Lessons
Below I have put summaries of the lessons that I do for the first five days of our unit with a full lesson plan attached. The rest of the unit follows a similar outline but with different books: Bronx Masquerade, Ghost, & Diego's Crossing.
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This unit is geared towards 9th and 10th grade English classes. It can be taught in any school despite socioeconomic background. The themes and issues discussed are important for all students.
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Day One
Students will start by completing their warm up which will ask them to answer the following questions:
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What do you think Street Fiction is?
What do you think the characteristics of Street Fiction are?
Provide an example of a young adult novel that would fit under the genre of Street Fiction.
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Then students will be introduced to Street Fiction using one of the google slides from assignments page and they will fill out a graphic organizer about its definition, characteristics and examples.
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Afterwards, have students listen to an audio reading of "The Rose Grew From Concrete" by Tupac while they annotate the poem for Street Fiction themes.
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Administer a group discussion about the poem before assigning students their first reading from the first anchor text Monster by Walter Dean Myers.
Day Two
Students will begin by completing warm up by answering the following questions:
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What are your initial reactions about the book?
What do you enjoy so far and what are you looking forward to?
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After, have students watch the Walter Dean Myers interview and present a quick google slide about the author and have students write at least on fact they found interesting.
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Explain to students the purpose of Lit Circle Groups and break them up into their groups before assigning them their lit circle questions.
Day Three
Students will complete warm up for the day where they will answer the following prompt:
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Cite four instances in the book where characteristics or themes of Street Fiction/Urban Fiction are seen
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Have students share their answers with the class before they split off into their lit circle groups.
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After they are done with their questions, read aloud the next pages of Monster as a class.
Day Four
Students will complete warm up for the day where they will answer the following prompt:
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Who is your favorite character and why?
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After completing warm up, students will share their annotations with their table and in group discussion students will share what characteristics and themes they have found.
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Once again, students will work in their lit circle groups for a majority of the class period.
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Introduce final project options to students before dismissing class.
Day Five
Begin class by explaining each project option in more depth. Have students write their option in their warm up.
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Students will go back to their lit circle groups.
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As a closure, have students share their predictions about the end of the book before assigning the final lit circle questions and final reading pages.