Theme: Media Reading One:Peeping Tom Journalism (A media magazine
article) Reading Two: Focus on Bomb Suspect Brings Tears and a
Plea (A newspaper report)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Interpret a photograph
Classify information
Draw conclusions
Hypothesize another
point of view
Reading Tasks
Interpret quotations
Make predictions
Analyze purpose of
text
Identify main ideas
Scan for supporting
details
Identify author's
viewpoint
Research sensationalized
news events
Support answers with
examples from the readings
Writing Tasks
Develop topic sentences
Write a letter to
a newspaper editor
Compose topic sentences
with a controlling idea
Edit topic sentences
Write a paragraph
presenting and supporting an opinion
Brainstorm ideas using
the web
Vocabulary
Vocabulary categorization
Word definitions
Context clues
Idiomatic expressions
Grammar
Passive voice
Unit
2: Dreams Never Die
Theme:
Overcoming Obstacles Reading One:The Education of Frank McCourt
(A biographical account) Reading Two:The Miracle: She altered our perception of
the disabled and remapped the boundaries of sight and sense
(A personal account)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Compare personal experiences
Infer word meaning
from context
Interpret meaning
of text
Evaluate the role
of obstacles and character in personal success
Compare and contrast
two life histories
Interpret quotations
Find correlations
between two texts
Reading Tasks
Make predictions
Scan for information
Identify chronology
in a text
Research a person
who has overcome obstacles
Support answers with
information from the text
Writing Tasks
Write a three-part
paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding
sentence
Edit out extraneous
information in a paragraph
Compose supporting
sentences using transitional expressions
Summarize research
in a report
Vocabulary
Synonyms
Vocabulary categorization
Context clues
Idiomatic expressions
Grammar
Gerunds and infinitives
Unit
3: Dying for Their Beliefs
Theme:
Medicine Reading One: Dying for Their Beliefs: Christian Scientist
Parents on Trial in Girl's Death (A newspaper report) Reading Two:Norman Cousin's Laugh Therapy
(An expository account)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Compare and contrast
two classes of medication
Draw logical conclusions
Re-evaluate assumptions
in light of new information
Analyze the development
of an argument
Reading Tasks
Make predictions
Summarize main ideas
Read for details
Compare and contrast
models from two texts
Relate texts to personal
values and experiences
Use multiple sources
to research medical treatments
Support answers with
information from the text
Identify philosophical
rationale for a text
Writing Tasks
Write an opinion essay
Develop an opinion
in outline form
Compose questions
with new vocabulary
Support an opinion
with evidence
Develop a classroom
survey
Summarize research
in a report
Vocabulary
Vocabulary categorization
Analogies
Comparison and contrast
of word meanings
Grammar
Past unreal conditionals
Unit
4: When Disaster Strikes
Theme:
Natural Disasters Reading One: Drought (An eyewitness account) Reading Two:Monologue of Isabel Watching It Rain in Macondo
(An excerpt from a novel)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Classify information
Infer word meaning
from context
Analyze use of descriptive
language in text
Relate personal experiences
to those of the author
Interpret a character's
emotions
Reading Tasks
Read a graph
Make predictions
Identify chronology
in a text
Scan for supporting
details
Draw parallels between
two different stories
Locate specific words
in the texts
Use multiple sources
to research a natural disaster
Writing Tasks
Write a descriptive
paragraph about a personal experience
Write a paragraph
that underscores similarities
Use adjectives to
compose descriptive sentences
Write similes
Write a descriptive
essay
Summarize research
in a report that includes graphics and statistics
Vocabulary
Synonyms
Adjective suffixes
Context clues
Word associations
Descriptive adjectives
Grammar
Identifying adjective
clauses
Unit
5: 21st-Century Living
Theme:
Conservation Reading One: Cities against Nature (An excerpt from
a textbook on urban planning) Reading Two:Earthship Homes Catch Old Tires on Rebound
(A newspaper report)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Interpret a photograph
and drawing
Compare observations
on urban development
Infer word meaning
from context
Extract logical arguments
from the text to defend a position
Classify information
Evaluate benefits
of environmental practices
Identify language
that denotes cause and effect
Reading Tasks
Interpret a graph
Paraphrase the main
ideas
Identify cause and
effect in a text
Identify connecting
themes between texts
Relate ideas in the
texts to the local community
Research an environmentally
friendly project
Writing Tasks
Develop an urban land
use plan
Write a paragraph
response using new vocabulary
Write cause and effect
sentences
Use subordinating
conjunctions and transitions to express cause and effect
Write a cause-and-effect
essay
Summarize research
in a report
Vocabulary
Synonyms
Context clues
Word forms
Grammar
Advisability and obligation
in the past
Unit
6: Give and Learn
Theme:
Philanthropy Reading One:Justin Lebo (An excerpt from a book about
children activists) Reading Two:Some Take the Time Gladly and Mandatory
Volunteering (Two newspaper op-ed columns)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Re-evaluate personal
attitudes and values
Infer information
not explicit in the text
Identify an author's
opinions
Hypothesize another
point of view
Relate specific examples
to broad themes
Interpret quotations
Reading Tasks
Make predictions
Identify motivations
of characters
Paraphrase main ideas
Scan for supporting
details
Identify contrasting
arguments in the text
Research community
work
Writing Tasks
Use commas, semicolons,
colons, and dashes
Express an opinion
in a letter
Write free responses
using new vocabulary
Write an essay
Take notes on research
using graphic organizer
Summarize research
in a report
Vocabulary
Synonyms
Word classification
Word forms
Phrasal verbs
Context clues
Word definitions
Grammar
Tag questions
Unit
7: Homing in on Education
Theme: Education Reading One: Teaching at Home Hits New High with Internet
(A newspaper report) Reading Two:The Fun They Had (An excerpt from a science-fiction
novel)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Re-evaluate personal
attitudes and values
Evaluate and classify
information
Compare and contrast
models of education
Infer information
not explicit in the text
Relate specific situations
to broad themes
Hypothesize another's
point of view
Analyze concessive
language
Reading Tasks
Read a bar graph
Paraphrase main ideas
in a reading
Make predictions
Summarize main ideas
Identify main ideas
and supporting details
Research a home school
organization
Writing Tasks
Write an opinion essay
Take notes on a reading
Write sentences interpreting
characters using new vocabulary
Write opinion statements
that make concessions to other points of views
Write sentences using
dependent clauses
Write an outline for
a group report
Vocabulary
Synonyms
Context clues
Dialect variations
in spelling
Word forms
Grammar
Direct and indirect
speech
Unit
8: Eat to Live or Live to Eat?
Theme:
Food Reading One:The Chinese Kitchen (A cook's narrative)
Reading Two:"Slow Food" Movement Aims at Restoring
the Joy of Eating (A newspaper report)
Critical Thinking
Skills
Re-evaluate personal
attitudes and values
Compare and contrast
information
Infer meaning not
explicit in the text
Identify different
perspectives within one text
Analyze techniques
in narrative voice
Identify connecting
themes between texts
Reading Tasks
Make predictions
Restate main ideas
Locate specific information
in the text
Relate the text to
personal culinary experiences
Support opinions with
information from the text
Writing Tasks
Write a narrative
Evaluate a classmate's
narrative using a rubric
Practice parallel
structures and sentence variation
