Dr.+Y's+Thematic+Unit+Wiki

In class, I will be providing resources and examples from an interdisciplinary thematic unit to serve as models of ways of thinking about creating and implementing a dynamic and engaging unit. This wiki page will be a supplement to the materials provided in class and, at least initially, include the same content you are to provide.


 * Possible Content Focuses**


 * Turn of the century in American history


 * The novel as a genre


 * Ouida Sebestyen's YA Novel //[|Words By Heart]// *
 * // Note: // This is the content focus that I will most likely pursue. It is a novel situated in the early 1900's and relates the story of one African-American family's move from the deep south to the west with the intent of escaping the racism and violence towards Blacks during this time period. The novel is also a coming-of-age story for the main character, Lena Sills, a middle-school-aged daughter whose point of view helps make the narrative compelling for any reader, but especially middle grades students. The novel resonates well with the history of the times -- free blacks, sharecropping, the onset of WWI, and references to the Civil War, Jim Crow, Reconstruction, Abe Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Ragtime, the Cotton gin, and more -- that will make it a good interdisciplinary unit focus. It will work well for both English language arts and social studies!


 * Critical Medial Literacy


 * Possible Themes**


 * The Hero / Heroine: What is a true hero? *


 * Overcoming Oppression: Steps Towards Empowerment *


 * Tolerance: Learning from the Past, Forging a Better Future

To be continued...