Brainstorming+Individual+Unit+Plan

brainstorm: Why might this text be worth teaching? What do you want students to get out of it? Consider RELEVANCE for students and for the discipline of English Language Arts. Divergent is a text I could possibly use for my uplan. This text is good for students in that it has a female protagonist. She is not described as the prettiest or most popular person, but what is significant about her is her unique sense of self. Despite growing up in one faction she knows that she yearns for another world and life for herself. She makes the difficult decision to change fanctions even though she will be completely alone when she does this. This text deals with issues of identity in adolescents, striving for independence at a time where one may feel like they still need their mommy, and, on a societal scale, the idea that people cannot be classified into one category/ personal trait. This text also deals wit the issue of free thinking/ critical thinking and questioning authority when appropriate. I would want to consentrate on the books commentary on how growing up sometimes means leaving behind previous ties. In leaving elementary school and going to middle school students face possibly losing old friends and gaining new ones in an effort to find themselves. When going from Middle School to high school students have to face a similar transition. Finally, the largest transition of them all comes when students change from high school to college. They have to critically think about the world around them, move away from home, and learn to make their own choices like Beatrice. In the text the main character has to go through several transitions into adulthood. She must make the choice to leave her family behind, she must figure out who she is, she must choose friends wisely, make decisions about her future, and even come to terms with the unhealthy political situation in her city. This text is also related to Language Arts in looking at the larger development of the text. Looking closer at the decisions the main character goes through to move into adulthood and its parallels with real life.