Sample Units
Subject: English
Grade Level: 10
Recommended Timeframe or
Quarter: 2nd Quarter
Instructional Unit Title: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It: A
Visit With the Apocalypse!"
Short Stories Needed for
this Unit:
Stephen Vincent Benét’s
“By the Waters of Babylon”
Ray Bradbury’s “There
Will Come Soft Rains”
Available in the Prentice
Hall Sophomore Platinum Edition
Approximate Duration: 25
days
Enduring Understandings:
Students will understand
that…
q
Whether
through short stories, political cartoons, or letters, writers use many
different strategies in order to comment on social and political issues.
q
By comparing
themes in pieces of literature, more can be understood about the views of
different generations and the messages writers in these periods were trying
to get across.
q
Elements in a
short story follow a general format, but writers sometimes play with these
expectations and surprise the reader by changing around aspects of the usual
formulas.
q
When writing
about social issues, it is important to research and include relevant
information in order to be as persuasive as possible.
Key Knowledge and Skills:
Students will
know:
q
Key terms in
analyzing a short story—exposition, conflict, protagonist, antagonist,
internal/external conflict, rising action, resolution, denouement, plot
summary, etc.
q
Key ideas in
analyzing a political cartoon.
q
Step-by-step
procedures for writing an expository comparison/contrast paragraph or essay.
q
Organizational methods for organizing a letter to the editor.
Students will be able to:
q
Comment on
questions brought up by the stories using their response journals and
built-in sharing time with peers.
q
Analyze a new
political cartoon and reflect on the artist’s message by reporting out in
class.
q
Plan, draft,
edit, and revise an expository paragraph or essay comparing the themes from
the two short stories.
q
Analyze a
social issue of the day and write a letter explaining the problem and their
proposed solution.
Essential Questions:
q
What messages
can we decipher from the themes of literature?
q
What can we
learn about the dilemmas facing different societies by studying the
literature of the past?
q
How do
writers tackle social issues?
q
What makes a
society primitive or advanced?
q
What current
issues need to be addressed by our society and what are current writers
saying about these issues---whether in short stories or editorial cartoons?
Highest Frequency
Standards:
Read text, identify theme and provide support (6c)
Analyze a variety of texts to make predictions and draw
conclusions. (4d)
Infer by making connections with and among texts (1d)
Plan, draft, revise, edit (emphasis on
planning/brainstorming) (2b)
Organize writing using text structures such as compare and
contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution. (2e/f)
Develop main ideas and content fully focused on a prompt with
relevant, thorough, and effective support (paragraph development). (2d)
High Frequency Standards:
Determine multiple meaning using context and structural clues
or dictionary glossaries or other sources. (1f/5f)
Infer by making connections within and among texts. (6d)
Incorporate material from a variety of appropriate sources
when needed. (2g)
Other Standards and
E-Skills:
Use organizational text features to locate relevant
information (5a)
Overview: How have
previous generations viewed war? Is technology going to save humanity?
What happens when we take in knowledge too fast? In this unit you will
compare and contrast two different stories about nuclear war and
annihilation. With all of the talk about the nuclear armament of various
countries in the news, you may think these are recent stories, but they are
not. Ironically one was written before the first atomic bombs were dropped
on Japan in 1945 (*See related article under Resources from About.com). The
first story is “By the Waters of Babylon,” written by Stephen Vincent Benét,
and you will be comparing it to Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft
Rains.” The main goal of this unit is to show you how to effectively craft
an expository paragraph or essay comparing and contrasting the themes in
these two stories. You will be learning how to analyze each story and to
connect them to your own lives, but you will also get to learn how to
decipher editorial cartoons to connect better to current events around you.
As you wrap up the unit, you’ll be asked to write a letter to the editor of
your local paper highlighting what you think is the most troubling yet
underrated issue facing society today. Start thinking about what issues
might affect your generation most because you will have a chance to speak
your mind soon.
Part
I-Stephen Vincent Benét’s “By the Waters of Babylon”
Day
1/Intro: Introduction-Example Cartoon and Response Journals
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teacher Note: Make sure
that all students have a spiral notebook ready for this unit. Ideally, it
should be left in the classroom so that you can do spot checks for
understanding. Before the first day you need to prepare students to look
for the day’s sponge (activities designed to suck the students in) and get
started as soon as they enter the room. For the first day write the
following topic on the board or an overhead and ask the students to respond
in writing to either (or both) questions below:
Sponge: What do you know about war? What
do you know about how war is handled in literature? (Remember to date your
entries. Today’s date is ______________).
