| Unit 1: Finding Patterns and Connections Through Comparative Text Analysis: Students will investigate similarities and differences between realistic fiction and informational text. In the unit, students will make connections to different texts with special attention to connections to and between examples of realistic fiction. Texts in this unit will concentrate upon themes of self-discovery, maturation, and ways in which children gain insights about adult behaviors. Much of students’ work will focus upon collaborative teams (including seminars, literary circles, debates, and Reader’s Theater productions) complemented by independent writing tasks. The core texts for this unit are A Long Way from Chicago (Richard Peck) and Wonder (R. J. Pallacio).
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| Unit 2: Place, Time, and Character Development: Exploring Their Interrelationships in Fiction and Non-Fiction Literature: This unit will extend and refine students’ understanding of narrative structure with a major emphasis upon the importance of setting in influencing characters’ actions, reactions, and motivation. Students will analyze the function of these narrative elements in works of fiction and non-fiction texts. They will explore such components as internal and external motivation, physical appearance and actions (and their reflection of internal states), interactions, and character types (e.g., protagonist/antagonist, flat v. round, static v. dynamic), They will also analyze how setting (time, place, culture, historical context) affects character development. Core texts are Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt), The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster), and The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman). |