Core Values Literature Connection
Middle School
Quarter 3
The Core Values Literature Connection Guide will assist teachers in infusing Miami-Dade County Public
Schools’ Core Values throughout the ELA curriculum. The document is aligned to the District Pacing
Guides for the 2015-2016 school year. It is designed to help teachers make connections between literature
and the District’s Core Values.
Grade 6
Week/Dates
Text
21
“For Gwen,
1969” (Margaret
Walker), p. 821
“Life Doesn’t
Frighten Me”
(Maya Angelou),
p. 280 (poetry)
22-23
24-25
26-27
Core Value
Connection
In “for Gwen 1969” the poet celebrates the life of her
friend, fellow poet, Gwendolyn Brooks. It focuses on
the lasting impact of a special person on the lives of
others. In Maya Angelou’s poem, Life Doesn’t
Respect/Pursuit of Excellence Frighten Me, the author celebrates the courage within
each of us, young and old. From the scary thought of
panthers in the park to the unsettling scene of a new
classroom, fearsome images are summoned and
dispelled by the power of faith in ourselves.
Risking his life in the coldest part of the world,
Matthew Henson was the first American to
discover the North Pole, as part of Robert Peary’s
“Matthew
expedition. He spent his life as a young boy
Henson at the
traveling the world on the high seas and craved the
Top of the
life of an explorer. Henson’s survival skills in
World” (Jim
the Arctic was the difference between death and the
Haskins), p.766
greatest discovery of this life. For 18 years,
Pursuit of Excellence
(biography);
he searched for what was his to discover. Similarly,
“Over the Top of
Over the Top of the World is true story of five men
the World” (Will
and two women who traveled by dog sled and canoe
Steger), p.781
over the Arctic from Siberia to Canada in four months.
(journal entry)
While they communicated with the outside world by
Internet, they encountered shifting ice, powerful
snowstorms, and unbelievably cold temperatures.
Words Like Freedom, by Langston Hughes, is a brief
. “Words Like
poem that conveys the pain of words like liberty that
Freedom”
remind the descendant of the slave of a long history
(Langston
of oppression. Dreams, also by Langston Hughes, the
Hughes), p. 384;
poem addresses the concept of a life without dreams
Pursuit of Excellence/Respect
as an ultimatum of desperation. You can clearly see
“Dreams”
that the poet compares it to being a broken-winged
(Langston
bird, when either of those can't fly away. Very
Hughes), p.388
accurately penned, because a life without dreams
(poetry)
would be aimless.
From Bud, Not Buddy is about ten-year-old Bud
Great Reads:
Pursuit of
Historical Novel” Excellence/Fairness/Honesty Caldwell who is on the lam.
28-29
from Bud, Not
Buddy
(Christopher Paul
Curtis), p. 100
(historical novel
excerpt)
He is running from the barren, impersonal confines of
a 1930s orphanage and a stupidly cruel and
dysfunctional foster home, he is off on a search for
his birth father.
What Video
Games Can
Teach Us” (Emily
Sohn), p. 890
(magazine article);
“The Violent
Side of Video
Games” (Emily
Sohn), p. 895
(magazine article)
The two articles deal with two opposing viewpoints in
regards to exposure and use of video games. Each
article examines the pros and cons of video games on
young minds.
Citizenship/Respect
Grade 7
Week/Dates
21
22-23
Text
Core Value
Connection
The People Could Fly" is all about the dream of
freedom. For the Africans who were captured into
“The People
slavery and brought to America, there was little
Could Fly”
reason for hope, but through folk tales like this one,
(Virginia
they were able to at least imagine a day when they
Respect/Pursuit of Excellence
could become free. That's powerful. No matter how
Hamilton), p. 480
physically confined we might be, no one can ever
(folktale)
truly trample the human drive for freedom. If that
doesn't inspire you to get off your butt today and do
something awesome, then we don't know what will.
“A First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt and A First Lady Speaks Out are
Speaks Out”
biographies/autobiographies of the First Lady who,
(Eleanor
despite her shyness, followed her conscience and
Roosevelt), p. 777
devoted her life to helping others and working for
Respect/Kindness/Fairness/Ho peace.
“Eleanor
Roosevelt”
nesty
(William Jay
Jacobs), P. 760
24-25
“Encounter with
Martin Luther
King, Jr.” (Maya
Angelou), p. 258
(autobiography)
“The Papers of
Martin Luther
King Jr.”
Respect/Integrity/Kindness
Encounter with Martin Luther King Jr. is a narrative
where Maya Angelou recounts details of her surprise
meeting with Martin Luther King Junior. The Papers of
Martine Luther King Jr. are papers that reveal King's
concern about poverty, human rights, and social
justice was clearly present in his earliest handwritten
sermons, which conveyed a message of faith, hope,
and love for the dispossessed. His enduring message
(Memorandum) p.
267
26-27
28-29
30
The Noble
Experiment”
(Jackie Robinson
as told to Alfred
Duckett), p. 808
Montreal Signs
Negro Shortstop”
p.823 (historical
sports article)
“Robinson Steals
Home in Fifth” P.
825
Mixed Media:
Integrating 21st c.
