Page 1

Unit Description:

This unit focuses on literature and non-fiction texts that highlight examples of persecution experienced during WWII, with a predominate

focus on the Jews in Nazi Germany. As students read the main text, Night, they should be encouraged to ask questions such as, “Why

did this happen? Why didn’t anyone stop this? Could this happen again?” As the unit progresses, students will be asked to craft a

research question, one which they seek to answer. Students should continuously be directed to think of the multiple perspectives for

each situation they encounter. In addition to the main text, the resources in the unit template can be used to support whole class

instruction, as well as student independent research. The culminating project for student research is a two voice poem. This product is

meant to be performed with a partner during an oral read (mid to late June). Each partner would represent a different perspective,

crafted around the research question. For example, a pair of students may decide to research the question, “Why wouldn’t German

citizens stand up for the Jews?” One perspective could be of a German citizen fearful for the safety of his/her family versus a Jewish

prisoner in a concentration camp.

Reading and writing is integrated throughout this unit, instead of writing as a separate unit. Reading, research, and writing will go hand-

in-hand and many of the teaching points can carry through multiple days. The teaching points in this unit are not designed to be

taught in a linear order, as has been in the past. Teachers have to be thoughtful about choosing teaching points that match the

specific sections of text students are encountering or researching. Teachers should use the pacing guide below to map out chunks of

text to read, days for research, and days to write. A suggested pacing guide has been offered as an example of what this could look

like.

Revised:9/28/2016 SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Grade 08 Unit 04 Unit Template

Reading Standards: RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.5, RL.8.6, RL.8.7 RI.8.1, RI. 8.2, RI.8.3 , RI.8.5, RI.8.6, RI.8.7

Writing Standards: W.8.2, W.8.4, W.8.5, W.8.6, W.8.7, W.8.8, W.8.9

Page 2

Planning suggestions:

Main Text Selection: Before students can begin to grapple with a research question, they need to have read a large chunk of the main

text selection. This text should spur ideas and questions to which students want answers. Teachers should encourage students to take

notes while reading either through roadmapping in a notebook/ sticky notes/ Cornell notes or using any of the organizers suggested in

the unit template.

Resource selection: Teachers should preview each of the linked resources and choose carefully which resources they will use whole

class to support instruction, guide questions, or build background. Some of the resources can be shared with students for starting points

to dig deep for research. Some of the information and images are intended for mature audiences and teachers need to choose

carefully what students can maturely handle and plan thoughtful, appropriate discussions around these resources.

Teachers should seek the assistance of the school librarian, instructional coach, and social studies teachers if support is needed.

Technology: Teachers may want to work with the school librarian to secure technology access for students to either research or publish

the final writing product. As teachers identify technology needs, they should be purposeful in choosing resource information for

students. When looking at the reading material in the unit, they should think “would this resource be a good text for all students to read

or will I direct some students to this resource for individual research?”

*If technology will present a road block, teachers are encouraged to consider using research folders for students to use. Teachers

could selectively choose resources and group them in folders. As students dig deep for research, they would refer to the documents

within the folders the teacher has gathered.

Performance of final product:

A two voice poem is meant to be performed with two different voices. Students can partner early in the research process to identify a

common question, select research information, and plan the two perspectives identified. Each student should choose one

perspective, knowing that they may take on a perspective with which they do not necessarily agree. This can be performed simply

within a class period to peers or to a larger audience, such as a poetry reading inviting building staff and parents. The performance

can be planned at the teachers’ discretion.

Spiraled Reading Standards: RL.8.3, RL.8.4, RI.8.4, RI.8.8, RL.8.9, RI.8.9, RL.8.10, RI.8.10, RL.8.11

Embedded Writing Standards: W.8.10

Page 3

Assessment Links Rubrics and Scoring Guide Links

The two voice poem will serve as a performance-based

assessment for this unit.

