Student Outcomes

Unit Description

This novel based, language arts unit looks to help all students improve their descriptive and narrative writing skills. Using Gary Paulsen's novel, Woodsong, Students will identify the characteristics of a memoir, examine cause-and-effect relationships in the story, develop comprehension skills by visualizing the story while reading, learn Tier Two vocabulary, and use the reading selection as a model for writing a personal memoir.
· Book Introduction
· Chapter Discussion Questions
· Chapter Vocabulary List
· Ongoing Activity – Creating a Journal
· Culminating Activity – Presentation of Personal Memoir

Overall Lessons Description:
A fifteen day unit in language arts development, involves students participating in a literature circle where each student will have the opportunity to explore their views of the novel, Woodsong. Students will also be creating and developing a journal based on research collecting, observations, small and large group discussions. Finally, this group of lessons looks to develop social interactions with peer students, to discuss and explore concepts from the book, extend reading comrehension through vocabulary learning, and generate ideas from the novel. A final project will culminate in students presenting their personal memoir.

Massachusetts Dept. of Education English Language Arts Curriculum Framework

General Standard 2: Questioning, Listening, and Contributing

2.1 Contribute knowledge to a class discussion in order to develop a topic for a project.

2.4 Integrate relevent information gathered from group discussions and interviews for reports.

2.5 Summarize a coherent and organized way information and ideas learned from a focused discussion.

2.6 Analyze differences in responses to focused group discussion in an organized and systematic way.

General Standard 24: Research

24.1 Generate questions and gather information from several sources in a classroom, school, or public library.

Unit Goals:

The entire unit looks to complete the following goals:

1. Students will be able to review, recall, and reflect important ideas from the novel.

2. Students will learn how to communicate effectively during group discussions.

3. Students will be able to analyze what they've learned, based on a voluntarily chosen "job" within the small groups.

4. Each student will be able to journal their self-learning through the readings and small group discussion.

5. Each student will present to the class a personal memoir based on one important event in his/her life.