By Alyssa Chambers

C.A.R.A PROJECT

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." -- John Cotton Dana

Appl ied Standards 3 Introduct ion 4 Poem 5-7

Who I Am Poem: Create own poem/use VoiceThread Picture Books 8-11

“Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoff man: ReQuest “You’re Not My Real Mother!” by Molly Friedrich: Drama “Squashed in the Middle” by Elizabeth Winthrop: Graffi ti

Activity Chapter Books 12-14

Maus by Art Spiegelman: Literary Circles The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Character

Analysis/Follow the Character Art ic les 15-19

“Consuming Teen Identity” by Wendell Loewen: Teacher Read-Aloud

“Don’t Delay” by Timothy A. Pychyl: Fishbone Organizer “The Search For Identity - The Teenage Struggle” by Bob

Cave: B/D/A Questioning “Teenagers and the Struggle for Identity” by Seth Mullins:

Magnet Summaries Websites 20-24

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: History Change Frames

Above the Infl uence: Base and Expert Groups The Day I Was Born Webquest Adoption Issues: Paired Reading

Videos, DVDs, CDs and CD-ROMs 25-27 The Hunger Games Audio: Quick Write VoiceThread: Creating a recorded audio or video of

themselves Works Cited 28

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Reading 8.R.2.1 (Analysis) Students can analyze text using comprehension strategies. 8.R.2.2 (Application) Students can read fluently to comprehend grade-level text. 8.R.5.3 (Synthesis) Students can combine new

information with existing knowledge to enhance understanding.

Writing (Synthesis) 8.W.1.1 Students can compose

narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive text of five paragraphs.

(Evaluation) 8.W.1.2 Students can revise writing for ideas and content.

(Synthesis) 8.W.1.3 Students can compose text using information from

multiple sources to support a topic. Listening, Speaking, Viewing

(Evaluation) 8.LVS.1.1 Students can evaluate information in auditory and visual communication.

(Application) 8.LVS.1.3 Students can integrate verbal and nonverbal techniques to deliver an oral presentation for a specific audience and purpose.

APPLIED STANDARDS“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” ~Chinese Proberb

Th is p ro jec t was harder than I an t i c ipa ted! I was cha l lenged to make the connect ion between the theme I chose , I dent i ty , the s tandards , and the mater ia l tha t I wanted to use . I know th i s i s no t a un i t p lan , bu t I th ink I am a l ready ha l fway there . I choose the theme o f ident i ty because i t i s someth ing tha t everyone can re la te to and have say in . I was even do ing some o f the ac t iv i t i es in my head when I was dec id ing wh ich ones I wanted to use and wh ich ones to om i t . When I chose ident i ty , I was th ink ing about how th i s app l ies to m idd le schoo l age s tudents , because I th ink tha t i s the a rea I want to s tudent teach in when the t ime comes . M idd le schoo l s tudents a re in tha t awkward s tage o f fi nd ing out who they a re , and even who they a re no t . I th ink theme wou ld serve them we l l in the long run . I t r i ed to ga ther mater ia l s tha t were var ied in nature , I go t p i c tu re books on adopt ion , a r t i c les on how procras t inat ing can determ ine ident i ty , and I se t up a vo ice th read tha t s tudents can use to express themse lves voca l l y and v i sua l l y.

The chapter books tha t I chose fo r th i s un i t , I am rea l l y exc i ted about . I have read bo th books , and the seque ls that accompany each book . There a re many , many themes tha t enve lope these books , bu t ident i ty was p reva lent in bo th . Hunger Games i s one o f those books tha t s tudents w i l l l a tch on to and no t want to put down . I t i nvo lves war , rebe l l i on , a l ove s to ry , and p i t t ing ch i ld ren aga ins t ch i ld ren in an a l l - ou t war. The ma in character change so much th roughout the dura t ion o f the book , and tha t i s a par t o f ident i ty , chang ing and ad jus t ing to become the person you want to be . I s t i l l am not su re who I rea l l y am, but tha t i s okay , i t i s a p rocess .

