A Common Thread

Essential Question

What do gain from meeting people in their beliefs and understanding their world?
What do we gain when we learn about the lived experiences of other people?
What are the challenges of celebrating what we have in common while also honoring our differences?

Texts

Informational

Creating A New Vision Of Islam In America

In this interview from National Public Radio, host Terry Gross speaks with Imam Rauf about his dream to build a place where Muslims and people of different refligions can go to learn from each other and coexist.

Fresh Air

Grade Level

9-12

Subject

Geography

Topic

Religion

July 2, 2014

Informational

‘Hope, Despair and Memory’

"Hope, Despair and Memory" is an address given by Elie Wiesel on December 11, 1986, the date Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel is an author and humanitarian and is known for writing about his experience as a survivor of the Holocaust.

Elie Wiesel

Grade Level

9-12

Subject

History

Topic

Religion

July 5, 2014

Literature

Saffron Dreams

Although her husband died in the September 11 attack, Arissa is targeted for being Muslim. In this excerpt, she is held up by a group of men who berate her and threaten to kill her until they realize she is pregnant.

Shaila Abdullah

Grade Level

9-12

Subject

Civics

History

Geography

Topic

Religion

July 7, 2014

Informational

Out of Auschwitz

Samuel Pisar, a survivor of Auschwitz, recounts his liberation at age 16 from the most notorious Nazi death camp.

Samuel Pisar

Grade Level

9-12

Subject

History

Geography

Topic

Religion

July 5, 2014

Informational

"To the Dead We Owe the Truth"

In this segment from 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets, a jury delivers the verdict in the case about the murder of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn.

Marc Silver

Grade Level

9-12

Subject

Civics

History

Topic

Religion Rights & Activism

August 19, 2016

Teaching Strategies

Close and Critical Reading

Reading Against the Grain

In reading against the grain students analyze the dominant reading of a text and engage in alternative or "resistant" readings. Resistant readings scrutinize the beliefs and attitudes that typically go unexamined in a text, drawing attention to the gaps, silences and contradictions.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RL.6-12.6, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, RI.6-12.6

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

Text-Dependent Questions

Readers must refer back to the central text to answer text-dependent questions and provide evidence from the reading to support their answers. Students provide accurate, relevant and complete evidence. To do this well, students will often need to re-read the text several times. This approach privileges the text over prior knowledge, personal experience and pre-reading activities.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RL.6-12.4, RL.6-12.5, RL.6-12.6, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, RI.6-12.3, RI.6-12.4, RI.6-12.6

July 19, 2014

Student Tasks

Write to the Source

Break It Down

Break it Down asks students to demonstrate their explanatory and descriptive writing skills.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

W.6-12.2, W.6-12.4, W.6-12.9

July 19, 2014

Write to the Source

Are You Convinced?

Are You Convinced? asks students to demonstrate their argumentative and evaluative writing skills.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

W.6-12.1, W.6-12.4, W.6-12.9

July 19, 2014

Plan Built By

matthewneiman

A Common Thread

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