S+Ferrari,+Kimberly

**Office:** Room 175 **Office Phone:** (207) 778-XXXX **Office Hours:** Monday 2:30pm-3:30pm, Thursday 2:30-4:00pm, or by appointment ** E-mail: ** kimberly.ferrari@maine.edu
 * Teacher:** Ms. Ferrari

=Summary of Unit= Welcome to the Hunger Games! Throughout this unit we will explore many themes that relate to human nature. Power, sacrifice, love, identity, and reality television will be a few of the many topics our conversations will cover. We will also take a look at how the author, Suzanne Collins, uses essential ideas in the novel and we will use technology tools such as Glogster and ComicLife to explore the ideas. As in all novels, literary elements play a significant role in //The Hunger Games//, and we will begin to understand these elements by first identifying them in the novel and then analyze their meaning and purpose. Your culminating task for this unit will be to produce a plan for a season of //Survivor// based on the novel itself. As you will see while reading the novel, there are many similarities to the actual Hunger Games and //Survivor//. You will be able to express your knowledge of the novel and its elements through the challenges you create for your season of //Survivor//. Expect to challenge yourselves in ways you have never done before. Good luck and, as Effie Trinket says, "May the odds ever be in your favor!"

=Establish Goals= Maine Learning Results: English Language Arts - A. Reading A2 Literary Texts Grades 9- Diploma The Hunger Games Students read text, within a grade appropriate span of text complexity, and present analyses of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry using excerpts from the text to defend their assertions.

= = =Students will understand that= •universal themes are present and have a purpose in __The Hunger Games__ •essential ideas are present in __The Hunger Games__ •literary elements create meaning in __The Hunger Games__

= = =Essential Questions= •How do universal themes serve a purpose in __The Hunger Games?__ •Why does the author present essential ideas in __The Hunger Games?__ •How do the literary elements create meaning in __The Hunger Games?__

= = =Students will know= •Vocabulary / Terminology: theme, tone, voice, perspective, essential ideas, characterization, dystopia, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, allusion, imagery, foreshadowing, point of view/perspective, metaphor, •Critical Details: Dystopian fiction, how the process of __The Hunger Games__ works, how a lottery works •Key Characters: Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Primrose, Gale, President Snow, Cato, Rue

= = =Students will be able to= •justify that literary elements create meaning in __The Hunger Games.__ •make meaning of essential ideas present in __The Hunger Games.__ •adapt essential ideas present in __The Hunger Games__ and relate them to the real world. •analyze the purpose of themes present in __The Hunger Games.__ •consider how literary elements make meaning in __The Hunger Games.__ •recognize themes present in __The Hunger Games.__

**Performance Task Overview** The television show, //Survivor,// is running out of ideas for their upcoming seasons. They are looking for new ideas that will continue drawing in viewers. Executives at CBS are interested in recreating a season of //Survivor// similar to __The Hunger Games__ and have created a contest to find the TV producer who can best adapt the novel to //Survivor//. Your challenge is to create the plan for an entire season of //Survivor// challenges. The executives want the game to be similar to the novel, which means incorporating the themes, essential ideas, and literary elements into the challenges in some way. The executives will view each presentation and then decide whose challenges best meet what they are looking for. The person selected will be given a guest appearance at one of the tribal councils and will snuff the torch of the player voted off.

=Expectations=

Absent / Late Policy
It is //my// job to teach you. It is //your// job to learn. I cannot do my job if you do not do your job. Therefore, I expect you to attend all classes unless you have are ill or have extenuating circumstances. If this is the case, I expect you to communicate with me. Together, we will find a way to make up for any work you missed in your absence. If you are ill but feel well enough to participate, it is possible that we can Skype you into class so that you do not miss any discussions we might have during that day. I will also post the daily agenda on the Google calendar located at the top of our wiki page where you will be able to find a list of assignments you will need to make up upon your return to class. I also expect you will turn your work in on time, but again, if there are extenuating circumstances please communicate with me. Believe it or not, I was a student once and I do understand that there are things that come up which make it difficult to finish everything in time. Please do not wait until the class that something is due to tell me you were unable to complete it. I am reachable through email at all times and will respond as soon as I can. If you begin communicating with me as soon as you encounter the problem, I am much more likely to work with you to make accommodations. If turning work in late starts to become a habit for reasons less than acceptable, I reserve the right to decline any late work.

Assignment Expectations
This is your 11th year in school. You've more than likely had at least a dozen different teachers, each with different sets of expectations. When you're in my classroom, I want you to forget about the expectations of the dozen+ other teachers you've had in the past. You are in my classroom, so your work should follow //my// expectations, not Mr. Jones' expectations. There will be a lot of work in this class, but it is work that you will all be capable of. If you think I have assigned something that is just busywork, tell me. Together we can find a way to alter the assignment and make it meaningful. I will put in effort to make each assignment meaningful as well as enjoyable for you, so please return the favor and put your effort in to completing each assignment to the best of your ability. If you do not understand what is expected of you, ask me. I will be more than happy to explain it to you. Yes, this is an English class, so yes, spelling counts, along with all the other nitty-gritty stuff like grammar and formatting. If you want to succeed in the real world, that stuff is important to, and I'm here to help you get ready for life beyond high school.

