———CENTRAL FOCUS——--
Enduring Understandings
English:
U.S. History:
- Truth is not determined by the number of people who believe it. Perception and belief are often assumed to be true, yet truth stands apart from human fallibility.
U.S. History:
- Fear can drive people to do irrational things and be a motivator of evil.
- The in-group often goes to war with the out-group for not agreeing on what the majority deems to be acceptable truths.
- The majority can easily turn into a tyrannical mass and target the minority in certain situations.
Essential Questions
English:
U.S. History:
- How does a collective fear affect the group or individuals?
- What is evil? What forms does it take?
U.S. History:
- How can fear impact people's freedom?
- Why does casting people out of the in-group cause problems, historically?
- How does discrimination and stereotypes affect societies?
---CALENDAR OVERVIEW---
Standards
English:
U.S. History:
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
U.S. History:
- 11.9.3 — Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy, including the following: The era of McCarthyism, instances of domestic Communism (e.g., Alger Hiss) and blacklisting.
Objectives
English:
U.S. History:
- After reading “Hansel and Gretel,” students will analyze how the characterization of witches develops the theme of the short story.
- After reading “Sleeping Beauty,” and comparing the classic short story to modern renditions of the “evil” witch, students will analyze how the conflicting motivations have changed for the antagonist and how those changes advance the plot.
- Students will be able to analyze how the characterization of witches has changed over the course of time in literature corresponding to the establishment of rights for minority/marginalized groups to develop on the theme of what is evil and why (who decides this).
- Students will be able to write a reflection analyzing the nature of evil and who determines what is evil.
- Students will be able to use effective techniques to create a detailed mind map of stereotypes within our society today.
U.S. History:
- After a lecture on the Salem Witch Trials and subsequent discussions, students will be able to understand the historical angle from which McCarthyism and his ‘communist witch hunts’ stemmed.
- After reading and analyzing several primary source documents, students will be able to make a claim regarding the Palmer Raids and back it up using evidence and reasoning.
- After watching videos on Hollywood blacklisting and reading articles concerning McCarthyism, students will be able to agree or not whether McCarthy was justified using reason and evidence on a graphic organizer.
- After learning about what the Hero’s Journey is, students will be able to create a Mind Map of the The Wizard of Oz and participate in discussions regarding the witches portrayed in this movie.
- After listening to talks from the local community’s outcasts and asking them questions, students will be able to write a 1-2 page reflection paper on the prompt that will wrap up this unit.