DewaltUnitPlanFinal


 * "Does That Make Me Crazy?!"** **11th Grade Unit Plan** **Kyle Dewalt** **Dr. Sherry** **November 11, 2011**

__Does That Make Me Crazy?!__

//A Unit Plan on the mind, sanity, and what makes it go over the edge//


 * Rationale:**

So many people hear the phrase on a daily basis “you’re crazy!” Yet, what does it truly mean to be “crazy?” We of course know of insane asylums, maniacal laughs filling a horror film, and people losing grasp of life and doing things that they normally wouldn’t, but it is interesting to see these people’s lives through their eyes. Many students come in contact with someone who is emotionally unstable. Whether a doctor diagnoses it, of if someone tries to live their every day life, others will notice him or her and how they behave in society. Yet, do we sympathize for them or think that they have done this degeneration to themselves.

Many popular literary works throughout all of American history include a character that is slowly but surely losing grasp on reality and how to live their lives. Whether they begin to hear things like bells in the distance or are behaving irrationally and making things up in their minds like how a sister’s husband is treating her, each character in a sense does not really know that reality is slipping through their hands like sands through an hourglass. They think that the world is turning against them; that people are forgetting how good of a person they are and pushing them aside as delinquents. This too happens in every day life to students. They are of course not going crazy, but they are pushed out of the “popular group” and made an outsider, just like Blanche Dubois in //A Streetcar Named Desire//. Students will find that by reading //The Tell-Tale Heart// by Edgar Allan Poe, they will find a character resisting the fact that he is losing grasp on life and he is does not expect in the least that he is going crazy. Noticing his life slowly going crazy and denying that it is happening is good for students to discover and to keep in mind when encountering this topic in real life so that they are sympathetic to others rather than passing judgments. We will also analyze the script of //Death of a Salesman//. Students will be able to follow the character of Willy Loman and take note to his intriguing self. They will also be able to sympathize with WIlly due to the life that we are informed of throughout the script. I believe that students will really enjoy this play the most because of how in-depth it is and I know that when I first read it, I did not expect the ending to play out the way that it had.

For our main big question then, students will by the end of this unit be able to define what it means to be socially accepted as sane or what level classifies you as crazy. They will be able to accept that while people do differ, being able to identify with characters lives and what they had experienced is vital. Students will also gain an appreciation on how hard these characters lives are and how hard it is to live a daily life with society placing judgments on them. Overall, students will gain new insight into the difference between a play and a novel and how the works are both great to depict a conflict of mental stability. An appreciation for plays will also begin to be fostered, since they are not always taught in depth. By including works by writers and playwrights from different time periods, students will notice differences amongst the different pieces such as settings, character interactions, and language.

Throughout this unit, students will keep daily journals based on class discussions or questions that they may have while reading the texts. They will compile in the end of the unit a portfolio portraying the journals in a creative way with a cover depicting a scene from one of the plays or stories. One of the most important things for students to do is to reflect on what they are learning and writing out their thoughts helps them to work on their communication skills and remember more of the information when it comes time to write a final paper. Students will also be involved heavily in class discussions, debates, and will complete a creative project throughout the unit. By active participation, students will learn to the fullest extent and I will be able to see who is keeping up with the reading and if I may need to go back and reteach certain aspects and lessons. A final paper will also be part of the summative assessment due along with students writing their own play based on sanity, or act out professionally for the class that they find that they like.

In general, I believe that this unit plan is not only creative, but it also deals with an important topic in our society; what is sanity and how does one keep themselves from crossing over to the other side of the norm.

__** Lesson Plans **__



__**Worksheets**__


 * __Final Assessment__**

Now that we have read //A Streetcar Named Desire,// works by Edgar Allan Poe, and //Death of a Salesman//, you have seen characters that have lost their sanity and can be considered to be crazy. What you need to do now, is to do one of the following (and one for extra credit if you would like):

1) You are a news reporter and have just been informed about these people (characters from the works). You are to write an informative news article about the life of the character and what happened to them to make them be shunned by society as "crazy." For example, the narrator of //The Tell-Tale Heart// doesn't believe that he is crazy, so it is your job to prove whether he is or is not. It is up to you to decide how to portray the character based on whether you sympathize or not with the character that has lost their mind. Article should be almost a page in length and should include a visual of a scene from one of the works.

