8th Unit 2 Module 4
Key Themes & Topics:
Culture
Change
School
Essential Questions
How do cultures change?
Key Reading Standards
a. Use Key Ideas and Details to:
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (CCSS RI.8.1; CAS 8.2.2.a.i)
b. Use Craft and Structure to:
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting information. (CCSS RI.8.6; CAS 8.2.2.b.iii)
c. Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:
Delineat and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced. (CCSS RI.8.8; CAS 8.2.2.c.ii)
Key Writing Standards:
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. (CCSS W.8.1; CAS 7.8.1.a)
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and and organize the reasons and evidence logically. (CCSS W.8.1.a)
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating and understanding of the topic or text. (CCSS W.8.1.b)
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons and evidence. (CCSS W.8.1.c)
Establish and maintain a formal style. (CCSS W.8.1.d)
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows and supports from the argument presented. (CCSS W.8.1.e)
Summative Assessment Task
Phase I ends with an outline of the unit’s summative assessment outlining how students will show their progress of mastery of key standards and showcase their answers to the unit’s essential questions. This provides a goal toward which all weekly and daily learning activities can be designed. Summative assessments are vertically aligned to increase collaboration within and between departments.
Texts & Tasks for Unit
Choose the selection of texts and writing tasks below that will work for the unit. If you would like to provide feedback on this list or recommend a different task or text, please click here.
Extended Texts
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (DMS & Overdrive)
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanan (DMS)
Passenger on the Pearl: The True Story of Emily Edmonson’s Flight from Slavery by Winifred Conkling (Overdrive)
Reaching Out by Francisco Jimenez (Overdrive)
Someone Named Eva by Joan W. Wolf (DMS)
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (Overdrive)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (DMS & Overdrive)
Short Literary Texts
CommonLit (Log in to view texts)
“The Drum Dream Girl” by Margarita Engle
“First They Came…” by Martin Niemöller
“I am the People, the Mob” by Carl Sandburg
“Rosa Parks” by Nikki Giovanni
“The Story of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box” by James Baldwin
“The Worst Sin” by Joshua Salik
Short Informational Texts
CommonLit (Log in to view texts)
"What is a Robonaut" by NASA (use with On Demand)
"Can We Teach Robots Ethics?" by BBC News (Use with On Demand)
"The Distracted Teenage Brain" by Alison Pearce Stevens (use with Effective Argument)
"How Does Advertisting Impact Teen Behavior?" (Use with Messaging in Advertising task)
“Before Rosa Parks, There was Claudette Colvin” by Margot Adler
“The First Time John Lewis and I Integrated the Busses” by Bernard Lafayette Jr.
“The Founding of American Democracy” by Jessica McBirney
“Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott” by USHistory.org
“Rosa Parks: Beyond the Bus” by Barrett Smith
“The Sit-In Movement” by USHistory.org
“The Story of Ida B. Wells” by Shannon Moreau
“Transcript of Full Joseph McNeil Interview” by Newsday
Analytical Writing Tasks
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT - Argument: An argument on who is the "Greatest of All Time" in their respective field. (Doc) (Writable)
On Demand - Argument: A paired text argument about driverless cars. Designed to be a formative check of students' understanding prior to completing the summative assessment. (Doc) (Writable)
Answer the Question in One Paragraph: A repeated writing opportunity to reflect on the essential question of the module. (Doc) (Writable)
Kids These Days: An argument identifying beliefs adults may hold regarding kids. (Doc) (Writable)
Messaging in Advertisements: An analysis of rhetoric & language. (Doc) (Writable)
Evaluating Arguments: A writing evaluating the claims the author presents in a text. (Doc) (Writable)
Evaluating Point of View: A response analyzing the author's point of view regarding a topic in the text. (Doc) (Writable)
The Same School, but Different: A interview that explores how school culture has changed. (Doc) (Writable)
Narrative Writing Tasks
Phase III: Planning
Each unit’s Phase III tasks will be a general week-by-week outline of the flow of learning tasks for students. Realizing the cultures and schedules at each site will vary and place unique demands on class time, these outlines are to be seen as generally flexible. Also in recognition of school and classroom cultures, expectations, and practices, unit plans will offer templates for tasks, but will not list daily lessons. This is to allow enough certainty of district alignment while allowing for features such as co-teaching, integrated ELA and social studies, and other unique programmatic designs.
Unit 2 Module 4 Reflection & Feedback
Please leave your feedback, reflections and assignment requests below.
The curriculum design team will meet quarterly to review and respond to your feedback. Please direct immediate questions or concerns to seiler_jenny@svvsd.org.