Give students
five to seven minutes to write and then share some sample responses. After
the discussion move on to discussing the editorial cartoons and setting up
the inference chart for reading “By the Waters of Babylon.” Have students
copy the example into the next page in their notebooks so that they are
ready to write notes during the reading.
*See TEACHER
RESOURCES- Introduction-Editorial Cartoons
Recommendation: You may
make overheads for the class ahead of time to aid in your discussion. If
you can find more relevant cartoons, add them as needed.
*See TEACHER
RESOURCES- Inference Chart-“By the Waters of Babylon” You may want to make
an overhead of this page for students. As you read with the class, make
sure you model for them the types of items you are looking for. Allow time
during the reading for students to stop, reflect, and record their
inferences. Depending on the amount of discussion, you may have time to
start reading the story today.
*See TEACHER RESOURCES- 1-Minute Essays (Optional)
You
could choose to end each class with having the students reflect on what they
have learned and what questions they have.
1-Minute Essays/
Ongoing Reflection Questions:
(1)
What is the big point you learned in class today?
(2)
What is
the main unanswered question you leave class with?
Students: We all have
different experiences with war and with literature, of course. Today you
are going to set up your response journals and start to look at how
political and social issues have been portrayed in editorial cartoons. Keep
in mind that there will be many viewpoints in the room and you will have
plenty of chances to reflect not only on these subjects, but also your
decision about the biggest problem facing today’s society. We are going to
start by looking at and discussing two editorial cartoons. In your response
journal, you will be (1) participating in the daily sponges (activities
designed to saturate and soak you in the subject), (2) writing journal
responses and (3) keeping notes. How familiar are you with editorial
cartoons? We’ll use more later in the unit as we learn some basic structure
about setting up a paper using comparison and contrast. You may also be
asked to end the day periodically with the following questions in your
journal. You may use this space to communicate with your teacher about your
progress and questions.
Day 2/
Reading/Inference Chart/Response Journal
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As you read this
story with the class, take time to reflect on the setting. Benét’s clues
about the setting may be misleading at first, so ask questions as you read
about what students decide to write on their inference chart. For
struggling or reluctant learners, you may want to do much of this work
together.
Students: What do you know
about going on a quest? This is a story about a young man going on a
journey. As you read pay particular attention to Benét’s clues about the
setting. You will be mapping these in your inference chart.
Classwork/Homework: Write
in your response journal. (For each journal entry, write at least one page
unless otherwise instructed.)
Are John and his people primitive? Use at least four
examples (textual support) as you define what you think primitive is.
Defend your answer.
Day 3/
Reading/Inference Chart/Graphic Organizer
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: For a sponge,
have students compare their journal entries with a peer who will read,
comment on, and initial the journal. Make sure all opinions are validated.
Discuss with the class some of the inferences students have been making and
then continue reading. As you continue to read this story with the class,
continue to give students time to discuss their inferences.
Students: What makes this
story like other stories you have read? What is unfamiliar about it? As
you read, continue to mark any hints about setting in your inference chart.
Classwork/Homework:
*See TEACHER RESOURCES- Graphic Organizer-“By the Waters of
Babylon” Take seven to ten minutes at the end of class to fill in the
graphic organizers with any clues or inferences about the mysteries in the
story.
Day 4/
Reading/Inference Chart/Response Journal
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: For a sponge,
have students compare their graphic organizers with a peer and write down
any answers they learn. Discuss with the class some of the inferences
students have been making and then continue reading. As you continue to read
this story with the class, continue to give students time to discuss their
inferences. Take extra days to finish if you need to. This unit is
designed to be flexible, so if you need to change the pacing based on your
students needs, just do it.
Students: What surprises
you about how Benét frames this story? Are you surprised it was written
before the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Classwork/Homework: Write
in your response journal. (For each journal, write at least one page unless
otherwise instructed.)
What was the biggest mistake the “Gods” in Benét’s story
made?