I had not l ooked a t the s tandards be fo re I s ta r ted do ing research fo r th i s p ro jec t , bu t when I went to look a t s tandards tha t poss ib ly a l igned w i th th i s p ro jec t , I was p leasant ly su rp r i sed . I f ound s tandards tha t re la ted to read ing , w r i t ing , and l i s ten ing , speak ing , and v iew ing . I a l so t r ied to ca ter to the d iff eren t lea rners tha t I w i l l have in my c lass room, and use var ious mater ia l s and med iums to teach the lessons I wou ld se t up w i th these sources .

I am so exc i ted to be ou t in the wor ld us ing a l l tha t USF has taught me in the Educat ion p rogram. Noth ing can compare , however , to what i t i s go ing to be l i ke to fi na l l y be in my own c lass room, ins t ruc t ing my s tudents . Teach ing i s a cha l lenge , a b less ing , l o ts o f work , bu t mos t o f a l l i t i s go ing to be reward ing .

INTRODUCTION

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates.

The great teacher inspires.”

“A poem begins in del ight and ends in wisdom.”

POEM

Source : Where I ’m From/This Is Who I Am Poems, (examples I acquired from my practicum)

Summary : This activity is one that I received from Ann Tschetter in my practicum. The students write a poem about themselves, their identity essential ly.

Teaching Strategy : The poems that they are going to read are examples of what they wi l l be creating and recording a voice thread . They must be at least four stanzas, but other than that there are not any other cri teria. We wi l l be doing peer reviews and edits in-class to help pol ish the poems, but at the end of the unit, the students wi l l be posting their entire poem on the voice thread. They can choose to read the poem out loud to the class, or play their voice thread to the class.

POEM

I ’m f rom gi r ly s leepovers and part ies wi th personal i ty! With intox icat ing na i l po l ish and beaut i fy ing makeovers at three in the morn ingI ’m f rom fun, fa i thfu l f r iendships and BFFAE (Best Fr iends Forever And Ever)From “Ghost in the Graveyard” at the most p i tch b lack o f n ightAnd po l part ies wi th hot guys and jammin’ summert ime musicI ’m f rom pr ivate- two -hour phone ca l ls at the dead of n ightFrom exhaust ing hours o f text ing my fi ngers offAl l the way f rom “OMG’s” and “ i ly ’s” wi th my best ies!And endless days o f dumb drama and being the “Switzer land” o f g i r ly f r iend fi ghts

I ’m f rom a loud spoken fami lyFi l led wi th many thoughts and emot ionsI ’m f rom the sad-sob-story o f an innocent g i r l , abandoned by her fatherThe fee l ing o f use lessness and unimportance l inger ing in her heart…A p iece of mysel f miss ing forevermoreI ’m f rom a scary n ightmare I am forced to ca l l rea l i tyFi re fl aming, burn ing down the on ly memor ies o f my ear ly ch i ldhoodA tragedy that wi l l haunt me forever

I ’m f rom love and k indness , happiness and tearsWith emot ions fl owing through my veinsEvery emot ion as d iff erent as meI ’m f rom “ I love you” and “Miss you!”From emot iona l and phys ica lI ’m f rom fun lov ing people who love me and take me as I amA young adul t w i th wants and des i res ,Hopes and dreamsI ’m f rom a cozy house I ca l l home…A gi r l not unseen, just undiscovered

POEM EXAMPLE

“One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.”

PICTURE BOOKS

Source : Amazing Grace by Mary Hoff man Summary : Although a classmate says that she

cannot play Peter Pan in the school play because she is black, Grace discovers that she can do anything she sets her mind to do.

Teaching Strategy : ReQuest Activity-I l ike this activity because it is going to chal lenge the students to be active l isteners. The students wi l l have to ask me questions based on what they have heard me read out- loud. Depending on the type of questions they ask, I wi l l be able to tel l i f they are actual ly l istening or not. As we move farther into the book, I wi l l begin to ask the students questions regarding content that has already been read, make them summarize, and also make predictions as to what wi l l happen next.

