Schedule


 * WEEK ONE**

Introduction to the new unit: -Ask students to write a short paragraph about 9/11 -We will have a group shareout -I will bring to the class' attention how different everyone's writing about 9/11 is -Explain to the students that what they wrote are based on their own perspectives
 * Day 1:**
 * this can include what they know, what they saw, how it makes them feel

-I will assign //Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close// -I will teach students about the author's life HOMEWORK: Students will create a short list of the factors that seem to influence their understandings of 9/11; Students will read first two chapters of //Close//
 * Day 2:**
 * I will explain that for what we are studying, knowing about the author's life is vital in understanding why he presents 9/11 in the manner that he does
 * understanding the author's life may give context to the discourses/frameworks

-I will explain to students how their own personal experiences influence the way they read the world around them -Connect this concept to texts; say, "Every text has an agenda, we have to look at how its constructed" -We will read an article critically (listed in the text set) HOMEWORK: Students will continue reading //Close//
 * Day 3:**
 * -**Students will work in groups to share their lists
 * In groups of 4, students will identify the frameworks and discourses that inform the author's use of information

-I will create a handout and give it out during class with definitions for each HOMEWORK: Students will write a short journal entry on an event in their lives in which they utilize the skills they learned about audience, purpose and tone
 * Day 4:**
 * -**Click here to for today's lesson on audience, purpose, tone

-I will Introduce the literature circle texts -Now that students learned about audience, purpose, tone, we will read //two// articles critically (listed in the text set) RATIONALE FOR THE LIT CIRCLE TEXTS: Each of the texts for literature circles is completely different; I want students to recognize that there are so many different textual portrayals of the same events - what the authors write about is dependent on what message they wish to convey* HOMEWORK: Students will choose their literature text and obtain it; Students will continue reading //Close//
 * Day 5:**
 * -**Explain literature circles and provide handout
 * students will compare and contrast the re-tellings of 9/11 in each article based on what the author chooses to include, chooses not to include and their sources of information
 * students will answer questions relating to audience, purpose and tone (ex. What message is the author trying to make? What are the rhetorical goals in citing that specific information? Who is the author trying to appeal to?)

**WEEK TWO**
In the Computer Lab: -Students will watch the video on conspiracies and then read the description given underneath -Students will explore the link I provided about a list of 9/11 conspiracies -After watching the video, reading its description and exploring the list of conspiracies, students will write one page (in class) on how EITHER of these texts is influenced and motivated by specific agendas HOMEWORK: Students need to have //half// of their literature circle text done by day 10
 * Day 6:**
 * Students will include details about the language* choice and discourses present throughout the video

-I will again review with the class that the author of any text is constructing their information in very intentional ways -This review will transition into reading excerpts from //The Little Chapel That Stood// and //With Their Eyes// (Children's book vs. teenagers' re-tellings of events) HOMEWORK: Students will continue reading //Close// (it must be finished by Day 9)
 * Day 7:**
 * -**Continuing from yesterday, I will review how 9/11 is portrayed as a conspiracy
 * Ask: "Who spreads this information? Why? What are the agendas/motives at work here?"
 * As a class, we will focus on how two different perspectives and intended audiences have completely altered the way in which the authors present the same historical event
 * We will then focus on how the very different intended audiences (children & teenagers) influence how and what information is presented

HOMEWORK: Write a paragraph about how //Close// would be different if there was a different narrator
 * Day 8:**
 * -**Click here to for today's lesson on reliable narrator

-Each group will present their findings, sharing the aspect they found most intriguing HOMEWORK: Students will finish their literature circle book for tomorrow and create a list of topics of discussion for their group meeting
 * Day 9:**
 * -**Socratic Seminar about //Close//
 * On a large piece of paper, students will identify elements of language that the author used to portray their views on 9/11
 * On that same paper, students will also list which discourse(s)/framework(s) motivate the agenda of the text
 * On that same paper, students will identify the perspective, intended audience and ton

//-//Students will spend half of the period, writing a substantive answer to this prompt that is based on their reading of //Close//: "Based on the usage of a young boy's perspective to depict the effects of 9/11, what do you think the author is trying to portray about this historical event? Why? Be sure to comment on the discourses at work here. Use specific textual evidence."
 * Day 10:**
 * -**Students will meet with their literature circles to discuss their findings about //half// of the text
 * This work will be collected at the end of the period

**WEEK THREE**

 * This week's focus will be on the different cultural constructions of historical events**

Day 11: -**Students will do a free-write on how they believe 9/11 affected America -We will have have Socratic Seminars: "Were other countries affected by 9/11? How do you think they would construct 9/11 differently?" HOMEWORK: Bring in 2 articles that illustrates how another country has been affected by the events of 9/11 (Non-Fiction)
 * During this time, I will be grading students based on their participation in the seminar
 * Then, I will be visiting each group to facilitate their conversation

-I will give a short introduction to graphic novels (rationale: the class will be looking at 2 different graphic novels today) -As a class, we will read excerpts from //Pride of Baghdad// and //9/11: Emergency Relief// HOMEWORK: Students will choose to critically read either //Pride// OR //Emergency Relief// in their entirety; These books are short, so the students will finish them by Day 14
 * Day 12:**
 * -**In groups of 4, students will discuss the news articles they brought in
 * 1 student from each group will share out their article with the entire class
 * Students will compare how both of these graphic novels tell such different stories about the same historical events
 * Specifically, students will discuss how this is due to a cultural construction*
 * In groups, students will discuss how the author spreads their message through the use of specific rhetorical devices

HOMEWORK: Students will brainstorm ideas for their essay
 * Day 13:**
 * -**Click here to for today's lesson on the expository essay

-As a class, we will begin by browsing IraqiGirl's blog -I will discuss how the blog has been turned into a full length book -Students will break into groups of 4 and I will hand out a different excerpt from the book, //IraqiGirl//, to each different group HOMEWORK: Students will begin work on their expository essays; Final draft due at the end of WEEK FOUR
 * Day 14:**
 * Students will discuss how the same event is portrayed differently by this author - "What informs this author's views?"
 * Similar to Day 12's discussion, students will focus on how the differences may be due to varying cultural constructions*

-To conclude, say: "Now we know that every text is constructed to represent goals of the author, I hope you learned to read more critically. How and which facts are presented are based on the discourse from which they operate under." HOMEWORK: I will assign a free write for students: "After reading a variety of texts, do you feel as though you have a more comprehensive view on 9/11? How will this unit influence the way you read future texts that attempt to depict historical events?"
 * Day 15:**
 * -**Students will meet with their literature circles to discuss their readings in their entirety
 * Elaborate more based on comments/questions from the students