Carolyn Khouri

Shana Snyder
LLED 412W
Unit Plan
10/2/14
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Unit Plan Outline
Rationale:
This unit is put together for 9th grade English course. At this time in their lives
adolescents are dealing with a range of emotions as well as mental and social
development. This time of transition holds many challenges involving personal
development. The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
provides a mired of topics involving identity which is a large point of contention for
adolescents. By choosing this novel, students are able to make connections to themselves
through the text. More specifically, students can draw direct parallel with the main
character, Junior. The novel engages the students as it expresses real life experiences,
illustrates self-awareness, self-actualization and many themes dealing with identity. The
book also contains themes of bullying, racism, and economic hardships. By
highlighting difficult situations and involving serious stereotypes, the reader is privy to
the inner monologue of a fellow struggling adolescent. By using this text, students are
able to explore their own experiences of rejection or confusion with identity. Throughout
the unit, students will explore their own identity and the factors in which they came to
this conclusion while making connection to the text as well as modern world.
Essential Questions:
a. How do societal expectations impact our identities?
b. What makes identity?
c. How do stereotypes affect identity?
d. Does labeling and stereotyping influence how we look at and understand
the world?
e. Should a persons responsibility to their family, tribe or community take
precedence over their individual goals?
f. What happens when a person leaves their home environment in pursuit of
success? Do they give up or betray their identity?
g. What about relationships changes when one person is removed from the
environment? How do those left behind respond?
h. How does literature help us to understand ourselves and the world
around us?

Learning Goals & Objectives:

In this unit students:

1. Will able to make connections from themes and characters in The Absolutely
True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to themselves and the world around them.
2. Read and respond to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
3. Participate in a variety of activities and assessments, such as note taking,
brainstorming, write/pair/share, readers theater, role playing, and journal
writing
4. Work collaboratively in groups as well as individually, developing
communication skills and listening strategies.
5. During in class reading, students will make predictions, inferences and draw
conclusions while being active listeners and staying engaged in class
discussion
6. Use a variety of techniques to enhance reading comprehension and text analysis.

5-7 Common Core State Standards

CC.1.2.910.A: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details..
CC 1.3: Reading Literature: Students read and respond to works of literature- with
emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with
focus on textual evidence.
CC.1.3.910.A: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and
refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CC 1.4: Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write
clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.
CC.1.4.910.D: Organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important
connections and distinctions; use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major
sections of the text; include formatting when useful to aiding comprehension; provide a
concluding statement or section.
CC 1.5: Speaking and Listening: Students present appropriately in formal speaking
situations, listen critically, and respond intelligently as individuals or in group
discussions.

Assessments/ Projects

Class Participation
o Participation in class discussions, small group work, activities, and partner
work will count as 10% of their final grade for the unit.
Journal entries

o The journal entries done in class after discussions or for class-openers will
be collected throughout the unit and will be graded for completion points.
5 Points Each
Multi-Media Portfolio
o Student will create a multi-media portfolio containing two self-image
drawings, a Facebook or social media page created to reflect on of the
characters, and a final essay. This will count as their final assignment and
will be worth 150 points total.
Breakdown:
Self-Images: 25 Points Each
Facebook Page: 50 Points
Final Essay: 50 Points
Quiz
o Students will be given one quiz halfway through the unit
20 Points

Week One

Day 1: Monday

Day 2: Tuesday

Day 3: Wednesday

Day 4: Thursday

Day 5: Friday

Lesson:
introduce
concept of selfidentity and
discuss different
versions of the
term I

Lesson: Introduce
concept of selfidentity

Lesson: Self-identity
in public vs. private

Lesson: Indian
History

Lesson: PreReading

Review what image

created in class
yesterday- focus on
defining
characteristics.

What is a
reservation?
Class Discussion.

Look up Rearden
and Wellpinits
websites.

Use http://www.nrc
programs.org/ to
present information
on Indian
reservations.

Have students
think-pair-share on
their reactions and
what information
they gathered from
viewing the
websites.

Open questions:
Who are you?
Discuss ways
students describe
themselves and
where those
descriptions
originate.
Write in journal
(rough) answer to
question.

Continue to work
with student
answer to Who
are you?
Partner with
student and find
commonalities &
differences.
Class discussion
on diversity
within own
classroom /
school.
Students create
first image of
self.
*In accordance
with final image
project

Share & discuss

How are we preserved

differently from who
we truly are?
Free write (15
minutes)
Share with partner
how you feel
preserved differently
then what is reality.

Hand out books and

introduce Sherman
Alexie.

HW:
Read pages 1-31

Week Two
Day 6: Monday

Day 7: Tuesday

Day 8: Wednesday

Lesson: Talk to
the World

Lesson: Character
Analysis

Lesson: Frustration
with Life

Have students
draw a picture
that talks to the
world like
Junior did on pg.
6

Class opener: Review

of what has happened
in the novel thus far.
Discuss Junior as a
character as well as
the other characters.

Break into
groups and try to
figure out what
each student is
trying to say to
the world.

Worksheet: On right
hand side- list of
characters with
descriptions
Left side: choose
character from modern
day television or film
that exhibits these
characteristics.

Class opener:
Answer the question:
What frustrates you
in life? in journals.
*Each time the
students have a free
write or journal
entry they are
actively working
towards the Final
Essay

Gather together
and discuss what
was perceived
and what was
actually trying to
be said.
HW: Read pgs.
31-53

Discussion the theme

of bullying
Write about a time
youve ever been
bullied or witnessed
someone else being
bullied or have
bullied someone in
journals
Small group sharing
In class time to read:
pgs. 53-81
HW: Finish the
reading for class
tomorrow.

