Exploring Utopia

A Thematic Study of

Divergent
By Veronica Roth

I
Intentions

Type of Unit: Thematic Study of Divergent by Veronica Roth Learning Outcomes: General Learning Outcomes Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to Comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts. Manage ideas and information. Enhance the clarity and artistry of communication. Respect, support and collaborate with others. Emphasis of Unit: This unit will focus on developing students ability to interact with and comprehend texts. During the unit the students will be required to explore a utopian society and reflect on the qualities they value both in themselves and in society. Essential Questions: What personal qualities and attributes do you value? What qualities and attributes should society value? How can the qualities you have identified as important be developed? Goals: To help the students to determine what they value. To assist the students in their understanding of society and government. To encourage students in their personal development.

Primary Text: Divergent by Veronica Roth

D
Displays

Additional Resources: Alberta Education English Language Arts Program of Studies www.mrsgoughsclass.weebly.com http://www.edhelper.com/books/Divergent.htm http://novelnovice.com/2011/05/25/divergent-by-veronica-roth-essayproject-ideas/ http://prezi.com/vkyuzmr465t9/divergent-characterization-unit-study/ Performance Task: Create Your Own Utopian Society

E
Evaluations

Summative Assessments: Choosing Ceremony Defense Paper Letter Home Fear Exploration Visual Assignment Character Chart Formative Assessments: Weekly Blog Posts Plot Review Questions Aptitude Test: At the beginning of the unit the students will do a quiz to find out which faction they belong to. This activity is meant to give the students a basic understanding of the five factions and the society in the novel.

A
Activities

Choosing Ceremony: After they have completed their aptitude tests the students will choose the faction of their choice. They will have to explain their choice in a short writing assignment. Based on these results the students will be broken into classroom factions that will be used for group reading activities and projects. Presentation of Utopian Societies: At the end of the unit the students will complete the final performance task where they develop a proposal for their own utopian society. They will present them to the rest of the class. By doing this the students develop their speaking strand of literacy.

Rationale

This unit is designed to aid students in their study of the novel Divergent by Veronica Ross. The overall goal of this unit is to allow the students to interact with the novel in a way that will help them develop comprehension skills. They will demonstrate these skills by completing assignments in a variety of mediums; a persuasive essay, personal letter, visual representation, and oral presentation. The novel is very popular and will help to hold the students attention as they learn the skills required of them. Divergent explores many themes that are also highlighted in the grade eight social studies curriculum; therefore the students will be able to apply the themes they are learning about in the novel in multiple contexts. The activities and lessons that I have planned throughout the unit are meant to scaffold the students learning to enable them to complete each of the assessments. When planning the activities I worked backwards from the assessments and asked myself what information and abilities the students would need in order to complete the tasks in the assessment. I believe that this approach helped to ensure that the students understand what is expected of them at each step within their study of Divergent. The assignments themselves are designed to allow for differentiation based on the individual student needs. The primary assessment in the unit is a performance task that allows students to develop a plan for their own utopian society. I believe that this performance task will afford the students a more in depth understanding of the intricate themes that are explored in the novel. Some of the other assessments including the letter home and the defense paper are meant to help the students develop basic communication skills while building their understanding of the events in the novel and the main character. Finally, there are many activities and smaller assignments that have been built into the novel study to help carry the student through the events and plot of the book.

Resources and Materials

Resource Texts Class set of Divergent by Veronica Roth Teaching Resources Alberta Program of Studies retrieved from http://www.learnalberta.ca/ProgramOfStudy.aspx?lang=en&ProgramId=370511# The AAC Rubric Wordsmith from Building Better Rubrics Alberta Assessment Consortium 2009 http://prezi.com/vkyuzmr465t9/divergent-characterization-unit-study/
www.mrsgoughsclass.weebly.com http://www.edhelper.com/books/Divergent.htm http://novelnovice.com/2011/05/25/divergent-by-veronica-roth-essay-project-ideas/

Unit Calendar
16 Introduction to Divergent Movie Trailer Aptitude Test 23 Letter Home Assignment Idea Planning Work Time 17 Faction Values Activity Choosing Ceremony 18 How to Write an Essay Choice Essay Assignment 19 Essay Planning Work Time 20 Essay Writing or Poster Essay?

