This Locomotion by Jaqueline Woodson Middle School reading unit and verse novel study is exactly what you need to teach your fifth, sixth, seventh, and/or eighth-grade middle school learners in an engaging Socratic Seminar, discussion-based, and reading-response-focused format with this historical
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This unit digs deep into EVERY SINGLE common core reading literature and main writing standard. I designed these units because I didn't want to just “hit” the standards. I tried to dig deep into every standard multiple times throughout the year. Teaching literature and poetry through Locomotion is engaging, thought-provoking, and thorough with this Socratic Seminar and literary devices novel study.
The backbone of these units is The Socratic Seminar, which pushes students to discuss the novels with their peers (using the guiding and interpretive questions provided) while using text-based evidence and critical thinking.
Here's what you'll get:
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Locomotion 8 Lesson Reading Unit
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Teacher answer keys and vocabulary for all lessons.
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5 Reading Response Examples for teachers and students to reference.
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8+ Literary Devices Mini-Anchor Charts or Student Reference Pages
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15+ Reading Response Graphic Organizers
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40+ page Implementation Teachers Guide: Socratic Seminar, Tips and Tricks, Pacing, Student Examples, FAQs, scripted lesson examples, etc.
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PowerPoint, JPEG, and PDF Display slides for all Guiding and Interpretive Questions
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Digital Student Reading Response Notebooks
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Editable PowerPoint Reading Response Rubrics: Differentiated by grade level.
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Editable PowerPoint Literary Nonfiction Reading Response Rubrics: Differentiated by grade level.
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Small group and individual conference teacher forms
Students' thinking and discussions build a strong foundation of understanding for their reading responses (which will blow you away because of how much they grow throughout the year). This unit teaches your students about every single fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade CCSS literature standard in an engaging and thought-provoking unit, and all the work is done for you.
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Pre-Lesson: Socratic Seminar Norms
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Locomotion Day 1: Point of View
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Locomotion Day 2: Character Traits
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Locomotion Day 3: Dynamic Characteraization
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Locomotion Day 4: Poetic Point of View Influence
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Locomotion Day 5: Theme
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Bonus Lesson One: Point of View Influence
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Bonus Lesson Two: Comparing Texts
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Bonus Lesson Three: Objective Summaries
In this unit, your students will receive extensive support and conversations from their peers, be exposed to literature and vocabulary at or above their grade level, and become part of a reading community. Yet, it still allows you to work with groups of students at their particular reading levels.
Prep is quick and easy... Just review the guiding questions, print or display any reference materials, and you're ready for an engaging and results-producing class period!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amy S. says, "OBSESSED!!!! I am teaching summer school and I'm normally a math teacher but I am also teaching them ELA. I found this and I honestly wish I taught ELA so I could buy the rest of the novel studies and do them! This is the way you should teach ELA. Easily able to teach all standards through reading notebook, vocabulary, discussion. Lesson plans are soooo thorough. I highly suggest all upper elementary ELA teachers look into your resources!"
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sarah V. says, "I really appreciate how this unit is organized and how thought provoking it has been. We are only a few days in and the students are loving the socratic seminar setup and I, being a newbie with this type of discussion setup, am enjoying all of the instructions and lack of busywork for students to just get done. I'll be purchasing more for the novels that I teach!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Krista L. says, "Students are thrilled to be talking about the book instead of doing a ton of comprehension questions. My students’ writing improved because they are hyper focused on answering the discussion question and are actually using textual evidence to answer, because instead of 5-10 questions, they have one. The vocabulary and extra comprehension questions are very useful as well.