Kellee Johnson
Unit title:   "A house is built with walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams."

Prefatory Statement
 

 In this unit students will be reading from a variety of authors using mulit-genre literature.  The theme that unites all of the pieces in this unit is poverty.  Students will be asked to analytically read literature on poverty, and come up with their own opinions about poverty in America.  In the first week, they will be asked to write to explore their beliefs concerning poverty.  This will serve as an introduction to the unit.  In the second and third week the students will gather information about poverty, come up with reasons why it is necessary that something be done about it.  Then they will develop a proposal to present to members of the community.  First and foremost, this proposal will be an opportunity to inform the public about what the local high school is doing, but it will also be an opportunity to receive some funding for the final project.  This project will be in the last week of the unit.  Students will choose a Habitat for Humanities project and do it together as a class.  The purpose for this project will be to tie the real world into the unit.  It will demonstrate that learning is related and applicable to the world outside of school.  It will also give them a chance to do something about the problem they spent three weeks learning about.
 This unit will be beneficial to students in their lives in many ways.  It will develop the students’ ability to understand people who are not like themselves.  For students to be able to make a difference in the world through the Habitat for Humanities project will make them feel good about themselves at an awkward stage in their lives.  On the more conventional side of things, the unit will help students develop their reading, writing and critical thinking skills.
 This unit accomplishes many things; one of the greatest products of this unit is the students.  It will teach the young people of this country to learn about people from whom they are different.  Learning in turn creates understanding, and if people can understand where others are coming from, many problems that we face as a country today could be whittled down.
 
 

Class Specification

 This particular unit is designed for senior high students due to the skills needed for the final project.  It would be easily modified to meet the needs of middle school and junior high students as well.  This could be done by having students volunteer at a local soup kitchen or by doing a neighborhood clean up operation.  The issues explored in this unit are such that students of all ages are capable of comprehending.  The materials that this unit includes would work best for senior high students, but the stories, poems, and lyrics could be easily changed to fit different age groups.
 

Significant Assumptions

 •The majority of the students will be at least middle class.
 •Students are most likely to understand the theme through multi-genre literature  with the same theme.
 •Students will be able to obtain parental permission to do the end of the unit   project.
 •Students will be willing to participate in discussions, both class and small   group.
 •Students will be capable of understanding people in very different situations   than those that exist fro themselves.
 •Students can understand the impact of hopelessness and purposelessness on  the human will.
 

Desired Outcomes
• Completion of Minnesota High School Graduation Standards 7:3.
 Evaluate events and actions from a multiple perspectives.
 
 •Identify how race, culture, gender, and disability may influence beliefs,    actions, and world view.

 •Identify how data and experience may be interpreted differently.

 •Identify issue topics or concepts around which disagreement or ambiguity   exists, including describing points of view concerning the issue, investigating   reasons for identified points of view, investigating reasons for alternate    viewpoints, and analyzing how the interpretation of an issue is affected by   omitted viewpoints.

Possible Whole-Class Activities

•Student / teacher reading and discussion of text.
•Final humanitarian project (Habitat for Humanities).
•Volunteer at the local soup kitchen.
 

Possible Small-Group Activities

•Small group discussions of the text.
•Proposals to the V.F.W., Lions Club, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, etc..
•Research groups, to gather information that will be presented.
 

Possible Individual Activities

•Write about individual views on poverty at the start of the unit and again at the end.  Then comparing the two, and come up with a list of some of the things they learned from the unit.
•Daily writing assignments, developing the ability to consider texts from different perspectives.
•Conference with the teacher to discuss the changes and similarities of individual views from the beginning of the quarter to the end.
•Write a piece to be presented to the community.

Possible On-Going Activities
•Writing folder for daily writings to be handed in to the teacher, and graded at the end of the unit.
•Volunteering weekly at a local shelter, soup kitchen or center.

Student Resources
•Handouts of the various poems, lyrics and short stories.
•A writing folder to keep track of the daily writing exercises.
•Access to the school library.
•Inter net access.

Unit Launch     Week 1, Day 1     50 Min. Lesson

Objective:   Students will identify their beliefs concerning poverty through free writing, and small group discussion.  Students will develop a concept of the word “poverty”.

