Unit Guide

Exploring Uniqueness in a World That’s All the Same

John W. Tanner

This unit is designed for 12th Grade students in Dual Enrollment English and is comprised of seven, 90-minute lessons. At the heart of the unit is the desire to help students answer the timeless question: Who are you? Using an assortment of stories, articles, essays, and video segments, the unit is designed to encourage students to reflect on their identities and their worldviews and to appreciate that, while they are unique individuals, their lives share similarities with all people. Areas of focus include helping students define the elements of narrative, examine the purpose of story, analyze several model texts, and evaluate authors’ craft. The final product requires students to construct an autobiographical narrative that explores their own stories and the formation of their values. The goal is that students will come to understand their stories as both theirs and everyone else’s, that they will celebrate their unique life experiences and develop their personal voice and style. But beyond this, that they will see their stories as connected to a larger one, as products of the people and places around them.