Day 5/ Finish Inference Chart/Graphic Organizer/Response Journal
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: For a sponge,
have students compare their journal entries with a peer. Make sure all
opinions are validated. Discuss with the class some of the inferences
students have been making. Then, give students time to look back at the
story and complete their inference charts and graphic organizers after
today’s class.
Students: How are you
doing so far? Make sure you are asking questions if you would like
clarification about any of the elements of the story. You should be ready
to turn in your inference charts and graphic organizers.
Classwork/Homework: Write
in your response journal. (For each journal, write at least one page unless
otherwise instructed.)
Benét suggests in the following quote that living without
being truly present is not worth it? He writes, “But it is better to lose
one’s life than one’s spirit…” Do you agree with him? Defend your answer.
What risks have you been will/are you willing to take?
Day 6/
Plot Map/Literary Terms
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: For a sponge,
have students compare their journal entries with a peer. Make sure all
opinions are validated. Discuss with the class some of the opinions
students have. Then, make sure all of the students have a copy of the plot
map which you will fill out together. *See TEACHER RESOURCES- Internal Plot
Map (If you choose to make double-sided copies, make sure students are on
the right side. I like to make them choose between internal and external
conflict based on the story. They will need the external side for the other
story, so making double-sided copies with one on each side would be a good
idea.)
Going over this together is
a chance to check for understanding, but also gives you a chance to make
sure students are familiar with all of the literary terms covered. Let them
know they will need to have a working understanding of these terms for a
quiz later in the unit. When I do this assignment, I’m a stickler for
punctuation, spelling, and word choice. (You can remind students to put
quotation marks around short stories, etc.) When they have the plot
summaries finished, I have students line up at my desk to get them checked
off. I look at them while they are waiting, circle any errors that need to
be corrected, and then send the students back to work until there summaries
are completed correctly.
Students: How is this
story structured? Do you think this is primarily an internal or external
conflict story? Looking at a plot map can help clarify details and add new
meaning. Fill in your blanks as your teacher discusses the story with the
class. Do you know the terms on your plot map? Many of these will be
review, but you will need to learn the rest to be ready for a quiz!
Classwork/Homework: Fill
in the last blank of the plot map, the plot summary. Make sure you are
including all of the relevant information. Look back to edit and have a
peer check and initial your work before bringing it up to the teacher to be
checked off.
Day 7/
Comparison/Contrast Notes
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: *See TEACHER
RESOURCES- Comparison/Contrast Notes You will be using the overheads with
students as they go through a guided comparison/contrast activity. I have
completed this activity with shoes before, but you could pick any item that
is not going to get overly personal (i.e. pencils or pens, the response
journals, backpacks, etc.)
Students: What do you know
about writing a comparison/contrast paper? As you know, you will be
comparing the story you read to another story, Ray Bradbury’s “There Will
Come Soft Rains.” But before we do that, we are going to compare something
else---shoes! Today you will be learning different steps that you can use
when you compare and contrast the themes of the two stories, but, of course,
today the focus will be on your shoes.
Classwork/Homework: After
you have completed your chart, you can decide whether to highlight the
similarities or the differences. Write at least one paragraph where you
explain your findings. Do any editing or revision tonight because one of
your peers will be editing for you tomorrow.
Day 8/
Peer Editing/Final Draft
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: *See TEACHER
RESOURCES- Peer Editing Checklist Pair up students and have them edit the
assignment from the day before. You may need to model this process with the
students if they are unfamiliar with peer editing.
Students: What mistakes
did you find in your paper? What do you think your strengths are in this
paper? As you edit your paper and work on your final draft, make sure you
are taking the time to perfect your work. Writing a final draft does not
just mean recopying your rough draft in ink.
J
Classwork/Homework: Bonus
Extension- For students who have extra time at the end of class or who want
to do it at home, give extra points for finding an editorial cartoon that is
appropriate for class. Have them cut out or print out the cartoon and turn
it in. You could hang these on the walls of the classroom to expose
students to as many different social issues and current events as possible.
Remind them that at the end of the unit they will need to pick a social
issue that is underrated by society and write a letter to the editor about
what would solve the problem.
