Rationale:

Why These Units?

         While developing my units as parts of a cohesive whole I kept an essential question posed in the forefront of my mind by Robert Yagelski: “Does literacy as we teach it in our schools serve the needs of our students as they read and write outside of school?”
        This question led me to begin thinking about what topics middle school students face when they are on the cusp of moving on to high school; after reflecting on my own experiences, I compared my thoughts to the topics of conversation happening at my middle school placement- I found striking similarities.
        From there, I began wondering: what would I have liked to have known prior to going to high school? What could have helped me feel more confident in myself at this stage in my life? What types of social situations was I facing, and what would have helped me better navigate these? With these questions in mind, I set out to create the following four units.

Unit 1: Friendship
        Students in middle school often identify themselves first and foremost by the friends they keep; popularity, “frienemies”, bullies, peer pressure, trust and loyalty are all extremely important in navigating social circles for this age group. As young adults develop, it is important for them to analyze how they treat those around them, and the lens of friendship allows students to analyze their personal relationships and make meaningful connections to the texts.
        I have placed the friendship unit as the first unit in the year because I believe it is a universal experience, that is not quite as personal as talking about the students as individuals; it will allow students to do a bit of self-examination, but will not be too intrusive at the beginning of the year when we are all getting to know one another.

Unit 2: The Individual
        This particular unit is one of the most important for students in the eighth grade; to be able to develop a sense of self, and to begin thinking of themselves in relation to others (both characters in the novels and their peers) is an extremely important theme for this unit. All too often we conduct classrooms with only "students" in mind, and we forget that we are teaching growing young adults, real people. The novels and activities in this unit aim to help students develop this sense of self that is so important for emerging young adults.
        Using literature with themes of internal conflict and the struggle of developing an identity within society allows students an outlet for connecting with others; seeing that they are not the only people who feel conflicted or troubled is very important for getting students to open up about their feelings.
        This unit is also important because it asks students to being thinking of themselves in the future; instead of focusing on their actions only in the "now" they will begin to explore how the choices they make today can affect their lives many years from now.

Unit 3: The Individual Vs. Society
        It is our responsibility to question the way our society is run, and the way we choose to live. I created this unit based on science-fiction dystopian novels to allow students the chance to see how corruption and poor decisions can affect a government and its citizens. Through this unit, students will learn to question what they think is "right" and "wrong". Creating a critically-thinking group of students is important not only for their personal benefit (to aid in making important decisions throughout their lives), but also essential to creating thoughtful citizens of the world. Allowing students to critique hypothetical situations in the novels will transfer the ability to think critically about the decisions they make in their own lives in the future.
        I have specifically placed this unit between "The Individual" and "Universal Connections" because I believe it is an important bridge; first, students will learn to develop their own beliefs and morals, and in this unit they will learn to identify how their beliefs do, or do not, align with the greater population. Following this unit with "Universal Connections" then allows students address some of the social issues they have identified as important to them in society through the dystopian unit.

Unit 4:Universal Connections
        This culminating unit holds great importance in relevance to the enduring understandings for the overall unit; by making personal connections to the world around them, students are able to being developing a strong sense of identity in a very critical period in their lives. For example, by encouraging students to become social advocates for change in their immediate communities and the world at large, it allows students to see the power of their voice, and the power they hold as an individual.     
        Developing a strong sense of identity is especially important for young adults who will begin to face even more social/peer pressures as they enter high school. The knowledge that they have the ability to cause a positive change, and that they can become an important member of their community gives students a feeling of social responsibility to the people around them- it gives them a feeling that they have a meaningful "place" in the world.

Using a Foundational Text:

         For this project, we were asked to base our year-long unit on a foundational text from our placement, to practice working within district mandates. I specifically chose to work with the Common Core standards my teacher provided because they have broad, overarching themes than lend themselves well to multiple avenues of teaching and assessment. I believe the standards I have chosen to work my unit around provide a strong sense of English education development as the Common Core mandates, but also reflect my personal beliefs about what is important in a classroom for students to learn.

Beliefs About Assessment:

        The assessments created for these units aim to include dialogic, meaningful, and relevant reflection in the classroom. I have carefully chosen activities that I believe get students to think about who they are, what they believe, and why.
        It is essential that assessments connect classroom activities to students' lives; as Yagelski is quoted above, the literacy practices we create must encompass students' lives outside of the classroom to give our lessons meaning. The assessments included in these units aim to connect the novels and classroom learning to students' immediate and future lives.