1. Reaching Out, Pushing Away
A 10th grade English Language Arts unit
incorporating themes of isolation, safe spaces, and truth through a study of
The Catcher in the Rye

2. Brief Rationale
This unit analyzes themes of isolation, safe spaces, and truth as they relate to the challenges of life as an adolescent. Using The Catcher in the Rye as the core text, students will construct their own understanding of what it means to connect with others and find truth in differing points of view. The unit is of critical importance for 10th grade students because of the relevancy of the topics being studied to adolescent life, and because of the opportunity for coursework to help students attain Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

3. By the end of the unit students will demonstrate:
Stance:
Have a community-oriented mindset recognizing the role that relationships play in building identity
Reading Strategies:
Ability to define unknown words CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L
Ability to locate details that support a theme CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL
Writing Strategies:
Ability to write a narrative that engages the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W A
Ability to use compelling details and sensory images to convey a vivid picture of experiences CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W D
Speaking and Listening Strategies:
Ability to bring questions that cite text evidence to a group discussion CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL A
Ability to extend discussion by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL C

4. Overview of Unit Goals
Students will be able to determine a theme within a text and analyze how it is developed throughout the work using specific details, expressed in writing and speaking activities.
Students will be able to write a personal narrative using well-chosen details and effective organization.
Students will be able to use multiple strategies to identify the meaning of unknown words and phrases.

5. Goal 1: Determine a Theme
Students will be able to determine a theme within a text and analyze how it is developed throughout the work using specific details, expressed in writing and speaking activities. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL ; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL
In-process text: Reading log
In-process text: Group discussion

6. Goal 1 Text: Reading Log
The reading log will consist of a double column reading log in which students divide the page in half vertically. On the left side of the page students will note significant passages from The Catcher in the Rye; on the right side, students will pose a question, provide an evaluation of the passage or suggest an interpretation of the passage (Smagorinsky, 2008, p.153)
Criteria:
At least 5 significant passages noted per reading assignment
All 3 forms of analysis (questioning, evaluation, interpretation) will be used at least once per reading assignment
Exploratory writing; will not be graded for grammar

7. Reading Log Rubric

8. Goal 1 Text: Group Discussion
Students will be assigned to a specific group of 4-5 students for the duration of the unit
Students will discuss sections of the text using the notes from their reading logs within their groups
Small group discussion will be followed by whole class discussion. Teacher will ensure that major themes are identified and evaluated

9. Goal 1 Text: Group Discussion
Criteria:
Each student will share a minimum of one discovery from their own reading log per discussion
Each student will extend the discussion by posing an additional question or relating additional information at least once per discussion
Students will self-evaluate the number of times they introduce a topic and extend the discussion per discussion.
Students will graph their participation after each discussion

10. Group Discussion Rubric

11. Goal 2: Write a Personal Narrative
Students will be able to write a personal narrative using well-chosen details and effective organization. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W
In-process text: Place-based journal
Culminating text: Personal Narrative

12. Goal 2 Text: Place-Based Journal
Place-based journal consists of three separate journaling experiences (Dull, n.d.):
Students will identify the place where they go when they need a “time-out” from the world. Students will go to that location and spend at least 20 minutes describing it in great detail, including sensory details.
Students will identify a place where they feel safe and relaxed outside of their home and describe it in detail while not physically present.
Students will go to the place identified in their second journal entry and describe it again and note differences between their memory of the space and their current observations.

13. Goal 2 Text: Place-Based Journal
Criteria:
Each journal entry will consist of at least 200 words
Each journal entry will note at least 5 sensory details
Journal three will include a note on differences between memory and actual space.

14. Place-Based Journal Rubric

15. Goal 2 Text: Personal Narrative
Students will write a personal narrative based on a scene from The Catcher in the Rye, retelling the experience using their own voice, their own locations, and modern technology. Students will develop at least one theme of their choice through detailed sensory images and compelling organization of events.

16. Goal 2 Text: Personal Narrative
Criteria:
Narrative will be at least 800 words
Show evidence of being submitted for one peer review with corrections
Include an author’s note on which scene was chosen from The Catcher in the Rye and why ( words)
Show evidence of a correlation to the The Catcher in the Rye (possibilities of evidence include: theme, sequence of events, emotions of characters)
Include an identifiable theme
Include at least 6 sensory details
Include a sequence of events that is cohesive and compelling

17. Personal Narrative Rubric

18. Goal 3: Define Words
Students will be able to use multiple strategies to identify the meaning of unknown words and phrases. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L ; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL
In-process text: Dictionary in the Rye
Students will present a definition for an unknown word from The Catcher in the Rye of their own choosing to the class.
Students will add the word to a visible classroom poster, “Dictionary in the Rye,” and explain the strategy they used to define it to the class.

19. Goal 3 Text: Dictionary in the Rye
Criteria
Each student will share two definitions with the class (Student will be assigned a date to share one definition and strategy with the class on two separate occasions)
Student will show evidence of using a specific strategy (such as rereading the sentence, context clues, dictionaries, using word parts, word substitution – strategies that will be taught during the unit) through an oral explanation to the whole class.

20. Dictionary Rubric

21. Strong Correlation of Unit Goals to Rationale
Excerpt from rationale: “Through the unit on ‘Reaching Out, Pushing Away’ students will construct an understanding of the themes of isolation, safe spaces, and truth in relation to their own lives by studying the engaging text, The Catcher in the Rye. Students will perform literary analysis to achieve CCSS and participate in authentic assignments to apply new understandings.” Both the personal narrative and the group discussions give students the opportunity to develop a deep sense of identity in relation to others by analyzing these themes in The Catcher in the Rye. The place-based journal represents an authentic experience where students experiment in developing their skills as detail-oriented descriptive writers, mimicking Salinger’s style.

22. Additional Evidence of Correlation
Rationale excerpt: “[T]ime and time again students demonstrate an affinity for the angst and sense of loneliness portrayed by Holden’s vivid language as he shares his inner-thoughts with the reader…. Thus the themes of isolation, anger, and truth, found in The Catcher in the Rye, generate motivation for students to read a novel of significant length.”
Because part of the rationale for reading this book is how students relate to the content intrinsically, it is important not to take away that motivation through essays of critical analysis. Rather, the personal narrative allows students to continue to explore themes on their own terms.

23. References
Smagorinksy, P. (2008). Teaching English by design: How to create and carry out instructional units. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
Dull, A. (n.d.) Unit plan for The Catcher in the Rye: A “place-based” approach. Retrieved from: