IB MYP Unit Planner

G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

TEACHER SUBJECT

Reuben Haggar English

SHARED GRADES START DATE DURATION COURSE PART

Grade 8 Week 4, February 8 Weeks

INQUIRY
Key Concepts
Creativity is the process or ability to make or produce something new and original, often characterized by the use of
imagination or divergent thinking. It may be evident in the process as well as the outcome, solution or product.

Related Concepts
Language and literature
Character, Self-expression

Conceptual Understanding
Creative characters in stories result in the author's self-expression.

Global Context & Explorations

Personal and cultural expression

Statement of Inquiry
The value of stories and creative self-expression is critical to a rich, satisfying, and meaningful existence.

Inquiry Questions
Conceptual English To what extent does fiction frame and form humans' perception of the world?
Debatable English Should freedom of speech be absolute?
Factual English What are the pros and cons of freedom of expression?

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
1 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

CURRICULUM
MYP Objectives
• A: Analysing
• identify and explain the content, context, language, structure, technique and style of text(s) and the relationships
among texts
identify and explain the effects of the creator’s choices on an audience
justify opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations and terminology
interpret similarities and differences in features within and between genres and texts.

• B: Organizing
• employ organizational structures that serve the context and intention
organize opinions and ideas in a coherent and logical manner

• C: Producing text
• produce texts that demonstrate thought, imagination and sensitivity while exploring and considering new perspectives
and ideas arising from personal engagement with the creative process
make stylistic choices in terms of linguistic, literary and visual devices, demonstrating awareness of impact on an
audience
select relevant details and examples to develop ideas.

• D: Using language
• use appropriate and varied vocabulary, sentence structures and forms of expression
write and speak in an appropriate register and style
use correct grammar, syntax and punctuation
spell (alphabetic languages), write (character languages) and pronounce with accuracy
use appropriate non-verbal communication techniques.

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
2 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Standards/skills
8.1 The student will use discussions and interviewing to gain information.
a) Ask relevant questions.
b) Take notes.

8.2 The student will develop and deliver oral presentations in groups and individually.
a) Choose topic and purpose appropriate to the audience.
b) Choose vocabulary and tone appropriate to the audience, topic, and purpose.
c) Use appropriate verbal and nonverbal presentation skills.
d) Respond to audience questions and comments.
e) Use grammatically correct language.

8.4 The student will apply knowledge of word origins, derivations, inflections, analogies, and figurative language
to extend vocabulary development.
a) Identify simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and analogy.
b) Use context, structure, and connotations to determine meaning of words and phrases.

8.5 The student will read and begin to analyze a variety of narrative and poetic forms.
b) Describe the impact of word choice, imagery, and poetic devices.
d) Describe inferred main ideas or themes, using evidence from the text as support.
e) Describe how authors use characters, conflict, point of view, and tone to create meaning.

8.7 The student will write in a variety of forms, including narrative, expository, persuasive, and informational.
a) Use prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas.
b) Organize details to elaborate the central idea.
c) Select specific vocabulary and information.
d) Revise writing for word choice, sentence structure, and transitions among paragraphs.

8.8 The student will work on understanding and using grammar.

d) Understand the rules governing article and pronoun usage.
e) Be aware of all the situations requiring the use of modals (including progressive forms).

8.3 The student will analyze mass media messages.

a) Identify the persuasive technique being used.
b) Describe the relationship between the media and public opinion.
c) Evaluate the source, its effect and its effectiveness.

8.6 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of informational sources.
d) Analyze details for relevance and accuracy.
f) Summarize and critique text.
h) Make inferences based on explicit and implied information.

