Unit 6: "I'm on the last great journey here--and people want me to tell them what to pack." - From Tuesdays With morrie
Length: 5 Weeks
February 23rd-March 27th
Rationale:
In Unit 6, we will be reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. This autobiographical novel will be the last that booked discussed as an entire class. Due to the large amount of reading that we have completed throughout the year, students will be aware of the expectations I have regarding class discussions, group participation, and assigned reading. This unit will focus on journey in relation to life and to death. We will explore the character Mitch and his journey of identity. This exploration will help prepare students for unit 8, which deals primarily with identity and world view. The novel will be paired with scenes from the 1999 film adaptation of “Tuesdays with Morrie,” a eulogy taken from John Greene’s The Fault in our Stars, and an interview written by with Mitch Albom titled “Mitch Albom on Faith, Tuesdays with Morrie, and Finding his Glory.” Through the use of these specific texts, students will develop an understanding of how identity is shaped by the people you meet and the experiences you have. For the final unit project, students will create a soundtrack for the book. Each song will be for the fourteen Tuesdays that Mitch and Morrie have together and the last song will be for the graduation ceremony. For each song they chose, students will write a brief (1-2 paragraph) explanation.
While five weeks is a fairly long time to spend on Tuesdays with Morrie, I feel that it is time well spent. It is better “to have students really learn how to do a few things in school than cover many things superficially and with little lasting effect” (Smagorinsky, 31). Using this theory, I spend a lot of time with the novel in order to dive deeply into student identity and the journey of life. Next, my reasoning for a soundtrack as a final project is addressed Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo’s re-examination of literacy. In Literacy: Reading the Word and The World, they argue that we need to start viewing multiples modes of literacy as social constructs. In order to think critically and effectively about a text, it is necessary to “involve critical perception, interpretation, and rewriting of what is read” (Freire and Macedo, 36). In other words, by translating, or rewriting, their interpretations and perceptions of the book into song, students are learning how to effectively read written text (the word) as part of the world.
Unit Goals:
-To explore internal journey and how it is affected by external situations, conflicts, and experiences.
-To differentiate between a journey of life and a journey towards death and create an opinion of which is more valid.
-To understand the lesson of life.
Texts:
-Novel: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
-Movie: “Tuesdays with Morrie”(selected scenes)
-Article: Advice Column from Newspaper
-Eulogy: From The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Activities:
-Jigsaw Discussion: In small groups, students will be give a few questions on the assigned reading for Tuesdays with Morrie. Students will pull specific evidence from the text to support their claims and will later share their ideas with the class.
-Tuesdays with…: Every Tuesday we will have a guest speaker. This speaker will share with the class their personal aphorism. Guest speakers will include cancer survivors, world travelers, successful businessmen and women, and anyone else that students would like to hear from. Students are required to take notes and write a 1-page reflection on the guest speaker.
-Trivia: Trivia questions will revolve around life lessons and common themes from the novel.
Assignments:
-Thank you Letters: This unit emphasizes that those around us shape our identity. For this assignment, students will write a letter to four significant people in their lives. This could be teachers, parents, friends, coaches, etc.
-Aphorisms: In Tuesdays With Morrie, Morrie gives words of advice, or aphorisms, to his students, friends and family. Using these aphorisms as a model, students will write three aphorisms of their own.
-Eulogy: Students will write their own eulogy for Morrie. They will explain to him the number one lesson he taught and how he prepared them to graduate from his class.
-Words of Advice: Using the advice column of the local newspaper, students will take on the persona of Morrie and write a letter back to the person in need of advice. These letters will show common themes and characteristics that Morrie expresses within the novel.
Culminating Texts:
-Soundtrack: The final project will be a soundtrack. Each song will represent the theme, mood, and tone of the 14 Tuesday’s that Mitch and Morrie share together. Students will also include an explanation for the songs they choose and present one of their choosing to the class.
Assessment Tools:
-Rubric: A rubric will be used to grade the soundtrack, this will include a checklist for the components necessary (14 songs, explanation, title of soundtrack).
