Unit Title: Identity: The Journey to Finding Self (Personal Narratives)

Grade level: 12
Length of unit: 4 weeks
Stage 1 Desired Results
Meaning
Enduring Understandings/Generalizations:

Essential Questions:

Personal narratives tell the story of an event that happened to a

person.

How can you write about yourself in a way that will draw an audience in?

What gains an audience interests in literature?

How do you identify yourself?

Identity is not a stagnant state of being.

When did you know who you were?

All people find themselves in a different moment.

Have you always been the same person you are today?

Another persons story can inspire another person or a generation to

search for something more.

Knowledge & Skills Acquisition

Learning Goals: (e.g., Iowa/Common Core standards.)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and
well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.4- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose,
and audience
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6- Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response
to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.5- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing
on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.10- Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a
single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3- Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.9- Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American
literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

Students will know

Vocabulary: identity, journey
Terminology: personal narratives, literary nonfiction, audience,
literary devices, secondary source, primary source,
chronological order, epigraph
It takes time to develop a self-identity
How to write a personal narrative
How to gain the interest of an audience
How to publish writing on a wiki page

Students will be able to

Identify personality traits, beliefs, values, and goals they have
Evaluate how to reach an audience and gain readership
Determine a moment that shaped them into the person they are
Create a personal narrative about the moment they knew who they are and
wanted to be
Outline the sources needed to make Into the Wild a credible source
Critique the purpose of not following a chronological order when writing
a narrative
Analyze the different techniques and strategies that draw an audience into
a piece of literature

Resources/Materials:
Novels (whole source or passages)Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Family Life by Leo Tolstoy
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
The Dead Father by Donald Barthelme
Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard
Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid by Ralph Fletcher
Other Resources (Articles/ Poems/ Video Clips)Original Article about Christopher McCandlesss Death from Outside
Video Clips from the Into the Wild movie
Lesson from poetryinvoice.com (http://www.poetryinvoice.com/node/3374) Danse Russe by William Carlos Williams, Introduction to Poetry by
Billy Collins, Plenty by Kevin Connolly, Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson, Saguaro by Brenda Hillman, Self-Portrait by Robert
Creeley,The New Experience by Suzanne Buffam,The Powwow at the End of the World by Sherman Alexie, Paper: 8.5x11 inches and poster size,
Markers, Enlarged copies of three to four poems for group work
MaterialsWiki Spaces to Publish Personal Narratives
Structure of Personal Narrative PDF from Santa Barbara City College
Graphic Organizers
Journals
Computers
List of literary devices
Cliff Notes timeline of Into the Wild
Stage 2 Evidence (Assessment)

Types of assessment:
Pre-assessment:

This unit will use personal communication to informally assess how students identify themselves before learning that identity is developed
through experience. Students will be paired up by gender and answer interview questions about them. Students will reflect on who they think
they are after interview.

To pre-assess students knowledge on personal narrative structures and techniques students would complete a non-graded quiz the week before
the unit started.

If any students have mastered the understanding of narrative structure I will give two options an extra activity (living in solitude or creating an
interactive project to explain their self-identity) or an independent literature study where they would complete reflections on the literature.

Formative Assessment:

The students formative assessment will be through reflection writing and discussions. If students reflections show they are not grasping a
concept there would be two plans of actions. If it were a majority of the class the concept would be retaught, but if it were just a few then Id
break them into a small group and set up extra scaffolding.

Summative Assessment:

Students will write a personal narrative about a specific moment that has shaped who they are and want to be. The essay would be assessed
through a rubric. The criteria for the rubric will be audience, tone/ voice, conventions, and creativity.

Performance based assessment will be used in this unit through the students personal narratives. Students will design/ set-up their own personal
wikispace to show their personal narrative. The students will be encouraged to use pictures, interviews, and research (when applicable) to add
credibility to personal narratives. Students who do not feel comfortable publishing personal narratives will not have to share with class or publish
on wikispaces.

Stage 3 Learning Plan

UbD Pacing Calendar

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Informal Assessment:
Personal Narrative Quiz

Informal Assessment: Who

Are You? Identity
Interviews
HW: Read Outside article
about Christopher
McCandless

50 minute period

Who is Christopher
McCandless? Group Work
(KWL) 15 mins
Lecture on Literary
Nonfiction 12 mins
Read introduction out loud 5
mins
Individually add to KWL 5
mins
Exit Slip: What do you
expect to happen in Into the
Wild? What literary
techniques do you think will
be used? 8 mins
Briefly introduce reading
assignment and personal
narrative assignment 5 mins

50 minute period

TIPS: Reflect on the first

chapter of Into the Wild.
What made you interested to
keep reading? Can you find
any literary devices used in
the first chapter? Write down
the line and page number 8
mins

50 minute period

Show clip from Into the

Wild, briefly discuss if the
students envisioned the same
scene from the book 5 mins

Lecture on Personal
narratives 15 mins

Group students to look for

literary techniques used to
draw the reader in like the
movie (metaphor, imagery,
foreshadowing, evidence
(sources), allusions) 20 mins

Paired group work to

compare and contrast literary
nonfiction to personal
narratives 15 mins

Give students list literary

devices with definitions so
they can try to integrate less
common ones if they want

Share group work in reading

groups 10 mins

Groups present their

technique to class with
definition, example from
novel, picture example and
own example 20 mins

Ask for questions from class

about Into the Wild 2 mins

50 minute period

Create a list of the literary

devices that are in both Into
the Wild and the Marshfield
Dreams: When I Was a Kid
passage in triads 3 mins
Hand out picture of a
scenery, have students
individually write a
paragraph showing the
picture through words rather
than telling what it is 15
mins
Model paragraph by you
taking time to break down
convention rules related to
literary devices 12 mins
Silent reading of chapter four
Into the Wild 10 mins

50 minute period

Cross the Line Activity 30

mins
Cross the Line Activity
debriefing (goal is to create
support system so personal
narratives can truly be
personal) 10 mins
Choose a time from the
Remember a time? activity
and write down the people
who were involved in the
moment 10 mins
HW: Read chapters 5-7
Interview a person who was
at the event that will be the
focus of personal narrative
OR find a picture or item
that is related to the event

HW: Read chapter 1

HW: Read chapter 2

Give passage of Marshfield

Dreams: When I Was a Kid
have students start to read 5
mins
HW: Read chapter 3
Finish reading passage from
Marshfield Dreams: When I
Was a Kid
(Purpose of reading to find
literary devices)

50 minute period

Give One, Get One with a

partner share about the event
chosen for personal narrative
(give an idea how they can
integrate the interview, item,
or picture into personal
narrative) 5 mins
Introduce wikispaces to
students and have them
practice inserting ideas on to
it 20 mins
Small group discussion on
how pictures, interviews,
items (evidence) creates
credibility for Into the Wild
15 mins
Reflect on how to integrate
these devices into own
personal narrative 10 mins
HW: Read chapter 8

50 minute period

-Poetryinvoice.com lessonShort lecture on identity

Magnify Glass Activity
Model my own
identity
Have students
complete activity
Share in a pairs
Read/ Think aloud Self
Portrait
Whole Group Poem+
Identity
Small Group Question
Individual work finding parts
of the poem that show
identity
Create three metaphors/
similes about identity50 mins
HW: Read chapter 9

50 minute period

Jigsaw Activity 35 mins

groups will read
brief passages from
Family Life, Doctor
Zhivago, The Dead
Father, Holy the
Firm
the purpose for
reading will be to
look for different
aspects of identity
that can be used in
personal narratives
groups will share
how the passages
utilize identity
Reflect on how to integrate
these different aspects of
identity into own personal
narrative 10 mins
Exit Slip: What similarities
and differences do you seen
between personal narratives
and literary nonfiction?

