1. Unit: (3)Nature of Man: Good or Evil
Anchor Texts:
Unit: (3)Nature of Man: Good or Evil
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Bartoletti
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Book Thief by Markus Zusac
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wild
Essential Questions:
1.) What is the nature of man? Is he/she basically good or evil?
2.) What role can we play to prevent evil from happening?
3.) Was the holocaust inevitable given human nature? Is it destined to happen again?
4.) Who is responsible for evil/injustice in the world?
Focus Standards:
RI.7.8=Evaluate Credibility of Arguments
W.7.1b=Support Claims with logical reasoning and evidence.
SL.7.3=Delineate a speakers claims evaluating the soundness of evidence
SL.7.5=Include multimedia in a presentation
Supplemental Text:
I Survived the Nazi Invasion 1944 by Lauren Tarshis
The Boys Who Fought The Nazis by Kristen Lewis
The Book Thief (Play) by Scholastic Action
The Giver (Play) by Spencer Kayden
A Mason Dixon Memory by Clifton Davis
Would We Be Killed by Lauren Tarshis
Technology:
Videos: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Paper Clips
Access to the internet (Interactive Aushwitz

2. CCSS Standards: Assessments: Performance Task:
RL.7.1=Cite pieces of textual evidence explicitly and with inference
RL.7.2=Determine theme/central idea
RL.7.3=Characterization
RI.7.1=Textual Evidence in Informational Text
RI.7.2=Central Idea/Summary Informational Text
W.7.1b=Support claims with evidence
W.7.5=Planning, Revising, Editing
W.7.6=Use Technology and the Internet
L.7.1=Conventions of Written English
L.7.3=Knowledge of English when speaking
SL.7.3=Delineate a speakers arguments
Sl.7.4=Eye contact, Volume, Pronunciation
SL.7.5=Include multimedia in a presentation
Assessments:
Students will be able to identify the different types of poetry.
Students will write a lyric poem for Bruno the main character in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. They will focus on his innocence and how he transforms over the entire novel.
Through notetaking (Cornell Notes) students will be able to pull out the essential information from informational text.
Students will learn the different types of propaganda and fallacies.
Students will be able to identify propaganda and the types of fallacies that are being used.
Students will present to the class a piece of propaganda that they have created. Students must be able to identify the different parts, the claim being presented, and the fallacies that are being used.
Performance Task:
Students will watch a schooltube video on propaganda.
As the students watch the video they will identify the 6 types of propaganda and will explain in their own words what it means.
Students will be shown three examples of propaganda: two paper advertisements and one video advertisement.
Students will have to explain in their own words the claim being presented.
Students will have to explain the type of propaganda/fallacy that is being used.
Students will have to identify any symbols.
Students will evaluate the effectiveness of the propaganda as a whole.

3. Student Activities: Overview: Differentiation:
Students will create a piece of propaganda of their choice. Students will due the following:
Include illustration/illustrations in their propaganda.
Include a symbol in their propaganda.
Make a claim/argument/central idea through their propaganda
Include at least 2 fallacies in their piece of propaganda.
Present their piece of propaganda to the class and be able to identify the claim, purpose, symbols, and propaganda being used. The student should be able to answer any questions with regards to their propaganda.
The student should maintain eye contact with the audience, use adequate volume, and show knowledge of the topic.
Students will write a lyric poem about Bruno. The poem must include:
Stanzas instead of paragraphs (The poem must include at lest four stanzas)
The poem must use an appropriate rhyme scheme (abab, aabb, etc.)
The poem must clearly relate to the subject in a serious manner
The poem must show how the character changes over time
The poem must use appropriate grammar and spelling for poetry.
Overview:
Students will read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. Students will also read informational text on the holocaust and Nazi Germany. Students will explore the nature of humanity. Students will speculate on the origin of good and evil. Students should understand why the holocaust happened and be able to speculate on the possibility of its recurrence. Students will learn the different types of propaganda and the role propaganda played in allowing the Nazis to rise to power. Students will create propaganda of their own and be able to identify its claims and fallacies.
Differentiation:
1. Guided reading of anchor/supplemental texts
High use of visuals in text/writing
Scaffolding strategies for writing tasks