Curriculum / ELA / 9th Grade / Unit 1: Me, Myself, and I: Examining Personal Identity in Short Texts / Lesson 20

Me, Myself, and I: Examining Personal Identity in Short Texts

Lesson 20

ELA

Unit 1

9th Grade

Lesson 20 of 20

The unit's Socratic Seminar and Performance Task are the primary assessments in this unit. The following additional assessments also accompany Unit 1. For more guidance, see the Summative Assessments Teacher Tool.

Warm Read Assessment

The Warm Read Assessment measures students' ability to apply the core reading standards and their knowledge from the unit to comprehend new, topically or thematically aligned texts. It includes multiple choice and an optional on-demand essay.

Vocabulary Assessment

The Vocabulary Assessment measures students' acquisition of text-based vocabulary words from the unit.

Lesson 19

Lesson Map

Understand the definition of personal identity and social identity in order to create an identity map.

Standards

RI.9-10.1RI.9-10.2SL.9-10.1

Analyze how Susan Cain's tone impacts her argument and purpose.

“Introduction”

Standards

RI.9-10.4RI.9-10.5RI.9-10.6

Determine an author's attitude towards introversion or extroversion.

“I'm Nobody! Who are you?”
“Introduction” pp. 1–15

Standards

RI.9-10.2RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.4

Analyze how Rudy Francisco uses specific personal details and figurative language to develop his central idea.

“My Honest Poem”

Standards

L.9-10.5RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4

Plan and write a free verse poem about visible and invisible aspects of your identity using first-person point of view, vivid details, and figurative language.

Standards

W.9-10.3W.9-10.4W.9-10.5

Analyze how diction establishes and shifts the mood in a poem to convey meaning.

“Counterfactual”

Standards

RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Analyze how narrative point of view and story structure shape the reader's understanding of a story's ending.

Fresh Ink: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology pp. 194–209 — Short Story: "Super Human" by Nicola Yoon

Standards

RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.5W.9-10.3

Analyze how the author uses literary devices to convey the boy's complex experience as a child of immigrant parents.

“(citizen)(illegal)”

Standards

L.9-10.5RL.9-10.4RL.9-10.5

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Analyze how the motif of dreams communicates an important theme from the story.

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity pp. 63–72 — Short Story: “Trev” by Jacqueline Woodson

Standards

RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4

Engage in a small group hexagonal discussion to make connections between texts read so far in the unit.

“Introduction” — "Introduction"
“I'm Nobody! Who are you?”
“My Honest Poem”
“Counterfactual”
Fresh Ink: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology pp. 194–209 — Short Story: "Super Human" by Nicola Yoon
“(citizen)(illegal)”
How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity pp. 63–72 — Short Story: “Trev” by Jacqueline Woodson

Standards

RI.9-10.1RL.9-10.1SL.9-10.1.aSL.9-10.1.bSL.9-10.1.cSL.9-10.1.dW.9-10.1

Write an informative paragraph reflecting on how a unit text is a mirror or a window into one's identity.

Day 1 - Planning

Generate ideas by taking notes on Unit 1 texts, and write an informative topic sentence.

Writing Prompt and Rubric Handout (G9, U1, L11)
Windows and Mirrors Graphic Organizer (G9, U1)
Informative Paragraph Outline (G9, U1, L11)
Topic Sentence Practice Page (G9, U1, L11)

Standards

W.9-10.2.aW.9-10.4W.9-10.5

Day 2 - Outlining

Identify a quotation and an anecdote that effectively support the main idea of a topic sentence.

Informative Paragraph Outline (G9, U1, L11)
MLA Citation Guide (G9)

Standards

W.9-10.2.bW.9-10.9

Day 3 - Drafting

Transform an outline into a coherent paragraph that includes a topic sentence, evidence, explanation, and a last sentence.

Informative Paragraph Outline (G9, U1, L11)
Paragraph Structure Practice Handout (G9, U1, L11)
Paragraph Structure: Highlighted Student Sample (G9, U1, L11)

Standards

W.9-10.2W.9-10.2.f

Analyze how the author uses symbolism to reveal Jack's conflict with his cultural identity.

“The Paper Menagerie”

Standards

RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4RL.9-10.5

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Analyze how an author's choices for narrative point of view and structure develop a text’s theme.

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity pp. 7–21 — Short Story: “A Word from the Nearly Distant Past” by David Levithan

Standards

RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.5

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Analyze how an author uses characterization to reveal a character’s relationship with personal and social identity.

“Borders”

Standards

RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.5RL.9-10.6

Analyze how the author uses diction and figurative language to show contrasting perspectives on the speaker's hair.

“Hair”
“Hair”

Standards

L.9-10.5RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3RL.9-10.4

Identify a speaker's purpose by analyzing the rhetorical choices the speaker makes to achieve that purpose.

“Our fight for disability rights—and why we're not done yet”

Standards

RI.9-10.6SL.9-10.3

progress
monitoring

progress
monitoring

Socratic Seminar

Prepare for a Socratic Seminar on overarching questions about Unit 1.

Standards

RI.9-10.1RI.9-10.2RL.9-10.1RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3W.9-10.1

Socratic Seminar

Formulate and share unique arguments about meaning in and across all texts from Unit 1. Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a summative Socratic Seminar.

Standards

SL.9-10.1.aSL.9-10.1.bSL.9-10.1.cSL.9-10.1.d

Write an informative essay reflecting on how unit texts are mirrors and/or windows into one's identity.

Day 1 - Outlining

Develop an informative, specific, and supportable thesis statement and corresponding topic sentences.

Performance Task Prompt and Rubric Handout (G9, U1)
Windows and Mirrors Graphic Organizer (G9, U1)
Writing a Thesis Statement/Topic Sentences Practice Handout (G9, U1, L19)
Informative Essay Outline (G9, U1, L19)

Standards

W.9-10.2.aW.9-10.2.bW.9-10.5

Day 2 - Language Lesson

Outline body paragraphs by selecting evidence that effectively supports the topic sentence, as well as introducing quotations with context punctuated by a colon.

Informative Essay Outline (G9, U1, L19)

Standards

L.9-10.2.bW.9-10.2

Day 3 - Drafting

Write strong body paragraphs by incorporating language that draws comparisons or contrasts between unit texts and personal identity.

Informative Essay Outline (G9, U1, L19)
Compare and Contrast Language Practice Page (G9, U1, L19)

Standards

W.9-10.2W.9-10.2.d

Day 4 - Drafting

Write an introduction paragraph that includes a hook, introductory information, and a thesis statement.

Informative Essay Outline (G9, U1, L19)
Types of Hooks Handout (G9)

Standards

W.9-10.2.aW.9-10.5

Day 5 - Peer Review

Provide feedback on a peer's writing and then use peer feedback to improve one's own writing.

Guide to Effective Feedback Handout (G9–12)
Performance Task Prompt and Rubric Handout (G9, U1)

Standards

L.9-10.2.bW.9-10.2W.9-10.4W.9-10.5

2 days

If additional assessment is needed, use the Warm Read and/or Vocabulary Assessments to gauge student understanding of unit content and skills.

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