Facing Prejudice: All American Boys (2020)

Students explore the American experience through the eyes of two young men - one white and one Black - connected through an incident of police brutality.

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ELA

Unit 6

8th Grade

This unit has been archived. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 8th Grade English course.

Unit Summary


This first 8th grade unit kicks off students’ year-long study of injustice and how people respond to forces of oppression. In this unit, students will explore issues of racial justice (and injustice) in the United States. The core text, All American Boys, is a 2015 novel written by two authors—one white and one Black—that tells the story of two teenage boys—one white and one Black. Their lives intersect unexpectedly when Quinn, who is white, watches as Rashad, a Black classmate, is beaten by a police officer outside a local convenience store. Quinn is suddenly forced to face the reality of racial injustice in his own community, while Rashad faces the harsh reality that the (white) world judges him primarily by his race. Both young men must grapple with how to respond to the event and the responsibility they have to stand up when injustice has occurred.

In addition to the core text, students will read diverse nonfiction texts, including a history of the Say Her Name movement, a TED Talk about growing up Black in America, and an excerpt from the United States Constitution. Throughout the unit, students will gain vocabulary and schema related to racial justice with the hope that they will come out better equipped to engage meaningfully with these issues in their own lives.

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Texts and Materials


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Core Materials

Supporting Materials

Assessment


The following assessments accompany Unit 6.

Content Assessment

The Content Assessment tests students' ability to read a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. Additionally, a longer writing prompt pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.

Fluency Assessment

The Fluency Assessment measures students' ability to read a grade-level text with accuracy and prosody, at a proficient rate, with a reading passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. Find guidance for using this assessment and supporting reading fluency in Teacher Tools.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

Unit Launch

Before you teach this unit, unpack the texts, themes, and core standards through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.

Essential Questions

  • How do race and racial bias shape a person’s experience and understanding of the world?
  • What responsibility do people have when they witness—or are the victim of—injustice?

Enduring Understandings

  • Police brutality disproportionately affects Black Americans. 
  • Racism is present and pervasive in America today—whether or not people choose to acknowledge it—and has real and deadly implications for the Black community.
  • White Americans have a responsibility to engage with this reality, educate themselves, and stand up for racial justice. 
     

Vocabulary

Text-based

allegianceambivalentamplifydehumanizedisproportionatedumbfoundedexplicitimplicitimpeccablenaiveperceiveradicalsurrealsynonymoustransfixedubiquitous

Academic

author's purposeconnotationcolloquial languageepigraphfigurative languagemetaphorpoint of view/perspectivestructurethematic topicthemeverbal irony

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 6 , view our 8th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.

Notes for Teachers

Supporting All Students

In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the guidance provided under 'Notes for Teachers' below in addition to the Unit Launch to determine which supports students will need at the unit and lesson level. To learn more, visit the Supporting All Students Teacher Tool.

Lesson Map


Common Core Standards


Core Standards

L.8.1
L.8.1.a
L.8.4
L.8.4.a
L.8.4.c
L.8.4.d
L.8.5
L.8.5.a
L.8.6
RI.8.2
RI.8.3
RI.8.3
RI.8.4
RI.8.4
RI.8.6
RL.8.2
RL.8.3
RL.8.4
RL.8.5
SL.8.1
SL.8.1.a
SL.8.1.b
SL.8.4
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
W.8.1.b
W.8.1.c
W.8.1.e
W.8.3
W.8.3.a
W.8.3.b
W.8.3.c
W.8.3.d
W.8.3.e
W.8.5
W.8.9
W.8.9.a

Supporting Standards

L.8.2
L.8.2.a
L.8.2.b
L.8.2.c
L.8.3
L.8.3.a
L.8.4.b
L.8.5.b
L.8.5.c
RI.8.1
RI.8.5
RI.8.7
RI.8.10
RL.8.1
RL.8.6
RL.8.9
RL.8.10
SL.8.2
SL.8.3
SL.8.6
W.8.1.d
W.8.1.d
W.8.2
W.8.4
W.8.6
W.8.8
W.8.9.b
W.8.10
W.8.10

Next

Define significant terms related to racial justice.

Lesson 1
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