PICTURE BOOKS

Source : You’re Not my Real Mother! by Mol ly Friedrich

Summary : After an adoptive mother tel ls her daughter al l the reasons that she is her "real mother," the young gir l real izes that her mother is r ight, even though they do not look al ike (Library Cataloge).

Teaching Strategy : Drama Activity - In groups of two to four students, they wi l l be re-creating the book in their own words. They can add scenes, l ines, or characters to cater to the number of people in their group. The catch to this activity is that al l of the speaking must be recorded and played simultaneously with the performance. The students wi l l be acting to the pre-recorded l ines on the audio. Adoption is often a part of defi ning identity that is overlooked in the classroom and with l i fe in general . Adoption is a completely diff erent thing al l on i ts own, and it is an aspect of l i fe, and certain students’ cultures that is not addressed.

PICTURE BOOKS

Source : Squashed in the Middle by El izabeth Winthrop

Summary : When Daisy, a middle chi ld, is invited to spend the night at her fr iend's house, her family fi nal ly pays attention to her (Library Cataloge).

Teaching Strategy : Graffi ti Activity -This activity wi l l use groups of four, with each group receiving one copy of the book. The groups wi l l read the book aloud within their groups, and then discuss what they learned about identity whi le reading the book. After each group has completed reading the book and has had a chance to discuss what they read, they wi l l then go to the paper on the wal l assigned to their group, and write down the main concepts they came up with. After each group has written down their main ideas, they wi l l then rotate to each other groups’ sheet of paper and respond to what the other groups thoughts and concepts.

PICTURE BOOKS

“If a chi ld can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”

CHAPTER BOOKS

Source : Maus by Art Spiegeleman Summary : A story with many diff erent themes, Maus

retel ls the story of a son and his father, and their relat ionship after the father tel ls his son about his experience l iving through World War I I .

Teaching Strategy : Literary Circles -From watching in classrooms that I have been in this semester, I have seen that students real ly enjoy l i t . circles. I wi l l implement this strategy whi le reading Maus . The groups wi l l be about four students per group, and this wi l l keep the numbers low and the focus up. They wi l l be given a l i t . cir lces packet that instructs the students on what to do when they are assigned one of four tasks. This wi l l be spl i t between group and individual reading, depending on the t ime we have in class. The students wi l l either read at home for homework and discuss in class the next day, or they wi l l read in class and discuss at the end. Each group member wi l l read aloud to the group i f the reading is done in class.

CHAPTER BOOKS

Source : The Hunger Games by Suzanne Col l ins Summary : The Hunger Games   (2008) is the fi rst book

of the wi ldly popular tr i logy of young adult novels from author Suzanne Col l ins. The series is set in the country of Panem, a post-apocalyptic version of North America. Every year the government in the Capitol organizes an event known as the Hunger Games: a bloody, gladiator-style fi ght-to-the-death batt le between 24 randomly selected teenagers from the oppressed Distr icts of Panem. To top i t al l off , the carnage is broadcast l ive on television – as entertainment for the residents of the Capitol and a reminder to the residents of the Distr icts of the total i tarian government’s ult imate power (The Hunger Games, 2011).

Teaching Strategy : Character Analysis/Follow the Characters Grid -The characters in The Hunger Games are very interesting characters and have many qual i t ies and struggles throughout the fi rst novel . With this activity, the students wi l l be required to pick one character from the novel, and analyze this character throughout the duration of the novel. They wi l l answer four required questions and any other questions the students come up with regarding their character are welcome. I f they want to analyze more than one character, that is also welcome. Once they have completed their character analysis the students wi l l create a presentation on the computer presenting their character and what they analyzed.

CHAPTER BOOKS

“There are three th ings to remember when teaching: know your stuff ; know whom you are stuffi ng; and then stuff them elegant ly”

ARTICLES

Source: “Teenagers and the Struggle for Identity” by Seth Mullins

Summary: This article talks about how teens are struggling to fi nd their identity in a world where they are trying to keep up with everyone else.

