Unit Overview
This unit will definitely offer them the opportunity to approach the curriculum requirements from a thematic perspective. It will also allow me to pursue the goal of making each student a more independent citizen who is sensitive to issues of diversity. My students need to understand the concept of Shakespeare's contemporaneousness through issues that are embedded in our life. Ultimately, they will learn to read the "world" and become independent thinkers.
My curriculum unit will be built around the theme of race and gender and how we use language to communicate these concepts. The essential questions will be: "What is Shakespeare's theory about race? What is Shakespeare's theory about gender? How do they resemble and differ from my own? Why?", "How do race and gender contribute to my individuality?", and "How do certain beliefs become transparent and obvious in the words I use?" Specifically, the unit will start with an activity where the students will reflect and respond to some essential questions: What is your definition of race? What is your definition of gender? I will also expect them to write as many expressions commonly used in referring to race and gender as they can think of, together with detailed examples they can draw from their experiences and observations, as well as from literary works they already studied. They will be given time to share their responses and to prepare a poster we will keep on the board for the duration of the unit with notes from the class discussion. This is an essential step because it will be the focal point we will continuously refer to, revise and improve in order to complete the study of our theme. They will have to analyze their individual example(s) closely and determine how and whether words and/or phrases contribute to the concepts of race and gender. Of course, this pre-reading activity will tap into their prior knowledge, because they will be able to reflect, synthesize and evaluate their "reality." It will place them in Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, since their motivation will be aroused to the point at which they need the teacher's guidance to learn.
After this initial activity, we will read Go Back to Black by K.A. Dilday (The New York Times, February 27, 2008) which illustrates the various terms used to identify the Africans in different countries. K.A. Dilday also explains the reason behind the various choices that have been made, and emphasizes that certain choices like the one to use the term African ignore the experience black people have, which is more a unifying one than a dividing one. This essay will be immediately followed by the letters some readers sent to the editor of The New York Times. I will ask my students to read and identify all the terms that were used to identify a certain group of people and the rationale behind those choices. At this point they will have to choose two terms they deem most interesting and analyze where and how they are currently used. I will require them to research the field of hip-hop and to determine exactly how the term or terms they are focusing on are used, and to consider the eventual effects and causes. This document, as well all the others aforementioned, will follow a precise structure to help my students understand, analyze, discuss, synthesize and evaluate. In fact, I will require them to do the first reading of the written document as homework and to determine the meaning of all the unknown words by either using the context or the dictionary. The first close reading will focus on the technique of highlighting whatever strikes their attention and annotating the text in the margin. Since I will consider different levels for each class, I will include modifications to adjust the activity to the various learning needs. The lowest levels will only have to write brief reflections or questions whereas the most advanced group will also have to identify the thesis statement, main ideas, facts, opinions, tone, purpose, and other features that are relevant to the students.
The second close reading of the document will require the writing of a response that will cover their first reactions, initial understanding, and a more considerate critical stance or discussion of specific features in the documents either identified by the students themselves or specifically chosen by me. For those students who are at a more advanced level, their first response to the documents will analyze the subject, the purpose, the author's thesis and the tone. A thorough discussion will follow with continuous connections to present day reality. A second, more detailed analytical response will follow. The lowest groups of students will evaluate the author's thesis, purpose and tone, whereas the advanced ones will continue to analyze specific features I will determine. To conclude the study of each document, I will ask the students to write a synthesis of the author's perspective. The length and depth of this assignment will vary according to the students' levels. Another section of the same unit will be reserved for the discussion/comparison of the various texts and the development of critical thinking. The unit will be concluded with the writing of a document: a synthesizing essay in which each student will be required to take a precise position about their perspective on race and gender. They will have to document their thesis with facts or details from the various visual and written documents examined and studied in the present unit. I will also require them to prepare a presentation with Power Point slides. The students with special needs will conclude the unit with the Power Point presentation only.
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