CMWhitmillerASSESSMENT-IUP

Chelsey Whitmiller





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Chelsey Whitmiller“Finn” Unit plan – 10th gradeLiterature for Young Adults 2013Dr. Sherry**Unit Rationale:**
 * What are books//, REALLY?//**American academic Charles William Eliot once said, “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers” (Hameed.) Books are much more than just objects with words on paper. They are works of purposeful, meaningful art chalked full of life lessons, adventures, dreams, and realities relative to individuals of every race, religion, background, culture, and kind. Books are alive, and they breathe life into their readers as each of their unique worlds are opened, studied, and marveled. They take all elements of life and show readers what it means to imagine; that the impossible is actually possible and that no dream is too wild or too vast to reach. Indefinitely, as Eliot argued, they are our friends. What a shame it would be if students were never taught what books truly are; how many windows would be closed, dreams broken, and hope lost.
 * Background of //Finn//**In the late 1800’s, Mark Twain wrote his now classic //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn//, which centers around a young boy named Huck and a runaway slave named Jim. In an attempt to break free of his alcoholic and abusive father Pap Finn, Huck fakes his own death, runs away from his home, and travels through the woods in search of a new life. Along the way, he meets Jim, who has run away from his slave owner Miss Watson. While both Huck and Jim are initially searching for freedom, they end up gaining much more. Through each other, they find friendship, family, courage, strength, and happiness. At the end of the book, Pap Finn’s body is found. Due to the fact that he is rarely mentioned throughout the story, the reader is left to interpret and imagine both the life and death of Pap’s character on his/her own. Nearly one-hundred twenty-three years after Mark Twain’s novel made its debut, Jon Clinch’s //Finn// made its own appearance. //Finn// is a dark, twisted, modern spinoff of Twain’s classic. However, rather than focusing on Huck and Jim, the book takes a “behind the scenes” look at Pap Finn’s character. Throughout the story, Clinch portrays Pap’s character as a sort of monstrous, psychopathic murderer. He takes his readers into the mind of Pap and fills in the missing pieces of Twain’s original piece.
 * Why is it important?**Across the boards, the English Language Arts’ programs have always made the point to include classic writers into the curricula but have rarely ever made the effort to expose students to the great writers of today. This leaves most students constantly asking the same question: “Why do we have to read literature from hundreds of years ago?” Quite arguably, issues from the “ancient” texts can still be analogous to students. However, cannot the issues presented in more modern texts be even more relative to them? In my opinion, not only can the modern texts be more relative, but also more appealing. So, why is this important? The more familiar and relative the literature is to students, the more interested they will be in reading it. The more interested students are in the material they are reading, the more they will learn, gain, and grow in the classroom.
 * Why //Finn//?**Although //Finn// draws parallels to Twain’s classic, the text itself is the antithesis of //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn//. Therefore, teaching tidbits of //Huckleberry Finn// along with the entirety of //Finn// will allow for the perfect mix between classic vs. modern, life vs. death, friends vs. foes, gaining vs. losing, rewards vs. consequences, understanding vs. lack thereof, love vs. hate, happiness vs. madness, and good vs. evil. Comparing these two pieces of literature together, while focusing primarily on //Finn//, will give students the opportunity to put themselves in the shoes of both Huck and Pap. It will enable them to draw their own conclusions based off the characters, see the importance of comparing two texts, and take note of the possibilities of interpreting one piece of literature. //Finn// narrows in on some extremely important matters of both the past and the present. For example, the book observes the positive and negative impacts family members and their personal actions can have on others. In addition, the book hits on the issues of discrimination, labeling, and racism. It clearly recognizes through Pap’s character, as well as Jim’s character to a degree, the emotional, social, and psychological effects these issues can have on individuals. For example, labeling in //Finn// goes beyond race. Pap is labeled as an illiterate alcoholic to the people in his town. Readers are able to see how the judgments of others can influence a person’s success or failure. Perhaps what is most valuable of all in teaching this text to students, however, is the opportunity provided for students to place themselves in the shoes of someone else. Due to the fact that the book takes the readers into Pap’s mind, the readers are able to feel his emotions, sense his lack of confidence, and get an idea of who Pap truly is. Is he capable of love, or is he truly a monster? What is a monster? How is a monster created? Jon Clinch’s //Finn// is just one interpretation of Pap. Students will be encouraged and feel enabled to make their own conclusions about his character throughout the unit as parallels are made to Twain’s classic.**Parental concerns?