How does Catherine
view people with
disabilities?
Friday
Content Focus:
Identify literary
elements
(pgs. 41-49)
Hook:
Predict what might
happen next in the
story.
Daily Assessment:
Literary elements
graphic organizer
Weekly Assessment (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
Multiple choice quiz, short answer literature response questions, literary elements graphic organizer
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the unit’s culminating assessment?
Students will write a reflection, in the form of an organized paragraph, about their views on people who are different.
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
Week 2
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Monday
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 50-58)
Hook:
Describe Catherine.
Daily Assessment:
Character sketch graphic
organizer
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Tuesday
Content Focus:
Analyzing character
changes
(pgs. 59-65)
Wednesday
Content Focus:
Analyzing character
changes
(pgs. 66-75)
Hook:
What does Catherine
mean by her rule,
“Pantsless brothers
are not my
problem”?
Hook:
Compare Catherine at
the beginning of the
novel to now.
Daily Assessment:
Character changes
graphic organizer,
short lit. response
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
How has Catherine’s
feelings toward Jason
changed?
Thursday
Content Focus:
Conflict
(pgs. 76-88)
Hook:
What does Catherine
want?
Friday
Content Focus:
Does Catherine’s view
of people with
disabilities change?
(pgs. 89-97)
Hook:
How do you view
people with
disabilities?
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
What gets in the way of
what Catherine wants? Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
compare how you
view people with
disabilities to
Catherine’s view.
Weekly Assessment (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
Multiple choice quiz, short answer literature response questions, characterization graphic organizer
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the unit’s culminating assessment?
Students will write a reflection on how they view people with disabilities. They will compare the way they view people with
disabilities with the way Catherine views them at this point in the story.
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
Week 3
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 98-103)
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 104-112)
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 113-123)
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 124-144)
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 145-154)
Hook:
Predict what Catherine will do to
make it up to Jason for not going
to the clinic.
Hook:
Describe Catherine’s
relationship with
David.
Hook:
Predict what might
happen next in Catherine
and Jason’s relationship.
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response: Describe
Catherine’s relationship with
Jason.
Hook:
Describe how your views
of David and Jason have
changed from the
beginning of the story to
now.
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
Has Catherine’s
Daily Assessment:
relationship with David Short lit. response:
changed?
What is Catherine
learning about Jason?
Hook:
Predict what might
happen next based on
the chapter title,
“Solving one problem
can create another.”
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response: Has
Catherine’s relationship
with David and Jason
really changed?
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
How does Catherine try
to solve her problem?
What does that mean
for the way Catherine
views Jason?
Weekly Assessment: (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
Multiple choice quiz, short answer literature response questions
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the units culminating assessment?
Students will write a reflection comparing their views on people who are different now to their views before they started reading
the book.
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
Week 4
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Monday
Content Focus:
Building to the climax of the
story
(pgs. 155-161)
Hook:
Predict: Do you think
Catherine’s problems are
solved?
Daily Assessment:
Summary
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Tuesday
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 162-177)
Wednesday
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 178-185)
Thursday
Content Focus:
Analyzing characters
(pgs. 186-190)
Friday
Content Focus:
Climax and theme
(pgs. 191-200)
Hook:
Prediction
Hook:
Prediction
Hook:
Prediction
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
How has Catherine’s
view of Jason
changed? How has it
stayed the same?
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
Why did Catherine
invite Jason to the
dance? Does that
mean she views Jason
differently?
Daily Assessment:
Short lit. response:
What is Catherine
learning about David?
Hook:
Prediction: How do
you think the story
will end?
Daily Assessment:
Did Catherine finally
learn to accept David
and Jason? How do
you know? What do
you think is the theme
of this novel?
Weekly Assessment (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
Short literature response questions
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the units culminating assessment?
Reflective paragraphs: Would you have done what Catherine did at the end of the story?
What did you learn about accepting others from Catherine’s relationship with David and Jason?
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
Unit Resources
Books:
-copies of the novel Rules by Cynthia Lord for each student
Websites:
Discussion Guide:
http://www.grandcanyonreaderaward.org/resources/rules_discuss.pdf
Teacher Materials:
-graphic organizers from Teaching Reading through Differentiated Instruction with Leveled Graphic Organizers
Other:
n/a
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