Curriculum / ELA / 10th Grade / Unit 1: Altruism and Interconnectedness in Short Texts / Lesson 10
ELA
Unit 1
10th Grade
Lesson 10 of 11
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Formulate and share unique arguments about meaning across Unit 1 texts. Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a summative Socratic Seminar.
Excerpt: SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Chapter 3)
Excerpt: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Klimmerer (pp. 105-117)
Short Story: “A&P” by John Updike
Excerpt: Justice by Michael J. Sandel
Poem: “The World is Too Much With Us” by William Woodsworth
Letter: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Essay: “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation” by John Lewis
Public Statement: “A Call for Unity” by Alabama Clergymen
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Key thinking students do about today's reading.
Martin Luther King Jr. tells us that “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be...This is the interrelated structure of reality.” Which narrator, character, or speaker is most aligned with Martin Luther King Jr.’s claims? The least? Use evidence from both “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and the supplemental texts to support.
What are all of these texts saying about the individual’s responsibility to society? Society’s responsibility to the individual? The factors that motivate people to act in the best interest of others? What synthesizing theme can we walk away with? How should we apply this to our year together? Use evidence from all texts to support your answer.
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
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LO 5.1A — Extend the conversation around an idea, topic, or text by formulating questions and recognizing the claims and perspectives of others.
LO 5.1B — Cite relevant evidence and evaluate the evidence presented by others.
RI.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.9-10.6 — Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.9-10.2 — Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
Lesson 9
Lesson 11
Introduction
Synthesize ideas from excerpts from Justice and SuperFreakonomics to formulate an argument about altruism.
LO 1.1A LO 1.4B RL.9-10.1
Close Reading
Determine the audience's needs, values, and beliefs in John Lewis’s farewell essay and examine the rhetorical strategies that compel his audience to action.
LO 1.2B RI.9-10.6
Identify and analyze the rhetorical situation and key diction choices in “A Call for Unity.” Craft an argument about the extent to which the public statement is ethical.
LO 1.2B LO 2.3A RI.9-10.6 W.9-10.2.a
Analyze how King’s rhetorical strategies address his audience’s needs, values, and beliefs.
Socratic Seminar
Analyze how King achieves his authorial purpose by identifying and interpreting his rhetorical strategies.
Assessment: Free Response
Analyzes the rhetorical choices that Lewis or King makes to convey his message about the importance of unifying in response to injustice.
LO 2.2B LO 2.3A LO 2.3C LO 2.3D RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.6 W.9-10.2
Analyze Sammy’s characterization and narrative perspective to unpack central ideas in “A&P.”
LO 1.3B RL.9-10.3
Analyze the speaker’s perspective and poetic form to convey central ideas about interconnectedness in “The World is Too Much with Us.”
LO 1.3A RL.9-10.3
Analyze how the author uses the juxtaposition between "The Pledge of Allegiance" and the Thanksgiving address to convey central ideas about gratitude and interconnectedness in the excerpt from Braiding Sweetgrass.
Assessment: Socratic Seminar
LO 5.1A LO 5.1B RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.6 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 SL.9-10.1 SL.9-10.2
Assessment: Performance Task – 4 days
Complete the performance task to show mastery of unit content and standards.
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