Digital LEARNING EXPERIENCE

English & History /Chris Kasnot and Jason Salcido

Student Version: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GMJVc3JU-

DSdLofgt3uFUC5J0EcjABmXI2VOOl1bKwQ/edit#slide=id.gac6c45aeb1_0_1

Introduction/Overview of Experience
WIth social media and peer engagement being an integral part of students’ lives, we wanted to
create a unit that tapped into this prior knowledge and interest. In this unit, students will be
researching historical, rhetorical, and literacy information on civil rights, anti-war, or social
justice leaders in the modern day, and the using that knowledge to modernize a key historical
figure from the past and impersonate their new persona’s social media presence. This will
combine historical knowledge and history’s connection to the modern day, with literary and
rhetorical analysis and presentation. Finally, by taking on the persona of a civil rights, anti-war,
or social justice leader, students will be exposed to potentially differing perspectives that can
help contextualize modern events and movements that are still going on today, and be armed
with the knowledge that will help them understand what, why, and how language is being
utilized.

Standards (include ELA and Content)

8.SP1.3 Evaluate the significance of past events and their effect on students’ lives and society.
8.C2.3 Analyze concepts and ideals such as majority and minority rights, civil dissent, and the
rule of law.

8.H3.2 Explain how popular movements, reform efforts, and activist groups have sought to
change American society and institutions.

8.W.3 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.

● Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature.

● Apply grade 8 Reading standards to informational text and nonfiction.

8.SL.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information,
strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

8.SL.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal
English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 8 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific
expectations.)

8.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in

word meanings.

a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.

b. Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.

c. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations

(definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute)

8.L.6 Acquire and use accurate grade‐appropriate general academic and domain‐specific words
and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the mini-unit, students will act as a historical anti-war, civil rights, or social activist
to their peers, interpreting their persona through mock social media posts and speed dating with
their peers.

Texts/Text Types (list, describe use, include images)

Audio of Allen Ginsberg reading Howl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMVGoY9gom50

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Students will have their own copy of the poem Howl and read it silently to themselves,
annotating as they go. Students will be expected to provide one annotation for each stanza,
identifying figurative language and its effectiveness. Then, they will listen to the author himself
read it to them through the video above. After the second reading, students will talk in groups
about their annotations and if there was anything they feel like they understood better after the
second reading. Afterwards we will all come together as a class and share our opinions on the
poem itself and try to unpack it. As an exit ticket, students will provide their opinion on whether
they preferred reading the poem to themselves or having it read to them.

I believe that with poems like this, students will benefit greatly from hearing the author speak it
in their own voice so that they come away with a better understanding of the tone that the
author tried to convey. Howl is a personal favorite of mine, and holds a significant place in
American history as it was banned due to censorship laws in the 50s pertaining to the reference
of illicit drugs and sexual practices in the poem. After his publisher tried to import publications
from England, a trial ensued and ultimately the publisher and Ginsberg won, and Howl was
deemed of "redeeming social importance".

Mark Twain “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”

http://www.bachlund.org/The_Battle_Hymn_of_the_Republic_Updated.htm

I will begin this lesson by giving a short history lecture on the Spanish-American war and the
impact it had (and still has) on America and the world. Students will listen to the original "Battle
Hymn of the Republic" and sing along to it with the Twain lyrics. Afterwards, students will work
in groups to annotate the piece, highlighting use of figurative language and interpreting difficult
sections of the piece. Afterwards, we'll all come together as a class and use those sections that
were annotated to try to make connection to modern day imperialism in America and around the
world.

"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" takes a well known song in American history and juxtaposes
it with a grim, violent telling of America's imperialism and the effect it had at the time.

Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”

https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/CKHG_G6_U9_Reform-in-
Industrial-America_FE1_TheJungleSinclair.pdf

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I will give a brief history lecture on the history of working conditions, child labor laws, and unions
in the United States as background knowledge.

Students will read and annotate excerpts from The Jungle, and will participate in Socratic
Seminars relating to the text. Students will be expected to identify at least three quotes from the
readings and are required to share at least one, or respond to another student's
interpretation/critique/relation to modern day.

The Jungle is credited with being the reason for the creation of the Food and Drug
Administration. Though Sinclair wrote The Jungle with the intention of displaying the horrid
working conditions in food production and for immigrants in general, the grotesque imagery of
those conditions had the public more interested in reformation of the production over the
workers. Sinclair is noted for saying "I aimed at the public's heart and by accident hit its
stomach."

Khaled Hosseni’s The Kite Runner

https://wiztrit.com/excerpt/?e=8l

I will provide a brief lecture on the history of Middle East policy and a breakdown of
America's current relation with them.

Students will read The Kite Runner and throughout the course of the reading students will
be placed in groups and will present assigned sections of the book together. Students
presentations will include a summary, notable figurative language used, character analyses,
a connection to modern day issues (students will be encouraged to look through their
Current Events notebook for reference). Students will be graded based on a provided
rubric and how well they satisfy the criteria listed above.

The Kite Runner is a historical fiction that, at times, graphically conveys the difficulty of
growing up and living in the Middle East during the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through
Soviet military intervention and the United States role in the follow up. Having a text like
this humanizes the situation in the Middle East and allows students have a better means of
identifying with the innocent people affected by it.

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 Lesson One: Ask A Compelling
Question

Standards:

● 8.W.3

● 8.L.5

● 8.L.6

SS: Students will be introduced to five modern day rights figures and their use of social media to
deliver culturally relevant messages so students can begin deconstructing and analyzing the
language and rhetoric used.

ENG: Students will annotate five articles/speeches/etc. from modern day civil rights activists and
will utilize the figures’ social media to compare and contrast their language usage to better
understand why specific language is utilized.

Inquiry Question:

How would a civil rights, anti-war, or social justice leader from the 19th or 20th century sound like
today (in person and online)?

Class will begin with my introduction of the Inquiry Question and lay out the groundwork

for the unit ahead. As bellwork, students will be asked to review literary devices from a

cheat sheet that I would have given them prior to this lesson. Review will consist of them

identifying at least one literary device they still struggle with understanding, and

collaborating with group mates to help them understand.

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Hook: Students will be given a list of “hot topic” issues in modern times, and will be
asked how historical figures that they know of would react to these issues. Students will

respond using Pear Deck.

Activity:

In groups of 3-5, each student will read a text from a list of authors they are free to

choose from. Students will be expected to annotate the article, making note of

literary devices and figurative language used by the author that lends to their voice.

Each paragraph should have at least one annotation.

After ample time has been given, each student will break down the text they read

for their group mates. This breakdown will include a brief summary of the events,

several examples of the author’s use of literary devices and figurative language, and

how the author’s voice comes across to the reader.

Closing:

The class will all watch brief clips of each of the author’s speaking, whether it be in

speeches, interviews, ads, etc. As an exit ticket in Pear Deck, students will note the

differences in the author’s language between their written work and their verbal speech.

Prior Knowledge Access:

Representation: The activity is incredibly relevant to the essential question as it addresses

the tool authors use that reflect their voice as writers. Literary devices are used in almost

every form of narrative and by focusing on those we give students a target for how to

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describe the author’s voice. The text set for this lesson in particular has many

autobiographical text which will further help students understand the voice author’s have

in their writing.

Transmission: Students will need different exposures to the author’s voice beyond just their

writing in order to understand how one differs from the other. If students are expected to

imitate these figures later in the unit, they can’t simply read text by said author.

Transferability: Literary devices are used in almost every text analyzed in an English

classroom, so further practice with these will always prove beneficial. Seeing the use of

them in autobiographical texts (not often used in English classrooms) will also broaden

their perspective on their use.

Endurance: By using relevant figures for this part of the lesson we had the intention of this

being one massive “hook” to get students interested in the use of literary device to define

voice. As stated before, literary devices are key to all of the texts I intend on having my

students read, so having them identify them in these texts will expose them to their use in

different contexts.

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 Lesson Two: Analyze Sources

Standards:

● 8.W.3

● 8.L.5

● 8.L.6

Objective:

Students will choose their leader from the past from a teacher provided list and begin
researching/analyzing their spoken and written words through five primary resources in
the same style as the previous day to gain understanding of how their language and
rhetoric was used.

Intro:

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 Students will be given a list of “hot topic” issues in modern times, and will be asked how
historical figures that they know of would react to these issues. Students will respond
using Pear Deck.

Activity:

In groups of 3-5, each student will read a text from a list of authors they are free to
choose from. Students will be expected to annotate the article, making note of literary
devices and figurative language used by the author that lends to their voice. Each
paragraph should have at least one annotation.

After ample time has been given, each student will break down the text they read for
their group mates. This breakdown will include a brief summary of the events, several
examples of the author’s use of literary devices and figurative language, and how the
author’s voice comes across to the reader.

