Welcome to Our Kite Runner Unit!
Our rationale for this unit is framed around three common core standards. The choice of novel, lesson plans, and final project as a summative assessment were specifically chosen and created to cater to the thematic elements and social dimensions of The Kite Runner and, when implemented according to schedule, will undoubtedly aid students in answering the essential question: "How is literature a vehicle for social change?" In conjunction with Alan G. Johnson's statement in his text, "Privilege, Power, and Difference," this unit "provides a framework that is conceptual and theoretical on the one hand and grounded in the experience of everyday life on the other. Thus it allows us to see not only where the trouble comes from, but also how we as individuals are connected to it, which is the only thing that gives us the potential to make a difference" (Johnson vii).
For English students, one of the more difficult literary concepts to grasp is theme. While oftentimes extremely open-ended or ambiguous, understanding theme is central to the successful analysis of The Kite Runner. Furthermore, expanding on these themes by articulating motifs and symbols is essential. Similar to Thomas C. Foster's goal in writing his book, "How to Read Literature Like a Professor," one goal for our unit is to build upon our students' knowledge of "memory, symbol, and pattern...three items that, more than any other, separate the professorial reader from the rest of the crowd" (Foster xv). For example, Hassan and Ali do not just have physical ailments and markings as a result of chance. Ali's crippled leg and Hassan's cleft lip are key symbols in the novel and students will be able to recognize these facts as not mere details, but as key, deliberate choices by Hosseini. See Foster's Chapter 23, "Marked for Greatness" for an explanation on physical disabilities in literature.
The majority of our lessons and assignments require students to refer back to explicit textual evidence from the novel in order to correlate with their own descriptions or inferences. These methods consistently remind students that any kind of analysis must be supported by evidence, thereby making the argument more succinct and convincing. For the final unit project, the students will spend a significant amount of time researching the conflict in Afghanistan along with another conflict of their choosing. It is an expectation that they will research these conflicts and provide evidence to prove that research and connect it to the novel itself. The website that they will create will integrate their research and specific themes from text. Their knowledge of the conflicts they study will inevitably change the way they view the text in one way or another.
make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to
aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended
definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text,
create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and
concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the
complexity of the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to
the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or
the significance of the topic).
Indeed, research on the brain has indicated the power "of organizing students' learning around central ideas or themes through individual and group projects" (Burke 351). With this in mind, we chose to incorporate a final project as our summative assessment for the unit. By giving students a multitude of research topics from which they could choose and by implementing instruction on the specific skills needed for the completion of the project, (for example, how to make a Weebly website) students are able to gradually gain the strategies needed to not only finish the project, but gain a heightened sense of social injustice. Since the majority of lessons throughout the reading of the novel focus on literary analysis, a final project is the perfect opportunity to answer the essential question and make personal connections to the conceptual framework of the unit.
- Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
For English students, one of the more difficult literary concepts to grasp is theme. While oftentimes extremely open-ended or ambiguous, understanding theme is central to the successful analysis of The Kite Runner. Furthermore, expanding on these themes by articulating motifs and symbols is essential. Similar to Thomas C. Foster's goal in writing his book, "How to Read Literature Like a Professor," one goal for our unit is to build upon our students' knowledge of "memory, symbol, and pattern...three items that, more than any other, separate the professorial reader from the rest of the crowd" (Foster xv). For example, Hassan and Ali do not just have physical ailments and markings as a result of chance. Ali's crippled leg and Hassan's cleft lip are key symbols in the novel and students will be able to recognize these facts as not mere details, but as key, deliberate choices by Hosseini. See Foster's Chapter 23, "Marked for Greatness" for an explanation on physical disabilities in literature.
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
The majority of our lessons and assignments require students to refer back to explicit textual evidence from the novel in order to correlate with their own descriptions or inferences. These methods consistently remind students that any kind of analysis must be supported by evidence, thereby making the argument more succinct and convincing. For the final unit project, the students will spend a significant amount of time researching the conflict in Afghanistan along with another conflict of their choosing. It is an expectation that they will research these conflicts and provide evidence to prove that research and connect it to the novel itself. The website that they will create will integrate their research and specific themes from text. Their knowledge of the conflicts they study will inevitably change the way they view the text in one way or another.
- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information
make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to
aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended
definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text,
create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and
concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the
complexity of the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to
the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or
the significance of the topic).
Indeed, research on the brain has indicated the power "of organizing students' learning around central ideas or themes through individual and group projects" (Burke 351). With this in mind, we chose to incorporate a final project as our summative assessment for the unit. By giving students a multitude of research topics from which they could choose and by implementing instruction on the specific skills needed for the completion of the project, (for example, how to make a Weebly website) students are able to gradually gain the strategies needed to not only finish the project, but gain a heightened sense of social injustice. Since the majority of lessons throughout the reading of the novel focus on literary analysis, a final project is the perfect opportunity to answer the essential question and make personal connections to the conceptual framework of the unit.