Two Voice Poem Rubric

Two Voice Poem Performance Rubric

Recommended Texts

Resources *Disclaimer: Some of the information and images below are intended for

mature audiences, and may be considered by some to be offensive or

frightening. Please be sure to preview all resources to make informed

choices as to what your students can handle and discuss in an

appropriate manner. Some of these resources can be used whole-class

or as research materials when students branch off into their respective

questions.

Main Text:

Night by Elie Wiesel

Supportive Texts:

“The Boys Who Fought The Nazis” by Kristen Lewis (Scholastic

Scope, April 8, 2013, Vol.16, No.9)

The Diary of Anne Frank (Drama) by Frances Goodrich and Albert

Hackett (Glencoe pgs. 758-849)

from Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

(Glencoe pgs. 853-863)

from Sky by Hanneke Ippisch (Glencoe pgs. 865-870)

Hitler Youth: Growin Up in Hitler’s Shadow

The Holocaust: The Fire That Raged

Museum Quotations: You are My Witnesses from the United States

Holocaust Memorial Museum

Poetry:

At First They Came for the Communists

The Butterfly

Websites:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Holocaust History Project

Timeline

Different examples of persecution during the Holocaust

The Rise of Adolf Hitler

Timeline of Adolf Hitler’s life

Excerpts from Hitler’s speech to the Reichstag on the Jewish

Question

Videos:

Opera Winfrey’s Interview with Elie Wiesel:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Historical Film Footage

Concentration Camp Liberation

Hitler’s Youth Rally Speech

Photos:

Concentration Camp Photos (Elie Wiesel appears in #10)

Page 4

Homesick

Fear

Children’s Books:

Benno and the Night of Broken Glass by Meg Wiviott

Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti

Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt & Johanna Kang

Terrible Things by Eve Bunting (can be found in the old Bridges to

Literature)

The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark by

Carmen Agra Deedy

Nazi Propaganda

Japanese-American Internment Camps:

General Information

War Relocation Authority Camps in Arizona (site includes map of

concentration camp locations in the US)

Internment History (This is a resource that documents Roosevelt’s

Executive Order for Japanese-American citizens to relocate to the

concentration camps, as well as other historical documents,

timeline, and photos.)

The Japanese and “Money Trees” (excerpt from A Different Mirror

For Young People: A History of Multicultural America) by Ronald

Takaki

World War II and America’s Ethnic Problem (excerpt from A Different

Mirror For Young People: A History of Multicultural America) by

Ronald Takaki

America at War (chapter from A Young People’s History of the

United States) by Howard Zinn

“It Can’t Be Helped” by Jeannie Wakatsuki Houston (from Farewell

to Manzanar)

Website Resource for Teachers (actual url addresses for hyperlinks

above)-This may be helpful if teachers are directing students to

specific sites mentioned above for researching purposes.

Page 5

Big Ideas Essential Questions

● Connections to non-fiction and media can be made with

fictional works of literature.

● These connections help to create a complete picture

about a topic in the world.

● Readers read deeply and broadly about a topic,

determining some big ideas that authors put forth about a

topic.

● Readers begin to organize these big ideas and support

them with evidence from more than one text.

● Researchers use creative mediums to express

understandings about the world around them, especially

with complex issues.

● How do we use fiction, non-fiction, and media to develop

ideas about the world?

● What important ideas can we learn from the past?

Vocabulary Anchor Charts

● Credentials

● Impact

● Implicate

● Lens

● Perspective

● Primary

● Secondary

● Source

● Synthesize

● Valid

● Non-Fiction Roadmap

● Fiction Roadmap

● Poetry Roadmap

● Example of research center

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

Build

Background

Knowledge

RL.8.1, RI.8.1,

RL.8.2, RI.8.2

A day or two should be devoted to

building background knowledge

around the topic as a whole. Use

non-fiction and/or media to

introduce the topic using the

Building Background Knowledge

Protocol.

Notice Wonder Chart

It Says, I Say, and So

Chart

Building

Background

Knowledge

Protocol

Mystery piece

Page 6

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

Building

Background Lesson

Plans:

Deconstructing

the Familiar:

Photo Activity

Photo Narrative

Activity

Timeline Activity

Critically Read

RL.8.1, RL.8.2,

RL.8.3, RL.8.4,

RL.8.6

RI.8.1, RI.8.2,

RI.8.3, RI.8.4,

RI.8.6

4.1 Readers identify, track, and

analyze text evidence by creating

a roadmap. They roadmap for

theme/central idea, patterns,

character motivations, author’s

perspective, and the interaction of

story elements.

*This teaching point will carry

throughout the reading of the main

any text in the unit. Additional

teaching points can be paired with

this one, as appropriately identified

by the section of text being tackled

daily.

Think-Pair-Share or Quick

Write:

What have I chosen to

include in my roadmap?

What is the gist of this

section?

Other potential Quick-Write

Questions:

What interests me about this

idea or topic?

Do I know enough about the

idea or topic to ask good

questions?

Am I interested enough in

the idea or topic to

investigate it?

Students use Cornell

notes with

chapter/page number

in the left column and

their roadmap

comments in the right

column.

3-2-1 Summarizer

Organizer (from 25

Quick Formative

Assessements for a

Differentiated

Classroom)

GIST Activity

Resources for Text-

Dependent

Questions:

Night Teacher

Resource Guide

Night Discussion

Questions for

Students

Standards-

based TDQ and

vocabulary

Text Graffiti

Quotations:;

Beginning

Middle

End

4.2 Readers look for patterns by

asking themselves, “Why does this

Think-Pair-Share or Quick

Write:

Conferencing

Question:

Page 7

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

Critically Read

RL.8.1, RL.8.2,

RL.8.3, RL.8.4,

RL.8.6

RI.8.1, RI.8.2,

RI.8.3, RI.8.4,

RI.8.6

keep coming up? What might the

author be showing us with these

patterns?”

How is this information

contributing to my

understanding of the topic?

What am I beginning to

wonder about the topic?

What is this mostly

about?

What is the author

saying about this

topic?

Which events are

important to the

theme/ central idea?

4.3 Readers analyze characters’

motivations by asking themselves,

“Why would a character say, do, or

think that?”

Students complete an open

mind portrait to portray their

understanding of the main

character/ person in the

main text.

*Students should focus on

details that describe the

character’s traits,

motivations, and changes. In

addition to symbols and

pictures, students can

include words or phrases. This

can be done a second time

towards the end of the book,

so highlight how the

character changes from

beginning to end.

Conferencing

Questions:

How did the character

say that?

How did the character

look?

What idea do I have

about who the

character is?

Open Mind Portrait

4.4 Readers study a central idea

through its relationship to supporting

ideas. As they do this, they ask, “In

what ways do these ideas support

the central idea?”

Students complete a graphic

organizer, identifying central

idea and supporting ideas.

Four More Organizer

(from 25 Quick

Formative

Assessements for a

Differentiated

Page 8

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

Classroom)

4.5 Readers pay attention to

author’s perspective and point of

view by noticing the emotional

impact of the author’s choice of

words.

Students should dig for words

with emotional connotations

that are related to the

author’s perspective. They

record these words on post-it

notes, explaining the impact

these words can potentially

have on the reader’s

perspective on the topic.

Once students have

compiled a bank of words,

class participates in a Board

Relay or Pass the Plate

activity to share out words

identified as having an

emotional impact.

Conferencing

Questions:

What emotions are you

feeling now?

Is the author taking a

neutral stance on the

issue or making you

feel more for one side

than another?

Are you able to see

multiple sides of the

topic or is the author

slanting the

perspective to only

one side?

Directions to Board

Relay and Pass the

Plate

Night Vocabulary

Glossary

Generate

Research

Question

W.8.7

4.6 Research writers read some text

to get enough ideas and generate

thoughts for their research question

by asking:

What do I find most interesting

about this topic?

What do I want to know more

about?

What opposing perspectives can be

analyzed around this topic?

*Now that students have built

background knowledge and done

some preliminary reading in the

Turn and Talk: With a partner,

share the research question

that has been generated.

Discuss the question and

possible ideas that can be

explored with the question

and topic.

In writing, respond to the

following questions:

Can my question be

answered through

investigation and research?

What do I expect to find in

Mini Lesson: Teacher

and class generate a

concept map around

the unit topic.

Students complete a

notice wonder note-

catcher, as they begin

to form questions

around the topic.

Teachers Guide to

Crafting Research

Questions

Inside Outside Circle

Notice Wonder

Resource

Page 9

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

fiction text, students will generate a

question to focus their reading and

research. Teachers can begin to

introduce non-fiction and media

texts to help students create the

complete picture of the topic.

my research?

*An alternative to a turn and

talk could be an inside-

outside circle.

Gather and

Respond

to Facts and

Information

RL.8.6, RL.8.7,

RL.8.8, RL.8.9,

RL.8.10

4.7 Researchers gather information

by reading multiple texts (print and

digital) on a topic with their research

questions in mind. Then they begin

to focus their research questions into

one that is relatively specific and

manageable.

*This teaching point may extend for

multiple days as students research

information and read multiple texts

with their research questions in mind.

Three column chart: Students

will collect research ideas on

a three column chart, around

the research question they

have generated.

Factual Text Evidence/

Connections to the Main

Text/ What this is telling me

about my research question?

Mini Lesson: identifying

central idea and

supporting ideas;

finding the gist of each

chunk of text; keeping

track of information.

Open Sentence Frames

“In this book, it

says_____, but this text

makes In me think …”

“This fits/doesn’t fit…”

“Another important

idea seems to be …”

“From this book, I could

add/change…”

Three Column Chart

Student Research

Resources

Reciprocal

Teaching Lesson

Plan (using the

Oprah Interview

videos)

4.8 As researchers collect ideas from

multiple sources (both primary and

secondary), they make decisions

about how much and what kind of

information to record from each

source.

*This teaching point may extend for

multiple days as students research

Three column chart: Students

will collect research ideas on

a three column chart, around

the research question they

have generated.

Factual Text Evidence/

Connections to the Main

Text/ What this is telling me

about my research question?

Reflective Notetaking

Notes on Main Ideas

and Supporting

Evidence

Noting What I’ve

Learned Organizer

(from 25 Quick

Additional websites

for student research

Page 10

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

RI.8.6, RI.8.7,

RI.8.8, RI.8.9,

RI.8.10

information and read multiple texts

with their research questions in mind.

(Continuation of 5.7)

Formative

Assessements for a

Differentiated

Classroom)

4.9 Researchers remain alert to

authors’ biases and think about how

an author may be manipulating our

emotions by asking… “Is the image

or story the author is sharing stirring

up my emotions and making me

feel more sympathetic to a certain

side of the issue?

What “loaded words” or

visuals are the authors using

that may be causing the

reader to feel strongly one

way or the other?

Prezi Presentation on

Author’s Bias

Revise Research

Question

W.8.5, W.8.7, W.8.9

4.10 Research writers look at the

original question and evaluate

whether the evidence collected

supports the question, leads to a

different question, or has sparked

their interest in another direction.

*Due to the nature of the finished

product, students should begin to

think about pairing up with someone

who has a similar research question.

Students would continue to research

independently, but would agree on

a question. The partners would

contribute to the final product later

in the unit after extensive reading

and research has occurred.

After students have selected

their topics, they will need to

focus or make the question

more specific. Ask these

questions:

Can the topic be limited to

an event or place?

Can the topic be limited to a

short period of time?

Can the topic be limited to

one person, one group, or

one example?

Can the topic be limited to

one aspect of the general

topic?

Refining Research

Question Worksheet

Notetaking to Answer

Questions Worksheet

4.11 Research writers make a final

decision about their question and

Quick Write: Is the research I

have collected sufficient to

My Top Ten List Organizer

(from 25 Quick Formative

Page 11

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

identify the evidence they have

collected. They think to themselves,

“Do I have enough support or do I

need to research further?”

answer my question or do I

need more?

Assessments for a

Differentiated

Classroom)

Organize,

Evaluate, and

Interpret

Information

RL.8.7, RL.8.8,

RL.8.9

RI.8.7, RI.8.8,

RI.8.9

W.8.6, W.8.8,

W.8.9

4.12 Readers evaluate sources by

checking facts, validating an

author’s credentials, noting the

publisher or website sponsor,

checking the publishing date.

How does the source or

author’s credentials impact

the information presented to

the reader? How is this

information impacting my

emotions and thinking about

the topic?

Source Comparison

Worksheet

Conferencing

Questions:

What are the different

positions or

perspectives we can

imagine existing within

this topic?

What are the extremes

of the topic? Are there

pros and cons?

Are there people or

others who are likely to

benefit from some

aspect of this topic? Or

are there people likely

to suffer or are upset

about this topic?

4.13 Research writers organize

chunks of information by using

boxes and bullets.

Graphic Organizer: Students

complete a boxes and

bullets organizer on the

information they have

collected thus far.

Gathering

Information for

Research Resource

4.14 Researchers give credit to their

sources by using quotation marks

With a partner, review

quotations and citations

Using Different Sources

Ideas for mini

lessons on

Page 12

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

Organize,

Evaluate, and

Interpret

Information

RL.8.7, RL.8.8,

RL.8.9

RI.8.7, RI.8.8,

RI.8.9

W.8.6, W.8.8,

W.8.9

when writing down or quoting word

for word from the text.

made in research notes.

Check for accuracy in

format and usage. Teacher

can collect and redistribute

these to assure accuracy.

Mini Lesson on

plagiarism

plagiarism

4.15 Researchers keep careful track

of their sources by keeping a

running bibliography of the author,

title and page number(s) or the URL

of a digital source on index cards or

in a notebook.

Quick Write: In bulleted form,

have students respond to the

following questions:

What are all of the sources

that I have used thus far?

Which sources have been

most useful and valuable?

How did I locate these

sources?

What did I find within each

source?

How do I evaluate the

information that I have

found?

Bibliography Worksheet

and Examples

Mini Lesson on citation

Citation resource

4.16 Research writers synthesize

information by grouping similar bits

of information together, looking for

patterns or themes or trends and

identifying the key points.

Students continue to interact

with the three column chart,

refining the information they

are choosing to include in

the research. They may

highlight information that is

becoming more important.

They look for patterns that

may be emerging from their

notes.

4.17 Research writers organize

information they have collected in

Students continue to interact

with the three column chart,

Page 13

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

Organize,

Evaluate, and

Interpret

Information

RL.8.7, RL.8.8,

RL.8.9

RI.8.7, RI.8.8,

RI.8.9

W.8.6, W.8.8,

W.8.9

subsections to best teach the

reader. They state the larger, more

general ideas before getting to the

more specific details.

refining the information they

are choosing to include in

the research. They may

highlight information that is

becoming more important.

They look for patterns that

may be emerging from their

notes.

4.18 Researchers wonder, think

deeper, make connections, and

consider the implications of what

they read by keeping their research

question as a lens with which they

read.

Quick Write: Have students

choose one or more

sentence frames to respond

in writing.

“This text made no impact

on my position on this subject

because…”

“I’d like to read more about

____ to fully make up my

mind.”

“This text changed my

position on this subject

because…”

4.19 Researchers consider how an

event or experience is portrayed in

both text and film. They think about

how faithful the film is to the original

text and event. They also consider

how whether or not the filmed

version enhances the presentation

of the topic.

Students complete a Venn

Diagram, tracking the

information Elie Wiesel

presents to Oprah versus the

information he shares in his

memoir.

Teachers: Use the

linked video above

of Oprah Winfrey’s

interview with Elie

Wiesel and the text

Night.

Structure of 4.20 Writers consider the format and Think-Pair-Share: What is a Graphic organizers in Joyful Noises:

Page 14

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

Product

W.8.2, W.8.4,

W.8.7, W.8.9

audience of a final product when

planning what information to

include.

two voice poem? the column to the right

walk students through

this process step by

step.

Poems for Two

Voices by Paul

Fleischman

Examples and

description of

product

Two Voice Poem

Step 1: Lesson

Step 2 is in Organize

Info

Step 3 is in Product

Development

“The Lunch Room”

student example

Organize Info

W.8.4, W.8.5

4.21 Researchers identify two

different perspectives that have

emerged from their research. They

organize the textual evidence by

perspective and begin to plan how

to use that information on their

product. For example, one partner

may take on the perspective of a SS

soldier, while another takes on the

perspective of a prisoner.

*At this point, partners should

decide on which perspective they

Quick Write: What are the

two perspectives that I have

identified? What differing

perspectives will my partner

and I portray in our poem?

Different Perspectives

Graphic Organizer

Step 2: Planning

Sheet

Two Voice Poem

Template 1,

Template 2

Page 15

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

are choosing to write from. They

are each taking a different and

possibly opposing perspective. They

should understand that even

though they may disagree with this

perspective, it is their responsibility

to accurately represent that

perspective as they continue with

the product.

Product

Development-

Writing

W.8.4, W.8.5,

W.8.6, W.8.8,

W.8.9, W.8.10

Product

Development-

Writing

W.8.4, W.8.5,

W.8.6, W.8.8,

W.8.9, W.8.10

4.22 Writers show their expertise

about a topic by purposefully using

vocabulary that is specific to the

topic in their writing.

With partners, students

should review their research

notes and identify key

vocabulary words that are

relevant and stand out.

Partners create a list of

vocabulary words that are

specific to the topic. For

example, instead of saying

soldiers, students would

identify the term S.S. Officers.

Whole-Class Activity:

Teachers could use the

check for

understanding with the

whole class to

generate a larger list.

Step 3: Drafting

Sheet

4.23 Writers create product drafts by

using the organizers and plans they

have created.

Now that students have

created a draft of the two

voice poem, partners should

reread their poem and circle

any relevant vocabulary

they have used and think, “Is

this the best word to use

here?”

Revise and

Rehearse

W.8.4, W.8.5,

4.24 Writers revise their product by

considering the content, format,

voice, and audience. They do this

Students should assess their

own work using the rubric.

They identify gaps and areas

Have the partner pairs

who are evaluating

another group’s draft

Page 16

Standard/

Outcome

Teaching Points

(Lesson Objectives)

Checks for Understanding

Supports and Scaffolds Instructional

Resources

& Tools

W.8.6, W.8.10 with the rubric in hand by assessing

what areas need improvement.

that they need to improve.

They then make the

improvements in their draft.

Partner pairs now should find

another partner pair to

exchange drafts with. The

rubric will be used again to

evaluate progress.

offer constructive

feedback in the

following format:

3 things you did

well

2 areas you might

improve

1 question we

have

4.25 Writers rehearse final product

with their partner.

*When rehearsing, students should

focus on vocabulary terms that they

want to emphasize and intentional

pauses. It is important here that

they also focus on conveying the

two differing perspectives.

Think-Pair-Share:

What words are we

emphasizing?

Where are we pausing?

Are our different

perspectives clear?

Perform

SL.8.4, SL.8.6

4.26 Writers celebrate their works by

performing their two-voice poems.

*This can be performed simply

within a class period to peers or to a

larger audience, such as a poetry

reading inviting building staff and

parents. The performance can be

planned at the teachers’ discretion

Completed project and

performance.

Two Voice Poem

Performance Rubric

Open Mic Resource

Example of Live

Performance of

Two Voice Poem

Poetry

Performance Tips