CURRICULUM DESIGN
2013 – 2014
I TRIMESTER
TEACHER:
UNIT PLAN
GRADE:
Nell Westermeier
CORE TOPIC:
THE BODY
AREA(S):
English
DATE:
AUGUST 2013
11th
CORE PROBLEMS:
How can we show the relationship between the world of values and the body in
human interaction and within a society?
CLARIFYING QUESTIONS:
Are social norms insurmountable barriers between people? - Are interclass relationships possible or impossible in the book/ the world we
live in?
Does money bring happiness, destroy happiness, or have no effect? - What role does wealth play in people's life expectations?
Is the American Dream a term or an attitude? - What is necessary to achieve the American Dream in today's society?
OBJECTIVES
PROCESSES
ACTIVITIES
RESOURCES/TIME
ASSESSMENT
Analyze how through the Breaks
down
and Chalk Talk: Write an open- Supporting
texts, Interview various sources
concept of body character examines the complexities ended question on the library, newspapers, about whether success is
roles and social castes of a caste system and board relating to the topic magazines,
smart a result of individual
work within a society.
considers
and of social classes, students board,
computer, characteristics
or
communicates how time go up to the board and Novel The Great complicated by social
and cultures may affect write their answers. Open Gatsby
daily, status, tape record it and
stratification and the value dialogue
throughout
the summarize key points,
of the body
trimester
and present findings
Examine aspects of their
own lives and the social
classes in which they
classify with in order to
understand
the
omportance of social class
and social mobility in The
Great Gatsby
Read and discuss the
article “Up From the Holler:
Living in Two Worlds, At
Home in Neither.” to
consider
the
cultural
uneasiness of a woman
who
changed
social
classes. They will then
create interview questions
about social mobility and
conduct an interview with
an
adult
or
fellow
classmate or other faculty
about
his
or
her
experiences with class and
social mobility
Analyze
how
wealth
(value body) may affect
the
achievement
of
happiness in both positive
and negative ways.
Discuss and define class
systems, how classes are
divided in the United
States and Colombia and
the meaning of those
divisions, relate it to the
social caste system of the
Great Gatsby
Defines happiness and Discussion on how money Supporting
texts,
compares characters from changes a person
library, newspapers,
the novel vs personal
magazines,
smart
beliefs and values and Fishbowl on if/how does board,
computer,
identifies
how
they money affect power and Novel The Great
achieved happiness/ did power affect money in Gatsby
daily,
not achieve happiness society and related to the throughout
the
through
writing, novel
trimester
discussions
Relate
characters'
experiences to students'
own experiences. Develop
an
understanding
of
Gatsby's situation and how
it is relevant in modern
times. Watch TedTalks on
money and happiness and
Write a personal narrative
about what truly makes
them happy in a reflective
and analytical matter,
illustrated
through
examples of success and
failure found throughout
the novel.
Identify and interpret how
the
notion
of
the
American Dream of the
characters' in the novel
can connect to modern
times and to the dreams
and morals of your own
lives.
discuss how all three are
related
Investigates the American
Dream and describes how
it plays a role in the lives of
the characters within the
novel.
Relates and questions
through
research
and
writing if the ideal still
exists
or
has
been
modified throughout time
and if this ideal specific to
the United States?
Read and discuss the
poem “Let America be
America
Again”
by
Langston Hughes and the
poem “I Hear America
Singing” by Walt Whitman.
Students will then be
asked to choose a poem
and
write
an
essay
comparing the way the
speaker in the poem views
the
American
Dream
compared to the way that
Jay Gatsby views it.
Differentiationteacher
could provide sutdents
copies of the poems with
an analysis of the poem
Debate: do you believe
that the American Dream
exists?
Examine a character’s
thoughts
and
feelings
within the lens of the
American Dream, social
mobility,
or
gender
inequalities by comparing
song lyrics with textual
information
Supporting
texts,
library, newspapers,
magazines,
smart
board,
computer,
Novel The Great
Gatsby
daily,
throughout
the
trimester
Create
a
powerpoint
presentation and present
findings in front of the
class
answering
the
question- what is the
American Dream?
Write an essay comparing
and contrasting the idea of
the
American
Dream
versus their own morals
Class
and
personal
reflection about what the
American Dream means to
the individual, based on
this depict these ideas
throug vision boards