**While there is some content that is considerably mature, the material in //Finn// is no more controversial than the material in Mark Twain’s novel. I believe that exposure to these matters benefits the students, as it broadens their views of thinking and creates new openness and willingness to learn. Parents should not be concerned, because the focus of the lessons will not be on the more mature material content of the book, such as sex, murder, etc. This unit is entirely devoted to showing students the importance of comparing two texts, one classic and one modern, the value in placing oneself into the shoes of another individual, and the opportunity interpretation provides in literature. While some aspects of the mature content may be minutely discussed, none of it will serve as the focal point of any one lesson in the unit. However, parents should know there are times when these topics are unavoidable. Students are already exposed to these topics outside of the classroom. If students are taught about these topics in school, it could be more valuable to them by learning how to respect these topics in a mature manner.
 * What should be expected?**Throughout the unit, students will be expected to keep a daily journal. In these journals, students will answer questions provided in class, such as “How did you feel when Pap…” or “What would you have done different if…” etc. These questions are to be answered in the first five minutes of class, and they are to be discussed in the last five minutes of class. All journal entries will each be worth 9 points and will be handed in to me at the end of every class. Sometimes the questions will be opinion-based, while other times they will measure what students have taken away from an assigned reading. At the end of the unit, students will be required to make a portfolio. Ten journal entries that best represent what students have taken away and learned from the unit are to be included in their portfolios. Throughout the unit, students will be required to complete supplementary readings in addition to //Finn//. Supplementary readings will include parts of //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn//, parts of Mary Shelley’s //Frankenstein//, as well as short stories/chapters selected by me. All supplementary readings will be provided in class and are only to be used as an aid in understanding the overall meaning of //Finn//.The unit will continue for a length of eight weeks. In those eight weeks, students will be assigned nightly readings. The unit has been broken down so students are required to read between ten and fifteen pages per night. During these readings, students will be encouraged to highlight parts significant to them, as well as post sticky notes in their books with questions, comments, and concerns they would like to be discussed in class. Students will be randomly picked each day to share their sticky notes with the class. In addition, students will be required to complete an interpretive group project. Students will be asked to make a collage, paint, draw, or piece together their own interpretation of what Pap Finn would look like. They will include a portrait of him, his childhood home, his hobbies and interests as a child, as well as his childhood aspirations. Students are to interpret Pap’s character as a child and determine within their groups how his childhood could be a reflection or an opposition to his adulthood. In //Finn//, Jon Clinch chose to portray Pap as a monstrous individual. It is up to the students and their groups to create an interpret Pap’s character in the same way as a child. Also, students will be assigned a creative writing assignment. They will look at Pap’s character and create their own versions of his character’s ending. In this assignment, they can either argue against Jon Clinch’s interpretation of Pap’s character or for it. Their writing will serve as a parallel to Mark Twain’s //Huckleberry Finn//. **Expectation alignment to standards:****CC.1.3.11-12.A: Determine and analyze the relationship between two or more themes or central ideas of a text, including the development and interaction of the themes; provide an objective summary of the text.**To meet this standard, I am having students develop their own portfolios. Ten of their journal entries will be included in this portfolio. Not only will the portfolio serve as a summary of the text, but also as a summary of what they have taken away from the unit itself. The portfolio itself will have to follow two themes: one from //Huckleberry Finn// and one from //Finn//. Both themes will be an opposition to the other. Example: Good vs. Evil. In their portfolios, students will explain how these themes effect Pap’s character and how they are relative to the students’ own lives.
 * CC.1.3.11-12.C: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama.**To meet these standards, I am having students complete their daily journal entries. These journal entries will measure what they have learned, what they have read, and will also give room for them to interpret //Finn// on their own.
 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.**To meet this standard, I am using the interpretive group project, as well as the creative writing assignment. Due to the fact that students are comparing //Finn// to //Huckleberry Finn//, students are able to see how Jon Clinch developed Pap’s character through the events and characters in Twain’s classic. However, students are also able to develop Pap’s character through their own interpretations with these projects. They are able to decide if his character was misrepresented by Clinch, how a representation of his childhood could have negatively or positively impacted his character, and how his choices and his background influenced his actions in his adulthood. Not only are they determining how another writer developed his character, but they are also developing and interpreting Pap’s character on their own.

While reading //Finn//, students will be able to answer questions about Pap Finn’s character that are also relative to their own lives and others they know. After reading //Finn// and parts of //Huckleberry Finn//, students will be able to create a portfolio that best represents what they have taken away and learned from the overall unit while connecting two opposing themes (one from each story).
 * Big Question:** **How do the choices we make (past, present, future) effect who we are as individuals?** This is the question I want students to be thinking about throughout the unit. I want students to think about how their choices today will affect them tomorrow and in their futures, just as Pap’s choices affected him throughout Clinch’s novel. Due to the fact that students are being asked to place themselves in Pap’s shoes in this unit, I want them to think about their own experiences, as well. I also want them to think about these other questions: How do their personal experiences compare to Pap’s? How do the judgments of others impact their own lives? How does having friends and support help to shape individuals? If Pap had more support as a child, would Clinch have made him a different character? Frankenstein starts out as a friendly being looking for love. Is Pap comparable to Frankenstein? Are Pap and Frankenstein monsters? How would Pap’s life turned out if he had a father figure like Jim in his life?**Goals/Objectives:**Using //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn// as an aid, students will be able to create their own interpretations of Pap Finn’s character through a creative writing assignment and interpretive group assignment.

Works Cited Clinch, Jon. //Finn//. Thorndike, Me.: Cemter Point Pub., 2007. Print.Hameed, Junaid B. "This Is a Good Book." //Charles William Eliot Profile//. N.p., 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan J. Wolfson, and Ronald Levao. //The Annotated Frankenstein//. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2012. Print.Twain, Mark. //Adventures of Huckleberry Finn//. New York: Random House, 1996. Print.

Daily Journal Rubric


 * || 3 Points || 2 Points || 1 Points || 0 Points ||
 * HAS DAILY QUESTION BEEN ANSWERED? || Student answers daily question to full capacity. || Student only partially answers daily question by leaving out one part. || Student leaves out two parts of the daily question, only answering one. || Student has not completed his/her journal entry. ||
 * HAS STUDENT USED DETAIL FROM READINGS? || Student takes at least 3 specific details from the readings to support entry. || Student takes at least 2 specific details from the readings to support entry. || Student takes at least 1 specific detail from the readings to support entry. || Student has not completed his/her journal entry. ||
 * Has student shown personal reaction? || Demonstrated his/her reaction to readings through entry and discussion. || Student gives his/her reaction only in journal entry. || Student has not shown any personal reaction in journal entry or discussion. || Student has not completed his/her journal entry. ||

ASSIGNMENT: Throughout this unit, you will be required to keep individual journals. These journals will be used at the beginning, as well as at the end of each class. All journals will be kept inside the classroom unless advised otherwise. Upon entering the classroom, you will notice a question (or several) posted on the board. It is your job to answer this/these question(s) so the best of your ability. Sometimes the questions will be opinion-based, and sometimes the questions will be reading-based. Regardless of the type(s) of question(s), you will be required to support your journal entry answers with at least three details from the material you’ve read the night before. You will not be required to use direct quotes. I am more interested in your answer to the question(s), your demonstration of your understanding of the question(s) and the reading(s), as well as your reaction/opinion to the question(s)/reading(s). This portion of the journal entries will be done within the first five minutes of class. In roughly the last five minutes of class, we will reflect back on your journal entries. It is your job to participate in this discussion, as it is important for you and your peers to react to one another. Part of your for the entries will be participating in the discussion. If you actively participate in at least 3 class discussions per week, I will not take points off the personal reaction portion of the rubric. However, this is up to you! Each entry will be worth a possible 9 points. SUPPLEMENTARY READING QUIZZES/STICKY NOTES Throughout the semester, you will be required to read several supplementary readings in addition to “Finn.” To ensure you have read this material, I will ask you questions that come directly from the readings in the form of a quiz. Sometimes the quizzes will be individual, and sometimes the quizzes will be done as a class. When the quizzes are done in class, they will be done within the first ten minutes of class. You will have at least ten questions for each of these readings. Some of the questions may also come from “Finn.” These questions will not be multiple choice. They will be short answer questions. When the quizzes are done as a class, we will use our white boards. I will post questions up using a PowerPoint format. These questions will be multiple choice. A, B, C, or D. You will mark on your white board which answer you think best reflects the question. I will say, “Time is up,” and you will hold your white boards up as a class. If the majority of you have the correct answer, you will get the point for that question. However, if the majority has the wrong answer, you will not get the point. Regardless, we will discuss each question as a class to ensure everyone understands why that answer was the best choice. These quizzes will also be done within the first ten minutes of class. They will also be ten questions long, usually, depending on the reading assigned. All of these quizzes will be done to ensure you are reading the material required for class. These readings, although supplementary, will give you a better understanding of “Finn.” STICKY NOTES: During ALL readings, you are encouraged to use sticky notes. Much of this unit is discussion-based. Therefore, everyone needs to come prepared with topics for group/whole class discussions. If you choose not to use sticky notes, I would also encourage you to take notes in a separate notebook, or highlight areas of importance. Students will be randomly picked each day to share their sticky notes, personal notes, or highlighted notes with the class to help further our discussions.