Day 9: Thursday

Day 10: Friday

Lesson: Self-Image

Lesson: Alienation

Prepared- On the
board will be my own
Self-Image (without
wording) simply a
women image divided.
Together as class we
will discuss teacher
identity (model)

*QUIZ

Students create second

image of self.
Including image
changes & description
of differences
*In accordance with
final image project

Discuss the topic of

alienation and the
emotions associated

Share in small groups

Exit slip: Hand in
created image

Freeze Frame:
students will be
assigned different
scenes from the
reading that exhibit
alienation.

HW: Read pgs. 82129

Week Three
Day 11: Monday
Lesson: Socio
economic status
Relook at the
websites, as a class,
and discuss
differences
Think/pair/share of
what the students
have discovered
simply by looking
at the sites and
from the reading
Class discussion
(prompted via
PowerPoint)
Images of student
school in
comparison to
surrounding
lower/upper class
school.
HW: Read pgs.
130-158

Day 12: Tuesday

Lesson: Individual
Versus Member of
the Community

Day 13:
Wednesday
Lesson: Losing
Loved Ones

Day 14:
Thursday
Lesson: Lets
Read

Discuss death and

Introduce Final
the grieving process Assignment and
as a class.
give out
handouts/rubrics
Write about losing
someone you knew, Reading Day:
Discuss
family member,
Read pgs 179-end
Junior/Arnolds dual friend, someone
identities and how he close, and reflect on
feels he is navigating how you felt and
Exit Slip:
between two different how you handled it. Which prompt are
tribes.
you interested in
Small group
writing about?
Gordy says: Well,
discussion on
Why?
life is a constant
Juniors reaction to
struggle between
his loved ones
HW: Finish the
being an individual
dying. How did he
novel for class
and being a member
react? Did you feel tomorrow
of the community.
similarly to the way
(132) Students will
he felt?
consider this quote
and continue to think Exit Slip:
about the individual
Answer this
versus collective
question: If you
identity.
could give Junior
any piece of advice
HW: Read pgs 159or words of
178
encouragement at
this point in the
novel, what would
it/they be?
Junior states I was
half Indian in one
place and half white
in the other. (118)

Day 15: Friday

Lesson: The Ending
Class Opener:
Answer this question
in journal: What do
you think will
happen to Arnold
after he finishes high
school?
Think/Pair/Share
Watch video of
Sherman Alexie
discussing his life:
https://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=Io9v
RHYMiFM
Discuss with the
class how the book
was based around
Alexies life.
Break into groups
and work on
Facebook/Social
Media page
*Students will either
use laptops from a
laptop cart or the
class would go to the
computer lab

Week Four
Day 16: Monday
Lesson: Character
Analysis
Together as a class
create a list of the
characters and their
characteristics
including looks,
personalities,
economic
backgrounds, etc.
*This activity will
aid the students in
creating their
Facebook/Social
Media pages

Day 17:
Tuesday
Lesson: In-Class
Work Day
st

1 half of class will

be used to work with
groups on
Facebook/Social
Media page
2nd half of class will
be used to work on
final essays.
*Students will either
use laptops from a
laptop cart or the
class would go to the
computer lab

Sign up for
presentation day

Day 18:
Wednesday
Lesson: Peer Reviews
Partner up and peer
review each others
final essays.
Meet with teacher to
ask and questions.
HW: Complete final
draft of final essay.
Complete
Facebook/Social Media
project.

Day 19:
Thursday
Lesson: Class
Presentations

Day 20:
Friday
Lesson: Class
Presentations

Student/Groups will
present their
Facebook pages to
the class and explain
why they chose to
add the things they
did and how they
reflect the character.

Student/Groups will
present their
Facebook pages to
the class and explain
why they chose to
add the things they
did and how they
reflect the character.

HW: Bring in rough

drafts of final essay

Extra time will be

used to work on
final projects

Final Assessment:
Multi-Media Portfolio:

One Final Essay (50 Points)

o The final essay will be used as a form of assessment to analyze the
students understanding of the novel and its themes. Not only is an essay
essential to determine a students deeper understanding of the novel, it is
also used to assess the students writing abilities and thought organization.
The students will have four prompts to choose from and will write a 2-3
page paper.
Prompts:
Explain what the W.B. Yeats quote at the beginning of the
novel- There is another world, but it is in this one.

One of the novels topics is identity. Explain how lifes a

struggle between being an individual and being a member
of the community. Discuss the theme.
Discuss how Junior changes throughout the novel and how
he remains the same.
Write a formal essay to accompany the self-image pictures
explaining why you chose the things you did and what its
like to walk in two, or more, worlds.

Self Images (25 Points Each)

o The self-images that the students created will be graded for completion
points. However, the images are important, as they will be used to assess
and gather a better understanding of all the students identities. It is not
only a great way to get to know the students better, but also to have an
understanding of how the students see themselves and what they are
experiencing in life at this stage of developing an identity of their own.

A Facebook or Other Social Media Page (50 Points)

o Through this project students will develop a Facebook or other social
media site that contains posts, images, and interests reflective of the
characters in the novel. This activity will be used to assess the students
understanding of the characters identities and their creativity. The students
will also be required to present their page to the class and their
presentation grade is included in the 50 points. Each page should contain:
12 Posts containing the language used by each character and topics
that each character would talk about.
6 Posts interacting with other groups characters
3-6 Images including a portrait
10 Interests (books, movies, sports) that the character would be
interested in.
3 Friends (other characters)
An About Me