Methods:

1. Ask students to think, than write about the following questions:
  a.  What is poverty?
  b.  Who lives in poverty? (race, class, gender, age, family type)
  c.  Why do people live in poverty?
  d.  How do you feel about people who live in poverty?
  e.  How do people live in poverty around here?
 *This should be put into the daily writing folder and kept by the teacher.
15 minutes

2. Read (or have a student volunteer to read) the poem “Apa‘” by Rosalinda    Hernandez (page 128 in Braided Lives).
5 minutes
 
3. Students discuss with a partner the poverty in this poem.  i.e.  Why is the     narrator and her family poor?  What can you tell me about the narrator    and her family?
 *Walk around and listen to what the groups are coming up with; so when    the class gets back together you can refer back to their conversations    and use that  information to spark discussion in the large group.
7 minutes

3. Regroup and discuss the poem as a whole class.
9 minutes
4. Have each student pick his/her favorite line in the poem and write about what it   is about that line that makes it their favorite.   Ask for volunteers to share their   insights.
9 minutes
5. Wrap things up (comment on their performance in class) and assign homework   for next time.  Give an overview of the unit and hand out the expectations that   need to be met.  Give them a brief summary of the two projects, and answer any  questions.
5 minutes

Homework:  Creative writing- Write a poem or a couple of paragraphs from the     perspective of someone else involved in the poem “Apa”.  i.e. the     employers, teachers, friends, the father, an on looker etc.

Assessment:  I will know my students are learning by reading their free writing     exercise.  I will also be able to assess their learning by listening to their    small and large group discussions.

Day 2
 Collect homework from the previous day and add it to the daily writing folder.  Read Dennis Miller’s chapter entitled “Homeless” from his book The Rants silently in class and have the students come up with a list of unfamiliar words.  Have the students pair up, look the words up in the dictionary.  Make a sentence of their own  including the words.  Add the list of words to the daily writing folder.  Hold a class discussion on the different views that Dennis has on the issue of homeless people, and come up with constructive criticism and support of his views.  Also discuss his humor in such a serious matter (good, bad or otherwise).  Assign “In Response To Executive Order 9066:…”  (Braided Lives p 280) and “Ditched” (Walking The Rez Road p 72).

Day 3
Objective:  Students understand the concept of compare and contrast using the two   poems assigned for today.  They will see how these poems fit into their lives in   the 90’s.  They will also learn about Executive Order 9066 and Native American  boarding schools.

Methods:
1. Students will share what they know about the Executive Order and about    boarding schools, with the guidance of the teacher.
10 minutes
2. Split the class up into pairs and look up both subjects on the web, or in    an encyclopedia.
  *Half the class look up boarding schools and the other half look up    Executive Order 9066.  Assign different facts to each of the pairs i.e. time,   place, who ordered, who it affected, how it affected, why, etc.
10 minutes
3. Regroup and have them report to the class what they found.
7 minutes
4. Have the students discuss the narrators in the poems and relate their lives to    the lives of the students.
  *Bring what they discovered in the quick research into this discussion.
15 minutes
5. Have students write what they learned from the lesson.  f.e. If they better    understand some of the attitudes of people today, by knowing some of the past.
 -Add this to the daily writing folder.
7-10 minutes
6. Bring things to a close and assign homework for the next class period.

Homework:  Read “”We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks.  Also read, “brown and white peek”(Walking the Rez Road p. 104) and “rez car” (WtRR p. 36).

Assessment:  I will know that my students have met the objectives  by reading their self-evaluations and by listening to their reports and discussion in class.

Day 4
 Discuss the narrator’s point of view concerning the poverty in the poems assigned last class period.  Write about one thing that you (student) do that is different from what the majority does.  Include how the other person/people treat you when you do it.  i.e.  dialect, vocabulary, hair style, style of dress, unique hobby, etc.  This will be confidential and that must be told to the students.
 

Day 5
Objective:  Students identify their role in poverty.
Methods:
1. Brainstorm ideas as a class and write them on the board.
2. Write, silently about what role the student plays in poverty in America.
3. Have students partner up and evaluate one another's writing.  Have them   discuss their writing with their partner and find areas on need of improvement.
Homework:  Polish up their work for the next class period, it will be handed in and    evaluated by the teacher.

