Unit+2

Unit 2 Essential Questions: What are the universal themes in literature? How do theme and topic relate? How do smaller parts of a text contribute to its whole? How do I summarize? How does summary differ from explanatory writing? How do I communicate ideas and concepts effectively through writing?

Speaking and Listening - Standard 2 - Analyze diverse media formats Scoring Rubric Speaking and Listening - Standard 5 - Understand and integrate multi-media Scoring Rubric

Introducing memoir (from Pat @ Brody): I printed off the words to Dolly Parton’s ballad (review concept) “Coat of Many Colors.” I introduced the definition of a memoir. Students then read the print version with the guiding question “How is this a memoir?” Then I played the song while they read along. Follow up was “One theme in this ballad is ……….” And “The song “Coat of Many Colors” is a memoir. It tells of a significant experience in Dolly Parton’s life. It is about ………..” This reviews theme and summarizing. Students enjoyed the change of pace and were successful in both identifying theme and summarizing the story. I used it with my SCR students first and decided to use in regular reading also. The lyrics are not punctuated---so this could be a punctuation follow-up also. I found this by googling lyrics for Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors.” I had cd, but found youtube had recording to use if you need it.