NOTE* When we do these quizzes, no journal entry will have to be completed on this day unless one is assigned for homework.

BE PREPARED! You never know when a quiz might be coming! J  INTERPRETIVE GROUP PROJECT As you know, “Finn” is based around Jon Clinch’s interpretation of Pap. He chooses to turn him into a monstrous, murderous character to tell Pap’s “behind the scenes” story. Towards the middle of this Unit, you will be required to complete an interpretive group project based on Pap Finn’s character. I will assign each of you to a group. You will be asked to consider your own interpretations of Pap Finn through a series of questions: Why did Jon Clinch choose to make his character so devious? What was Pap’s childhood like that could have shaped him into this type of person? Etc. You will be asked to make a collage, paint, draw, or piece together a portrait of Pap Finn. You MUST address these questions upon completing this project through your collage, painting, drawing, etc. 1. What do you think Pap would have looked like as an adult based off Jon Clinch’s interpretation? 2. What do you think he would have looked like as a child? 3. What were some of Pap’s hobbies/interests as a child? 4. What did Pap aspire to do with his life? 5. What were 3 reasons Pap’s life turned out the way it did? 6. How could Pap’s childhood have been a reflection or opposition to his adulthood? 7. What did Pap’s childhood home look like? 8. Who would have been Pap’s childhood friends? It is up to you and your group to portray Pap Finn as a child, while creating the image of what he might have looked like as an adult through Jon Clinch’s eyes. Regardless if you choose to do a collage, drawing, or painting with your group, under each picture you create, you must give an answer to each of the 8 questions posted above. For example: If I chose to do a collage, I might put a picture of a dog. I would put underneath this picture a description of why I think this dog would have been of importance to Pap as a child. Perhaps this dog meant a lot to Pap. OR I might paint a picture of Pap’s childhood home with a picture of Pap inside the basement of the home. I might choose to make this look like a dark, dreary basement, and I might explain why I think this basement is where Pap was kept as a child. I could argue that Pap had a great childhood or a poor childhood. Your group will be given 2 periods of class time to complete these projects. All materials you need will be supplied for you. Crayons, markers, paint, brushes, magazines and newspapers (for collages), construction paper, scissors, glue, etc. If you __DO NOT__ complete this project within the 2nd class period, you will have the opportunity to take it home to complete it. The projects will each be presented on the third day of class. INTERPRETIVE GROUP PROJECT RUBRIC


 * || 15 Points || 9-14 Points || 5-8 Points || 0-4 Points ||
 * HAVE QUESTIONS BEEN ANSWERED? || All 8 questions answered through **pics AND descriptions.** || Only 6 questions answered through pics AND/OR descriptions. || Only 4 questions answered through pics AND/OR descriptions || 3 or less answered through pics AND/OR descriptions. ||

PRESENTATION || All group members participate equally in presentation. || Only 5 of the group members participate in presentation. || Only 4 of the group members participate in presentation. || 3 or less of group members participate in presentation. ||

CREATIVITY || All pictures and descriptions are neatly done & show thought & creativity. || 2 of the pictures or descriptions are not fully thought out or represented. || 4 of the pictures or descriptions are not fully thought out or represented. || 6 or more of the pictures or descriptions are not fully thought out/represented. ||

This project will be worth a total of 60 points. As long as you and your group work together, you should receive the full 60 points. Presentations will be given on the 3rd class day. There will be a total of five groups. Each group will have a total of 5 minutes to present their poster. Once presentations are completed, we will have a discussion about the posters: What we liked, what we didn’t like, how we think this in-class project helped us to have a better understanding of Pap, how vastly different interpretations can be, etc. REMEMBER TO BE AS CREATIVE AS YOU CAN WITH THIS PROJECT! I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT YOU ALL COME UP WITH! J

CREATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENT!

