Plainfield Public Schools
English Language Arts
Curriculum Unit
Grade/Course Grade Nine / English I
Unit of Study Unit Two: Reading Informational Text/ Writing Informative/Explanatory
Texts
Pacing
5 – 7 Weeks
UNIT STANDARDS
COMMON CORE N. J. PRIORITY STANDARDS
Reading Informational Text
RI.9.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific
details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.9.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events,
including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and
developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
RI.9.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative
impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a
court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
Writing
W.9.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection,
2
organization, and analysis of content.
W.9.2 b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and
examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
W.9.2 c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the
text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and
concepts.
W.9.2 d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the
complexity of the topic.
W.9.2 e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending
to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
W.9.2 f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the
significance of the topic).
W.9.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
W.9.9b. Apply grades 9 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate
and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the
reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false
statements and fallacious reasoning”).
Common Core Supporting Standards
Reading Informational Text
RI.9.5 Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by
particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
RI.9.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an
author uses rhetoric to advance a point of view or purpose.
Writing
W.9.2a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make
3
important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics
(e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W. 9.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.9.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting,
or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific
purpose and audience.
W.9.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual
or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other
information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
W.9.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
Speaking and Listening
SL.9.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.9.1b. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g.,
informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear
goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.
SL.9.1c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the
current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the
discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
SL.9.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats
(e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each
source.
SL.9.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric,
identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
SL.9.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and
logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization,
development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
4
SL.9.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of
formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Language
L.9.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking.
L.9.1a. Use parallel structure.
L.9.1b. Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial,
prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial)
to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations.
L.9.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.9.2a. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely
related independent clauses.
L.9.2b. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation.
l.9.2c. Spell correctly.
L.9.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different
contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully
when reading or listening.
L.9.3a. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g.,
MLA Handbook, Turabian’s Manual for Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing
type.
L.9.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and
phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of
strategies.
L.9.4a Use context (e.g. the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s
position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.9.4b. Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different
meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
L.9.4c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries,
glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or
5
determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology.
L.9.4d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by
checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
L.9.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and
nuances in word meanings.
L.9.5a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze
their role in the text.
L.9.5b. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.
“UNWRAPPED” Power Standards
READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT
RI.9.1 CITE strong and thorough textual evidence to SUPPORT analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9.2 DETERMINE a central idea of a text and ANALYZE its development over the
course of the text, including how it EMERGES and is SHAPED and REFINED by
specific details; PROVIDE an objective summary of the text.
WRITING
W.9.2 WRITE informative/explanatory texts to EXAMINE and CONVEY complex
ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective
SELECTION, ORGANIZATION, and ANALYSIS of content.
W.9.2 b. DEVELOP the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended
definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
6
“Unwrapped” Skills
(students need to be able to do)
CITE
SUPPORT
“Unwrapped” Concepts
(students need to know)
POWER STANDARD: RI.9.1
Textual evidence
 Strong
 Thorough
DOK
Levels
3
3
Analysis of
 What the text says explicitly
 Inferences drawn from the
text
Students Know:
 Inferences are assumptions based on textual evidence and reasoning.
Students Can:
 Draw inferences from informational text to make and support an analysis that
goes beyond the obvious by using strong and thorough evidence.
 Support my conclusions with explicit and implicit textual evidence.
 Synthesize evidence collected from the text to best support my conclusions.
 Explain the relationship between my analysis/inference/conclusion and my
textual evidence.
DETERMINE
POWER STANDARD: RI.9.2
Central idea of a text
2
ANALYZE
Development over the course of the
text
o how it emerges
o how it is shaped and
refined by specific details
3
PROVIDE
Objective summary of the text
2
Students Know:
7
 How an author's use of motif (i.e. central idea) can help illuminate the theme of a
particular text.
Students Can:
 Analyze how a central idea develops over the course of the text,
including evidence from the text as support.
 Explain how specific details from the text refine or create subtle distinctions that
shape the central idea.
