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Lesson 5

We will finish the unit by engaging in a whole-class discussion about our current understanding of what it means to be an American. We also discuss Culminating Task topics that relate to the unit and identify possible pathways to explore for the Application Unit.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I change my ideas or perspective based on new, credible information and experiences?

Texts

There are no texts for this Lesson.

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will complete an Anticipation Guide to discover what we currently think about being an American, and we will compare our current responses to our original responses.

We will return to this unit’s Central Question:

What does it mean to be an American?

Share your understanding of what it means to be an American by completing the Anticipation Guide. Listen to each statement. After each statement is read, note your response (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree) on your Anticipation Guide, then silently walk to the corner of the room that best aligns with your belief (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree). Do not discuss your responses. After each statement, and you and your classmates have chosen corners, observe how many people are in each corner.

At the end of the exercise, discuss the following questions as a whole group:

  1. What surprised you about the responses?

  2. How have your responses changed from the responses you gave in Section 1?

Activity 2: Discuss

We will engage in a whole-class discussion to share our understanding of what it means to be an American and consider questions we might further explore. This will help us express our understanding of the themes of the text and prepare for the Application Unit.

Review the unit’s Central Question: What does it mean to be an American?

Respond to the following guiding questions:

  1. How did the texts in this unit help you understand or think about the Central Question?

  2. What avenue of analysis did you take for your Culminating Task, and how did it relate to the Central Question?

  3. What about this text or topic do you still want to know?

  4. Was there any particular topic or text that captured your attention? Why?

Activity 3: Read

We will examine and discuss possible connections among the unit, other units from the year, and the research we might choose to do in the final Application Unit.

Follow along as your teacher overviews the Application Unit and the collaborative and independent research project you will be doing to complete the year’s learning. Ask questions about what will be expected of you and what options you will have for completing the culminating project.

Individually, reflect on what interested you during this unit and what you might want to explore further. Capture these reflections on the Application Unit Potential Topics Tool. Use the following questions to help guide your reflection:

  1. Were there any particular topics or texts that captured your attention? Why?

  2. What about each text or topic do you still want to study? What questions do you still have? Write these down in the Questions or Subtopics to Explore column.

  3. How would you begin to research each text or topic?

As a class or in groups, have a final discussion about what engaged you in this unit, as well as what and how you might want to study further for the final Application Unit.