The 12th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 12th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Language study is embedded in every 12th grade unit as students use annotation to closely review aspects of each text. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

In our lives, we are constantly telling stories to ourselves and to others in an attempt to both understand our experiences and present our best selves to others.  But how do we tell a story about ourselves that is both true and positive? How do we hold ourselves up in the best possible light, while still being honest about our struggles and our flaws? Students will explore ways of interpreting and portraying personal experiences.  They'll read Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart , analyzing the text through the eyes of one character. They'll get to know that character's flaws and strengths, and they'll tell part of the story from that character's perspective, doing their best to tell an honest tale that presents their character's best side. Then they'll explore their own stories, crafting a personal narrative about an important moment of learning in his or her life.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and analyze Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart , viewing the events and conflicts of the novel through the eyes of one of the central characters.
Students write a two-part narrative project: one narrative told through their character’s perspective and one personal narrative about an incident in their own life.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

How do our conflicts shape and show our character?
How can we tell a story about ourselves that’s both honest and positive?
How do definitions of justice change depending on the culture you live in?
What are ways individuals can react to a changing world? To a community that doesn’t accept us?

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read

During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.

In this lesson, students will debate the fairness of Umuofian society and whether anything needs changing. They will remain in character, ensuring that all sides of the issue are fully explored and defended.

In this eight-week module, students explore the questions: “Who is the wolf in fiction?” and “Who is the wolf in fact?” They begin by analyzing how the wolf is characterized in traditional stories, folktales, and fables. Then they research real wolves by reading informational text. Finally, for their performance task, students combine their knowledge of narratives with their research on wolves to write a realistic narrative about wolves.

This storyteller's segment tells the story of a man searching for a free meal who tries to trick a group of ducks into being his dinner. [3:50]

Billy Daniels Jr. of Forest County Potawatomi, Wisconsin, tells his favorite story about the Sun and the Wind. [1:49]

Sister Betty Jean of the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut tells a story about the narcissistic Cornhusk Woman. [2:07]

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, provides a portrait of IŰ__ŒóíŠupiaq whaling as a community activity, as told through the story of one hunt.

With this lesson plan, students examine the American tradition of folk tales and tall tales, then write and illustrate their own original tale. Provides links to more information, an assessment rubric, extension ideas, and a list of sources.

Penny and the KidVision Kids learn about West African dance and music. They listen to a storyteller, make and wear traditional dance attire, play dundun drums and dance the Lamba, and watch a professional performance by Delou Africa! Included are age-appropriate lesson plans and assessments in English and Spanish. [8:57]

The ECHO Collection provides rich, multi-disciplinary educational resources in science, literacy and language arts, fine art, and social studies. The combined skills, experience, and collections of our six institutions provide life-enhancing educational opportunities in and out of the classroom, strengthening knowledge of local culture and identity.

In this lesson students perform a line dance to reinforce story telling through movement.

In this lesson, students will create and solve a word problem related to adding and subtracting within 1,000, develop a script for a short scene using dialect, and perform it using the elements of performance, specifically acting, speaking, and nonverbal expression.

The goal of this activity is for students to learn how to tell a story in order to make a complex topic (such as global warming or ozone holes) easier for a reader to grasp. Students realize that the narrative impulse underlies even scientific and technical writing and gain a better understanding of the role of myth as a "science" of imagination that helps us to gain insight into human motivation.

Make puppets of Molly and her family and friends from the PBS KIDS series MOLLY OF DENALI, and use them to retell a story you watched. You can also take Molly on a new adventure by making up your own story. The activity also includes props to print out, or you can make your own to have in the stories you tell with your puppets.

Listen to a traditional Cherokee story in which humans are killing too many of their animal relatives, threatening the delicate balance of nature. The lesson is that people should take "only what you need with respect and gratitude." A lesson plan is included. [5:54]

Welcome to Odd Squad: the zaniest, craziest team of kid investigators around! Explore content below targeted at making elementary-level math a fun, imaginative experience, mixing concepts like arithmetic and geometry with fantastical storytelling. This collection includes Video (133), Interactive (11), Document (32), Media Gallery (7) for Grades K-2, PreK-K, 3-5 , and Resources in Spanish (8).

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, illustrates how Native people preserve history and tradition through art, music, and dance.

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, illustrates how Native people preserve history and tradition through oral storytelling.

A lesson for exploring the use of multimedia presentation techniques in effective storytelling. Design, write, storyboard, and create a multimedia presentation of a story about an important family event or memory.