Unit Progress and Loose Ends

So far things are moving along nicely with the unit plan (knock knock). I still feel pretty good about all of the texts that I have chosen and am looking forward to focusing on designing a calendar/map for how everything will fall into place and how long it will take.

I just finished reading my young adult novel, Twisted, and Tatiana and I were planning to bring in and discuss lesson plans for a writing activity this week. I found myself asking a lot of questions after finishing Twisted, and wanting to know where the main character, Tyler, would end up five years from the end of the book. I thought I would use my curiosity to plan a lesson where students could think of and write interview questions for Tyler, and perhaps demonstrate reading comprehension by imagining and writing what they think his responses would be.

One of my primary goals for the unit is to find ways in which the materials can lead to multiple types of writing. I would like students to realize its aesthetic and self-expressive values through journaling, poetry, and/or narrative writing, but also its value as a practical form of communication through blogging, interviewing, news reporting, or designing pamphlets and business cards. My biggest concern at this point is how I am going to make a final assessment through a unit project. Since I am aiming to have students create several different kinds of texts, maybe a portfolio would be an option? Other than this, I would say that sequencing the unit appropriately so that different themes and essential questions transition into each other smoothly is one of the bigger tasks ahead.