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
3 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Content & Skills

Skills

allegory
imagery
onomatopoeia
metaphor
simile
repetition
parallel construction
symbolism
foreshadowing
constructive
affirmative
negative
crossfire
rebuttal

ASSESSMENT
Tasks
APR Short story
3 Summative Task Tuesday at 9:40 AM

Haroun and Sea of Stories: Short Story You are going to write your own children’s story inspired by the rich, colorful
language of Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Your story will include one peer-edited draft and a final; your story will
entail all sorts of amazing; your story will also display your ability to create and develop the following elements: • An
interesting title • A hook/attention-getter: action, dialogue or description captures our attention at the beginning • A
relevant setting that takes readers to another world • Characters who are interesting and who are in possession of
interesting, creative names; the characters should be well-developed and distinct by their descriptions and behavior
• Relevant, engaging, correctly-punctuated dialogue • A plot (intro, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action,
resolution) full of interesting, connected events • A variety of vocabulary; words should not be repeated often • Vivid,
descriptive writing that includes strong adjectives and adverbs and verbs, an appeal to the five senses, metaphor,
simile, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and personification • An ending that connects to the beginning in a sensible way •
Appropriate content for children (“children” being anyone between the ages of 5 and 12)

N/A A: Analysing

6/8 B: Organizing

6/8 C: Producing text

5/8 D: Using language

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
4 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

APR Short story promo

11 Formative Project Wednesday at 2:40 PM

You will create a short story masterpiece for children. Your plot will be intriguing, your characters will be amazing, and
the language you will use in the story will be brilliant. The world needs to know. Your task is to promote (or, “advertise”)
your short story. You need to let the children of the world out there know that you your story exists and that they need
to read it. Using at least three persuasive techniques studied in the media literacy unit, you will create a product that
promotes your short story to the young target audience for which it was written. The product’s length must be between
3-5 minutes. Your product could take the form of a: • a video (like a short story trailer) • a video (like an advertisement)
• a poster • a presentation (with or without a Power Point or Prezi) • a pamphlet/handout • a song/dance • Wechat
channel • …something else – be creative! The product will not be graded, but – of course – it must be of a very
high quality, a quality that could persuade children between the ages of 5-12 to read your story with enthusiasm and
passion. After presenting your promotion, you will write a reflection of between 200-500 words about your promotion
experience. In the reflection you should address: • why you chose the persuasive tactics you did • why you didn’t use
certain persuasive tactics • what you chose the medium of the promotion that you chose • how effective you think your
promotion was

N/A A: Analysing

N/A B: Organizing

N/A C: Producing text

N/A D: Using language

APR Short story reflection

17 Summative Task Tuesday at 9:40 AM

Students will reflect on the short story promotion task completed on April 11.

6/8 A: Analysing

7/8 B: Organizing

N/A C: Producing text

6/8 D: Using language

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
5 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

APR Freedom of speech debate

20 Summative Task Friday at 10:45 AM

Agree or Disagree: Freedom of speech should be absolute Step 0: Understand the task. You will be on a three- or
four-person debate team and will engage in a debate that follows the following format: a) PRO Speaker 1: 4-minute
constructive b) CON Speaker 1: 2-minute constructive c) CON Speaker 2: 2-minute constructive d) Crossfire: PRO/
CON Speakers 1-2: 4 minutes e) PRO Speaker 2: 2-minute constructive f) PRO Speaker 3: 2-minute constructive g)
CON Speaker 3: 2-minute constructive h) CON Speaker 4: 2-minute constructive i) Crossfire: PRO Speakers 2-3/CON
Speakers 3-4: 4 minutes j) Grand Crossfire: all speakers: 6 minutes Total: 30 minutes Terms: • constructive: • rebuttal: •
crossfire: • pro/affirmative: • con/negative/opposition: Step 1: Think about your position on the resolution (“Freedom of
speech should be absolute”) Step 2: Get assigned to a three- or four-person team. There are no guarantees that you
will be put on a team with people you enjoy or get along with; there is also no guarantee that you will get put on the
side that you agree with. Step 3: Plan your debate. The suggested format is that each member of your team explain
one main point that supports your stance on the topic or rebut one of your opponent’s speeches. If your team only
has three speakers, you may want to distribute the work a bit differently. Some tips: (a) No scripts or large blocks of
text are allowed; in fact, you may only have twenty words in your debate notes. (b) Get evidence for your reasons.
These could be quotes or examples from throughout history, from Haroun and the Sea of Stories, or from articles read
in class; they could also be from other sources. Step 4: Debate. The debates will happen on Friday, April 20, during
third period. You need to bring your rubric to class. You will not be allowed to have any electronics with you during the
debate. The format will be followed extremely closely, so make sure your constructive is less than two minutes, or you
will get cut off by the timer.

