Divergent Unit Lesson Plan
I developed this unit as part of an English 444 class on Literature in Secondary Schools. This unit was developed under the following conditions:
In the future, I’ll be teaching middle school English. The six week unit plan will take place in my eighth grade class. The class will be comprised of twenty students on the average educational track. Discussion is important in the classroom; therefore, my classroom will be a circle of desks which will encourage open discussion (see Figure 1 for diagram). Class meets Monday through Friday for forty minutes a day. The school year is broken into two semesters. The first semester will focus on Grammar and the second semester will focus on Literature. The six week unit will take place in the second semester and will focus on dystopias. The students will already have a firm basis in Literature. They will have read books such as The Giver by Lois Lowry, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, The Last Dog on Earth by Daniel Ehrenhaft, etc. Students will have explored concrete ethical issues within books. The six week unit plan will be an introduction into the topics of issues within government and societies which will lead into morally gray issues as well as topics such as censorship and banned books. Students will know basic information about dystopias such as the basic definition, as well as, examples of dystopias. Students will also have basic knowledge of Chicago, as the novel is set in a dystopian version of Chicago. The six week unit plan will center on the novel Divergent by Veronica Roth. Divergent has a Lexile rating of HL700L. The Lexile range for eighth grade is 805L to 1100L. While Divergent is slightly below the eighth grade Lexile range, the Lexile rating method does not account for content. Divergent is also rated HL meaning “high-low.” HL books are useful in engaging older struggling or reluctant readers. The Lexile also puts the age range of Divergent at 14-18. Therefore, all of the students, from the brightest to the struggling, will be able to comprehend the text and actively participate in class discussion and activities. The main goals of the unit are as follows: 1. After the six week unit on the novel Divergent, students will be able to define and list examples of dystopias. 2. Students will be able to read fluently. 3. Students will be able to compose their thoughts into coherent and cohesive essays. 4. Students will be able to read critically and relate the text to real life. It is important for students to be able to read and think critically. By delving into some of the morally gray topics presented in Divergent, students will learn to analyze both sides of an argument and evaluate possible outcomes. They will gain an understanding of how to deal with difficult decisions and opinions through this analysis. They will also gain a sense of tolerance, for by understanding both perspectives of an argument, students will be able to comprehend the motivation of both perspectives and respect both opinions. By dealing with the text in a hands-on way, the students will learn how to relate the text to their individual lives and future situations they might be in. Through traditional essays, the students will learn how to compile their thoughts into a comprehensive and cohesive essay that will allow them to write developed thesis statements, as well as, analyze and synthesize the material. |
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