Classroom Expectations
Come to class on time and prepared for the day. This means bringing any homework or materials with you and turning your brain on to absorb everything that we will be learning. We will be busy everyday and if you show up unprepared, you will find yourself lost, dazed, and confused, and that is not desirable. In addition to being prepared, come to class willing to take risks. You will be in an environment where risks are encouraged and where you will have the support you need to feel comfortable taking them. If at any point you feel uncomfortable please speak to me so that I can work to resolve whatever might be causing you to feel uncomfortable. Our classroom is going to be a place full of creativity, exploration, respect, fun, understanding, and learning. Please feel free to use each of these, but keep the main goal in mind. You are here to learn. I will do my best to make every class enjoyable for you, but please be aware that there will be times when we have to do something that might not be so fun, like prepare for standardized testing. If you have suggestions on how to make an assignment, activity, or lesson more appealing to yourself and your classmates, by all means, share it with me. My lessons are not set in stone like the Ten Commandments. We can make revisions at any point, as long as there is sufficient reasoning for those changes. My classroom rules are also not set in stone, except for one: RESPECT. That means respecting me, your classmates, school property, and yourself. Any violations of this will be handled based on the violation, and I reserve the right to make any adjustments as necessary. Part of respect includes language appropriate for a classroom setting, not only during discussions, but also in any assignments handed in to me. I am aware that we all use slang and offensive language and that it occasionally works its way out without us realizing it, but if this begins to happen a lot, there will be penalties.

Plagiarism
You've all seen the commercials before movies that say "You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't steal a purse," and go on to tell you how piracy is a crime, right? Well plagiarism is too. Our school has a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. That means that absolutely no plagiarism will be accepted or allowed. Copying someone's working, cheating off of someone, and turning in someone else's work as your own are all forms of plagiarism. If you are caught plagiarizing, the office will be notified, your parents will be notified, and you will receive a zero for the assignment. The school may also take actions regarding the offense in the form of academic suspension or other disciplinary actions. =Benchmarks (530 points total)= •**Xtranormal**: After finding and identifying one or more literary elements, you will use Xtranormal to comment on how they create meaning in //The Hunger Games//. Your Xtranormal video must include a definition of each literary element, an description of the location(s) of the literary element in the novel, and an explanation of the meaning of the literary element and how it affects the novel. Use Xtranormal to find a creative and engaging way to present this information. You want it to be more than just a speech explaining everything. A checklist will be provided at the start of the assignment to help make sure you include everything in your video and a rubric will be for you to self-assess your work before I evaluate it. This assignment will be done individually and will be worth a total of **30 points**.

•**ComicLife**: Using ComicLife, you will explore one or more of the essential ideas from //The Hunger Games//. With a partner you will write your own story, focusing on at least one of the essential ideas. You may choose which essential idea(s) you wish to focus on, but the goal is to create a visual representation that makes meaning of the essential idea. A checklist and rubric will be provided before starting this assignment. Use the checklist as you work on your comic to make sure you include everything that you need and use the rubric to self-assess your work before you turn it in to me. I will be evaluating your comic on the same rubric, which should be a minimum of ten pages and will be worth a total of **60 points//.//**

•**Glogster**: You will be asked to create a Glogster that focuses on one of the essential ideas from //The Hunger Games//. In the Glogster, you will adapt the essential idea and relate it to the real world. Feel free to incorporate as many different forms of media (audio, video, graphics, etc.) as you can to enhance the connection between the essential idea and the real world. I will give you a checklist for you to use as you work on your assignment and a rubric for you to self-asses your assignment with. You will work individually on this assignment, which will be worth a total of **40 points.**

•**Crocodocs**: After exploring the themes in //The Hunger Games//, you will write an essay analyzing the meaning and purpose of one of the themes. We will use Crocodocs to discuss each paper in a digital environment, which will allow us to critique the papers anonymously. Because of the ability to remain anonymous, it is expected that you participate in the peer review of each paper. It is also required that you use the comments from the peer review of your paper to make improvements in subsequent drafts until you have a polished final product. This assignment will have a checklist and a rubric to accompany it which you should use during the drafting process and to self-assess your essay before handing it in. The essay will be worth a total of **75 points.**

•**Podcast**: Working in pairs, you will research a literary element that is present in //The Hunger Games//. You will then write a script defining and explaining the literary element. After these steps are completed, you will turn the script into a podcast, which you will then share with the class. I will give you a checklist to help you keep track off each section of this assignment. Once you have presented the podcast to the class, you will be asked to self-assess your podcast using the same rubric that I will evaluate your work on. The podcast will be worth a total of **45 points.**

•**Voicethread**: Using Voicethread, you and a partner will create a multimedia presentation that identifies the themes present in the novel. You will use the novel as one resource and find other resources to help show how the theme is present. You should also include some form of commentary explaining how the multiple resources relate to one another. Just like every other assignment, there will be a checklist to help you include everything and a rubric for you to self-assess your assignment. The Voicethread will be worth a total of **30 points.**

Final Project: //**Survivor: The Hunger Games**//: See Performance Task for an overview of this assignment, worth **150 points**.


 * Blog**: In addition to each of the above assignments, you will keep a blog for this unit. Each day you will be given a prompt to answer in your blog. This will be one of the ways we communicate during the unit, so it is important that you keep it up to date. A completed blog entry will answer the day's prompt, as well as provide me with any information that you feel I should know about your assignments. The finished blog will be worth **100 points.**

=Grading Scale=
 * A** (93 -100), **A-** (90 - 92), **B+** (87 - 89), **B** (83 - 86), **B-** (80 - 82), **C+**(77 - 79), **C** (73-76), **C-** (70 - 72), **D+**(67 - 69), **D** (63 - 66), **D-** (60 - 62), **F** (0 - 59)