Teaching Strategy: Magnet Summaries-This activity involves having students read the selected article, and then pick out key words from the article, in groups of four, and putting that in the center of given notecards. They will put words related to that main word on the same side of the card, and on the reverse side, the students will put the passage that the main word is in.

http://articles.familylobby.com/355-teenagers-and-the-struggle-for-identity.htm

ARTICLES

Source: “Consuming Teen Identity” by Wendell Loewen

Summary: This article addresses the notion of how today’s adolescents are infl uenced heavily by consumerism, and the need to have the latest things.

Teaching Strategy: Teacher Read-Aloud-this article does make reference to Christianity. There may be some parents who would argue that if there is going to be reference to Christianity, there needs to be equal reference to other religions. This activity will give the student a chance to relax and be read to. The students are able to hear the fl ow of the article, and hear what words and phrases the teacher enunciates more than others. I will also be checking for comprehension along the way.

http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/2009/02/consuming-teen-identity/

ARTICLES

Source: “Don’t Delay” by Timothy A. Pychyl Summary: This article address the issue of

procrastination as it relates to development of identity.

Teaching Strategy : Fishbone Organizer -For this activity, the students will be broken into groups, and each group will be assigned a section of the article. Each group member will be responsible for creating their own fi shbone organizer according to what the group decides are the main points of their section. Once each group has fi nished their portion of the article, we will create an article outline on the SMARTBoard as a class. Each group will be responsible for their part of the outline when we get to it as a class.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200804/teenagers-identity-crises-procrastination

ARTICLES

Source: “The Search For Identity - The Teenage Struggle” by Bob Cave

Summary: This article is another article talking about the struggles that teens go through when trying to claim their identity. Family, peers, school. All are factors that equally infl uence the teen and their search for their identity.

Teaching Strategy: B/D/A Questioning Chart-I think this activity will be interesting for the students because it is an article about them and their l ives. They will generate questions about what they think the article will be, and then during reading they are going to create new questions based on what they are reading. They can answer their own questions as well while they are reading. Then they will write down any questions they have remaining once they are done reading the article.

http://www.family-university.org/archive/search_identity.html

ARTICLES

“Teachers are those who help us in resolv ing problems which, without them, we wouldn' t have.”

WEBSITES

Source: The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students

Summary: This portion of the website allows students to look at the ID cards of actual Holocaust survivors.

Teaching Strategy: History Change Frames-With this activity, the students are going to be reading through the ID cards of survivors of the Holocaust. They will fi ll out the worksheet columns labeled “What Problems Did They Face”, “what changes aff ected these people”, and what did they do to solve their problems?” They are going to do this worksheet as a precursor to the reading the book Maus, and they will do this worksheet again after reading Maus.

http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/

WEBSITES

Source: The Day I Was Born Summary: This webquest takes students through the

day they were born. Teaching Strategy: Onl ine Webquest about the day

the students were born. I wi l l have printed out enough copies of the worksheet for the students to fi l l out whi le doing the webquest. They wi l l s imply fol low the directions laid on by myself , and the webquest and go through the day they were born. There are eight tasks and they should be able to get i t done in a period or two. They can work individual ly or with another person, but they must research the day they were born and not pick one day between the two of them. Once al l students complete the webquest, they wi l l have a chance to report one thing they found from their webquest back to the class. This activity wi l l a l low students to see that something can infl uence their identity even i f they were not a part of i ts conception, or present for i t . This activity is going to involve learning about students diff erent backgrounds. I am ful ly aware that there are going to be students with diff erent ethnic backgrounds and cultures in my classroom, and the more myself as the teacher, and other classmates know about other classmates backgrounds, the more I can adapt my lessons to cater to diff erent students’ needs.

http://dl1.yukoncol lege.yk.ca/bornquest/

Source: Above The Infl uenceSummary: This website talks about drug

use, and how students can help others stay away from drugs. I thought this would be a good website because it is not something that students usually think of as infl uencing identity.

Teaching Strategy: Base and Expert Group Activity- For this activity the class will either be in the computer lab, or have access to the mobile lab for the day. Students will divided into their base groups depending on what section of the website they are assigned. There are six sections so there will be six groups with two to four people per group. The base groups will meet depending on the section they were assigned and once the groups have discussed what the key portions of the section were, they will report to their expert group and each member will report to the group what they found in their section.

http://www.abovetheinfl uence.com/

WEBSITES

Source: Adoption Issues Summary: This website looks at identity

issues adopted students encounter. When there is diff erence in appearance and tendencies. It is certainly harder to try to identify who you are as a person when, biologically, some students are not like their parents.

