Grade 8:

Unit 8: War on Terror

By the end of the unit, students will answer the following two writing prompts:

What teacher says: You have spent the last 5 weeks studying the War on Terror in print and visual media. You have read about the Patriot Act, and
seen both pro and con positions on the Patriot Act and parts of the Patriot Act. Now you will take a position on this controversial legislation and
defend it.

Prompt: Using all of the text and visuals you have collected, read and annotated in the last few weeks, answer the following question. Do you think the Patriot Act is
unconstitutional and restricts civil liberties, or do you believe it is an important piece of legislation that protects the American people from acts of terrorism? Be
sure to state your claim (opinion), acknowledge counterclaims, and cite evidence from texts and visuals youve read and viewed to support your argument.

Dont forget:
Introduce your claim with precise language and establish the significance of the claim.
Develop the counterclaim fairly, and distinguish your claim from the counterclaim.
Anticipate audience knowledge, concern, and possible biases.
Create cohesion between reasons and evidence and claims and counterclaims.
Maintain a formal style.
Your concluding statement should follow from and support your claim.

Week Mentor text Supplemental
text/Multimedia
Standards Informal
Assessment
Reading Writing Speaking/Listening Language
1
A Young Peoples History of the
United States by Howard Zinn
and Rebecca Stefoff: The War
on Terrorism, pp 394-402
Empty Sky
http://www.scholastic.com/b
rowse/article.jsp?id=3756394
Teens Speak Out
http://www.scholastic.com/b
rowse/article.jsp?id=5307
Collection of age appropriate
articles on 9/11
http://www.scholastic.com/b
rowse/collection.jsp?id=844
Strategy: Determining
Importance:
Annotating

Standards:
RI8.1
RI.8.5 , RI.8.7, RI.8.8,
W.8.1
W.8.4 W.8.5,
W.8.6
W.8.7 W.8.8,
W.8.9
SL.8.1, SL.8.2, SL.8.5,
SL.8.6
L.8.1, L.8.2, L.8.4,
L.8.6
Have students
annotate key
paragraphs as you read
for main concept, and
show how each key
concept relates to the
authors purpose.

2

A Young Peoples History of the
United States by Howard Zinn
and Rebecca Stefoff: Chapter
25: War in Iraq, Conflict at
Home

What War Looks Like
http://www.rethinkingschools.o
rg/war/readings/War172.shtml

Collection of articles on war
and aftermath:
http://www.nytimes.com/lea
rning/issues_in_depth/20030
129.html

Primary sources, including
maps of the region:
http://www.socialstudies.org
/resources/moments

Strategy: Annotate

Standards:
RL.8.1
RL.8.5

W.8.1
W.8.4 W.8.5,
W.8.6
W.8.7 W.8.8,
W.8.9
SL.8.1, SL.8.5, SL.8.6 L.8.1, L.8.2, L.8.4,
L.8.6
Have students
annotate a paragraph
of the chosen text each
day that identify
sentences that cause
significant moments in
the text at the
paragraph level. They
might shift focus or
emphasize a key idea
or event.
3
Student text will be
political cartoons
describing the War on
Terror over time (2001-
present). Students will
research, print and
analyze a series of
cartoons and compare
them to the texts they
have been reading.
How to make a political
cartoon:
http://www.wikihow.co
m/Make-a-Political-
Cartoon
Strategy:Determining
Importance:
Annotating

Strandards:
RL.8.1, RL.8.5 ,
RL.8.7,
W.8.1
W.8.4 W.8.5,
W.8.6
W.8.7 W.8.8,
W.8.9
SL.8.1, SL.8.5, SL.8.6 L.8.1, L.8.2, L.8.4,
L.8.6
Students will compare
the information they
found in text (the past
2 weeks) with the
information presented
in political cartoons
they found during their
research. They will
write a short paper
describing the
advantages and
disadvanages of each
medium in its ability to
present the topic.
4
What is the Patriot Act?
http://people.howstuffwo
rks.com/patriot-act.htm

Patriot Act pro and con:
http://aclu.procon.org/view.que
stions.php?issueID=000082&sub
issueID=000253

Patriot Act Text:
http://aclu.procon.org/s
ourcefiles/PatriotActText
.pdf

Strategy: Compare and
Contrast; Evaluate

Standards:
RL.8.1, RL.8.5 ,
RL.8.9
W.8.1
W.8.4 W.8.5,
W.8.6
W.8.7 , W.8.8
W.8.9
SL.8.1, SL.8.5, SL.8.6 L.8.1, L.8.2, L.8.4,
L.8.6
Do a quick write .Use
the article What is the
Patriot Act? Have
students answer:what
is the key concept of
the first paragraph in
this article? How does
the author develop this
concept sentence by
sentence?
5
Two Views of the Patriot Act:
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion
/openforum/article/2-Views-of-
Anti-Terrorism-Law-PRO-
Key Controverisies of the
Patriot Act:
http://www.npr.org/ne
ws/specials/patriotact/p
Strategy: Synthesis

Standards:
W.8.1
W.8.4 W.8.5,
W.8.6
SL.8.1, SL.8.5, SL.8.6 L.8.1, L.8.2, L.8.4,
L.8.6
Prose constructed
response
Patriot-Act-2589919.php


Patriot Act Infringes on Civil
Liberties:
http://www.easttennessean.co
m/news/view.php/368697/Patri
ot-Act-infringes-on-civil-liberties


atriotactprovisions.html

RL.8.1, RL.8.9, W.8.7 W.8.8,
W.8.9
Additional resources for teachers: Dealing with war, 9/11, fear with students. Includes lesson plans http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev059.shtml
Optional fiction pairing: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765323117
*note: Bold standards indicate when new standard is introduced
**Note: standards highlighted are the focus standards for the week