Inaction is Still an Action

ARE YOU REALLY AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER?

THE ELA SKILLS WE WILL LEARN:• Reading

• Progression of Action

• Listening

• Recognition of Tone

• Speaking

• Understanding the Points of Emphasis on Words

• Viewing

• Imagery Choice

• Writing

• Choice of Words in Argument

READING• Objective: By the end of today’s lesson, students will be able to read a non-fiction,

informational article with a complex set of ideas. They will choose two or more central ideas of the article to connect how the ideas build upon each other and subsequently will summarize the text.

• Reading Standard Used:

• 3. Focusing on “Analyze[ing] the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama [mainly] how the action is ordered.”

LISTENING• Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to recognize a speaker’s tone

after viewing examples of PSA’s and other verbal excerpts. Students will apply their understanding of tone in a clip by writing a summary regarding which attitudes they heard in the clip and what clues in the speaker’s tone of voice gave these emotions away.

• Speaking and Listening Standard Used:

• 3. Focusing on “Evaluate[ing] a speaker’s …tone used.”

SPEAKING• Objective: By the end of today, students will be able to determine the points of emphasis

in a speech, dialogue, etc. and understand how these points of emphasis function to present a complex set of ideas in non-fiction, informational texts (e.g. newspaper/periodical/website). Students will demonstrate their understanding of the complex ideas in a given article by marking the article with points of emphasis for homework and then reading a portion of this allowed during the next class period.

• Speaking and Listening Standard Used:

• 3. Focusing on “Evaluate[ing] a speaker’s points of emphasis.”

VIEWING• Objective: By the end of today, students will recognize the idea that images are chosen

for a specific reason, to invoke a specific response from their audience, through viewing multiple imagery clips (PSAs, commercials, ads, movie clips). Students will demonstrate their understanding that visual images convey messages by writing an analysis of how the image(s) used for an ad function for homework.

• Speaking and Listening Standard Used:

• 5. Focus on “Make[ing] strategic use of digital media [images] in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.”

WRITING• Objective: By the end of today’s lesson, students will be able to locate the persuasive

words within an argument and understand how these words are being used to effect the audience. Students will demonstrate this understanding by producing an argument chart that details an article’s argument and pulls out persuasive word usage that the students will go on to detail why these words were chosen and how they are used.

• Writing Standard Used:

• 3d. Focusing on “Use[ing] precise words and phrases…to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.”

CULMINATING PROJECT• Students will work together, utilizing the skills that they learned throughout the unit to

create either a PSA or poster as part of an “Anti-Bullying” campaign within the school. These PSAs and posters created by students will be presented around the school, working to educate fellow students. Thus, the students become the teachers, learning to implement their new-found skills in a new way and transferring their knowledge to other areas of their lives (presentations, readings, teaching others, etc.)

• The skills taught in this unit plan will work to help students better understand reading and writing for a purpose, be it reading a novel for school or reading a website for fun.