Unit 4: Inspiring Young Voices

English 8

Inspiring Young Voices

Throughout this unit, students will be engaged in a study of texts that have been written to voice opinions. We’ll explore the ways in which these authors have impacted the world through their perspectives and ideas, and students will be invited to consider what their own ideas are and how they can use their voices to impact the way that others view the world. At the conclusion of the unit, students will select an idea of personal interest to further develop and refine into a poem, essay, or story to contribute to a class anthology.

Enduring Understandings

A young writer’s voice represents unique and creative perspectives.
A young voice can impact the world.
Writing is a way to explore ideas that I care about.

Essential Questions

How do authors assert their opinion through text?
Does what I say matter to others?
How can my ideas impact the world around me?

Key Unit Experiences

Self-Selected Reading & Library Visits

We visit the library every 3 weeks in class and read in class daily. Be sure to bring your books!

Language Study

Language Study skills of focus for this unit include pronoun & antecedent agreement, colons, parentheses, capitalization, and spelling.

What You Know for Sure

Students will continue writing about personal perceptions related to particular thematic topics. This lesson includes a study of expository writing and thesis statement development.

Arguments and Claims

This reading and writing workshop lesson uses an analytical study of argumentative essays as the foundation for students to practice writing their own argumentative essays. Students will be taught to analyze claims and supporting reasons while practicing constructing their own ideas in an organized and logical order.

Protest Songs and Lyric Poetry

Students will find and discuss protest songs, analyze the choices authors make to get their message across, and then practice using their own writing style to convey a message.

Giving Advice and Spreading Ideas

Students will read and write an advice column focusing on author’s purpose, structure, and elemental writing choices to achieve a persuasive purpose.

The Outsiders: Inspired by Experience

This lesson takes students through the exploration of the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton using a biographical lens that focuses on the relationship between the writer and text. Students will predict and make inferences about the elements of a teenage author’s life that might impact the way in which characters and plot are developed. At the end of this novel, students will write a letter to S.E. Hinton making a connection from the novel to their own life.

Culminating Assessment Project (CAP) - Sharing My Voice

At the end of this unit of study, you will be asked to create a piece of fan fiction. The prompt is as follows:

You have been asked to contribute a composition (essay, poem, or story) for a class anthology. Your audience is comprised of classmates who want to read about other teens’ ideas, perspectives, and advice.

You will need to consider the characteristics of effective and interesting compositions and select one to submit to the anthology. Choose an appropriate mode of delivery for your message, keeping purpose, audience, and tone in mind. Possible options include poem, essay, story, etc. Determine the mode that most effectively communicates your message for your intended audience.

Keep in mind that young authors offer a unique perspective, and your composition should represent your personal views. Because this piece will be shared publically, consider the subject matter and personal details included in your writing.

Consider the pieces you have written during this unit:

Argumentative essay
Lyric poetry
Advice column or letter
Quick Writes
New topic, new piece (see your teacher)

To be successful on this assignment, you will need to be able to do the following things well:

listen, speak, and discuss using appropriate grade-level skills (8.1 A, C, D)
use the writing process to compose and revise/edit for appropriate conventions (8.10 A, Bi, ii, C, D, E)
use genre characteristics and craft to compose texts (8.11 A, B, C)
engage in the research & inquiry process (8.12 J)

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