Sheltered 9th Grade English 1
units of instruction
In this unit, students read the play, respond in writing, and dramatize scenes all in collaborative groups to understand the play itself, learn about it's author, and apply its themes to their lives and experiences.
How and why do people immigrate? What does your personal immigration experience teach you about the challenges and benefits of your life? These are a few of the questions students will grapple with as they read example narratives, and write their own full-process personal immigration narrative. This unit includes collaborative reading and discussion routines. Also included are detailed lessons and activities that teach vocabulary, the narrative arc and elements of narrative writing.
In this unit, students "read" a wordless book, using interpretive and analytical skills to gain understanding of Shaun Tan's gorgeous graphic novel. Along the way, this unit explores a wide range of immigration themes including the reasons people leave their countries behind, the dangers of their journey, family, friendship and the value of kindness and altruism. This unit is intended to affirm the life experiences of newcomers, and to help young people build empathy, develop understanding, delve into the visual narrative, and form creative and imaginative responses to the story.