Teacher: Jillian Remillard

Unit: Core Beliefs Writing and Film Unit

Length: 5-6 weeks; 28 classes
Muir Lake School

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

P Reading TED Talk Tuesday - Essay Development Quote Vocabulary Quiz

L Comprehension and Have Kids Find and Response/Analysis
A Extension - Thematic Present - What inspires Creative Writing Prompt
N you? Writing My Life Journal or Response -
N Vocab List Received time Video/Podcast or Writing
I Writing (Unit Journalling)
N This I Believe Essay
G Podcasts - Reflect and
Respond

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5

W January 9 January 10 January 11 January 12 January 13

E
First Day Back from Personal Essay Redux - Planning Period for Introduce Writing my Artifact box
E Holidays - Introduce Unit This I Believe and Essay Essay (10 minutes) Life Journals and presentations - Jill and
K and Projects/Goals Style (Read exemplars) Prompts / What Do I Shireen
1 Planning for Artifact box Believe? Focusing
Core Values Survey - Personal Artifact Box exercise (15 min) Rhetorical Writing
Terminal and Project Introduction and Ethos Logos and Pathos Devices and how to use
Instrumental Values Planning - Writing persuasively Rhetorical devices (2-3) them (2-3)

Work Time - Artifact

Project
 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8 Lesson 9 Lesson 10

W January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 January 20

E
Vocab list 2 h/o Personal Artifact Box Go over essay rubric Writing my Life Journal - Vocab Quiz 2
E Presentations prompt 2
K Personal Artifact Box Sell me this pen Rough Draft of Essay
2 Presentations (projects activity and Essay writing time - no due for feedback and
due) (19 kids x avg 5 ethos/logos/pathos more research. ACTUAL peer editing
min per = 95 min = 2 commercial activity writing.
periods)

Lesson 11 Lesson 12 Lesson 13 Lesson 14 Lesson 15

W January 23 January 24 January 25 January 26 January 27
E
E Vocab List 3 h/o TED Talk Tuesday - Pop Quiz - Rhetorical Writing my Life Journals Vocab Quiz 3
Flow and Respond Devices This I Believe Essay due
K
Essay work time - final
3 This I believe Essay I am Very Real - Kurt draft and fine-tuning Core Values: Societal
work time and check-in: Vonnegut level
does your writing has
ethos, pathos, and logos

Lesson 15 Lesson 16 Lesson 17 Lesson 18

W
E January 30 January 31 February 1 February 2 February 3
E Vocab List 4 h/o No School - PD Day What inspires you? Research project work Vocab quiz 4
K Writing Sample (20 min) time - the help
4 2 minute film preps - Work time for
research and present Research project - presentations
expert presentations
The Help film prep
 Lesson 19 Lesson 20 Lesson 21
W February 6 February 7 February 8 February 9 February 10
E
E The Help- film The Help - film The Help - film No School - Teachers No School - Teachers
Convention Convention
K
5
W Lesson 22 Lesson 23 Lesson 24 Lesson 25 Lesson 26
E February 13 February 14 February 15 February 16 February 17
E Valentines Day
K
Poetry Unit Start Poetry Concepts Poetry concepts Poetry Concepts Poetry Analysis
6
Officially - Introduction to Bio-poem Bio-poem Bio-poem The Poison Tree
Poetry by Billy Collins

W Lesson 27 Lesson 28 Lesson 29 Lesson 30

E February 20 February 21 February 22 February 23 February 24
E
E No School - Family Sound of Silence
Day
K
7

Assessments:
- This I Believe Essay
- Film Response and Analysis
- Bowling for Columbine viewing/comprehension questions
- Vocabulary Quizzes
- Writing My Life Journals - Podcasts/Writing Responses
- What am I going to do about it?
- Found Poetry - Create to tell a story
 -
- TED Talk Project - What Inspires Us

Materials:
- Films
- Bowling for Columbine
- Pay it Forward
- This I Believe Essay Plans and Rubric
- Vocabulary quizzes - Greek and Latin STEM based vocab building sets
- Podcast Making Materials
- http://www.npr.org/series/4538138/this-i-believe
- http://www.openculture.com/2013/12/david-lynch-presents-the-interview-project.html
- Core values survey
- Journal folders - duotangs
- Newspapers for found poetry
- Documentary info fill in the blank notes

Outline:
*Students should understand that they are expected to do some of the writing and work outside of class for homework. This
includes the This I Believe Essay and the Interview Project

Assessment Name Strands Targeted Overview Assessment Outcomes Due Date

Type Targeted

Core Values Survey Listening, Representing Survey to identify students ---- January 9th
terminal and instrumental
values to help with their
personal essays

Personal Artifact Box Writing, Speaking, Summative January 16-17

Viewing
 Writing my Life Journal Writing, Representing Formative Ongoing - entries
Entry due Friday