Fully go over personal

narrative assignment 10 mins
HW: Finish reading chapter
4
Stage one of personal
narrative- Remember that
Time? Worksheet

50 minute period

50 minute period

10

Give Cliffnotes timeline of

Into the Wild for discussion

Create an outline of personal

narrative 20 mins

Class Discussion: How does

the use of a nonchronological story line
affect your reading of
Christopher McCandlesss
life? What do you dislike
about how the story is being
told? What do you like? 30
mins

Write introduction/ hook 20

mins

Lecture on audience 12 mins

HW: Read chapter 12-15

Reflect on who audience will

be when writing personal
narratives 8 mins
HW: Read chapter 11

Share introduction/ hook in

small groups 5 mins
Review possible techniques
to hook a reader whole class
5 mins

HW: Read chapter 10

50 minute period

11

TTYPS: What are you

writing your personal
narrative on? Does this
moment/ event define who
you are? Why or why not? 8
mins
Lecture on Authors purpose
15 mins

50 minute period

12

Write background paragraph

and combine with
introduction and hook 30
mins
Pair and Share personal
narrative writing so far 10
mins

50 minute period

13

Write body of personal

narrative 50 mins
Students can independently
meet with teacher about
narrative. 2 to 5 mins each
meeting
HW: Read chapter 18

Small group discussion:

What do you think was
Krakauers intention of
writing this book? 12 mins

Give a Grow, Give a Pro:

Give partner a grow for their
personal narrative, and a pro
for their personal narrative 5
mins

Reflect on the purpose of

your personal narrative, what
are your intentions? 15 mins

Based off the pro and grow

how could you change your
personal narrative? 5 mins

HW: Read chapter 16

HW: Read chapter 17

50 minute period

14

Look back at personal

narrative constructed day
before and highlight usage of
imagery(showing not
telling), simile/ metaphor,
and other literary devices. 10
mins
Review how to group
workshop, peer review/ edit,
and the process for revising
writing 15 mins
Break class into workshop
groups, have peers read the
personal narratives and focus
on the use of literary devices.
10 mins
Small group discussion of
how each personal narratives
use of literary devices was/
was not effective 10 mins

50 minute period

15

Finish Into the Wild 10 mins

Complete KWL of Who is
Christopher McCandless 10
mins
Class discussion on the end
of Into the Wild 20 mins
Self-reflection: What did you
learn from Into the Wild? Do
you think you and
Christopher McCandless
share any traits? What shapes
two people to have different
identities? 10 mins
HW: Take pictures, conduct
research/ interviews for
personal narrative if
interested to put on
wikispace

Whole class mini-lecture on

conventions related to
literary devices 5 mins
HW: read epilogue
50 minute period

16

Write full draft of personal

narrative 50 mins
Students who finish early

50 minute period

17

Workshop Time- Revision

50 mins
Follow instructions
from direction
sheet

50 minute period

18

Workshop Time- Revision

50 mins
Peer Review in
Writing Groups
Start editing process

50 minute period

19

Workshop Time- Revision

Peer Edit in Writing
Groups
Continue Editing
process

50 minute period

20

Create publishable draft for

wikispace 30 mins
Insert narrative into

can meet with teacher OR

start workshop process with
a peer whether in their group
or not
HW: Finish writing personal
narrative draft

Read partners
essay once without
marking it.
Read a second time
with markings then
discuss with them
their ideas.
Give a glow, give a
grow method.
Read partners
essay one more
final time writing
down something
else they could do
in paper or say.
Peer Review in
Writing Groups
HW: Fill Out Editor Sheet
for teacher

Follow instructions
for editing in
groups.
Read partners
essay first time
without marking it.
Read a second time
marking down
spelling errors and
convention errors.
Students will have
signed up to meet
with teacher to
discuss paper for
two minutes

HW: Read paper over with

someone outside of class.
Have them fill out a
Reviewer sheet

Students will have

signed up to meet
with teacher to
discuss paper for
two minutes

Students who have met with

teacher and feel confident
they do not to edit more can
prepare to insert personal
narrative into wikispace
HW: Continue revising/
editing personal narrative

wikispace 10 mins
Add pictures to wikispace to
make narrative aesthetic
pleasing/ create more
credibility 10 mins
HW: Read three peers
personal narratives and
comment on their work. (Can
happen over weekend or first
day of next unit, depending
on circumstance of students)
Comments should include
what reader thought the
moral of narrative was;
identify three literary
devices, what they liked
about the narrative, what
could be improved for
another draft.