Literacies
Fairness/Respect
Teacher Choice
can be charted through his years as a seminary
student, as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church,
as a leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, and,
ultimately, as an internationally renowned proponent
of human rights who saw himself mainly as a
preacher and "advocate of the social gospel.
The Noble Experiment he Noble Experiment Jackie
Robinson as Told to Alfred Duckett camouflaged
Robinson’s hurt feelings for not getting fair treatment
at the Red Sox tryout by pretending not to care. The
other text sets include the same overarching
theme/central idea. All dealing with fairness and
respect.
Using the Mixed media component determine which
core value is illustrated the best.
Were you ever been called out by an elder for your
behavior when you were younger? Or maybe you
made a mistake and someone gave you a second
chance? Langston Hughes' short story, Thank You,
Thank You M’am”
Ma'am, published in 1958, captures both situations. If
(Langston
I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking is by Emily
Hughes), p. 62
Dickinson (1830-1886). Like all the rest of her poems,
(Short Story)
Pursuit of Excellence/Honesty the poem does not have a title and is called by the
“If I Can Stop
first line of the poem. Dickinson had the gift of saying
One Heart From
a tremendous amount in a few perfectly succinct
Breaking” (Emily
words. The poem's message is simple and selfDickinson), p.68
explanatory. If I can ease the burden of a fellow living
creature, "I shall not live in vain".
Grade 8
Week/Dates
21
Text
Core Value
Connection
Louisa May Alcott is best known for penning Little
Women, but few are aware of the experience that
Civil War Journal
influenced her writing most-her time as a nurse during
(Louisa May
the Civil War. Caring for soldiers' wounds and writing
Alcott), p. 327
Integrity/Pursuit of Excellence
letters home for them inspired a new realism in her
(journal)
work. When her own letters home were published as
Hospital Sketches, she had her first success as a
writer. The acclaim for her new writing style inspired
22
her to use this approach in Little Women, which was
one of the first novels to be set during the Civil War. It
was the book that made her dreams come true, and a
story she could never have written without the time
she spent healing others in service of her country
Barbara Frietchie is an inspiring story of one old
Barbara
woman’s act of patriotism during a Confederate
Frietchie”
advance in the civil war. The poem John Henry also
(John Greenleaf
celebrates the work of John Henry and his pursuit of
Whittier), (poetry)
Pursuit of Excellence/Integrity excellence.
“John Henry”, P.
282-291
(traditional poetry)
23-24
25
From Harriet Tubman is a biography of a heroic
woman who led more than three hundred people out
of slavery into freedom. The writer brings Harriet
Tubman to life in a narrative that imagines
conversations and thoughts but also includes facts,
anecdotes, and quotations from contemporary
accounts and newspaper articles. Most chapters end
from Harriet
with an italicized summary of a historical event in the
Tubman
concurrent antislavery conflict. Letter by Frederick
(Ann Petry), P.
Douglass seems obvious to us that slavery was awful.
258 (biography) &
Pursuit of
But part of Douglass's journey, believe it or not, is his
Excellence/Honesty/Fairness discovery of what slavery really is. When he is young,
“Letter by
Frederick
he doesn't really understand what it means to be a
Douglass”
slave; he only starts to get it when he sees his Aunt
Hester being whipped by his master. His real
introduction to suffering occurs when he goes to work
for Covey, and its here that he learns
to overcome suffering. When he vows to die rather
than let himself be whipped again, he gains the
strength of will he will eventually need for his journey
north to freedom.
The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" is about a young boy in
the army during the Civil War. He is the drummer boy
of the unit at the Battle of Shiloh. The story is based
“The Drummer
on the life of John Clem. Clem ran away from home
Boy of Shiloh”
when he was 9 years old and joined the army. He
(Ray Bradbury),
was the drummer boy for the 22nd Michigan Infantry
Pursuit of Excellence/Integrity
during the Battle of Chickamauga. Clem was
P. 316 (short
wounded but did not die during the battle. Captured
story)
by the Confederate Army, Clem was released as part
of a prisoner exchange. He went on to become a
Brigadier General in the Quartermaster Corps before
retiring from military service.
26-28
29
Narrative of the
Life of Frederick
Douglass An
American Slavesupplemental text
The Mysterious
Mr. Lincoln”
(Russell
Freedman), P. 274
(biography)
Integrity/Honesty/Pursuit of
Excellence
Integrity/Honesty
This narrative is basically an autobiography. It's the
story of his life from the time he was born a slave to
the time of his escape to freedom in the North. But it's
also a piece with a strong political message. When
Douglass wrote this book in 1845, slavery was still
legal in much of the United States. He became a
public speaker and writer to try to stop it. He believed
that if he showed people what slavery was really like,
they would understand why it needed to be abolished.
And who better than a former slave to tell the truth
about slavery? So even though he wants to tell us his
personal story, he never forgets the larger goal of
abolishing slavery.
This is a lively account of Abraham Lincoln's
boyhood, his career as a country lawyer, and his
courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. Then the
author focuses on the presidential years (1861 to
1865), skillfully explaining the many complex issues
Lincoln grappled with as he led a deeply divided
nation through the Civil War. The book's final chapter
is a moving account of that tragic evening in Ford's
Theatre on April 14, 1865. Concludes with a sampling
of Lincoln writings and a detailed list of Lincoln
historical sites.