Facing Hard Times with Courage
by Jenna Brannen



Your students are about to enter into a themed literature unit. It will last for 5 weeks. Within this time each student will be involved in the following activities:
- reading a novel (either The Cay or Nory Ryan's Song)
-participating in literature circles
-working in collaborative groups while learning about greek mythology
-writing a persuasive paper

The learning targets I have created as well as the content generalizations that i hope they walk away with are as follows:
Learning Targets:
1. Students will know what it means to face hard times with courage, and will understand how this is done.
2. Students will be able to successfully participate in literature circles by learning to actively listen and to interpret information that is presented that focuses on the central theme. They will also be able to reflect on the functioning of the group and their personal contribution to it.
3. Students will be able to work together to solve problems and perform tasks in a small group where htey will have to discover a number of ways that courage can be used to face hard times.
4. Students will be able to find examples in a text and use the knowledge og the theme they gain to complete a written piece and prepare a presentation. They will then evaluate their written work.
Generalizations:
-We find courage in hard times because we have hope that things will get better, and we believe we are here for a reason.
- Meeting hard times head on, instead of avoiding them, will make it easier to get through them.
- Facing hard times is a lot easier when you do not have to do it alone.
- We can use other people's courageous actions as an example for how we can deal with hard times.

What you can do to help:
Please think about any stories from your own past or from your families past that revolve around the theme of using courage to face hard times. If you could share these stories with your children it will give them more examples to work with and will give them a personal connection to the material.

I have included a list of the book we will be reading with short descriptions about why I think they are improtant to the unit.

Giff, P. R., Nory Ryan’s Song. Delacorte Press., New York, NY., 2000.

This novel illuminates the theme because it follows a young girl, in Ireland, who has to help her farmer family to survive in the midst of a potato famine. The young girl uses courage to help her family through their struggles.  This book will be used as one of the novels the students can choose from to read and write journal responses too, as well as talk about in the literature circles.

Napoli, D. J., Albert. Harcourt Inc., San Diego, CA, 2001.

This picture book illuminates the theme because it tells a story of a man who has agoraphobia, who ends up learning how wonderful the outside world is from a couple of birds and faces his fear.  I will use this book for my first read aloud of the unit. After I read it to the class, we will discuss where and why Albert found courage.

 

Jaffe, C., Lieberman, M., Odyssey, A Simulated journey through the world of classic Greek mythology. Interaction Publishers Inc., El Cajon, CA, 1989.

This is a written out simulation curriculum activity. It includes a variety of activities related to learning about Greek mythology. Many mythological characters use a lot of courage to get through the things they do. The students will recognize these characteristics and examples and will add them to their journals. This simulation will take about a week and a half and will facilitate a lot of cooperative learning.

Osborne, M.P., Favorite Greek Myths. Scholastic Inc., New York, NY., 1989.

This is an illustrated picture book with a number of Greek myths that are retold in a shorter format. Again, the characters in these myths help represent the central theme.  These reading will help facilitate the student’s group work throughout the simulation.

Polacco, P., Thank You, Mr. Falker. Philomel Books., New York, NY., 1998.

This is a picture book that illuminates the central theme because it is about a girl that has a hard time learning to read. She is scared to go to school and gets bullied, but she keeps going anyways and finally finds a teacher that helps her learn to read. This book will be used to further the discussion of facing hard ships with courage. I will use this book to teach a visualization lesson as well. I will read the book aloud and model how I visualize while I read, and then I will have the students use my strategies to enhance this comprehension strategy.

Taylor, Theodore., The Cay. Delacorte Press., New York, NY., 1969.

This is a novel that has very clear examples of using courage. It is about a man and a boy, who get stranded on a beach and have to find a way to survive and work together. This is the other option that the students can choose from for their novel that they will read and respond to in their journals, as well as talk about in their literature circles.

If you have any questions or concerns please e-mail me at brannenj@seattleu.edu or you are always welcome to come see me in my classroom.

I have included three websites that will provide you with some more information related to the unit:
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/lang_lit_circles.htm
-This cite will help you understand how literature circles function. There are also a number of links to other helpful descriptions.

http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Tools/persuasive%20writing%20tool.pdf
- This site provides examples of how to generate ideas for a persuasive essay. If you want to review in order to help you child, pleas view this site.

http://www.allreaders.com
- This site provides reviews of all kinds of books. If you would like to see the reviews of the books your child will be reading in this unit look here.