6/8 A: Analysing

5/8 B: Organizing

N/A C: Producing text

6/8 D: Using language

Summative assessment

The short story that the students will write will reflect their understanding of why stories are important. Since stories can teach
lessons, inspire, and help us understand ourselves more, the stories that the students will write for this assessment task will
strive to do just those things. The freedom of speech debate will be a chance for students to voice their opinions on the issue of
freedom of speech, to explain why it should or should not exist in a structured argument. The short story promotion is actually
an extension of the previous (and abbreviated) unit on media literacy; students will use the persuasive tactics that they learned in
the media literacy unit to create a promotion for the aforementioned short story, and then they will will write a rationale that will
be graded (in class).

MYP Assessment criteria

Language and literature

6/8 A: Analysing 6/8 B: Organizing

6/8 C: Producing text 6/8 D: Using language

* - Class mean of Assessed Criteria

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
6 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Learning experiences

As the unit begins, students will participate in various activities that give context to Haroun and the Sea of Stories and, later on,
to the issue of freedom of speech. The plot of the story explores the question, "What is the value of stories that aren't true?"
Students will explore this issue as they begin to write their short stories. There will be different activities that give students a
chance to explore the descriptive, lively use of language that Salman Rushdie employs in Haroun and the Sea of Stories, prior
to writing their own stories; several in-class investigations of the chapters in the book and an explicit writing workshop will
help guide them toward engaging, original language use as well. Later on, the topic of freedom of speech will also be explored.
Students will first brainstorm thoughts and opinions about freedom of speech; then they will read articles of different historical
issues relating to freedom of speech. The students will continue to have to think about this issue as they sign up for sides of
the debate resolution (Freedom of speech should be absolute). They will be taught about debate tactics and strategies and will
do some practice debate sparring with partners. Eventually, the whole class will engage in one enormous and awesome debate
about whether freedom of speech should be absolute or not. Thus, the assessments directly correlate to the unit’s content and
will tie directly into the skills, concepts, and knowledge from lessons in class.

Lesson plans:

1. Introduce unit; story value brainstorming; read Salman Rushdie's biography; read Chapter 1
2. Chapter 1 worksheet; begin short story PPT; introduce short story rubric
3. Conjunctions/splitting sentences; short story PPT; read Chapter 2
4. Review conjunctions; adjective clauses; short story PPT
5. Short story PPT continued; review adjective clauses; noun clauses; read Chapter 3
6. Chapter 3 reading quiz; Chapter 3 discussion questions; Chapter 3 worksheet
7. Peer edit short story drafts
8. Read Chapter 4; noun/adjective clauses review; short story promotion introduction; punctuating dialogue
9. Infinitives; Chapter 4 reading quiz; Chapter 4 worksheet
10. Infinitives review; gerunds; Chapter 5 character quiz
11. Short stories due; discuss short story promotion; promotion planning activity; Facebook profile page work time
12. Chapter 6 reading quiz; Chapter 6 worksheet
13. Chapter 7 scavenger hunt; parallelism/opposition in Chapter 7
14. Short story promotion work day
15. Short story promotion
16. Write short story promotion reflection assessment
17. Chapter 8 quiz; Chapter 8 discussion questions; read freedom of speech articles
18. Freedom of speech articles jigsaw; read debate rubric; choose debate teams; read Chapter 9
19. Khattam-Shud character analysis; debate introduction
20. Chapter 10 quiz; Chapter 10 worksheet; debate constructives
21. Chapter 11/12 reading quiz; allegory worksheet; end-of-the-book discussion questions
22. Review worksheet; debate tips; practice debate; work time
23. Freedom of speech debate

Teaching strategies

The teacher will give feedback on formative assessments; students will use feedback to prepare for the summative assessment.
There will be a balance of teacher-led and student-led instruction in this unit; different activities will call on the students to take
notes, view and apply knowledge learned from videos, participate in discussions, employ artistic and other creative abilities, teach
each other in jigsaw learning activities, compare familiar texts to modern, unfamiliar texts, discover answers using technology,
work in small groups, etc.; thus, the unit will cater to many the different learning styles of many different learners.

