A Quilt of a Country Thematic Unit

1. Reading

1.1. Students will read the article "A Quilt of a Country" by Anna Quindlen

2. Writing

2.1. Students will be able to complete a research outline (a graphic organizer) that will assist them in categorizing their information for their research paper/project. Students will show what they have learned about culture, enculturation vs. assimilation and achieving “The American Dream” through a summative written assessment. Students will write a 2 page informational essay about their chosen culture.

3. Main Subject:                      Language Arts                            9th or 10th grade

4. Technology

4.1. Students will use their iPads these to research, read articles and informational texts, access technology. Students will access an Identity blog post to learn about identity on the internet.

5. Vocabulary

5.1. Students will be able to identify 20 vocabulary terms they are unfamiliar with from the text “A Quilt of a Country” and then be able to define vocabulary based on context clues.

6. Art

6.1. Students will be able to create their own piece of a culture quilt by relating content to self and identifying cultural descriptors. They will use art supplies to complete their piece of quilt. When completed, their piece of the quilt will be added to the rest of the class to create a class quilt.

7. Music

7.1. Students will brainstorm what makes up their identity and who they are. After they do that, they will then pick 5 songs that would best portray who they are in their own Cultural identity "soundtrack".

8. History

8.1. Students will research the history of their culture and then create a visual representation either digitally or on poster board with these key elements: flag, language, what makes their culture unique, hardships of their culture, a famous person that is closely identified with their culture, food that best represents their culture.