Final Prject

I had chose the book "Always Running." The grade level for this book would most likely be for 9th-12th graders.

Overview:
For this unit, I would try to focus on the theme of adolescence. Rodriguez, the teenager of this story joined a gang and the book is about his growing-up experience while he was a gang member. During our readings I would occasionally as a class to go over any kinds of passages that would relate to our theme adolescence. I think that first as a class that we would look at the author's background to get the students to understand that we are reading his life, but like all books and movies on people, some things can be a little over exagerated and made-up. The students need to know that what may happened to the author may not be 100% correct, but it still is his story and we may still be able to relate our growing-up experiences based on what he wrote. As for passages that can relate to adolescence, we will be looking through the House on Mango Street to try and find any stories that can be related to adolescence. There will be quizzes and homework assignments based on the reading, and they will be given to the students after reaching a certain chapter. As for the final project, the students will write about their own growing-up experience that they have experienced and whether or not they can relate that experience with other students and any character from the book.

Objective:
Given the book that the class will be reading, the students will be able to understand and compare their adolescent experiences with Rodriguez, within the next couple of weeks.

Material Needed: Pen, Pencil, Journal, Overhead Projector (more to possibly follow).

Launch: 10-15 minutes
Students will be writing in their journals for the objective question on the overhead today, "What is adolescence? Can you relate your growing-up experience with Rodriguez? If not Rodriguez, then any other character in the book? If not, then how was your growing-up experience different compared to what you have read in the book.

Instruction: 45-50 minutes
Now that students have finished writing in their journals, they will be partnered up with other students and they will relate their growing-up experience with the other student, and the other student will do the same, therefore they will see if they have something in common, or how they are different from one another. The students will then collaborate ideas about the book that they have read and find and write other book characters growing-up experience and how it that character is different compared to Rodriguez. The student groups will also be required to come up with any other themes that they see in the book. Once each group is done, we'll come back together as a class and compared and contrast what each group found during their research.

Closer: 5 minutes.
Briefly discuss about the themes, and information that each group found and give a little feedback to the students how some of them met other students with similar growing-up experiences, along with Rodriguez, or another character from the book.

Homework: Finish researching about their growing-up experience with Rodriguez, or another other character, and find any more themes and ideas from the book.

Rubric (Assessment):
Journal entry on growing-up experiences- 25 points

Compared ideas with other student, on paper in their journals- 25 points

Possible themes and other characters growing-up experiences in the journal- 25 points

Participation in class discussion- 15 points

Grammar & Spelling- 10 points