 Use a range of textual evidence to support summaries and interpretations of
texts (e.g., purpose, central idea).
WRITE
POWER STANDARD: W.9.2
Informative/explanatory texts
EXAMINE
CONVEY
Complex ideas
Concepts
Information
SELECT
ORGANIZE
ANALYZE
Content
3
2,3
3
Students Know:
 Informative/explanatory texts examine and convey complex ideas.
 Informative/explanatory text presentation is determined through effective
selection, organization, and analysis of content in support of the writer's purpose
for writing.
Students Can:
 Select an informative/explanatory topic that can be reasonably explained or
clarified within the space and time allotted.
 Effectively organize complex ideas that communicate the author's purpose.
 Develop the topic by selecting and synthesizing relevant facts, definitions,
concrete details, and quotations appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the
topic.
POWER STANDARD: W.9.2 b.
8
DEVELOP
Topic with:
 well-chosen, relevant, and
sufficient facts
 extended definitions
 concrete details
 quotations
 other information and
examples appropriate to the
audience’s knowledge of the
topic.
3
Unit Vocabulary Terms
“Unwrapped” Power Standards
Supporting Standards Concepts and
Concepts
Other Unit-Specific Terms
textual evidence
primary resource
analysis
subjective
explicitly
commentary
inference
evocative language
central idea
explicit
emerge
gleaned
shape
figurative meaning
refine
connotative meaning
objective summary
technical meaning
examine
cumulative
convey
tone
informative
rhetoric
explanatory
complexity
select
objective
organize
implications
relevant
dynamically
sufficient
fallacious reasoning
extended definition
consensus
integrate
credibility
etymology
denotation
nuance
atrocities
Holocaust
Essential Questions
Corresponding Big Ideas
How do readers construct meaning from
Good readers analyze, compare, infer,
text?
synthesize, and make connections (text to
text, text to world, text to self) to make
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text personally relevant and meaningful.
How can a reader determine the central
ideas of a text?
Readers can determine the central ideas
of a text by analyzing how important
details develop throughout the text.
How does a writer develop a topic in
informative/explanatory text?
Writers develop topics with facts,
definitions, details, quotations,
information, and examples that are
carefully selected and relevant to the
specific audience.
UNIT ASSESSMENTS
Pre-Assessment
Plainfield Public Schools
Unit Two Pre-Assessment
(See Appendix A)
Post-Assessment
New Jersey Model Curriculum Unit Two Assessment
Essential Questions Post-Assessment
(See Appendix B)
Engaging Learning Scenario
Go back in time to Poland, January, 1945. The Soviets have just liberated the prisoners
at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. You are a traveling freelance journalist and are
able to secure a seat on the train transporting the former prisoners to Warsaw so they
may be reunited with their families and other survivors. While riding on the train you are
able to interview several survivors. Their stories will become the basis of your article for
an international news magazine showcasing the conditions and shared experiences
suffered at Auschwitz.
10
Performance Task Synopses
Task 1: Research and read two or more primary source accounts by survivors of Auschwitz
and summarize each of the survivor accounts.
Task 2: Review your survivor summaries in order to compare and contrast the survivor
accounts, selecting commonalities.
Task 3: Compose a news article based on the summaries, commonalities and details of the
accounts.
Task 4: Optional Extension Activity
Performance Task # 1
In Detail
Power Standards: RI.9.1, RI.9.2
Additional Standards: W.9.9b, W.9.10, L.9.1, L.9.2
.
Task 1 Detailed:
You will research two or more primary source accounts by survivors of Auschwitz
 Read two or more written primary sources accounts of Auschwitz survivors from the
Internet or other sources.
 View at least one video of an Auschwitz survivor retelling his/her experience at
Auschwitz.
 Determine a central idea of each of the texts and analyze how specific details develop
the idea.
 Compose an objective summary of each account by selecting important details such
as how they were transported, separated from family members, what they witnessed,
and how they felt.
 Proofread your work to be sure your summaries demonstrate command of the
conventions of Standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling
11
Performance Task # 1 Scoring Guide
4
3
 Summarizes
 All “Proficient”
three accounts:
criteria plus:
two written
Auschwitz
 Includes
survivor
additional relevant
accounts and
historical facts
one video
 Sentence
account
structure is
varied:
Summaries include
paragraphs
relevant textual
include a variety
support including:
of complex,
 how the
compound, and
survivors were
simple sentences
transported
 how/when they
were separated
from family
members
 what they
witnessed
 how they felt
 demonstrates
command of
standard
English
grammar,
usage,
capitalization,
punctuation,
and spelling
Key
4 = Exceeding the Standards
3= Meeting the Standards - Proficient
2= Approaching the Standards
2
 Summarizes
two Auschwitz
survivor
accounts.
 Summaries
meet _3_ of the
“Proficient”
criteria
1
 Summarizes two
Auschwitz survivor
accounts
 Summaries meet
fewer than _3_ of
the “Proficient”
criteria
 Task to be
repeated after reteaching
 Comments:
12
1= Below Standard
21st Century Learning Skills
Specific to Task #1
Interdisciplinary Connections and
Related Power Standards
Specific to Task #1
 Check all those that apply for each task:
6.1.12.A.11.e
Assess the responses of the United States
and other nations to the violation of human
rights that occurred during the Holocaust
and other genocides.
6.1.12.D.11.d
Compare the varying perspectives of
victims, survivors, bystanders, rescuers,
and perpetrators during the Holocaust.
6.2.12.D.4.i
Compare and contrast the actions of
individuals as perpetrators, bystanders,
and rescuers during events of persecution
or genocide, and describe the long term
consequences of genocide for all involved.
❑ Teamwork and Collaboration
❑ Initiative and Leadership
 Curiosity and Imagination
 Innovation and Creativity
 Critical thinking and Problem Solving
❑ Flexibility and Adaptability
 Effective Oral and Written
Communication
 Accessing and Analyzing Information
❑ Other
Performance Task # 2
In Detail
Power Standards: RI.9.1, W.9.2b
Additional Standards: RI.9.3, RI.9.4, L.9.1, L.9.2
Task 2 Detailed:
You will review the survivor summaries you wrote in order to compare and contrast the
survivor accounts, identifying commonalities and differences.
1. Complete a graphic organizer such as a Venn Diagram, comparing and contrasting
the survivor accounts.
 Reread the survivor accounts and your summaries of each account.
 Identify and record the similarities among the accounts on the graphic organizer.
 Identify and record the differences among the accounts on the graphic organizer.
2. Compose a brief essay drawing upon evidence from the survivors’ accounts that
reflects the similarities and differences of their unique personal experiences.
 In one part of the essay explain how the similarities reveal the atrocities of the
Holocaust.
13

In the another part of the essay explain how the differences reflect the survivors’
personal experiences.
Performance Task # 2 Scoring Guide
4
3
2
1
 All “Proficient”
criteria plus:
 graphic
organizer
includes more
than three
similarities/
differences
among the
survivor
accounts.
 Completes a graphic
organizer detailing at
least three
similarities and three
differences among
three or more
survivor accounts.
 Explains how the
similarities reveal the
atrocities of the
Holocaust.
 Explains how the
differences reflect
survivors’ personal,
individual
experiences.
 Cites strong and
thorough textual
evidence.
 Develops the topic
with well-chosen,
relevant, and
sufficient facts,
extended definitions,
concrete details,
quotations, or other
information and
examples.
 Demonstrates
command of
standard English
grammar, usage,
capitalization,
punctuation, and
spelling.
 Meets _4_ of
the
“Proficient”
criteria
 Meets fewer
than _4_ of
the “Proficient”
criteria
 Essay includes
an analysis of
the impact of
word choice on
meaning and
tone in the
survivors’
accounts.
Key
4 – Exceeding the Standards
 Task to be
repeated after
re-teaching
 Comments:
14
3 – Meeting the Standards (Proficient)
2 – Approaching the Standards
1 – Below Standard
15
Interdisciplinary Connections and
Related Focus Standards
Specific to Task #2
6.1.12.A.11.e
Assess the responses of the United States
and other nations to the violation of human
rights that occurred during the Holocaust
and other genocides.
6.1.12.D.11.d
Compare the varying perspectives of
victims, survivors, bystanders, rescuers,
and perpetrators during the Holocaust.
6.2.12.D.4.i
Compare and contrast the actions of
individuals as perpetrators, bystanders, and
rescuers during events of persecution or
genocide, and describe the long term
consequences of genocide for all involved.
21st Century Learning Skills
Specific to Task #2
 Check all those that apply for each task:
❑ Teamwork and Collaboration
❑ Initiative and Leadership
❑ Curiosity and Imagination
❑ Innovation and Creativity
 Critical thinking and Problem Solving
❑ Flexibility and Adaptability
❑ Effective Oral and Written
Communication
 Accessing and Analyzing Information
❑ Other
Performance Task # 3
In Detail
Power Standards: W.9.2, W.9.2b
Additional Standards: W.9.2a,c,d,e,f, W.9.4, W.9.5, W.9.9b, W.9.10, L.9.1, L.9.2
Task 3 Detailed:
Compose a news article based on the summaries, commonalities and details of the
survivors’ accounts. The purpose of the news article is to inform the world audience of the
atrocities witnessed at Auschwitz. The writing style should be appropriate to the task,
purpose, and audience by being formal and objective.





Using your graphic organizer, notes, and summaries, write an informative news
article compiling the accounts of Auschwitz survivors.
Develop the topic with a variety of well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient details.
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
Analyze the similarities of the experiences of Holocaust survivors.
Provide a concluding section that follows from and supports the information
presented in your article. In this section, use evidence from the survivors’ accounts
to articulate implications about the short and long term effects of the Holocaust on
the Jewish population.
16
Performance Task #3 Scoring Guide
4
 Meets all
“Proficient”
criteria, plus:
 Includes
additional
relevant
historical facts
 Uses various
types of phrases
and clauses to
convey specific
meanings and
add variety and
interest.






3
2
Documents
 Meets _4_ of the
experiences of
“Proficient”
three or more
criteria
Auschwitz
survivors
Identifies and
analyzes
similarities
gleaned from the
accounts
Develops the
topic with a
variety of wellchosen,
relevant, and
sufficient
supporting
details from the
primary sources.
Establishes a
formal style and
objective tone
appropriate to a
news article
Provides a
concluding
section that uses
evidence from
the survivors’
accounts to
articulate
implications
about the short
and long term
effects of the
Holocaust on the
Jewish
population.
Demonstrates
command of
standard English
grammar, usage,
1
 Meets fewer
than _4_ of the
“Proficient”
criteria
 Task to be
repeated after
reteaching
 Comments:
17
capitalization,
punctuation, and
spelling.
Key
4 = Exceeding the Standards
3= Meeting the Standards (Proficient)
2= Approaching the Standards
1= Below Standard
Interdisciplinary Connections and
Related Standards
Specific to Task #3
21st Century Learning Skills
Specific to Task #3
 Check all those that apply for each task:
6.1.12.A.11.e
Assess the responses of the United States
and other nations to the violation of human
rights that occurred during the Holocaust
and other genocides.
6.1.12.D.11.d
Compare the varying perspectives of
victims, survivors, bystanders, rescuers,
and perpetrators during the Holocaust.
6.2.12.D.4.i
Compare and contrast the actions of
individuals as perpetrators, bystanders, and
rescuers during events of persecution or
genocide, and describe the long term
consequences of genocide for all involved.
❑ Teamwork and Collaboration
❑ Initiative and Leadership
 Curiosity and Imagination
 Innovation and Creativity
 Critical thinking and Problem Solving
❑ Flexibility and Adaptability
 Effective Oral and Written
Communication
 Accessing and Analyzing Information
❑ Other
18
Performance Task # 4
In Detail
(Optional Extension Activity)
Power Standards: W.9.2, W.9.2b
Additional Standards: W.9.6, SL.9.4, SL.9.6, L.9.1, L.9.2
Task 4 Detailed:
Option 1- Group Activity
As a small group, create a newscast that will be aired on a national news show to inform
American citizens of the atrocities discovered at Auschwitz. The newscast should be
recorded and played back using a media device. Each participant should have a news
segment that is approximately two minutes in length highlighting the findings from their
journeys. You must use multimedia to enhance your presentation.
Option 2- Individual Activity
Since your news article has received national acclaim, you have been selected to appear on
a national news show such as Prime Time 20/20 to share what you witnessed at Auschwitz
and learned from the survivors. Your presentation should be approximately two minutes in
length. You must use multimedia to enhance your presentation.
Performance Task # 4 Scoring Guide
4
All
“Proficient”
criteria plus:
 Uses
descriptive
details
 Includes
additional
supporting
historical
facts
3
2
 Delivers a news
 Meets _3_ of the
presentation that
“Proficient”
documents the
criteria
experiences or three of
more Auschwitz survivors.
 Makes strategic use of
digital media to enhance
understanding of findings,
reasoning, and evidence
and to add interest.
 Speaks clearly and
distinctly, demonstrating
command of formal
English and its
1
 Meets fewer
than _3_ of
the
“Proficient”
criteria
 Task to be
repeated after
re-teaching
 Comments:
19
conventions
 Presentation includes all
of the following:
 Similarities gleaned
from the accounts
 A variety of wellchose, relevant, and
sufficient supporting
details from the
primary resources
 A conclusion that uses
evidence from the
survivors’ accounts to
articulate implications
about the experiences
of the survivors and
the short and long
term effects of the
Holocaust on the
Jewish population.
Key
4 = Exceeding the Standards
3= Meeting the Standards (Proficient)
2= Approaching the Standards
1= Below Standard
Interdisciplinary Connections and Related
Focus Standards
Specific to Task #4
6.1.12.A.11.e
Assess the responses of the United States
and other nations to the violation of human
rights that occurred during the Holocaust and
other genocides.
6.1.12.D.11.d
Compare the varying perspectives of victims,
survivors, bystanders, rescuers, and
perpetrators during the Holocaust.
21st Century Learning Skills
Specific to Task #4
Check all those that apply to the unit:
 Teamwork and Collaboration
❑ Initiative and Leadership
❑Curiosity and Imagination
 Innovation and Creativity
❑ Critical thinking and Problem Solving
❑ Flexibility and Adaptability
 Effective Oral and Written
Communication
20
6.2.12.D.4.i
Compare and contrast the actions of
individuals as perpetrators, bystanders, and
rescuers during events of persecution or
genocide, and describe the long term
consequences of genocide for all involved.
 Accessing and Analyzing Information
 Other -Effective use of technology and
multimedia
8.2.12.E.1
Use the design process to devise a
technological product or system that
addresses a global issue, and provide
documentation through drawings, data, and
materials, taking the relevant cultural
perspectives into account throughout the
design and development process.
Research-Based Effective
Teaching Strategies
Check all those that apply to the unit:
 Identifying Similarities and Differences
 Summarizing and Note Taking
❑ Reinforcing Effort, Providing
Recognition
 Homework and Practice
 Nonlinguistic Representations
 Cooperative Learning
❑ Setting Objectives, Providing Feedback
❑ Generating and Testing Hypotheses

Cues, Questions, and Advance
Organizers

Interdisciplinary Non-Fiction Writing
Differentiation
Strategies
(Additional Supports
+ Enrichment)
Additional Supports:
 Small group
instruction
 Varied
questioning
strategies
 Various
Intervention Strategies





Direct/ explicit
instruction
Additional time
Assistive technology
Advance organizers
Accommodations for
learning styles or
21st Century Learning Skills
 Check all those that apply to the unit:
 Teamwork and Collaboration
❑ Initiative and Leadership
 Curiosity and Imagination
 Innovation and Creativity
 Critical thinking and Problem Solving
❑ Flexibility and Adaptability
 Effective Oral and Written
Communication
 Accessing and Analyzing Information
 Other- Effective use of technology and
multimedia
Specially
Designed
Instruction for
Special Education
Students


Additional
time
Modified
assignments
appropriate
to skills and
ability
Strategies for
English Language
Learners
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
Allow extra
response time
Cooperative
learning groups
Building upon
student’s prior
knowledge
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
organizers
One-on-one
teacher
assistance
Peer tutoring
Enrichments for Highly
Capable Students
 More
challenging and
creative work
 Independent
study with
higher level
concepts and
skills
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
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


multiple
intelligences
Adjust pace of
lesson/ instruction
Modified instruction
Peer tutoring
Mandatory after
school tutoring
Parent conference
Involvement of
Guidance or
Learning Specialist
Reassessment of
lesson or teaching
style
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


Change of
pace
Small group
work
Use of
visuals or
audio to
enhance
lessons
Scaffold
information
Peer
mentors
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Questions and
activities
appropriate to
student levels
of English
ability
Consistent
checks for
understanding
(oral and
written)
Visuals and
graphic
organizers
Connections to
primary
language and
culture
Assignments
modified on an
individual and
as-needed
basis
Modified
reading list
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Instructional Resources and Materials
Physical
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th
McDougal Littell 9 Grade (Orange) text
On-line access to text book
Corresponding activities to specific text
from McDougal Littell activity book
Story elements diagram
Comparison-Contrast Essay, page 284
Reading for Information: Wilderness Letter, page
372
Nonfiction Essay: The Future in My Arms, page
458
News articles: pages 889-892
Additional suggested texts for this unit:
Adler, David A. We Remember the
Holocaust chronicles the Holocaust in the voices of
those who survived it. They tell us about Jewish
life in Europe before the 1930s and about the
violence of Hitler's rise to power. They describe the
humiliations of Nazi rule, the struggle to keep
families together, the fight for survival in the
ghettos, the ultimate horror of the concentration
camps.
Technology-Based
Skill based
Video Clip – How to Summarize http://www.tv411.org/reading/understanding-what-youread/summarizing and
http://www.tv411.org/reading/understanding-what-youread/video-summarizing
Summary lesson with activity worksheets http://www.readingquest.org/strat/summarize.html
Teacher resource for summarizing http://www.bath.kyschools.us.schools.bz/docs/GIST%20Arti
cle.pdf
Resource for writing news articles with organizers.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/newspaper/
Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm
Inverted Pyramid Structure Method http://www.dm3.com/content_guide/content-marketing-creation-invertedpyramid-structure/
Survivor Accounts
Bachrach, Susan D. Tell Them We Remember:
The Story of the Holocaust. Boston: Little, Brown,
1994. Concise and easy-to-read summaries of
Holocaust topics.
https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educatorresources/resource-collections/survivor-testimony - Facing
History and Ourselves – Survivor Testimony Resource
Collection includes survivor profiles, documents, and
videos along with lesson ideas.
Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know: The
History of the Holocaust as Told in the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Boston:
Little, Brown, 1993. An excellent reference book
for all topics of research.
http://comingofagenow.org/ Coming of Age - Read
transcripts and watch videos of survivor stories.
Boas, Jacob. We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of
Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust: - The five
diarists in this book did not survive the war. But
their words did. Each diary reveals one voice, one
teenager coping with the impossible. We see
David Rubinowicz struggling against fear and
terror. Yitzhak Rudashevski shows us how Jews
clung to culture, to learning, and to hope, until
there was no hope at all. Moshe Ze’ev Flinker is
http://sfi.usc.edu/explore The University of South Carolina
Shoah Foundation - Virtual history archive with video
testimonies.
Films
One Survivor Remembers (1995). 36 minutes. A perfect
companion for All But My Life. In this Academy Awardwinning HBO movie, Gerda Weissmann Klein tells her
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the voice of religion, constantly seeking answers
from God for relentless tragedy. Eva Heyman
demonstrates the unquenchable hunger for life
that sustained her until the very last moment. And
finally, Anne Frank reveals the largest truth they all
left for us: Hitler could kill millions, but he could not
destroy the human spirit. These stark accounts of
how five young people faced the worst of human
evil are a testament, and an inspiration, to the best
of the human soul.
Hilberg, Raul. Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders:
The Jewish Catastrophe, 1933–1945. New York:
HarperCollins, 1992. Although a little too scholarly
for students, a good reference book for research.
Langer, Lawrence. Art From the Ashes: A
Holocaust Anthology. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1995. Teachers can pull poetry, short
stories, or nonfiction pieces from this work to
supplement their Holocaust literature selections.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus I & II. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1986. - These Pulitzer Prize-winning books
by Art Spiegelman explore through cartoons what
life is like for children of survivors. Artie grows up
in New York City knowing that his parents, both of
whom survived the Holocaust, have experienced
terrible losses. Artie sets out to discover the real
story behind their survival before it is too late. In
this book, based on Spiegelman's own life, Jews
are mice, Nazis are dogs, and Poles are pigs.
Students will learn about the harrowing events
Artie's father and mother experienced during the
Holocaust, as Artie discovers a deep love and
respect for his father while piecing together the
puzzle of his past.
Wiesel, Elie. Night: It is 1944. The Jews of Sighet,
Hungary are rounded up and driven into Nazi
concentration camps. For the next terrible year,
young Elie Wiesel experiences the loss of
everything he loves — home, friends, family — in
an agonizing journey through Birkenau, Auschwitz,
Buna, and Buchenwald. The greatest tragedy of
our time, told through the eyes of a 15-year old
boy.
Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower: On the
Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. New York:
Schocken Books, 1997. - Wiesenthal's story, The
Sunflower, asks this essential question: "You are a
prisoner in a concentration camp. A dying Nazi
soldier asks for your forgiveness. What would you
story. The footage includes photographs of where she lived
and her incredible story of rescue by her future husband,
Kurt Klein.
The Camera of My Family: Four Generations in Germany,
1845–1945 (1991). 20 minutes. In this moving short film,
Catherine Hanf Noren uses her own family photographs to
personalize the history of the Holocaust.
The Last Days (1998). 87 minutes. This Academy-Award
winning documentary by Steven Spielberg's Shoah
Foundation is a perfect companion for Night. It chronicles
the lives of five survivors from Hungary. My students are
fascinated by every detail of this film.
America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference (1994).
100 minutes. A must-see for American students, this film
shows the role of the United States in the Holocaust. It is
narrated by Kurt Klein, who reads the letters of his parents
to tell their story of the problems posed for them by U.S.
immigration policies. This documentary uses actual footage
to tell the history of the Holocaust.
The Courage to Care (1986). 28 minutes. This compelling
film shows how ordinary people chose not to be passive
bystanders during the Holocaust. Each rescuer tells his or
her story of how personal actions made a difference.
Additional Internet Resources on the Holocaust
http://archives.jdc.org/ American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee (JDC) archives
http://www.adl.org/ The Anti-Defamation
League http://www.adl.org/
http://ajcf.org/ Auschwitz Jewish Center
http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/ Elie Wiesel
Foundation
http://www.holocaust-history.org/ The Holocaust History
Project
http://www.jewishpartisans.org/index.php The Jewish
Partisan Educational
Foundation http://www.jewishpartisans.org/
http://www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/ New Jersey
Commission on Holocaust Education
http://www.ushmm.org/ United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum
24
do?" Read the shocking personal story of
Wiesenthal, and then read the 32 responses from
famous scholars who have read the story and
answered the question themselves.
http://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/ Voice/Vision Holocaust
Survivor Oral History Archive, University of Michigan
http://www.yadvashem.org/ Yad Vashem
Suggested Lessons
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Use a RAFT organizer (role, audience, format and topic).
Create a dialectical journal for each survivor’s account.
Create a storyboard using PowerPoint or a graphic organizer.
Use the Inverted Pyramid Structure Method (see link above) to write the news article.
Create a radio program or skit.
Provide students access to the text—via tablet or photocopy—so they can annotate it
as directed.
Display the text via tablet or computer as you direct students’ attention—by
highlighting, circling, or otherwise drawing their attention—to specific words, sentences,
or paragraphs that are essential to the meaning of the text; as you do this, ask them to
explain what a word means or how it is used in that sentence or how a specific
sentence contributes to the meaning of the larger text.
Pose questions—about words, actions, details—that require students to look closely at
the text for answers.
Offer students an example of what it means to read explicitly and support your
inferences with evidence; then tell them what a passage explicitly says, asking them to
find evidence inside the text to support their statement about its meaning.
Give students several pieces of evidence and ask them to determine what explicit idea
in the text the evidence supports.
Offer them a set of samples of evidence of different degrees of specificity and quality to
evaluate, requiring them to choose the one that is best and provide a rationale for their
choice.
Show students how you would choose evidence from the text to support your inference;
discuss with them the questions you would ask to arrive at that selection.
Add what students learned (from the text about this subject) compared to what they
already know (about that subject); then, have students confirm that their reasoning is
sound by finding evidence for their inferences.
Ask students to generate all possible ideas and themes after skimming and scanning
the text, then determine which of them the text most fully develops.
Tell students to figure out which words, phrases, or images recur throughout the text
that might signal they are the central idea?
Complete a think-aloud with students when working with new or complex texts to model
the questions you ask and mental moves you make as an experienced reader of this
type of text to make sense of it.
Direct students to underline, label, or somehow code all the words, images, or other
details related to the central ideas or themes throughout the text; then examine how
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their use evolves over the course of the text.
Try having students summarize using different formats and modes: presentation slide,
Tweets, lists, index cards, limits of 25 or 50 words, or an outline.
Provide sentence stems typical of those used to summarize this type of text (In _____,
Author X argues that ______).
Request that students use a structured note-taking format—outline, storyboard, or
some visual explanation using shapes and arrows—to capture and illustrate whatever
complex process they are reading about; to these more visual notes, they should add
captions or other written notes to describe what is happening, why, and what it means
or how it relates to the larger subject of the text.
Show students a range of examples—from students, professional writers, or even
yourself—so they see what it is that you want them to do and get a sense of what they
should include.
Discuss the contents, conventions, and other elements of the type of informational/
explanatory text you want them to write.
Give students a copy of a sample text and, if possible, display it on a screen so you can
annotate portions of it while discussing the writer’s decisions and the text’s relevant
features.
Offer direct instruction to the whole class or a smaller group of students who need to
learn how to use graphic and multimedia features of the word processor or other
software applications.
Give students samples that show them different types of graphs, tables, and other
options they might consider when incorporating information or data into their papers.
Work directly with students to generate ideas and gather evidence, data, examples, or
other content; then develop with them criteria for how to evaluate and choose the best
ideas to work into their writing.
Have students go through their papers once they have a complete draft and highlight
the first six words of each sentence; then they can evaluate existing transitions and add
others where they would improve clarity and cohesion.
Direct students to go circle any words in their papers that are abstract, too general, or
otherwise ineffective; then have them generate words that could replace weaker words
or phrases.
Generate with the class words they might or should use when writing about a specific
subject, procedure, event, or person; this might include specific verbs, nouns, and
adjectives for use when, for example, explaining a process or procedure.
Provide examples of or demonstrate for them how to use other techniques such as
metaphors, similes, and analogies.
Source: Burke, Jim. The Common Core Companion: the Standards Decoded, Grades 9-12 - What
They Say, What They Mean, How to Teach Them. Corwin, 2013. Print.