Teaching Strategy: Paired Reading-This article will be an in class handout and will be read in pairs. With this activity, the students are going to be able to bounce ideas about the article off each other. They will be able to check for each other’s understanding of the article, as well as fi ll in another graphic organizer while reading. Students will have the choice to read the article aloud to each other, or silently and stop when questions arise. This will also spark interest in how students who are adopted feel, as it relates to their identity. Being adopted is a diff erent culture than we normally think of.

http://www.adoptionissues.org/beneaththemask.html

WEBSITES

“The art of teaching is the art of assist ing discovery.” Mark van Doren

TOPIC RELATED VIDEOS, DVDS,

OR CD-ROMS

Source: The Hunger Games Audio Recording

Summary: I will be using the audio recording, read-aloud, and reading individually as well as in groups for this book.

Teaching Strategy: Quick Write-I have listened to the audio recording of this book, and it is much more interesting than reading the book on your own. With this recording, the students will have the chance to be involved in the book, and a life will be breathed into the characters. For each portion that we listen to throughout the duration of listening to, and reading this book, there will be a target question for the section that is being listened to. With this question, the students will have to do one quick write a day answering the target question.

Source: VoiceThread Summary: I will have an account set up

on VoiceThread, and students will be able to create a username and password, and sign in and respond to questions I post on the voice thread as well as creating part of their fi nal with a video on VoiceThread.

Teaching Strategy: Using VoiceThread to create a video. I will show the students an example of a video I made, and the example will actually be explaining this project to them. Throughout the lessons on identity, the students will be gather notes, discussing, and creating questions about identity, and what it means to them. They will create a video/voice thread reading their “This Is Who I Am” poems on the video

http://www.voicethread.com/

The Day I Was Born. (2003, February 12) . The Hunger Games . (2011). Retr ieved May 6, 2011, f rom

Schmoop. Beneath The Mask . (n.d.) . Retr ieved May 2011, f rom

Adopt ion Issues: http: / /www.adopt ionissues.org/beneaththemask.html

Cave, B. (n.d.) . The Search For Ident i ty. Retr ieved May 6, 2011, f rom Fami ly Univers i ty: http: / /www.fami ly-univers i ty.org/archive/search_ident i ty.html

Fr iedr ich, M. (2004). You're Not my Real Mother. New York : L i t t le , Brown.

Hoff man, M. (1991) . Amazing Grace. New York : Dia l Books for Young Readers.

Library Cataloge . (n.d.) . Retr ieved May 6, 2011, f rom Siouxland L ibrar ies: www.siouxlandl ib.org

Loewen, W. (2009, February 18) . Consuming Teen Ident i ty. Retr ieved May 4, 2011, f rom Ful ler Youth Inst i tute: http: / / fu l leryouthinst i tute.org/2009/02/consuming-teen-ident i ty /

Mul l ins, S. (2008) . Teenagers and the Struggle for Ident i ty. Retr ieved Apr i l 2011, f rom Fami lyLobby.com: http: / /art ic les. fami ly lobby.com/355-teenagers-and-the-struggle- for- ident i ty.htm

Pychyl , T. A. (2008, Apr i l 13) . Don't Delay. Retr ieved May 6, 2011, f rom Psychology Today: http: / /www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200804/teenagers- ident i ty-cr ises-procrast inat ion

Spiegelman, A. (1994). Maus. Pantheon Books. The Holocaust : A Learning Si te for Students . (n.d.) .

Retr ieved Apr i l 2011, f rom United States Holocaust Memoria l Museum: http: / /www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/media_l ist .php?MediaType=ID

The Truth About Drugs . (n.d.) . Retr ieved May 2011, f rom Above The Infl uence: http: / /abovetheinfl uence.com/

Winthrop, E. (2005). Squashed In the Middle. New York : Henry Holt .

WORKS CITED