
Courageous Contributors: Grade 6

Students will read a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts about how individuals and communities persevere through prejudice and injustice alongside this anchor text, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. Students will envision how they can be courageous contributors to their
communities in the face of injustice and challenge students to explore how communities can work together to disrupt prejudice and courageously take a stance for equality. Students will reflect on this coming-of-age story as an
evaluation of courage and navigating systemic injustice during the American South during the Great Depression. Students will collaborate to learn more about the
experiences of minorities during the Great Depression, understand elements of the historical
context of the American South in the 1930s, and describe how the plot of Roll of Thunder, Hear My
Cry helps to teach themes that can inform our modern lives.. (Click to view the book -movie trailer) synopsis of the District of Columbia Public Schools

My Resilient Self: Grade 7
Unit 1 will require students to continually make text-to-self and text-to-text connections as they read a
selection of fiction and non-fiction texts. As students evaluate the perspectives presented in each text, they will
come to appreciate the art of storytelling by considering how the stories about people, places, and times they
are not familiar with can provide invaluable insight into their own lives.
Students will read Roald Dahl’s memoir, Boy: Tales of Childhood, as a model text to explore how Dahl
constructs a meaningful story that reveals insightful life lessons and mimic his ability to elicit a specific
emotional response. (Click to view the movie book trailer) synopsis of the District of Columbia Public Schools

Dreaming in America: Grade 8
Unit 1 will challenge students to continually make text-to-text connections as they read a selection of fiction
and non-fiction texts. As students evaluate the perspectives presented in each text, they will also be asked to
consider the notion of equitable access for all to the idyllic American Dream.
Students will read the drama, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry to explore multiple definitions of
the American Dream and how attaining the American Dream can be complicated by one’s lived
experiences.(Click on the book image to view the book -movie trailer) synopsis of the District of Columbia Public Schools