-Conferences: Student conferences will be held during the unit in order to discuss student’s grades and progress in the course individually.
Unit Calendar:
In Unit 6, we will be reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. This autobiographical novel will be the last that booked discussed as an entire class. Due to the large amount of reading that we have completed throughout the year, students will be aware of the expectations I have regarding class discussions, group participation, and assigned reading. This unit will focus on journey in relation to life and to death. We will explore the character Mitch and his journey of identity. This exploration will help prepare students for unit 8, which deals primarily with identity and world view. The novel will be paired with scenes from the 1999 film adaptation of “Tuesdays with Morrie,” a eulogy taken from John Greene’s The Fault in our Stars, and an interview written by with Mitch Albom titled “Mitch Albom on Faith, Tuesdays with Morrie, and Finding his Glory.” Through the use of these specific texts, students will develop an understanding of how identity is shaped by the people you meet and the experiences you have. For the final unit project, students will create a soundtrack for the book. Each song will be for the fourteen Tuesdays that Mitch and Morrie have together and the last song will be for the graduation ceremony. For each song they chose, students will write a brief (1-2 paragraph) explanation.
While five weeks is a fairly long time to spend on Tuesdays with Morrie, I feel that it is time well spent. It is better “to have students really learn how to do a few things in school than cover many things superficially and with little lasting effect” (Smagorinsky, 31). Using this theory, I spend a lot of time with the novel in order to dive deeply into student identity and the journey of life. Next, my reasoning for a soundtrack as a final project is addressed Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo’s re-examination of literacy. In Literacy: Reading the Word and The World, they argue that we need to start viewing multiples modes of literacy as social constructs. In order to think critically and effectively about a text, it is necessary to “involve critical perception, interpretation, and rewriting of what is read” (Freire and Macedo, 36). In other words, by translating, or rewriting, their interpretations and perceptions of the book into song, students are learning how to effectively read written text (the word) as part of the world.
Unit Goals:
-To explore internal journey and how it is affected by external situations, conflicts, and experiences.
-To differentiate between a journey of life and a journey towards death and create an opinion of which is more valid.
-To understand the lesson of life.
Texts:
-Novel: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
-Movie: “Tuesdays with Morrie”(selected scenes)
-Article: Advice Column from Newspaper
-Eulogy: From The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Activities:
-Jigsaw Discussion: In small groups, students will be give a few questions on the assigned reading for Tuesdays with Morrie. Students will pull specific evidence from the text to support their claims and will later share their ideas with the class.
-Tuesdays with…: Every Tuesday we will have a guest speaker. This speaker will share with the class their personal aphorism. Guest speakers will include cancer survivors, world travelers, successful businessmen and women, and anyone else that students would like to hear from. Students are required to take notes and write a 1-page reflection on the guest speaker.
-Trivia: Trivia questions will revolve around life lessons and common themes from the novel.
Assignments:
-Thank you Letters: This unit emphasizes that those around us shape our identity. For this assignment, students will write a letter to four significant people in their lives. This could be teachers, parents, friends, coaches, etc.
-Aphorisms: In Tuesdays With Morrie, Morrie gives words of advice, or aphorisms, to his students, friends and family. Using these aphorisms as a model, students will write three aphorisms of their own.
-Eulogy: Students will write their own eulogy for Morrie. They will explain to him the number one lesson he taught and how he prepared them to graduate from his class.
-Words of Advice: Using the advice column of the local newspaper, students will take on the persona of Morrie and write a letter back to the person in need of advice. These letters will show common themes and characteristics that Morrie expresses within the novel.
Culminating Texts:
-Soundtrack: The final project will be a soundtrack. Each song will represent the theme, mood, and tone of the 14 Tuesday’s that Mitch and Morrie share together. Students will also include an explanation for the songs they choose and present one of their choosing to the class.
Assessment Tools:
-Rubric: A rubric will be used to grade the soundtrack, this will include a checklist for the components necessary (14 songs, explanation, title of soundtrack).
-Conferences: Student conferences will be held during the unit in order to discuss student’s grades and progress in the course individually.
Unit Calendar:
Standards: