Ok, so now I will try to put into practice what I summed up as over-arching goals in the last post. Here’s my first attempt with the students’ summer reading. The department’s requirement is to do a learning activity with the summer reading, but beyond that, it’s up to us:

(I’d love some feedback from you UBD experts!) Dana?

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Goals:

• Students will understand that everyone is entitled to an opinion about a novel, but ideas must be supported with textual evidence.
• Students will understand that rules and order can sometimes negatively affect a society.
• Students will understand theme is explored through the characters’ action, dialogue, and thoughts.

Stage One:
Understandings:
The student will understand that:

• Effective government requires a balance between individual rights and government regulation
• Our memories, painful and positive, affect how we live and learn.
• The author’s theme is developed through the characters’ actions, thoughts, and dialogue.

Essential Questions:

• How much should a government be able to control our individual rights for the benefit of society?
• Can we live without pain or suffering?
• How are Lowry’s themes developed in The Giver?

Students will know:

• the various literary elements such as plot, theme, characterization, and conflict
• the story line of The Giver
• how to support ideas with textual evidence

The student will be able to:

• outline the basic rules of Jonas’ society
• define terms utopia and dystopia
• evaluate issues related to individual rights vs government regulation
• create a new society with different rules from the novel
• write an essay explaining the changes he/she would make and give examples to support that change

Stage Two: Assessment Evidence
Performance Task:
Students will work together on a group project, discussing and deciding how to change at least three or four things in Jonas’ society (to create a new society). Students will propose these changes as a group with a defense of those changes.
Other Evidence:
Self-assessment rubric for group work
Persuasive essay (individual) on group topic-rubric provided to be used as a baseline for future writing

Stage Three: Learning Plan
Daily details in teacher’s plans