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
7 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Differentiation
For the short story promotion task, students will be given a range of options through which to promote their short story. Students
can promote their short story through the medium of an essay, a video trailer, a presentation, a speech, a poster, a song, or some
other mode, if something else appeals to them. The students can choose whatever they are most comfortable with, whatever
they think would allow them to produce the best work and demonstrate the most understanding of how to use persuasive tactics
and persuade the audience to look into their story.

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
8 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

CONNECTIONS
Approaches to Learning
Linked objectives
Language and literature
• A: Analysing
• identify and explain the content, context, language, structure, technique and style of text(s) and the relationships
among texts
• identify and explain the effects of the creator’s choices on an audience
• justify opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations and terminology
• interpret similarities and differences in features within and between genres and texts.

• B: Organizing
• employ organizational structures that serve the context and intention
• organize opinions and ideas in a coherent and logical manner

• C: Producing text
• produce texts that demonstrate thought, imagination and sensitivity while exploring and considering new perspectives
and ideas arising from personal engagement with the creative process
• make stylistic choices in terms of linguistic, literary and visual devices, demonstrating awareness of impact on an
audience
• select relevant details and examples to develop ideas.

• D: Using language
• use appropriate and varied vocabulary, sentence structures and forms of expression
• write and speak in an appropriate register and style
• use correct grammar, syntax and punctuation
• spell (alphabetic languages), write (character languages) and pronounce with accuracy
• use appropriate non-verbal communication techniques.

Social
II. Collaboration skills Students will participate in a debate over the topic
Working effectively with others of absolute freedom of speech. In order to plan their
• Practise empathy debate, each team will have to collaborate in order
• Delegate and share responsibility for decision-making to figure out the different pieces of the constructive
• Help others to succeed argument that they will present. Each member of the
• Take responsibility for one’s own actions group will be responsible for coming up with his or
• Manage and resolve conflict and work collaboratively in her own point and evidence. Listening to each other,
teams weighing different options and opinions, and reaching
• Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas a consensus on how to plan their argument will be
• Negotiate effectively hurdles that the students in each group will have to
• Encourage others to contribute overcome. Students will give feedback about the
• Exercise leadership and take on a variety of roles within different speeches they've prepared and the
groups questions they've got ready for the debate.
• Give and receive meaningful feedback
• Advocate for one’s own rights and needs

IB Learner Profile
• Reflective: Students will write a rationale explaining the choices they made in creating their short story promotion. This
assessment task will force them to think about the choices that they made, the reasons for making those choices, and the
effects their choices had on the audience; the students will reflect on how effective the promotion that they've made is.

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
9 of 10
IB MYP Unit Planner
G8LA Unit 5 - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

REFLECTIONS
2017 - 2018

Prior to studying the unit

This is the only novel unit that will be taught this year. It should be good, and the ideas connected to it (freedom of speech) are
also important and engaging for students. I won't change much in this unit from previous years.

During the unit

The unit is going fairly well. In the future it might be better to have the students read several chapters by certain dates, instead of
having one chapter due every day. Having one chapter due each was not too bad for the week I was gone on paternity leave, but
otherwise it really slows the pace of the reading down.

After the unit

Overall, the unit went well.

As mentioned in the "During teaching" section, assigning bigger chunks of text (e.g. Chapter 7-9 due Friday)(instead of Chapter
7 due Friday, Chapter 8 due Monday, Chapter 9 due Wednesday) might be more effective and get us through the book more
quickly.

The debate was okay, but there were some things that could be done better. The rubric needs to be updated. A section on
speaking civilly would be helpful, and tweaking Criterion A so that the rubric includes more about logic would be helpful as well.
More time could be spent on the debate, especially on rebuttal.

Beijing World Youth Academy

Reuben Haggar on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2018 at 2:18 PM
10 of 10