Assessment:  They will hand in their work for the day along with the finished product.     The first draft can be evaluated at that time.  I will know my students are    learning if they have produced a substantive and well thought through    writing during the time allotted to them.
  *The final draft f this will be presented during the proposal to the     community.
Week 2
• Groups for the different presentations should be formed at the beginning of this   week.  I suggest the teacher assign the groups.
• This week should be dedicated to gathering and organizing information to be   presented to the local community organizations.
 Examples include but are not limited to:
  • Find newspaper articles about an economic problem close to home.
  • Gather information about the project the students choose.  For this you    want to make sure that possible arguments against your project are     taken into consideration, and rebuttals prepared.  You will also want to    make sure that you have plenty of points that support your cause, you will   in essence be selling this project to the community.
   •Why is this project worthwhile?
   •What is the anticipated outcome of the project?
   •Is this project necessary?
   •Why should I/we support this project?
  •  Refine poems and short essays to be read by the students at the     proposal presentation.
• By the end of the week this presentation should be ready to be delivered.

Week 3
• Practice run.  Present proposals to classmates, give students to evaluate one    another's presentations.  This should be written in a format that works    best for the presenting group.  A copy should be handed in to the     teacher.
  •This should be a chance for the students to build confidence in front of    an audience.  Positive feedback from peers and the teacher will help    them to deliver the final product to the “real audience”.
• Deliver proposals to the local organizations.
  •  This could mean the students actually attend a meeting, a     representative of the organization comes into the classroom, or that the    students make a video presentation to be shown at the organization’s    meeting.
 
Week 4

• Listen to songs about poverty, and discuss the lyrics.  Possibly watch the video   for the song.
  • “Hands” by Jewel off her Spirit cd.
     “First of the month” by Bone Thugs in Harmony.
     “Ghost of Tom Joad” by Rage Against the Machine also by Bruce       Springsteen (Two different versions).
 Free write about the lyrics and add to the daily writing folder.
• Have a speaker come into the classroom to discuss poverty.
 • Some possible speakers include:
  •A social worker.
  •Someone from the unemployment office.
  •Someone who is struggling with poverty.
 Have students write three things they thought were interesting about the    speaker and three things they didn’t like about his/her presentation and add this  to the daily writing folder.
• Read Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”; keep a reading journal along with this   novella.
  *Some possible discussions:
   •The Dick and Jane sections of the story and their relevance to the    story.
   •Choose a section of the story, have students do a close and     careful reading of it to find meaning and possible different      interpretations.
 
Week 5
•Go on the Habitat for Humanities trip!
 
 
 
 

Unit Assessment Package

Final Test

Part 1
 Think about, then write about the following questions:
  a.  What is poverty?
  b.  Who lives in poverty? (race, gender, age)
  c.  Why do people live in poverty?
  d.  How do you feel about people who live in poverty?
Part 2
 Compare and contrast your writing at the beginning of the unit with this one.    Write a page about what you learned and what you would like to know more   about.
Folder includes:  150 points possible
 _____Unit launch writing.  10 points
 _____Unit closing writing.  10 points
 _____What you learned from the unit.  20 points
 _____Creative writing from Apa’.  10 points
 _____Word list from Dennis Miller’s Homeless”  10 points                                            _____Executive Order 9066 and Native American Boarding School       assignment. 10 points
 _____What makes me different from others.  10 points
 _____Presentation poem or essay.  10 points
 _____Feedback form peers on proposal and a copy of the proposal itself. 20 pts
 _____Lyrics free-writing.  10 points
 _____Critique of the speaker.  10 points
 _____Reading journal for The Bluest Eye.  20 points
 If all of the above are: turned in on time, demonstrate the students ability, and meet the individual criteria for each assignment, they will receive all possible points.   90-99% = A  80-89%=B  70-79%=C  60-69% = D
 *Teacher must keep tabs on students’ performances so no student earns a D.
 
 

PERFORMANCE PACKAGE MINNESOTA PROFILE OF LEARNING
 

Content Standard:  People and Cultures: Diverse Perspectives
Title of package:  “A house is built with walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”
Level: High School
Specific Statement from the Standard:
 A student shall evaluate events and actions from diverse United States and   world perspectives by identifying:
  A.  how race, culture, gender, and disability may influence beliefs,           actions, and world view.
  B.  how data and experiences may be interpreted differently, and
  C.  issue topics or concepts around which disagreement or ambiguity         exists, including describing points of view concerning the issue,         investigating reasons for identified points of view, investigating          reasons for alternate viewpoints, and analyzing how the interpretation        of an issue is affected by omitted viewpoints.
Product(s):
 •Daily writing folder
 Task Description:
Task 1:  Identify how knowledge of people living in  poverty influences our beliefs,   actions and view of the world, through literature, self-evaluation, and critical   reading of different perspectives.
Task 2:  Identify your own beliefs through a hands on experience.  Write a self-   evaluation after the Habitat for Humanities experience.
FINAL ACHIEVEMENT:  Use the following scoring criteria when evaluating student       performance.
Scoring Criteria
4-  Performance on this standard achieves and exceeds expectations of high standard  work.
3-  Performance on this standard meets the expectations of high standard work.
3-  Work on this standard has been completes, but all or part of the student’s    performance is below level.
1-  Work on this standard has been completed, but performance is substantially below   high standard level.
No package score is recorded until ALL parts of the package have been completed.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

