Smagorinsky Sample Unit

Discrimination

Rationale for Unit

• A unit on discrimination will help sophomores consider ways to negotiate the contact they have with other groups.

• It will provide opportunities for students to move to paradigmatic writing as they begin to define a particular kind of discrimination.

• It will also provide opportunities to meet State and Federal Standards, since the unit includes a balance between formal writing and multimedia composing.

Materials

• Canonical autobiography: Black Boy (Richard Wright)

• Songs: “Sixteen Tons” (The Weavers), “Colors of the Wind” (Vanessa Williams), “Cry Freedom” (Dave Matthews), “War” (Bam Marley), “Inevitable Consequence of Progress” (Johnny Clegg/Savuka), “Short People” (Randy Newman), “Leave Me Alone” (The Cruxshadows), “Southern Man” (Neil Young), “Fortunate Son” (CCR)

• Poems: “On the Pulse of Morning” (Maya Angelou), “The Old Man’s Lazy” (Peter Blue Cloud), and “Jamie” (Elizabeth Brewster)

Materials, Cont.

• Short Stories: • “Play With Me” (Maria Campbell)• “Tony’s Story” (Leslie Marmon Silko)• “Harrison Bergeron” (Kurt Vonnegut)• “After You, My Dear Alphonse” (Shirley

Jackson)• “Romantic Nightmare” (Jose Antonio

Burceiaga)• “All Summer in a Day” (Ray Bradbury)

Unit Goals

• In Process:• Double-column reading log (with passages

on left, and responses on right with open-ended questions, personal responses, evaluations, and interpretations)

• Student-generated discussion (in groups for four chapters each)

• Culminating Texts and Activities:• Extended Definition of a kind of

discrimination (155)• Multimedia Project (156)

Unit Daily Blurbs

• Week I, Day 1• 3 minutes: attendance, housekeeping• 5 minutes: Walk to computer lab• 10 minutes: Introductory activity

introduction: Collaborative Webquest about one kind of discrimination

• 32 minutes: Search for Web for information on topic and use links to construct your collaborative Webquest

Day 2/3: Computer Lab

• 3 minutes: Attendance, housekeeping

• 47 minutes: Complete webquests and post to a website, wiki, etc.

• Day 3

• 3 minutes: Attendance, housekeeping

• 5 minutes: Explain jigsaw procedures for groups (at least one member from each webquest group in each discussion group)

• 40 minutes: Discuss the webquests

• 2 minutes: Return desks to original positions; exeunt

Days 4 and 5

• 3 minutes: Attendance, housekeeping

• 47 minutes: Discussion based on two phases of jigsaw• What is, and what is not, discrimination of the type you

investigated?• On what basis did you decide that a particular action is an

act of discrimination?• How can you formulate a rule (aka criterion) that helps

you distinguish discrimination from nondiscrimination?• Provide an example of something that is and almost is

discrimination according to your criterion• Explain why the example meets the criterion or not

• Day 5: Vocabulary game: www.coe.uga.edu/~smago/Vocabulary_Games/ExpansionsIndex.htm

Week 2

• Day 6: Song lyrics analysis and storyboarding

• Day 7: Complete story board activity

• Day 8: Play songs and present storyboards (audience asks at lest one question per group)

• Day 9: Poetry—In Double-column reading log, generate a set of responses and questions to “The Old Man’s Lazy” and share in groups

• Day 10: Whole-class discussion of individual and small-group work with reading logs

Week 3

• Day 11: Introduce and read short stories (“Tony’s Story”, “Romantic Nightmare”

• Day 12: Produce a found poem based on “Tony’s Story” and share with class

• Day 13: Construct body biographies in response to “Romantic Nightmare” (196)

• Day 14: Present body biographies to the class

• Day 15: Black Boy reading and/or vocabulary game based on Family Feud

Week 4

• Day 16: Begin scaffolding extended definition with model: Define a genre of music (199)

• Day 17: Pass out and discuss extended definition prompt and model (criteria, examples, contrasting examples, warrants in relation to murder trial on 201)

• Day 18: Work in small groups on extended definitions of music genre

• Day 19: Peer Response first draft of extended definitions and begin revisions.

• Day 20: Complete revisions of group essays before presenting to class (207-8 rubric)

Week 5

• Day 21: Pass out and review responsibilities for student-led discussions of 4 Black Boy chapters and discuss each element.

• Day 22: Define literary form and technique, significant events, evaluation, emotional responses, and personal connections as read

• Day 23: Distribute discussion-leading responsibilities, discuss grading rubric (213-5) and begin work on presentations.

• Day 24: Prepare questions in groups

• Day 25: Student group leads discussion of chapters 1-4

Week 6

• Day 26: Students lead discussion of chapters 5-8

• Day 27: Students lead discussion of chapters 9-12

• Day 28: Students lead discussion of chapters 13-16

• Day 29: Students lead discussion of chapters 17-20

• Day 30: Introduce and work on multimedia projects

Week 7

• Day 31: Introduce extended definition assignment (217) and work on outlines and drafts

• Day 32: Work individually on essays

• Day 33: Peer responses to drafts (218-19)

• Day 34: Extended definitions due. Select good portfolio exhibits and reflect on writing

• Day 35: Present multimedia presentations and respond to unit opinionnaire (221)