Prior to this course, students learned about the variance between genres and got acquainted with context-specific terminology. They have read aloud short pieces of texts, mainly essays and fairytales, with the guidance of the teacher. This exposure has presented students with the ability to distinguish types of text and analyze their general structure and key thematic elements. In this course, students scaffold to harder texts that are well within their reach. Daytripper, in particular, will require students to draw from previous courses in order to interpret the strong figurative language that this unit chiefly targets.     

                            

Unlike the former course in which the teacher oftentimes read books aloud, students will receive their own copies of Daytripper in order to personally interact with the graphic novel. During the course of the unit lesson, they will typically be assigned two chapters to read daily. However, since the story is presented in an unconventional timeline, students will start reading in-class. This allows students the chance to address any confusion or difficulty with the book. That being said, the structure and delivery of the novel will be discussed before students dive into the actual reading that same day. Throughout the remaining four days, students will have ample time in-class and out of class to read the rest of the novel.

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Alongside reading, the after-reading component of the class will require quite a bit of writing. One of the primary goals of this class is to get students to reflect on the main themes and elements presented in the novel. Additionally, since a comic book isn’t complete without its sequence of comic strips, images will also be seriously examined. Finally, as an aid, students will be asked to keep a log of new vocabulary. This handout can be found at the very end of the lesson for day 2.

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Although this is a unit on reading and writing, listening and speaking results from

in-class discussions and the teacher and/or students reading aloud in class. While

students won’t be directly assessed on these two major learning skills, they will

be graded on their in-class participation.

 

By the end of the unit, students will be able to:

1. Feel comfortable with the structure and delivery of a comic book

2. Analyze the characters, main themes, and literary devices in Daytripper

3. Engage in meaningful discussion with teacher and peers

4. Reflect and offer feedback on reading experiences

5. Understand new words by logging them and asking for clarification