Reading Reading Commonlit Article Formative/Sum Ongoing -

Comprehension questions (turned in) and mative throughout unit
discussion

Vocabulary Quizzes - Writing Greek and Latin Stem Summative

Weekly based quizzes

This I Believe Personal Writing, Representing, Summative

Essay Listening

Bowling for Columbine Viewing, Listening Documentary as a means Summative

of communicating core
values of a
people/individual

Life Visual - Creative Formative -

Assignment Project Support

TED Talk What Inspires Speaking, Writing Ongoing Project (1 student Formative Ongoing
you? Project and per week - 3 minute
Speech presentation and watch
TED Talk)

Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Viewing, Representing

This I Believe Essay Info:

The Original Invitation from This I Believe

This invites you to make a very great contribution: nothing less than a statement of your personal beliefs, of the values which rule your thought and
action. Your essay should be about three minutes in length when read aloud, written in a style as you yourself speak, and total no more than 500
words.

We know this is a tough job. What we want is so intimate that no one can write it for you. You must write it yourself, in the language most natural to
you. We ask you to write in your own words and then record in your own voice. You may even find that it takes a request like this for you to reveal
some of your own beliefs to yourself. If you set them down they may become of untold meaning to others.

We would like you to tell not only what you believe, but how you reached your beliefs, and if they have grown, what made them grow. This
necessarily must be highly personal. That is what we anticipate and want.

It may help you in formulating your credo if we tell you also what we do not want. We do not want a sermon, religious or lay; we do not want
editorializing or sectarianism or finger-pointing. We do not even want your views on the American way of life, or democracy or free enterprise. These
are important but for another occasion. We want to know what you live by. And we want it in terms of I, not the editorial We.

Although this program is designed to express beliefs, it is not a religious program and is not concerned with any religious form whatever. Most of our
guests express belief in a Supreme Being, and set forth the importance to them of that belief. However, that is your decision, since it is your belief
which we solicit.

But we do ask you to confine yourself to affirmatives: This means refraining from saying what you do not believe. Your beliefs may well have grown in
clarity to you by a process of elimination and rejection, but for our part, we must avoid negative statements lest we become a medium for the
criticism of beliefs, which is the very opposite of our purpose.

We are sure the statement we ask from you can have wide and lasting influence. Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so
urgent. Your belief, simply and sincerely spoken, is sure to stimulate and help those who hear it. We are confident it will enrich them. May we have
your contribution?

Writing your own statement of personal belief can be a powerful tool for self-reflection.

Tell a story about you: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events that have shaped your core values. Consider
moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one
else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenchingit can even be funnybut it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the
essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 500 and 600 words. Thats about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.
Name your belief: If you cant name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing
on one core belief.

Be positive: Write about what you do believe, not what you dont believe. Avoid statements of religious dogma, preaching, or editorializing.

Be personal: Make your essay about you; speak in the first person. Avoid speaking in the editorial we. Tell a story from your own life; this is not an
opinion piece about social ideals. Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to
yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

For this project, we are also guided by the original This I Believe series and the producers invitation to those who wrote essays in the 1950s. Their
advice holds up well. Please consider it carefully in writing your piece.

In introducing the original series, host Edward R. Murrow said, Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent. We would
argue that the need is as great now as it was 65 years ago.

Q: What is a This I Believe essay?

A: A This I Believe essay is a personal essay that explores the foundations of our core valuesthe principles that guide our lives. We encourage
teenagers and young adults especially to participate in this critical thinking exercise at a time when they are becoming aware of and shaping their
personal identities.

Writing a This I Believe essay satisfies curricular requirements for writing a personal essay, with the added benefit of allowing students the luxury of
exploring their core beliefs and the things that have shaped who they are. Many students have stated that this was their favorite assignment of the
semester or school year.

Q: How can I get started?

A: We recommend starting by having students read and listen to other This I Believe essays in order to explore the core beliefs of others. This can
help students see the value of considering other peoples beliefs, whether they agree with the writers, or, perhaps more important, when they do not.

After exploring other This I Believe essays, we then recommend using our essay-writing guidelines as a tool to get started. Rather than having
students start with a belief statement, ask them to tell a story. Their story should be something compelling that has stuck with them, perhaps one in
which they learned a lesson or had an aha moment, where they learned an important insight about life. After writing the essay, they can then reflect
on what the core value is at the heart of the story.

If you are interested in detailed lesson plans, we have several curricula for sale in our online store. (Your purchase helps support the continuation of
this website.)
Q: How long should my students essays be?

A: A This I Believe essay should be approximately 500 to 600 words, or about three minutes when read aloud at a natural speaking pace. This is the
guideline used by the original This I Believe radio series in the 1950s, and we have abided by their suggestion.

http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/this-i-believe/

Prompts:

IknowIamthewayIamtodaybecause______.IknowIthinkaboutthingsthewayIdobecause_______.Ithinkmost
peoplewoulddescribemeas______.