Day 9/
Editorial Cartoons
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: *See TEACHER
RESOURCES- Editorial Cartoon PowerPoint As a sponge, have students share
the editorial cartoons they brought in. Are any of the images
unflattering? This would be a good time to discuss the exaggerations that
are typical of cartoons. Some will be political, so make sure students know
that you will be looking at the cartoons to decipher the messages and making
judgments based on those messages. Of course there will be many different
viewpoints represented in the room. Preview the PowerPoint and feel free to
add any current editorial cartoons that you find. I’ve tried to find many
examples that are timeless and that students will relate to, but some fresh
hot off the press are always great. If you find some the students really
like, you can email them to me and I will add them to the presentation for
everyone for the next year.
Students: What is the
difference between an editorial cartoon and a regular cartoon? Are
editorial cartoons ever funny? As your teacher takes you through the
editorial cartoons on the PowerPoint, pay attention to the process for
deciphering these cartoons so you can practice this on your own at the end.
You may take notes in your notebook that you can use for the assignment.
Classwork/Homework:
Analyze the five examples at the end of the PowerPoint in your notebook.
You may work alone or with a partner since one of the tasks is asking for
assistance if something doesn’t make sense. For an extension, students who
brought in an example could analyze those examples as well.
Day 10/
Babylon Extension
Duration: @ 50
minutes or 1 class period
Teachers: *See TEACHER
RESOURCES- “By the Waters of Babylon” Article about New Orleans from the
Village Voice As a sponge, have students listen to the song “Rivers of
Babylon” or Psalm 137 from the Bible. Discuss why the title is important.
Read the article about New Orleans, which is also entitled “By the Waters of
Babylon.” What do these people have in common with John and his people?
With the “exodus” in the Biblical account? Also, have students decide what
they think the theme is. Have them find textual support for this from the
story. What lines from the story best showcase Benét’s theme?
Students: How is the title
significant in “By the Waters of Babylon”? Today you will be looking at
references to Babylon and looking for quotations from the story that
showcase the theme. Make sure you have all of the details of this story
straight because you are about ready to start the second one.
Classwork/Homework
Extension: Find other examples of allusions mentioned in the story. Where
else is the title “By the Waters of Babylon” used? What information can you
find on Biltmore, the Hudson River, etc.? Be ready to present your findings
to the class.
Part II-Ray Bradbury’s
“There Will Come Soft Rains”
Day 11/ Wrap-Up/Sara
Teasdale’s and Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”/Response Journal
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers As a sponge, have
students write in their response journals any additional questions they have
about what they have learned so far. You may also want to have them do the
1-minute essays and share in class.
Be sure to save time for
students sharing information about allusions from the last part of the
unit. If students have information for the bulletin board or wall, you
could hang up what they have brought in so that others can share.*See
TEACHER RESOURCES- Sara Teasdale’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” Your main
job today is to read the poem together multiple times to try to decipher the
meaning. Is this poem about war? Have students guess what kind of short
story could be built around this poem? What do they know about science
fiction? About Ray Bradbury? When you are finished looking at the poem,
have the students start an “Inference Chart” for “There Will Come Soft
Rains” on a clean sheet of paper in their journals. Have them copy the
example from the overhead and guide them to copy more as you begin reading.
Students: Have you ever
seen a poem inside a short story? Today you will see a poem that is the
centerpiece to Ray Bradbury’s science fiction story---and both are called
“There Will Come Soft Rains.” You will read the poem today and get a start
on reading the short story.
Classwork/Homework Extension: Write in your response journal. (For each
journal, write at least one page unless otherwise instructed.)
What are you looking forward to about the technological
advances you hope to see in the future? What aspects of the hi-tech house
appeal to you most? Imagine your dream house and describe it.
Day 12/
Reading/Inference Chart/Response Journal
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As a sponge,
have students share with a peer what they have written in their response
journal and then invite several students to share with the class. Then,
begin where you left off the day before after giving the students a chance
to summarize what they remember about the story. As you read this story
with the class, take time to reflect on Bradbury’s description of the family
that lived in the house. Bradbury’s lack of actual human characters may be
confusing, so ask questions as you read about what students are deciding to
write on their inference charts. For struggling or reluctant learners, you
may want to do much of this work together. Make sure you
read at least until the
section where the last moments of the family are described. The students
will need this information for their response journals.
Students: What are the
pros and cons of technology? There are no tricks about the setting in this
story; Bradbury gives that information to you right in the first sentence.
But he has other tricks up his sleeves. As you read and fill out your
inference chart make sure you pay attention to how this story is set up.
Trust me, it’s a little different.