PERFORMANCE PACKAGE TASK 1
Content Standard: People and Cultures:  Diverse Perspectives
Amount of Time: Four weeks.
What students do:
 1. Identify how race, culture, gender, and disability influence their own beliefs,   actions, and world view.
 2.  Identify various points of view, perspectives, and  bias’ in literature.
 3.  Take into consideration historical facts, different view points, and credibility of  the author before forming an opinion.
 4.  Relate the author’s world  to your own world.
Product:
•Daily writing folder.
Central learning:
•Use knowledge to form your opinion.
Task Description:
  Read assigned literature and complete the assigned writing in a     thoughtful manner.  Keep writings in the daily writing folder for teacher    approval.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Guidelines for Evaluating Information
1.  Daily writing folder must be complete.  The submissions must have the first draft, and a revision if necessary.  The revision must be a substantial improvement from the first draft.  This means the content of the writing must be more defined and clear.  Whether there is only one draft or two the final one must meet all the requirements of the individual assignment.
 
Students must be able to identify the different perspectives in the literature, and come up with an analysis of that perspective.

2.  In the second task the student must demonstrate what he/she learned, and find the differences and similarities in their beliefs.  They must be able to write about this in a short paper that clearly demonstrates their understanding of poverty as well their understanding of their own learning.
 
 

Task Management Skills:
 •Focus on the task for appropriate length of time.
 •Access information efficiently and effectively when necessary.
 •Try to keep an open mind.
 
 
 
 
 

FEEDBACK CHECKLIST FOR TASK 1

E= Excellent S=Satisfactory N=Needs Improvement
 

Writing Activities
_______   •Student has articulated clear understanding of how race may influence    beliefs, actions, and world view.
________ •Student has articulated clear understanding of how culture may     influence beliefs, actions, and world view.
________ •Student has articulated clear understanding of how gender may     influence beliefs, actions and world view.
________ •Student has articulated clear understanding of how disabilities may    influence beliefs, actions, and world views.
________ •Student had articulated clear understanding of how data may be     interpreted differently.
________ •Student has articulated clear understanding of how experiences may be   interpreted differently.
________ • Student has articulated clear understanding of how issue topics or    concepts around which disagreement or ambiguity exists, describing    points of view concerning the issue.
________ •Student has articulated clear understanding of how issue topics or    concepts around which disagreement or ambiguity exists, investigate    reasons for identified points of view.
________  •Student has articulated clear understanding of how issue topics or    concepts around which disagreement or ambiguity exists, investigate    reasons for alternate viewpoints.
________ •Student has articulated clear understanding of how issue topics or    concepts around which disagreement or ambiguity exists, analyze how    the interpretation of an  issue is affected by omitted viewpoints.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

PERFORMANCE PACKAGE TASK 2

Amount of time: One week

What students do:
 1.  Identify their own beliefs through direct experience.
 2.  Identify their own learning process.
 3.  Relate others’ worlds to their own.
Product:
 “What you learned from the unit” self-evaluation paper.

Central learning:
 •Use experience to form your opinion.
Task Description:
 Complete the Habitat for Humanities project and a written evaluation of your own learning process and what it accomplished.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Teachers Resources

Appleman, Deborah, Patricia Carlson, Paul Goodnature, Mike Oiseth, Cheryll Ostrom,   Margaret Reed, Gretchen Schade, Nancy Storm, Jean Vinton, DeBorah    Zackery, eds.  Braided Lives: An Anthology of Multicultural American Writing.    St. Paul:  Viking, 1991.

McMichael, George, ed.  Anthology of American Literature. vol. 2.  Upper Saddle River:   Prentice Hall, 1997.

Miller, Dennis.  The Rants.  New York: Doubleday, 1996.

Morrison, Toni.  The Bluest Eye.  New York:  Penguin, 1994.

Northrup, Jim.  Walking the Rez Road.  Stillwater: Voyageur, 1993.