Curriculum / ELA / 8th Grade / Unit 5: Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions / Lesson 9
ELA
Unit 5
8th Grade
Lesson 9 of 23
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Determine a theme in the short story, "Notes from a Bottle" and explain how the author develops it; identify literary allusions and explain how they help to build meaning in a text.
Article: “Notes from a Bottle” by James Stevenson
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
What theme does Stevenson develop in this text? And although the author of this story does not explicitly mention climate change, how can the theme he develops in this story apply to the current climate crisis? Carefully explain your reasoning and what we can learn from this story today.
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Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
How do the characters in the story initially respond to what is happening? What does this reveal about their perspective? Provide at least three examples from the story to support your answer.
Locate Stevenson's allusion to the biblical story of Noah and the flood. How does this allusion develop meaning in the story? How does your knowledge of the causes and outcome of Noah's story impact your understanding of "Notes from a Bottle"?
How do the characters in the text respond as the flooding continues? What does this reveal about their changing perspective? Provide at least three examples from the story to support your answer.
At the end of the story, Alice MacNeil tries to get everyone to sing "Nearer My God to Me,"—a song that the passengers aboard the Titanic sang as the boat was sinking. How does this allusion to the Titanic develop meaning in the story?
Reread the title (and subtitle) of this story. How does it develop your understanding of the text? What do you think happened? What does it suggest to the reader?
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
allusion
n.
an indirect (implied) reference to something/someone from literature, history, or culture
theme
the author’s message in the text about the way the world works or what it means to be human. Generally applied to literary texts (fiction, poetry, dramatic works)
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RL.8.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.8.9 — Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.8.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
RL.8.1 — Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.8.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RL.8.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6—8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
SL.8.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.8.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
W.8.1 — Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.8.1.a — Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.8.1.b — Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
W.8.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.8.9.a — Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new").
W.8.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Next
Research the possible impacts of climate change and begin to brainstorm aspects of setting for climate fiction narratives.
Explain how specific words, phrases, and structural choices develop tone in Greta Thunberg’s speeches, and how tone impacts meaning.
Standards
RI.8.4
Identify the key ideas Gore uses to support his claims about climate change and assess whether the evidence he provides is relevant and sufficient.
RI.8.8
Identify a writer’s claims in a text and explain how they support those claims, as well as how they respond to conflicting viewpoints.
RI.8.6RI.8.8
Infer the meaning of unknown words using context clues, use reference materials to verify the meaning of words, and explain how word choice develops meaning in an informational article.
L.8.4L.8.4.aL.8.4.cL.8.4.dRI.8.4
Explain how Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner specific words and phrases develop tone in a poem and how tone impacts meaning.
RL.8.4
Write objective summaries and determine central ideas in informational articles.
RI.8.2
Identify claims made in an informational article and assess the relevance and sufficiency of evidence provided to support those claims.
Explain how writer Abby Geni uses imagery and figurative language to establish mood and meaning in a short story.
RL.8.2RL.8.4
RL.8.2RL.8.9
W.8.3W.8.8W.8.9
Draft two paragraphs vividly describing the setting of your climate fiction narrative.
W.8.3W.8.3.aW.8.3.bW.8.3.d
Draft a short climate fiction scene.
W.8.3W.8.3.a
L.8.2L.8.2.aW.8.3W.8.5
Compare and contrast the central arguments of two articles about climate change, and explain how one author acknowledges and responds to viewpoints that differ from their own.
RI.8.6RI.8.9
Determine the central idea of sections of An Inconvenient Sequel and synthesize information in a short presentation that educates classmates.
RI.8.2SL.8.4
Synthesize information about a young climate activist and create a short presentation that educates classmates.
Delineate arguments made about climate change and assess whether the evidence provided is relevant and sufficient.
Engage in a Socratic Seminar with peers, responding directly to others by rephrasing and delineating arguments, determining the strength of evidence, and posing clarifying questions.
SL.8.1SL.8.1.dSL.8.3SL.8.4
Research the potential local impacts of climate change in preparation for writing a letter to a congressperson.
W.8.1W.8.7W.8.8W.8.9
Outline a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1W.8.1.aW.8.1.bW.8.5
Draft a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1W.8.1.aW.8.1.bW.8.1.cW.8.1.e
L.8.3L.8.3.aW.8.1W.8.1.d
2 days
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