Classwork/Homework: Write
or draw in your response journal.
What was the family doing
during the final hour? Draw a picture or use words to describe what
happened.
Day 13/
Reading/Inference Chart/Response Journal
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As a sponge,
have students share with a peer what they have written or drawn in their
response journals and then invite several students to share with the class.
Then, begin where you left off the day before. You should be able to finish
the story today. When you are finished with the story allow the students to
have time to look back at the story for descriptions of the family to
include in their inference charts.
Students: What questions
do you have about Bradbury’s story? Do you agree with his vision of the
future? As you finish the reading today, make sure you take the time to
reflect on how he describes the family. You should be ready to turn in your
inference chart after today’s class.
Classwork/Homework: Write
in your response journal.
Which story do you prefer? Write an informal review of one
of the stories, including any strengths and weaknesses that you noted.
Day 14/ Graphic
Organizer
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As a sponge,
have students share with a peer what they have written in their response
journals and then invite several students to share with the class. Then, go
over the graphic organizer with the class and have students use the story as
a reference as they look for information to complete the chart. .*See
TEACHER RESOURCES- “There Will Come Soft Rains”—Graphic Organizer
Students: What do you
think of the ending? If you had to write the next installment, what do you
think would happen? What is left? Today you will be working on making
meaning of the story using a graphic organizer. Start thinking about how
this story would fit with a plot map because that’s where we are headed for
tomorrow.
Classwork/Homework: Finish
your graphic organizer.
Day 15/ Plot Map
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As a sponge,
have students share with a peer what they have written in their response
journals and then invite several students to share with the class. Then, go
over the plot maps as a class. Remember, if you made two-sided copies the
first time, this time you will use the “External Conflict” side. *See
TEACHER RESOURCES- External Plot Map
Students: Do all stories
fit on a plot map? Today we are going to fill out the plot map for “There
Will Come Soft Rains.” Hopefully this will help clear up what this strange
story is all about. Make sure you review your plot map because you will
have a quiz soon and you will need to be able to show working knowledge of
all of the terms.
Classwork/Homework:
Fill in the last blank of the plot map, the plot summary. Make sure you are
including all of the relevant information. Look back to edit and have a
peer check and initial your work before bringing it up to the teacher to be
checked off
Day 16/ Literary Terms
Quiz
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As a sponge,
have students spend a few minutes quizzing one another over the terms on the
plot map. Then hand out copies of the quiz and let them have at it. *See
TEACHER RESOURCES- Literary Terms Quiz
Students: What is the
benefit of using a plot map? What do you understand now that you didn’t
before? What is still puzzling to you? Do you think you understand both of
the themes? You will need to understand both stories, so plan to reread if
needed for a more complete understanding before you write your expository
paragraph or essay.
Classwork/Homework: Start
brainstorming the biggest social issues of the day. You may want to check
newspapers, check online, or ask around. You will need to pick an issue to
write about soon.
Day 17/
Comparison/Contrast of Themes-Brainstorming
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As a sponge,
have students compare what they have so far for social issues. *See TEACHER
RESOURCES-Comparison/Contrast Notes Then, use the Comparison/Contrast
Overheads in order to guide a discussion about the themes in the stories.
You may want to use a Venn Diagram to help guide the discussion of
similarities and differences, but if you do, make sure you have plenty of
room in each of the areas to write. *See TEACHER RESOURCES-Venn Diagram.
Students: It’s time to
show off your skills. You will be brainstorming today about similarities
and differences between the themes of the two short stories. Start by
thinking about some of the obvious things these two stories have in common,
like the fact that they both take place in the future and they are both
about survival after a nuclear war. (Well, at least survival for nature in
Bradbury’s case!) Then start thinking about the subtle differences in their
messages. Go back to your notes and the texts as often as you need to.
Your paper should include at least six parenthetical citations.
Classwork/Homework: Keep
working on your rough draft.
Day 18/ Finish Rough
Draft/ Editing
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: Have students
get started on their rough drafts right away. If you have model papers,
this would be a good time to show students what you are looking for.
Students: What are the
strengths and weaknesses of your paper? Remember to ask for assistance if
you need it.
Classwork/Homework: Keep
working.
Day 19/ Peer Editing and
Final Draft
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: *See TEACHER
RESOURCES- Peer Editing Checklist
Students: What mistakes
did you find in your paper? What do you think your strengths are in this
paper? As you edit your paper and work on your final draft, make sure you
are taking the time to perfect your work.
Classwork/Homework: Do you
have your issue picked out yet? It’s not to late to change issues if you
are not feeling excited about what you have been researching.
Day 20/ SOPPADA-Graphic
Organizer for Letter to the Editor
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: As a sponge,
have students spend a few minutes sharing their ideas with one another about
the social issues they have been brainstorming. *See TEACHER RESOURCES- List
of Issues You may want to brainstorm as a class if students are still
struggling with finding a topic. Then use the overhead to show students the
crucial areas to cover in their writing. Once the students write down the
key areas in their notebooks, they are free to start brainstorming (and if
computers are available, doing some on-line research).
*See TEACHER RESOURCES-
SOPPADA
Students: What is wrong
with the world today? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Today you are going to finally get started on your letter to the editor.
Follow the formula your teacher gives you so that you are not just
complaining about the situation; you will also be offering a proposal for
how to solve that problem.
Classwork/Homework:
Continue your writing and research.
Day 21/Rough Draft and
Editing
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: Have students
get started right away on their letters to the editor.
Students: Are you making
progress? Make sure you are asking for assistance if you need it.
Classwork/Homework:
Continue your writing and research.
Day 22/ Peer Editing and
Final Draft
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: Have the
students get started right away on peer editing. When they are finished
have then do a final draft. (If computers are available, you could have
them type the final copy.)
*See TEACHER RESOURCES-
Peer Editing Checklist
Students: Almost there!
Make sure you put in the extra effort to get all of your relevant thoughts
into your letter.
Classwork/Homework: Be
prepared to share with the class. You may want to read your letter out loud
to practice.
Day 23/ Share in Class
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: Have the
students share their letters with the class today. I have budgeted two days
for this, but change this up if you need more time.
Students: What kind of
feedback did you get from the class? What did you learn about your
classmates? This should be the fun part!
Classwork/Homework: If you
didn’t get to share today, make sure you are ready for tomorrow.
Day 24/ Share in Class
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: Continue
sharing.
Students: What was the
most convincing letter? Why? Make sure you give your peers some positive
feedback about their letters.
Homework: None
Day 25/ Self Evaluation
Duration: @ 50 minutes or 1
class period
Teachers: Students will
be filling out the self-evaluations today. *See TEACHER RESOURCES-
Self-Evaluation After they are finished, you may use the rest of the class
to let the students share the most important thing(s) that they learned.
Students: Where do you
think the world is headed? How did you do with this unit? As you fill out
your self-evaluations, make sure you are honest and thoughtful about how
much work you put in and what could be done to improve your learning.
Homework: None! Go have
some fun and celebrate because you are finished.
Additional
Tier 2 and 3 Interventions:
q
Vary the
pacing of the lessons to accommodate various learning styles. If students
need more practice with the compare and contrast exercises, change the
modality from written to oral and have them discuss more examples.
q
Many texts
come with the tapes or cds of the stories so that you could listen to them
as a class or have struggling students listen after making an initial
attempt. But just in case this is not available to you, you can find
different recordings of the stories online.
Extended Learning:
q
If you have
time to go over more about narrative writing, or if you have students who
want an extra challenge, you could use the plot map to have students create
their own science fiction short stories highlighting the future if we don’t
take care of the big problems of the day. Make sure students use the two
stories you have read as examples.
q
Also, you may
have students check out other science fiction stories. A good novel for
this age is Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 about book censorship. You can
have students fill out the plot map after reading to make sure they got all
of the essentials.
q
(Social
Studies Connection) Do you have students interested in war? Have them
research the history of the nuclear armament race and present their findings
in a speech or PowerPoint report for the class. This would also be good for
decorating the walls in the room.
Notes for the Teacher Page:
I have included teacher
notes with each lesson, as well as classwork and homework suggestions, but
of course you will need to modify based on the pacing of your class. I also
have ideas for sponges to get them hooked each day and questions and
commentary for the students so they can know where this unit is headed.
