LeeIndividualUnitPlanRationale

=Facing Tough Issues=

This unit will focus on tough issues and decisions that teenagers are confronted and affected by that can be life altering and change the students' outlook on certain things. Teenagers are exposed to issues and challenges every day, such as peer pressure, rape, and even death whether it is family or friends. I believe that this unit will help show students the impact that these issues have on their lives and the lives of others and the aftermath that they are left to confront and deal with. Students will not only read three novels and complete the assigned work, but they will be exposed to mature issues that exist in the world we live in.

The three texts that we will be dealing with throughout the unit are //Speak// by Laurie Halse Anderson, //Go Ask Alice// by Anonymous, and //Tears of a Tiger// by Sharon Draper. //Speak// is a well known novel that deals with the issue of rape. It also encompasses the feeling of loneliness that many teenagers feel throughout their time in high school. This novel ultimately shows that the phrase “never judge a book by its cover” is true because you never know what another person is actually going through. //Go Ask Alice// is an anonymous diary of a young girl who unknowingly at first gets mixed up in drugs and recounts her journey as it is actually happening. This true story shows students exactly what is going through a teenager’s mind when they are hooked on drugs. //Tears of a Tiger// is a novel about a young boy, Andy, who drinks and drives and watches his best friend die. Andy experiences a downward spiral after this awful incident that results in him committing suicide. All three of these novels deal with tough and serious issues that can at any time be a reality for one of your students.

Most of the reading will be assigned for the completion outside of class so when we are in the classroom we are going over the novels and issues at hand. Students will be assessed throughout the unit through classroom discussion in small groups and as a whole class. In class activities will be assigned too, such as free writing assignments and group work. Reading questions will also be assigned periodically throughout the unit and collected to make sure students are keeping up with the reading and to get feedback on how the students are viewing and reacting to these mature issues. After reading //Speak// students will have to write a short paper. After all the lessons of the unit are completed there is be an end of unit examination.

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