Teacher Name: Rich Farrell
Grade Level
6
Unit Length
Unit: #1
Unit Name
Unit Description
The Marriage of Word and
Image in Meaning Making
Students will use Gareth Hind’s graphic novel adaptation of
The Odyssey as a central text to explore how words and
images influence one another to create meaning and apply
their understanding of plot and characterization through
text and image to create their own adaptation of a Greek
myth. Students will use both words and images as evidence
to support arguments about the meaning of graphic novel
panels as well as their own original comic composition.
9 Weeks
Rationale


Enduring
Understanding
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
Essential Questions
1
Greek mythology offers middle school students moral dilemmas that help
perspective building in the developing social conscious.
Students are generally interested in graphic novels, but they have not
learned the vocabulary and techniques associated with comic story telling
that will increase their enjoyment and understanding of graphic novels they
read independently.
Myths permeate modern society both through allusions and themes.
Characters are complex and can be understood through various context
clues.
A good story has several distinct parts that can be charted on a story map.
The Hero’s Journey is a motif that is constantly recreated in art and literature.
Unit Specific Questions
 What function, if any, does art have in a society?
 How do our collected stories and myths help us create a collected identity?
 How do imagery and symbolism illuminate the human condition?
 How does story telling inform reality?
 What is moral and how do stories help us differentiate between moral and
immoral?
Revisited Curriculum Questions
 Is humankind inherently good or evil?
 Have the forces of good and evil changed over time and if so, how?
 How do different cultures shape the definitions of good and evil?
 Do the attributes of a hero remain the same over time?
 When does a positive personality trait become a tragic flaw?
 What is the role of a hero or “sheroe” (coined by Maya Angelou) in a culture?
 How do various cultures reward / recognize their heroes and “sheroes”?