Closing:

The class will all watch brief clips of each of the author’s speaking, whether it be in
speeches, interviews, ads, etc. As an exit ticket in Pear Deck, students will note the
differences in the author’s language between their written work and their verbal speech.

Lesson Three: Creatively Synthesize

Claims and Evidence

Standards:

● 8.W.3

● 8.L.5

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 ● 8.L.6

● 8.SL.5

Objective:

Students will be able to identify at least five instances of figurative language from
selected texts from an influential American activist that develop the figures’ voice.
Students will be able to write a pastiche that replicates the voice of their selected figure
by using at least three pieces of figurative language the figure used in their own texts.

Hook:

Students will be shown examples of pastiches in the form of music covers where they
will listen to the original piece then the covered version. As a class, students will
determine how the artists replicate the original artists’ musical style.

Activity:

Students will write a pastiche choosing one of the figures discussed in the previous
days and replicate their voice. Their pastiche should address one of the hot topic issues
discussed in the previous days (or one of their choosing that is approved by the teacher)
and use similar figurative language to invoke the voice of their figure. The pastiche does
not have to follow any specific format of an essay, but must be at least on page, but no
longer than two.

Closing:

Students will share their pastiches with two other students, and they will be required to
identify the figurative language their peers used in their pastiches.

Lesson Four : Critically Evaluate and

Revise
Comparing Texts and Peers

Standards:

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 ● 8.W.3

● 8.L.5

● 8.L.6

● 8.SL.5

● 8.SL.6

Objective:

Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the speech of an influential

American activist through their written texts and interviews/speeches/etc. Students will
be able to evaluate the potential relationships between American activists by
determining if they would agree with one anothers’ values based on their peers’
analyses.

Hook:

Students will watch a “dating profile” video prepared by the teacher that takes on the
persona of an American historical figure or social activist. The profile addresses the
figure’s accomplishments and influence on American culture as well as their notable
texts they’ve written. Finally, their profile should mention what cultural/social/economic
values they seek in a potential “partner”.

Activity:

Students will use Flipgrid to create a “dating profile” of the figure they chose for their
pastiche. Their profile should mention their figure’s accomplishments and influence on
American culture as well as their notable texts they’ve written. Their profile should
mention what their figure would want future generations to take away from their work.
Finally, their profile should mention what cultural/social/economic values they seek in a
potential “partner”. Their video should be at least a minute long, but no longer than 3.

Students are expected to have watched interviews,speeches, or any other medium of

the figure speaking verbally. Students should make at least an attempt to replicate the
figure’s voice in their profile.

Closing:

Students will respond to 3 of their peers videos and determine whether their figure would
agree with their peers’ figures or not. They should provide reasoning for their evaluation
by identifying specific points made by their peers and comparing them to their own.

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 Students are expected to find at least one other activist their figure would agree with and
one other that they would disagree with.

Lesson Five : Share, Publish, Act

Standards:

● 8.W.3
● 8.L.5
● 8.L.6

Objective:

Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the speech of an influential

American activist through their written texts and interviews/speeches/etc. Students will
be able to evaluate the potential relationships between American activists by
determining if they would agree with one anothers’ values based on their peers’
analyses.

Activity:

Students will write a 5 paragraph, 2-3 page analysis essay that follows a specific format:

● Paragraph 1: Provide a summary of your selected figure. This should include

their notable work and influence, as well as common figurative language they
used in their writings.
● Paragraphs 2-4: Choose 3 figures that your classmates covered and evaluate
their potential relationship as writers. Would they agree with each others’
social/political views? How do their voices and writing styles differ?
● Paragraph 5: Final reflection on how an author’s voice is developed through their
use of figurative language.

Exemplary Satisfactory Poor

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Content Knowledge Essay displays an Essay displays an Essay does not
(40 points) exemplary adequate level of display an adequate
understanding of their understanding of their level of their own or
own and their peers’ own and their peers’ their peers’ figures
figures and their figures and their and their work.
work. work.

Organizational Essay follows the Essay is mostly Essay does not follow
Structure format provided. follows the format the format provided.
(20 points) provided.

Grammar/ Sentence Essay contains little Essay contains some Essay is riddled with
Fluency to no grammar errors grammar errors and grammar errors and
(10 points) and shows fluent shows somewhat does not show
sentence/paragraph fluent fluency in
structure through sentence/paragraph sentence/paragraph.
transitions. structure.

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