GRADED CHECKLIST POSSIBLE EARNED Used Details from “Finn” to support writing 3 _ Used Parallels between “Finn” & “Huck Finn” 3 _ Chose a unique, creative ending for Pap 3 _ Spelling/Conventions 3 _ TOTAL: 12 TOTAL: _

For this assignment, you will choose your own, unique ending for Pap. Perhaps you will choose to have his life end tragically the way Jon Clinch did **OR** you might choose to have Pap die heroically instead. The choice is yours. It is all up to how you’ve come to interpret his character through “Finn,” as well as our supplementary readings. This assignment MUST: Be at least 2 pages in length, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 Pt Font, Have an original title/heading at the top For this assignment, I am asking you to use details from “Finn” to support your writing. You might choose to start your writing at a specific scene in “Finn,” for example. Also, please use parallels from the supplementary readings from “Huck Finn.” You might choose to use details from “Huck Finn” to support your alternate ending of Pap’s character. I want you to take on your own voice for this assignment. Tell Pap’s ending through your own eyes, and argue for or against his character being good. Spelling and conventions do count for this assignment. However, I will be lenient. Be creative while demonstrating your understanding of the text, the readings, and Pap Finn’s character. You DO have the option of telling this story through Pap’s eyes instead of your own. Perhaps having Pap tell his own ending to his readers. The choice is YOURS! HAVE FUN AND MAKE THIS ENDING YOUR OWN! J  FINAL PORTFOLIO PROJECT GRADED CHECKLIST POSSIBLE EARNED Table of Contents 5 _____ __Page Numbers 5__ _

Title Page 5 _____ __Original Front/Back Cover 10__ _ Tabs with 5 meaningful quotes from “Finn” 10 _____ __10 Journal Entries (Demonstrates learning) 20__ _ 10 Reactions to Journal Entries (Shows Importance) 20 _____ __Creative Writing Assignment 15__ _ 5 Pictures w/ Descriptions that reflect Pap’s character 10 _____ __TOTAL: 100 pts__

Instead of a Unit Test, you will be required to complete an individual portfolio as a form of summative assessment. The majority of this portfolio will be completed throughout the Unit. However, there are a couple parts that you must complete ON YOUR OWN in order to get full credit for the assignment. Above is a checklist the show the requirements for this assignment. You will be required to put your portfolio in either a folder, or a 1 inch binder. The outside of the portfolio must be decorated on the front and the back. The front cover should represent your understanding of Pap’s character. The back of the portfolio should represent Jon Clinch’s interpretation of Pap’s character. This can be done through drawings, pictures, collages, quotes, etc. The inside of the portfolio must have a title page, a table of contents, page numbers, and tabs. Each tab must have a quote that is specifically meaningful to you, as well as Pap’s character from “Finn.” All is I need is the quote and page number the quote is on. Underneath the quote, I would like a short description (3-5 sentences) to explain why you chose this quote, why it is significant to you, and why it is important to understanding Pap’s character. In addition to the tabs, you will notice that ten journal entry reactions are required for this portfolio. At the beginning of each class, we will write one journal entry. I want you to choose TEN of these entries to use as part of your portfolio. As we write these journal entries, I recommend that you place stars next to the ones you think have helped you to take away the most from this unit. For example, you might choose a journal entry that causes you to ask yourself what a monster is when we compare Pap to Mary Shelley’s “monster.” Perhaps this particular journal entry made you realize that Pap is or is not a monster. I want you to think about the discussions that we have at the end of each class after you’ve written these journals entries. How have the discussions influenced your portrayal of Pap’s character? Which journal entries helped you to understand his story and his character the most? These are the entries I would like for you to include in your portfolio. Once you’ve chosen your entries, I would like you to write a small reaction to the entry. Explain, in one or two paragraphs, why this journal entry was significant to you in helping you to understand Pap. Place these reactions in your portfolio right next to the journal entries. The creative writing assignment is also required to be part of this portfolio, as it is an important exercise to show how interpretation can alter a text’s meaning. For the last part of this portfolio, I would like you to choose 5 pictures that you think best represent Pap’s character/story. Perhaps you can take ideas from your interpretive group project to complete this portion of the portfolio. You can even take ideas from other groups that presented their posters to the class. Underneath each picture, please write 3-5 sentences to explain why you chose this picture. You might want to say why it was significant to Pap’s character, to Jon Clinch’s interpretation, or to your own interpretation of Pap and his story. Each student will have an opportunity to present their portfolios to the class in the last two days. Therefore, the portfolios will be due on the third to last day of the unit. They will be displayed in the classroom after everyone has presented.