| Brief Summary of Unit: In this unit students read historical fiction and informational texts about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. In order to gain a deeper understanding about the events surrounding the assassination of Lincoln and the 12 day hunt for his killer, students will also examine a variety of primary resources (e.g. letters, manuscripts, newspapers, pamphlets, government documents, etc.) The culminating activity will be to create an end of unit presentation on their opinion essay about dealing with conflict, or on their response to the overarching essential question, "How are fictionalized characters and real people changed through conflict?" as well as the question, "What can we learn from this unit of study that can help us as individuals when we face conflict?" |
READING:
We will read from Assassin by Anna Myers and Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.
I've attached links to the videos we will view in class.
| http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/photos#videos |
WRITING:
Students will focus on Persuasive Writing or Opinion Writing. Students will be given a variety of opinion pieces to read, discuss, and analyze for the structure and techniques that authors use to write an effective opinion essay. Students will use their knowledge of structure and technique to write an opinion essay dealing with conflict at school. The final draft for this essay will be typed using WORD. Students will have time at school to type the final draft. If a student does not use his/her time wisely or is absent, it will be the student's responsibility to finish the draft either before school or during study hall. The library is open from 7:30-8:15 each morning. Students will be working on this essay for the next four weeks. I will send an update when a deadline for the final draft is decided.
