High School Resources

[Robert Rozema]

Use this forum item to share your best resources--unit plans, lesson plans, writing invitations, or other ideas that have worked for you in a high school setting.

Just reply to this discussion item with a brief description of your resource (e.g., American Literature--Great Gatsby Unit Plan) and then attach any files that go along with it. Ideally, we'll have a rich archive for new and veteran teachers alike. Be sure to include your name, and be sure to credit any resources you use from this site.

[Zach Harney]

Hello,
My name is Zach Harney and I have created and uploaded my conceptual unit on Human Suffering in War for an 11th grade English class using graphic novels. All of the needed documents are contained within the one document. Auschwitz

My unit plan uses two different graphic novels as texts, which are Maus and Barefoot Gen. The use of graphic novels will interest students that may not be engaged by other types of texts. This unit draws upon the personal experiences from WWII. Maus tells the story of a Jewish man going through the Holocaust and even into Auschwitz, while Barefoot Gen is a chronicle of a young boy in Hiroshima before and after the atomic bomb was dropped. Using these intensely personal stories as texts will open room for discussion of extremely important and relevant topics. I have included daily writing journal prompts, daily online discussion questions, and additional materials.

[Sara Kiel]

My name is Sara Kiel and I am uploading a two-week unit entitled “dis/connect: how technology is redefining what it means to be human,” centered around MT Anderson’s Feed, a futuristic novel where technology and consumerism has entered every part of human existence.

The first week of the unit connects students into the text, asking them to make connection to the futuristic nature of the book, the technology and language Anderson invents and the characters’ experience on and off the “feed.” In the second week, we will use the text to explore whether technology is a positive or negative influence on aspects of our own humanity—education, communication, identity, and compassion for others. The unit culminates in students leading a Socratic seminar to explore these issues. Students will be assessed through a blog they post entries to throughout the unit as well as through their participation in the socratic seminar.

Enjoy!

[Melanie Rabine]

Hello,
My name is Melanie Rabine and this is my conceptual unit, "America the Beautiful: An Analysis of American Society through John Steingbeck's Of Mice and Men." This unit is designed for an Advanced American Literature course for 11th Grade students.

The idea is that through this unit, students will be exposed to the structure of American society: classism, racism, sexism, ageism...etc and how they influence the distribution of power. By examining the relationships between Steinbeck's characters, students will have the opportunity to exam how their lives coincide (or do not coincide) with such issues. My hope is that my lessons would encourage students to learn more about their surroundings in order to find their places within it.

[Kelly Butcher]

Hi Everybody.

This is Kelly Butcher, and my conceptual unit plan was on Creation Myths Around the World. In this unit students will be reading six short creation myths to learn about ancient cultures as well as cultural awareness in the society around them. The unit has class and small group discussions, factsheets to help with note taking, and a creative writing assignment that allows students to construct their own creation myth.

[Nick Assaf]

Hi everyone,

My name is Nick Assaf and I am a student of Professor Rozema's English 311 class. I have centered my unit around Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. In this unit, as a class, we discuss and bust stereotypes, look at outside factors that effect our identities, and examine different social contexts that affect our lives.
I've tried to use some interesting supplemental texts such as student made poetry, blogs, eHow advice, and older Indian Literature to help students dive deeper into the story world.
Many of the assignments focus on reader response as I feel this is the best way to approach a novel that is written in the form of a journal. Students will be assessed through a combination of creative writing, personal response, as well as participation in our virtual classroom.

[Katelyn Wood]

Here's a different compressed/zipped fie if the rar file doesn't work.

Thanks!
Katelyn Wood

Katelyn Wood said:

Hi all,

My name is Katelyn Wood, and I've created a conceptual unit entitled "Mystery and Symbolism in American Literature:
Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe" for a 10th grade American Literature class.

My goal concerning this unit was to create some fun activities centered around the beginning of the mystery genre in 1800s American literature as well as focusing on symbolism and how word choice and narrators can make all the difference in how a story is read and understood.

[Kelly Pavlovic]

I have written a conceptual unit plan titled, "Identity and Self Discovery As Taught Through Literature" for eleventh grade students. In the lesson, I use Sandra Cisnero's The House on Mango Street, Sherman Alexie's short story,"Traveling" and the poems "Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Clifton and "St. Roach" by Muriel Rukeyser to identify what an identity is, what factors influence an identity, and how people can form their own identities.
I chose this theme because I feel that students are taking on an identity rather than making their own. I want students to begin thinking about their own identity before one is put on them. I want students to realize that their identity influences the choices that they make in life and that they infact do have control over who they are as a person.
Kelly Pavlovic

[melanie Vandenberg]

Hello,
I am Melanie VandenBerg and I have created a conceptual unit plan on Coming Of Age. It is a two week lesson plan; a total of 10 lessons. I used many different style's of literature because the students create a multi-genre project. The students will get a better understanding of themselves by writing about them with prompts from the readings.The multi-genre writings gives the students a chance to experiment with different styles, and find the style they prefer. The focus I have is for students to discover themselves with encouragement to do great things.

[Kelly Pavlovic]

I created a unit plan called "Identity and Self-Discovery". In the unit I use the novel The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the short story "Traveling" by Sherman Alexie, and two other poems. My goal in this unit is to open students' minds to what factors lead to a person's identity and how to take control over what shapes their own. Projects included in this unit are a blog, a final multi-genre project, and other various writings.

[Stasha Simon]

Hello!

My name is Stasha Simon. I teach at the Public Schools of Petoskey. I have created an extended unit titled "I Just Don't Understand You" for Honors sophomores--this is loosely based on a series of guest articles that ran in one of the Detroit papers a couple decades ago, although I no longer use those articles. I use a variety of sources Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, various speeches of President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush, "On the Rainy River" and excerpt from Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried, a short story by David McLean Marine Corps Issue, a short story titled Bluestown, the short story Am I Blue?, a lot of poetry, always "Ballad of Birmingham," I try to work in literature of some kind that has the theme and shows the elderly generation and the youth generation at odds, I also use the Tim Burton movie Big Fish,and various other timely articles, etc.

Much of the tweaking of the unit changes from year to year, depending upon the current conversations taking place in the media. Probably some of the best writing comes from this unit because the students completely invest as the topic is something that they can completely understand. The students appreciate being immersed in something of King's beyond his "I have a Dream" speech. Depending upon what the students have identified as their "I Just Don't Understand You" topics is how I guide/groom the unit.

I strongly believe that it is connecting with the students beliefs, struggles, etc. and accepting them as life struggles is what makes this unit successful. I try to leave the "preaching" out and let the students reach the epiphanies. It is an incredible unit and I strongly urge all that teach sophomores to try it. It can work with every piece of literature we cover at the sophomore level. Students don't always realize it, but it is really the underlying theme of the entire year.

Enjoy! You may contact me if you would like further information on this unit.

[Robert Rozema]

Wow, Stasha, this sounds like an incredible unit plan. Thanks for contributing it!

Stasha Simon said:

Hello!

My name is Stasha Simon. I teach at the Public Schools of Petoskey. I have created an extended unit titled "I Just Don't Understand You" for Honors sophomores--this is loosely based on a series of guest articles that ran in one of the Detroit papers a couple decades ago, although I no longer use those articles. I use a variety of sources Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, various speeches of President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush, "On the Rainy River" and excerpt from Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried, a short story by David McLean Marine Corps Issue, a short story titled Bluestown, the short story Am I Blue?, a lot of poetry, always "Ballad of Birmingham," I try to work in literature of some kind that has the theme and shows the elderly generation and the youth generation at odds, I also use the Tim Burton movie Big Fish,and various other timely articles, etc.

Much of the tweaking of the unit changes from year to year, depending upon the current conversations taking place in the media. Probably some of the best writing comes from this unit because the students completely invest as the topic is something that they can completely understand. The students appreciate being immersed in something of King's beyond his "I have a Dream" speech. Depending upon what the students have identified as their "I Just Don't Understand You" topics is how I guide/groom the unit.

I strongly believe that it is connecting with the students beliefs, struggles, etc. and accepting them as life struggles is what makes this unit successful. I try to leave the "preaching" out and let the students reach the epiphanies. It is an incredible unit and I strongly urge all that teach sophomores to try it. It can work with every piece of literature we cover at the sophomore level. Students don't always realize it, but it is really the underlying theme of the entire year.

Enjoy! You may contact me if you would like further information on this unit.

[Stasha Simon]

Rob,
The students usually really enjoy it because I begin with honoring what they do so well at that age--complain! They get to list all of the things that they don't understand about themselves, life, school, parents, politics, etc. which generates some interesting discussions. I use that to decide how things should be tailored for the year.

I do believe that living in Northern Michigan has wonderful advantages, but for many students it is a little too isolating. Exposing them to interesting concepts through this lesson seems to make some of them think about their preconceived notions. It always helps when the political arena or Hollywood throws in some timely topics, which I can count on every year!

Robert Rozema said:

Wow, Stasha, this sounds like an incredible unit plan. Thanks for contributing it!

Stasha Simon said:

Hello!

My name is Stasha Simon. I teach at the Public Schools of Petoskey. I have created an extended unit titled "I Just Don't Understand You" for Honors sophomores--this is loosely based on a series of guest articles that ran in one of the Detroit papers a couple decades ago, although I no longer use those articles. I use a variety of sources Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, various speeches of President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush, "On the Rainy River" and excerpt from Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried, a short story by David McLean Marine Corps Issue, a short story titled Bluestown, the short story Am I Blue?, a lot of poetry, always "Ballad of Birmingham," I try to work in literature of some kind that has the theme and shows the elderly generation and the youth generation at odds, I also use the Tim Burton movie Big Fish,and various other timely articles, etc.

Much of the tweaking of the unit changes from year to year, depending upon the current conversations taking place in the media. Probably some of the best writing comes from this unit because the students completely invest as the topic is something that they can completely understand. The students appreciate being immersed in something of King's beyond his "I have a Dream" speech. Depending upon what the students have identified as their "I Just Don't Understand You" topics is how I guide/groom the unit.

I strongly believe that it is connecting with the students beliefs, struggles, etc. and accepting them as life struggles is what makes this unit successful. I try to leave the "preaching" out and let the students reach the epiphanies. It is an incredible unit and I strongly urge all that teach sophomores to try it. It can work with every piece of literature we cover at the sophomore level. Students don't always realize it, but it is really the underlying theme of the entire year.

Enjoy! You may contact me if you would like further information on this unit.