2) With a group, you may write your own play that depicts a character that is mentally unstable and is interacting in society. The play should last 15- 20 minutes and should include props, written copies, stage directions, and should be like a professional play. Scripts may be used during the performance.

3) Take a stance and make your voice clear! From the characters in the different works, chose one or more and compare/ contrast their lives. Don't be afraid to sympathize with the characters and the life that they had to live. Also, don't be afraid to include a modern twist on this and speak up for how students are judged in real life, such as being outcasts for being different. It is up to you for deciding what you want your paper to be based on. It should however, be 3-4 pages in length, follow MLA format, and include evidence from the texts to back up your stance.

4) Create a board game based on one of the works that we studied. The game can be based on an already created board game or it can be an original idea of your own. It should revolve around the main characters of the selected work, include many references to literary elements and scenes in the work, and be neatly organized. Directions on how to play the game must also be included and a box lid depicting a main scene from the work you chose to base the game on.

5) Have a creative idea on a final project? Write down the details of it and I will either approve or deny it!

__** News Paper Article Rubric (Also same for Board Game) **__ Comments:
 * Criteria/Grade || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Structure/Organization || The article is organized logically and is written in a typical news structure. || The article is organized mostly logically and is written in a typical news structure. || The article is disorganized. Does not have a clear focus and is lacking in a typical news format. || The article is very disorganized, and impossible to follow. Does not have a focus and does not follow a typical news format. ||
 * Audience and Opinion || The articles tone, style, and content are appropriate for the audience. Opinion is clear and backed up. || The articles tone, style, and content are mostly appropriate for the audience. Opinion is mostly clear and backed up. || The articles tone, style, and content are sometimes appropriate for the audience. Opinion is not really clear and lacks evidence. || The articles tone, style, and content are inappropriate for the audience. No clear opinion or evidence. ||
 * Visual Scene || The article includes a scene that depicts the character through relevance to the argument clearly. Effort and detail are present. || The article includes a scene that depicts the character and is mostly relevant to the argument. Effort and detail are present. || The article includes a scene, but it lacks depiction that is relevant to the argument. Effort and detail are lacking. || The article does not include a scene depiction or relevance and has no effort or detail. ||
 * Conventions || Proper grammar, mechanics, and usage make article easy to understand without confusing the audience. || Article is mostly easy to understand but there are a few errors present. || Article has improper grammar, mechanics, and is slightly confusing. || Errors in grammar, mechanics, and/or usage lead to severe audience confusion, making the article incomprehensible. ||

__** Play Writing Rubric **__ Comments:
 * Criteria/Grade || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Structure/Organization || The play is organized logically and is written in a typical script structure. || The play is organized mostly logically and is written in a typical script structure. || The play is disorganized. Does not have a clear focus and is lacking in a typical script format. || The play is very disorganized, and impossible to follow. Does not have a focus and does not follow a typical script format. ||
 * Audience and Relevance || The plays tone, style, and content are appropriate for the audience. Content is relevant to the unit. || The plays tone, style, and content are mostly appropriate for the audience. Content is mostly relevant to the unit. || The plays tone, style, and content are sometimes appropriate for the audience. Content is slightly relevant to the unit. || The plays tone, style, and content are inappropriate for the audience. Content is not relevant to the unit. ||
 * Visuals & Presentation || The play includes props and staging and is professionally performed to the audience. || The play includes props and staging and is mostly performed professionally to the audience. || The play has some props and staging. Appears to be directed to the audience but lacks professionalism. || The play does not include props or staging. Is unprofessional and not performed to the audience. ||
 * Content || Relates to the Big Question and unit focus. || Play mostly relates to the Big Question and unit focus. || Play slightly relates to the Big Question and unit focus. || Play does not relate to the Big Question or unit focus. ||

