Day:  1                               Teacher:  Mr. Ealy

Subject:  Composition      Grade:  11     QCC(s):  39, 46, 61

General Objective:

Students will:

·        Read a wide range of print and non-print texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and of the world.

·        Read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions of human experience.

Introduction:  Today we will begin a new unit, which explores the results of cultures being exposed to other cultures that are different from their own.  The theme of this unit is convergence of cultures.  We will explore the outcome of different cultures being exposed to one another.

Specific Objective:  Students will:

·        Make comparisons, predictions, and draw conclusions.

·        Engage in discussion as speaker and listener, critically and constructively interpreting, analyzing, and summarizing ideas.

·        Organizes, selects, and relates ideas and develops them into coherent, multi-paragraph compositions.

Procedures:   The teacher will:

1.     Introduce the Convergence of Cultures unit plan telling them the stories that will be used for the unit.  To Kill a Mockingbird, “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” “Advancing Luna and Ida B. Wells,” “The Sky Is Gray,” and poetry.

2.     Lead discussions on convergence of cultures and what happens when cultures converge upon one another.

3.     Pass out the syllabus for the unit and read it with the class asking questions to ensure that students understand.

4.     Present 30-minute video of Eyes on the Prize.

5.     Allow students to journal for the last 15 minutes of class.

Closing:  Today we have discussed what the class will be working on for the next three weeks.  The name of the unit plan is convergence of cultures.  This unit ties in with a major writing assignment that will be due the following week after the tree week unit.  Everyone needs to begin reading To Kill a Mockingbird the first third of the book needs to be complete before class Friday.  Remember we will journal for the first fifteen minutes of class everyday.  Tomorrow we will begin with the Journals and we will read “Advancing Luna and Ida B. Wells” by Alice Walker.

Evaluation:  The teacher will observe the students participation through discussion on the mentioned unit and the questions presented by the students.

Materials:  Syllabus, To Kill a Mockingbird, “Advancing Luna and Ida B. Wells,” “The Sky Is Gray,” “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” Poems,

Assignments:  Read To Kill A Mockingbird.

Back-up activity:  Start on one of the assigned poems if there is time left in the class.

Teacher Notes: 

I will start by asking each of the students what the think convergence of cultures mean.  Once that is established we will discuss some of the things that may result from two cultures converging.  I will ask the students if they can give any examples of cultures converging.  I can use the example of the first settlers and how they interacted with the natives.  We could look at the results of the settlers converging with the Native Americans.  I will specifically look at the word culture and ask anyone in the class if they could define the word culture.  I will give the students a general definition of the word culture.  I will pass out the syllabus and ask a volunteer to read the syllabus.  I will continue to ask if anyone has any questions throughout the lesson.  I will ask the students to have in mind how the theme of the unit relates to the segment of Eyes on the Prize they have just viewed.  I will let the students know they can utilize writing in journals to reflect on the readings of this class as well as other classes or other things that are going on.  When you are reading To Kill a Mockingbird you want to look for examples of different cultures converging and the effect it has on all around.

Supplementary Materials:  Copy of the syllabus