Lesson 9

We will develop a short personal reflection, essay, or narrative in response to the second Central Question: What compass might you carry as you undertake your journey in the world?

Lesson Goals

Reading and Knowledge

Summarize: How well do I establish and explain an accurate understanding of the central ideas of the section texts?
Evaluate Effects: How well do I evaluate how the author uses literary devices to communicate meaning in a text?
Compare and Connect: How well do I recognize points of connection among the section texts, including connections among textual elements and perspectives, to make logical, objective comparisons in my writing?
Determine Meaning and Purpose: How well do I use connections among details, elements, and effects to analyze the author’s perspective, purpose, and meaning in the section texts to develop my writing?

Writing

Gather and Organize Evidence: How well do I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate understanding of what I read in a written summary of a text ?
Form Claims: How well do I develop and clearly communicate meaningful claims that represent valid, evidence-based analysis of the central idea of a text?
Organize Ideas: How well do I sequence and group sentences and paragraphs and use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, and evidence to establish coherent, logical, and well-developed narratives and explanations?
Gather and Organize Evidence: How well do I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate an understanding of the section texts and topics to support claims and develop ideas in my writing?

Texts

There are no texts for this Lesson.

Materials

Tools

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will review the task and our planning as we prepare to write a personal response for the section 2 diagnostic.

Step 1

Review the prompt and expectations for the Section 2 Diagnostic. You already drafted Part 1: an explication of the meaningful text you selected.

Reread your explication, noting the important ideas you want to connect to in Part 2 of the task.

Step 2

Review the three choices you have for your personal response:

Option 1: A reflective narrative, in which you tell the story of how you have come to understand the text and find meaning in it.
Option 2: A personal essay, in which you discuss the central stories and ideas of the selected text and how they might be significant as a compass for you.
Option 3: A personal narrative, based on a meaningful story from your own life that is somehow connected to the stories and ideas in your selected text.

Based on the choice you make, review the plan you developed for homework and prepare to write your reflection, essay, or narrative in class.

Activity 2: Write

We will draft our personal response to a selected text from section 2 for the Section Diagnostic.

Write a personal response to the text you selected, keeping in mind how you explicated the ideas in that text. As you write, consider the Central Questions:

What does it mean to live a life well-lived?
What compass might you carry as you undertake your journey in the world?

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will review and revise our draft for the Section Diagnostic, considering the improvement goal we have set and the expectations from the Section Diagnostic checklist.

Step 1

Review the improvement goal you set in the previous lesson, based on your review of your response in the Section 1 Diagnostic. Reread your draft for this Section Diagnostic, considering whether and how you have addressed this goal. You will include the goal when you submit your final draft.

Step 2

Also review the expectations on the Section 2 Diagnostic Checklist:

Indicate your understanding of the text, its key ideas, its details, and their meaning for you.
Respond to the selected text personally, indicating how and why it might be meaningful to you.
Reference the selected text, either through your own storytelling or through specific citations from the text.
Develop your ideas with descriptive details, examples, and explanations.
Organize your ideas in a logical structure.
Use correct and effective grammar and spelling to clearly communicate your ideas.

Review and revise your draft personal reflection, essay, or narrative. Try to meet your improvement goal and the expectations of the task to the best of your ability.

Step 3

Prepare to submit your two-part personal response to the selected text, including the Summarizing Text Tool you developed for that text, the Part 1 explication you developed in the previous lesson, and the improvement goal you identified based on your performance on the Section 1 Diagnostic.

Activity 4: Write – Discuss

We will reflect on our work on the Section Diagnostic and assess how prepared we are for the Culminating Task.

Step 1

Choose at least three of the questions below regarding the Section Diagnostic and respond to them in your Learning Log:

How well did you take necessary action to prepare for the task?
What went well for you during the completion of this task?
What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through these struggles?
How well did you actively focus your attention during this independent task?
How well did you develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain workflow during this task?
What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?

Step 2

Now, find your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about the knowledge you have gained and the skills you have practiced thus far in the unit. Use the Culminating Task Progress Tracker to do the following:

Add or refine any skills and content knowledge required for the Culminating Task.
Evaluate how well you are mastering the skills and knowledge required for the Culminating Task.

Step 3

Review the first Central Question of the unit:

What does it mean to live a life well-lived?

Use the following questions to guide a discussion with a partner or small group:

What new knowledge do you have that relates to the Central Question?
What are you still curious about that relates to the Central Question?
What is the relationship between the Central Question and the texts you have read so far? How do the texts shed light on the question? How does the question help you understand the texts?
How has your response to the question evolved, deepened, or changed?

In your Learning Log, write your response to Question 4. You will return to this response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.