Standards
Primary Secondary
Content Objectives/
Cognitive Skills
WIDA
Standards
2
Why is it important for people and cultures to construct narratives about their
experience?
6th Grade
RL.1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well
as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes
as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a
resolution.
RL.7. Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to
listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including
contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they
perceive when they listen or watch.
W.1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
b. Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible
sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s)
and reasons.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
W.5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach.
W.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research.
a. Apply grade 6 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and
contrast texts in different forms or genres [e.g., stories and poems; historical
novels and fantasy stories] in terms of their approaches to similar themes and
topics”).
SL.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.2. Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under
study.
L.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 SWBAT formulate a claim, use textual evidence to support the claim, and
develop reasoning to connect the evidence to the claim.
 SWBAT deconstruct texts into distinct plot points.
 SWBAT articulate author’s intention using textual evidence using MLA
formatting.
 SWBAT identify deep characterization cues like motivations and beliefs.
 SWBAT develop their own graphic novel adaptation of a Greek myth.
Social and Instructional Language
X
The Language of Language Arts
The Language of Mathematics
The Language of Science
The Language of Social Studies
The Language of Music and Performing Arts
The Language of Visual Arts
The Language of Technology and Engineering
Language Domain(s)
Language
Objectives
Assessments/ Tasks
(D) Diagnostic
(F) Formative
(S) Summative
Texts/
Resources
3
X
X
X
X
The Language of Health and Physical Education
The Language of Humanities
Speaking
English
Language
Reading
Proficiency
Writing
Level
Listening
X
X
X
X
X
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
● Label parts of a graphic novel.
● Paraphrase what happens in The Odyssey based on both pictures and
images.
● Compare and contrast different versions of The Odyssey and other Greek
myths.
● Interpret how a piece of text could be illustrated to tell a story based on
exemplars.
● Justify an interpretation of a text using textual evidence.
Diagnostic:
 Spring 2016 & Fall 2016 NWEA Score
Formative:
 Weekly Parent Signed Reading Logs
 Prefix & Suffix Vocabulary Packet Practice
 NCTE Direct/Indirect Characterization Graphic Organizer
 Odysseus Characterization Poster with Textual Evidence
 NCTE Hero’s Journey Graphic Organizers
 PARCC Modeled Paragraph Section Response Questions and Peer Revisions
Summative:
 The Odyssey Socratic Seminar
 Prefix & Suffix Mini-Quizzes
 Greek Myth Graphic Novel Adaptation & Accompanying Argumentative
Artistic Choices Essay
 Independent Reading Project
 The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds
o Adaptations of The Odyssey Including:
 Pop-Up Book Version of The Odyssey
 Selections from The Odyssey translated by Robert Fitzgerald
(1961)
 Selections from The Odyssey by Gillian Cross (2012)
 “Homer Sweet Homer” Wishbone TV Episode (1995)
 Leveled Greek Myths Including:
o The Illiad: Graphic Novel Selection
o Prologue from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist
o “Echo and Narcissus” from Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855)
o “Daedalus” from Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855)
o “Midas” from Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855)
o “Pyramus and Thisbe” from Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855)
 Selections from Gareth Hinds Graphic Novels
o Romeo & Juliet
o Macbeth
o The Merchant of Venice
o Beowulf
Learning
Activities
(Include week
and date)
Ongoing:
 Vocabulary:
o Prefix/Suffix Practice-Scholastic
o L.4.Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning
words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies.
 b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and
roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory,
audible).
 Homework: Independent Reading
o Students are responsible for choosing a book with a common theme or
genre to what we are reading this quarter. Students are responsible for
maintaining signed reading logs from their families to show they are
reading at home as well as maintaining a set number of points on
Accelerated Reader.
o RL.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including
stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band
proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
 Writing: Bonus Period
o The First Line Mentor Text Analysis & Short Story Writing
o W.5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop
and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting,
or trying a new approach.
Week 1: 9/6-9/12 (Labor Day Off)
 Syllabus, Classroom Expectations, Supply Collection, Foundations Practice & Team
Building
 Mini-Lesson: How to Read a Graphic Novel
 Select Books for Independent Reading Project
Week 2: 9/12-9/16
 Background Mythology and Society
 Greek Gods Poster Presentation (Direct & Indirect Characterization-Debra Evans
PD)
 Odysseus Characterization Poster with Textual Evidence
Week 3: 9/19-9/23
 Hero’s Journey Mini-Lesson and Application
o Chart Odysseus’s Journey
 Compare Different Versions of The Odyssey to Hinds’s version
o Pop-Up Book
o Selections from The Odyssey translated by Robert Fitzgerald (1961)
o Selections from The Odyssey by Gillian Cross (2012)
o “Homer Sweet Homer” Wishbone TV Episode (1995)
Week 4: 9/26-9/30
 Continue reading The Odyssey
o Continue with Charting Plot Using the Hero’s Journey as a Graphic
Organizer
o Continue with Odysseus Characterization Posters
 Review CERCA Format
o CERCA Paragraph Section Response Questions and Peer Revisions
4
Week 5: 10/3-10/7
 Finish reading The Odyssey
o Continue with Charting Plot Using the Hero’s Journey as a Graphic
Organizer
o Continue with Odysseus Characterization Posters
o CERCA Paragraph Section Response Questions and Peer Revisions
 Bloom’s Taxonomy: How to Write Higher Order Questions
 Socratic Seminar with Hinds’s The Odyssey
Week 6: 10/10-10/14 (Columbus Day Off)
 Author’s Intention
o Multiple Versions of the Myth of Narcissus
 “Echo and Narcissus” from Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855)
 Prologue from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist
 Interview with Gareth Hinds
o Examples from his other works (Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice,
Beowulf)
o Debrief/Reflection and Writing Formal Thank You Letters
Week 7: 10/17-10/21
 Form Literature Circles with Leveled Myths
o Charting Plot (Debra Evans PD Materials)
o Direct and Indirect Characterization (Debra Evans PD Materials)
o Compare and Contrast to The Odyssey
Week 8: 10/24-10/28
 Summative Assessment:
o Story Mapping With Leveled Myth
o Draw and Illustrate Selected Myth
o Use CERCA Method to Write an Argument Supporting Artistic Decisions
Week 9: 10/31-11/3 (Q3 Ends Thursday, School Improvement Day Friday)
 Summative Assessment Continued:
o Story Mapping With Leveled Myth
o Draw and Illustrate Selected Myth
o Use CERCA Method to Write an Argument Supporting Artistic Decisions
o Peer Revisions
 Present Myths to Class
o Create Classroom Mythology Anthology
 Presentations for Independent Reading Book Project
Strategies for
Diverse Learners
& English Learners
Pull-out 2 times a week (6th grade):
 Words Their Way at their individual level (sight word practice)
 Focus on reading for understanding/breaking down texts –texts at their level
 Vocabulary words
 Check reading comprehension of selected myth
In class:
 Re-instruction when needed
 Leveled myth
 Graphic organizers (simplified if needed)
5


Station teaching for multiple concept teaching
Back table support for reading, comprehension questions, and writing
Accommodations/Modifications:
 Assignments shortened
 Graphic Organizers
 Leveled reading
 Questions read to them
 Directions broken down/ explained multiple times
 Separate Location for assessments
Language Supports
Sensory Support
Real-life objects (realia)
Manipulatives
Pictures & photographs
Illustrations & diagrams
Magazines & newspapers
Physical activities
Videos & films
X
X
X
X
Broadcasts
Models & figures
Other:
6
Graphic Support
X
Charts
Number Lines
Tables
Graphs
Timelines
Graphic organizers:
Other:
Interactive Support
X
X
X
X
X
X
In pairs or partners
In triads or small groups
In whole group
Using cooperative group
structures
Using the Internet or software
programs
In the native language
With mentors