Curriculum / ELA / 9th Grade / Unit 3: Power, Justice, and Culpability: Of Mice and Men and The Central Park Five / Lesson 16
ELA
Unit 3
9th Grade
Lesson 16 of 30
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Write a strong thesis statement in response to an analytical essay prompt, and outline body paragraphs needed to support that thesis statement.
Book: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck — full text
Rubric: Argumentative Writing: Literary Analysis Rubric 9-12
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
Write a multi-paragraph literary analysis on one of the following prompts:
An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
Finish outlining the body paragraphs.
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W.9-10.1.a — Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
W.9-10.1.b — Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns.
W.9-10.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.9-10.5 — 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.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
RL.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail 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.
RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
RL.9-10.5 — Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
W.9-10.10 — 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 discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Lesson 15
Lesson 17
Analyze depictions of migrant workers in an article by John Steinbeck and various photographs by Dorothea Lange, noting the similarities in their representation.
RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.4
Explain how Steinbeck establishes the setting and introduces his main characters in Of Mice and Men.
RL.9-10.4
Analyze how Steinbeck develops the reader's understanding of the relationship between Lennie and George.
RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4
Analyze how Steinbeck develops social hierarchies on the ranch and introduces tension into the story.
RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.5
Writing
Write a strong topic sentence and select relevant textual evidence to support that claim.
RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4 W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5
Outline an analytical paragraph using the acronym T-E-A-L, and write a first draft.
W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.d W.9-10.1.e
Write a strong analytical paragraph that effectively integrates textual evidence and argues for which person at the ranch poses the greatest threat to Lennie and George.
W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.d W.9-10.1.e W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.5
Analyze how Steinbeck develops characters and explain what characters' actions and beliefs can reveal about human nature.
RL.9-10.3
Analyze the character of Crooks through the lenses of racism, loneliness, and power.
Analyze the character of Curley's wife through the lenses of sexism, loneliness, and power.
Analyze how Steinbeck has used foreshadowing to develop tension leading up to the story's climax.
RL.9-10.5
Analyze the structural choices Steinbeck has made in the final chapter of Of Mice and Men and how he works to shape the reader's perception of Lennie's murder.
Analyze the Robert Burns poem, "To a Mouse" and draw conclusions about why Steinbeck chose a line from this poem for the title of his novel.
RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3
Assessment: Socratic Seminar
Take a position on one of three analytical prompts and gather textual evidence in preparation for a Socratic seminar.
RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 W.9-10.1
Engage in a Socratic seminar in preparation for crafting a literary analysis for Of Mice and Men.
RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 SL.9-10.1.a
Argumentative Writing
W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5
Write the body paragraphs of an analytical essay in the literary present tense, using strong transitions within and between paragraphs.
W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.d W.9-10.1.e W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5
Review the parts of an introduction, and write a strong introduction to an analytical essay using the acronym H-I-T (hook, introductory information, thesis statement).
W.9-10.1 W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5
Review the parts of a conclusion, and write a strong conclusion to an analytical essay using the acronym B-A-M (refer back to thesis, analyze its significance, make it universal).
Revise and edit essay drafts either independently or using a peer review structure.
Explain what the Atkins v. Virginia decision and the case of Marvin Wilson reveal about perceptions of culpability in the criminal justice system.
RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.3 RI.9-10.4
Analyze how characters in Of Mice and Men view Lennie's culpability in different situations throughout the text.
Identify claims made about the relationship between racial bias and wrongful convictions, and analyze how structural choices help develop an author's ideas.
RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.5
Identify Sarah Burns' purpose in The Central Park Five, and explain how an author's tone develops the reader's understanding of their perspective.
RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.4 RI.9-10.6
Analyze the structure of the first chapter of The Central Park Five and explain the purpose and impact of specific sections of the text.
RI.9-10.3 RI.9-10.5
Analyze how Burns uses descriptive language and specific details to communicate her perspective.
RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.4 RI.9-10.6 W.9-10.10 W.9-10.9
Analyze the choices director Ava DuVerney made in When They See Us and compare her portrayal of characters and events with Sarah Burns' text, The Central Park Five.
RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.7 W.9-10.1
Analyze how racism shaped media coverage of the Central Park Five, and explain the debate around blame and culpability in this case.
RI.9-10.3 RI.9-10.4 RL.9-10.4
Analyze the choices director Ava DuVerney made in When They See Us and compare her portrayal of characters and events with Sarah Burns's text, The Central Park Five.
RI.9-10.3 RI.9-10.4
Assessment: Performance Task
Brainstorm, outline, and record a podcast episode that analyzes the power of language to construct meaning about a person's identity in both Of Mice and Men and Central Park Five.
RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.4 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.4 SL.9-10.4 SL.9-10.5 W.9-10.4 W.9-10.6
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