When I have done parts of this unit with my classes, we have completed most
of the assignments and readings together as a class because students
generally have a lot of questions as they are reading these stories. For
one, Benét’s story seems to be set in the ancient past, but it is really set
in the future. It’s amusing to watch students try to piece this one
together. Bradbury’s story, on the other hand, does not even have a single
human character, at least not one who is alive during the course of the
story. I love pointing out all of the examples of personification and how
an otherwise lifeless story is actually filled with action and conflict. I
also like doing the plot maps together so that the class can come to an
agreement about how this works as a story. To get students even further
involved and to allow more chance for self-reflection, I have combined two
different units here, the comparison/contrast of the two stories and the
letter to the editor about a social issue. I have given rough estimates
about how long different activities should last, but use your own judgment,
based on how interested students are in discussing the stories and social
issues, and how long they take on the various assessments. You will find
two different rubrics, the CSAP extended writing rubric, which I think all
students should be familiar with, and a comparison/contrast rubric, which
really goes more in-depth. Use your best judgment with these based on how
specific you want the criteria to be.
Items for Teacher Page:
Here are the
items that are listed as teacher resources in the lessons. In addition, you
will find additional information about each story and related items from
Wikipedia.
TEACHER RESOURCE PREFACE –
History of the Atomic Bomb
TEACHER RESOURCE #1
Introduction-Editorial Cartoons
TEACHER RESOURCE #2
Inference Charts-“By the Waters of Babylon” and
“There Will Come
Soft Rains”
TEACHER RESOURCE #3
One-Minute Essays
TEACHER RESOURCE #4 Graphic
Organizer-“By the Waters of Babylon”
TEACHER RESOURCE #5
Internal and External Plot Maps
TEACHER RESOURCE #6
Comparison/Contrast Notes
TEACHER RESOURCE #7 Peer
Editing Checklist
TEACHER RESOURCE #8
Editorial Cartoon PowerPoint
TEACHER RESOURCE #9
“By the Waters of Babylon” Article about New Orleans from the Village Voice
TEACHER RESOURCE #10 Sara
Teasdale’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”
TEACHER RESOURCE #11
“There Will Come Soft Rains”—Graphic Organizer
TEACHER RESOURCE #12
Inference Chart – “There Will Come Soft Rains”
TEACHER RESOURCE #13
Literary Terms Quiz
TEACHER RESOURCE #14 Venn
Diagram
TEACHER RESOURCE #15 List
of Issues
TEACHER RESOURCE #16
SOPPADA (Brainstorming for Letter to the Editor)
TEACHER RESOURCE #17
Self-Evaluation of the Unit
TEACHER RESOURCE #18 CSAP
Extended Writing Rubric
TEACHER RESOURCE #19
Comparison Contrast Rubric
TEACHER RESOURCE #20 Model
Papers
TEACHER RESOURCE #21 Four
Paragraph Essay Planning Sheet (You could use this if your students need a
formulaic approach or if they have little practice in organizing their
writing.)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Plot summary
The plot
centers around a boy named John who is the son of a
priest.
The priests of John’s people are inquisitive "scientists" associated with
the divine. They are the only ones who can handle
metal
collected from the homes (called the "Dead Places") of long-dead people whom
they believe to be
gods. The
plot follows John’s self-assigned mission to get to the Place of the Gods.
His father allows him to go.
John journeys
through the forest for eight days, and crosses the river Ou-dis-sun (the
Hudson River).
Once John gets to the Place of the Gods, he feels the energy and magic
there. He sees a statue of a god (a human) that says "ASHING". Completed,
the name would be
George Washington.
He also sees a building marked "UBTREAS" (the
Subtreasury
Building). After being chased by dogs and sleeping in someone's apartment,
John sees a dead god. Upon viewing the visage, he has an epiphany that the
gods were simply humans whose power overwhelmed good judgment. After John
returns to his tribe, he speaks of the places "newyork" and "Biltmore".
These clues show that the Great Dead Place is in fact
New York City.
When he
returns home, he tells his father all that he sees, and mentions that he
wants to tell everyone else. His father tells him not to, for sometimes too
much truth is a bad thing, that it must be told little by little. At the
end, a short sentence says, "We must build again."
Analysis
This short
story is a
modern parable,
and shows us what could happen if we continue fighting wars with the rest of
the world. The last line means that the people of the future should build
once more great cities like those of the past.
The story has
drawn note for its apparent eerie prescience, as it illustrates what today
looks like the aftermath of a
nuclear holocaust
years before
Hiroshima.