24 Letter Formatting Work Time

25 Character Chart Activity Work Time

26 Popcorn Reading Work Time

27 Plot Review Questions Work Time

30 Fear Exploration Assignment Reading Circles in Factions Work Time 7 Create Your Own Utopia Formatting Overview

1 Visual Representation Instructions and Planning Work Time 8 Project Scaffolding (Advertising, Persuading)

2 Intro to Story Board That Work Time

3 Work Time

4 Plot Review Questions Work Time

9 Project Scaffolding (Government, Rules)

10 Project Scaffolding (Holidays, Moto)

11 Plot Review Questions Work Time

14 Group Work Time

15 Group Work Time

16 Group Work Time

17 Group Work Time

18 Presentation Skills Activity

21 Presentations

22 Presentations

23 Presentations

24 FLEX

25 FLEX

Assessment Tool Overview

Assessment Tool Title
Why You Chose Your Faction Essay

Specific Outcomes
3.1.1: Focus Attention 3.3.1: Organize Information 4.1.1: Appraise Own and Others Work 4.2.1: Attend to Grammar and Usage 2.4.3: Structure Texts 4.1.5: Enhance Artistry 5.1.4: Use Language to Show Respect 2.3.3: Experiment With Language 2.4.1: Generate Ideas 4.3.2: Enhance Presentation 2.1.1: Use Prior Knowledge 2.1.2: Use Comprehension Strategies 2.1.3: Use Textual Cues 3.1.2: Determine Information Needs 3.3.1: Organize Information 4.1.1: Appraise Own and Others Work 4.3.1: Present Information 4.3.2: Enhance Presentation 4.3.3: Use Effective Oral and Visual Communication 5.2.2:Work in Groups 5.2.3: Evaluate Group Process 1.1.3: Express Preferences 1.2.1: Consider the Ideas of Others 1.2.2: Combine Ideas 2.1.1: Use Prior Knowledge 2.1.2: Use Comprehension Strategies 2.1.3: Use Textual Cues 4.3.4: Demonstrate Attentive Listening and Viewing 5.1.1: Appreciate Diversity 5.2.1: Cooperate With Others

Brief Description
The students will plan and write a defense essay explaining their choice in the choosing ceremony. They will be encouraged to offer at least three reasons for their choice and to offer supporting details for each of the reasons. The student will participate in peer editing to enhance the grammar and usage. After picking the faction of their choice, the students will write a letter home to their families. They will be required to write within the letter format and describe their experiences at their chosen faction. Students will choose three of their top fears. They will answer a variety of questions about their fears and develop a visual representation of these fears and how they might be depicted in their own fear landscape. The students will complete a character chart that highlights each of the characters in the novel, their role and characteristics. This will be an on-going assignment that the students will continually work on as we read through the book. To finish off the novel study the students will develop a plan for their own utopian society. They will work in groups of three to four. They will be required to create a name, logo, declaration of independence, motto, rules, government, invitation to friends, celebrations, and advertisement. Once their assignments are complete they will present their Utopian Societies to the class. Each week, the students will post on an individual blog. Their posts should consist of comments on the novel or specific questions. They will also be required to read and make a substantial comment on their classmates blogs. At different points throughout the unit the students will work through plot review questions to ensure they are following the direction of the novel. The questions will be in the format of google forms. Throughout the unit, the students will participate in many different group activities. Periodically throughout the unit, the students will complete self assessments of their participation based on a rubric.

For

As

Of

15

Letter Home

20

Fear Exploration

20

Character Chart

Create Your Own Utopia

25

Weekly Blog Posts

Plot Review Questions

Participation

Alternatives and Extensions

Divergent by Veronica Roth is a young adult novel. It does have some mature content including tattoos, alcohol, romantic relationships, and some crude language appear at points within. It is important to make sure the students are prepared and at a proper maturity level to participate in reading the novel. There is also a Hollywood Movie of the book being made in 2014. It would be worthwhile to use this movie in the classroom setting to help reinforce the students experience with the novel. This unit is designed for the typical eighth grade classroom. It should be altered for the specific classroom context it will be used in. The number of students, cultural setting, and social context should be considered when using this unit in the actual classroom. This unit focuses on the students role within and view of society. Therefore, depending on the cultural situation the discussions and assignments in the unit should fit the context.

Connections to Other Areas of the Curriculum

Social Studies:
8.S.1 - develop skills of critical thinking and creative thinking: 8.S.4 - demonstrate skills of decision making and problem solving 8.S.5 - demonstrate skills of cooperation, conflict resolution and consensus building: 8.S.6 - develop age-appropriate behavior for social involvement as responsible citizens contributing to their community: 8.S.8 - demonstrate skills of oral, written and visual literacy: 8.S.9 - develop skills of media literacy: