Wes'+Thematic+Unit+Wiki

Final

Possible Unit Ideas:
 * Focusing on World War II I hope to engage students in both literary and historical references. I will be using the North Carolina Standard Course of study (7.04): Compare and contrast the various political viewpoints surrounding issues of the post World War II era.
 * Vietnam War: Cultural aspects of the war in the United States
 * Technology in the 21st Century of North Carolina

Update (October 21):
 * **Thematic Unit: Survival**
 * I plan to focus this unit during the holocaust and delve into the variety of stories that can be told about survival from the perspective of several people. During this unit, while working with the Language Arts instructor, I hope to have students read //Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl//, //NIght//, and //Number the Stars// and //The Boy in the Striped Pajamas//. If reading all of the literature is too much, I may be inclined to breaking up the class into quarters and have the students read that way. In terms of social studies content I will facilitate the content of the students with supplemental resources like the textbook, excerpts from the video representations of the literature and/or history channel videos. I would also be inclined to having a Holocaust survivor come speak at the middle school to have a better focus on how survival is critical and it does happen. With regards to assessment I want students to do an inquiry project (on a much smaller scale than that int he MSL curriculum) where students investigate the genocide happening around the world today and finding examples of survival.

Update (October 27):

A class set of 20 __Laptops__ (with internet capability) 5 copies of //Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl// 5 copies of //Night// 5 copies of //Number the Stars// //5// copies of //The Boy in the Striped Pajamas// A class set of the 8th grade United States textbook
 * Materials:**

//Students will be able to://
 * Objectives:**
 * Understand the United State's relationship with Europe during the Holocaust
 * Use 4 different novels to understand diverse perspectives of survival
 * Have a better understanding of genocide happening around the world in 2010.
 * Create an action plan to help with stop genocide throughout the world.


 * Activities:**
 * Create a timeline of events on [|X-Timeline] of major events happening in the four in-common novels that students are reading in class. The timeline will have information both from the characters points of view as it relates to the historical references seen in the American History textbook.
 * Delve into similar types of concentration camps happening in the United States during the time (Japanese internment camps). Have students use a scaffolded search to find primary sources regarding these internment camps. After researching students will have a teacher-led seminar regarding how the United States began fighting a war in Europe due, in part, because of the killing of Jews but became hypocrites and had internment camps for Japanese-Americans.
 * Groups will create a Video Book Talk representation of how each of the protagonists in the four in-common reads were seen as survivors for this unit even though not all of them survived the Holocaust.
 * To relate history to today students will begin a WebQuest where the investigate what types of genoicde is occuring throughout the world today and if any is happening in the United States. The following day we will watch the film //Hotel Rwanda// to attain a visual representation of what was happening throughout Africa.


 * Assessment:**
 * The final assessment will be for students to create an action plan that encompasses how middle school students can affect what is happening around the world. Students will work with each other to have peer review and then their final action plans will be sent to each social studies student at the middle school.

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Wes Thematic Unit Step 2

Wes Thematic Unit Step 3