Other such works are
Futility, or the
Wreck of the Titan (1898) about a massive
ocean liner
that runs into ice and sinks,
The World Set Free
(1914) by
H.G. Wells
about bombs that split the atom, and to a smaller degree,
From the Earth to the
Moon (1865) by
Jules Verne
and
Edison's Conquest of
Mars (1898), which suggests "ships
of space" and "air-tight
suits" among more fantastical concepts.
The title is a
reference to
Psalm 137.
This story may
have been the one that partially inspired
Ayn Rand's
novella
Anthem.
Mount Zion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to:
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Mount Zion
(Hebrew:
הר צִיּוֹן
transliteration:
Har Tziyyon) is the name of a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of
the Old City. The term "Zion" became a
synecdoche
referring to the entire city of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.
Important
sites on Mount Zion today are
Dormition Abbey,
King
David's Tomb
and the
Room of the Last
Supper. The
Chamber of the
Holocaust (Martef Hashoah), the precursor of
Yad Vashem
is also located on Mount Zion. Other places of interest are the Christian
cemetery where Oskar Schindler, a Righteous Gentile who saved hundreds of
Jews in the Holocaust, is buried.
The winding
road leading up to Mount Zion is known as Pope's Way (Derekh Ha'apifyor)
because it was paved in honor of the historic visit to Jerusalem of Pope
Paul VI in 1964. Between 1948 and 1967, this narrow strip of land was a
designated no-man's land between Israel and Jordan.
There Will
Come Soft Rains (poem)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There Will
Come Soft Rains is a short 12-line
poem by
Sara Teasdale
written in
1920. The
poem deals with nature reclaiming the earth after the disappearance of the
human race, and the small overall impact humanity left on the planet. It
illustrates the unimportance of humans. The poem reads:
There will
come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows
circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in
the pool singing at night,
And wild plum
trees in tremulous white;
Robins will
wear their feathery fire,
Whistling
their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one
will know of the war, not one
Will care at
last when it is done.
Not one would
mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind
perished utterly;
And Spring
herself when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely
know that we were gone.
Note: this
work is
public domain
since it was composed prior to
1923 and
the author died over 70 years ago.
There Will
Come Soft Rains (short story)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"There Will
Come Soft Rains" is a
short story
by
science fiction
author
Ray Bradbury.
Spoiler warning:
Plot or ending details follow.
The story is
about a high-technology smart house in a post-human world. Due to a
nuclear war,
the inhabitants of the home have perished; only their silhouettes are left,
etched into the burned outer walls. The intelligent house, unaware of their
deaths, continues to serve the absent people. Throughout the story, which
spans a day, the house makes
breakfast,
disposes of it uneaten, and continues with other domestic tasks. Though
sensitive to time and even to the
weather,
the house fails to register the absence of its owners. Only one living thing
makes an appearance in the story: the family dog. Starved and sick, it makes
its way back to the house only to die; its corpse is then swiftly removed by
the house's automated cleaning robots. In the evening, the house reads the
poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale, underlining the premise
of the story: that man, despite all of his achievements, will be forgotten
the second he is gone. In the end the house catches on fire when a tree
branch falls through a window and smashes into cleaning solvents, causing a
chemical reaction. Though the house attempts to save itself with water and
chemical extinguishers, its years of meaningless service have left it
understocked for emergencies and it quickly succumbs to the blaze. The
recorded voice of the house persists, tolling out the date over and over
again.
The irony of
the story is that as smart as the house is supposed to be, it never realizes
that the family it cared for is dead and gone. It points up the flaws of
technology and reminds the reader that neither human beings nor their
inventions will last forever.
"There Will
Come Soft Rains" is printed as a chapter in Bradbury's
1950
novel
titled
The Martian
Chronicles. The standalone short story version and the chapter
version have slightly different endings. The version in The Martian
Chronicles is known by the variant title "August 2026: There Will Come Soft
Rains".
The short
story seems to reference Ray Bradbury's famous novel,
Fahrenheit 451.
When the house is preparing to read poetry to its absent owner, it
identifies her as "Mrs. McClellan." This might be an allusion to
Clarisse McClellan,
her mother, or another one of her relatives not featured in the novel.
In 1956, the
story was made into a radio play for the
X Minus One
series. The episode is available as
an mp3.
In 1984,
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