__** Essay Rubric **__ Comments:
 * Criteria/Grade || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Structure/Organization || The essay is organized logically. The essay has smooth transitions, introductions, and conclusions. || The essay is organized mostly logically has smooth transitions, introductions, and conclusions. || The essay is disorganized. Transitions, introductions, and conclusions are missing, choppy, or distracting. || The essay is very disorganized, making it impossible to follow. Transitions, introductions, and conclusions are missing, choppy, or distracting. ||
 * Knowledge of Audience || The essay’s tone, style, and content are appropriate for an audience of formal writing setting. || The essay’s tone, style, and content are mostly appropriate for an audience of formal writing setting. || The essay’s tone, style, and content are sometimes appropriate for an audience of formal writing setting. || The essay’s tone, style, and content are inappropriate for an audience of 11th grade peers in a formal writing setting. ||
 * Content & Relevance || The essay is relevant to the unit and includes content appropriate to the argument. || The essay is mostly relevant to the unit and mostly includes content appropriate to the argument. || The essay is slightly relevant to the unit and has a slight argument present. || The essay is not relevant to the unit and does not have a present argument. ||
 * Conventions || Proper grammar, mechanics, and usage make essay easy to understand without confusing the audience. || Essay is mostly easy to understand but there are a few errors present, distracting the audience. || There is enough error to cause the audience to have difficulty understanding the essay. || Errors in grammar, mechanics, and/or usage lead to severe audience confusion, making the essay incomprehensible. ||


 * __Reflection__**

I have to say that I really enjoyed making this unit play. It was at first difficult for me to decide on which works I had wanted to use. I had originally started with just one text, but then as I began to do more and more work on the unit, I grew to four really great texts that I felt all had similar themes and ideas. I really think that my Big Question and unit goals of "to define what it means to be socially accepted as sane or what level classifies you as crazy. They will be able to accept that while people do differ, being able to identify with characters lives and what they had experienced is vital. Students will also gain an appreciation on how hard these characters lives are and how hard it is to live a daily life with society placing judgments on them. Overall, students will gain new insight into the difference between a play and a novel and how the works are both great to depict a conflict of mental stability. An appreciation for plays will also begin to be fostered, since they are not always taught in depth. By including works by writers and playwrights from different time periods, students will notice differences amongst the different pieces such as settings, character interactions, and language." were really great and that students would be able to really relate to them. I also felt that it was an exciting unit focus and approach to have to bring together these really great American works.

One great aspect of my unit plan is that it all seems to have a great amount of relevance and it scaffolds throughout each lesson. Each lessons seem to build upon each other and that is really great for the students in the class to be able to keep up with what you are teaching. I also included many outside sources and had a diversity of activities geared towards the utmost extent of student learning. My favorite activities are the web quest and the Law and Order lesson. Many students would have already seen the show and have at least and understanding of what it is about, so then the activity would have broadened their appreciation for the show and also bring together the units main focus.

While I am very glad with how my unit plan has turned out, I do have some concerns with it. They are typical concerns however that any teacher would have when creating a unit plan. Some of my concerns are what do I do if an activity fails? What to do if students need more time or a different activity to reinforce what I have taught them? Have I assigned too much reading in and outside of the classroom? How do I make sure that each student is at the same level throughout the whole unit? I believe that each of these concerns is legitimate and that they are common and can only be answered through experience and careful consideration, of which every teacher goes through year after year with their own units.

Overall, most of the changes came from the feedback that Dr. Sherry provided to me. It was very helpful and I think that it really helped me to create a very profound unit plan throughout the semester. I think that this assignment to create a unit plan really helped me to become more prepared for the spring when I will be student teaching. I have learned how to compile more than just a few lesson plans to create a comprehensive unit plan. I learned how to scaffold throughout the different lessons and to try my hardest to make each lesson relate back to each other and to have relevance to a Big Question and unit goals. In general, this assignment has me feeling less worried about student teaching and I think that I now have the skills to create unit plans in my future career and to teach students in creative and meaningful ways so that why learn the needed materials.



back to personal page