ELA / 9th Grade / Unit 13: Visibility & Invisibility in Short Texts
Students explore the factors, people, things, and characteristics that make people more or less visible in the eyes of others through their reading of short stories, poems, essays, and letters.
ELA
Unit 13
9th Grade
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Visibility & Invisibility in Short Texts has been archived. You are welcome to use the resources here, but there are limited Fishtank Plus features offered within this unit. If you’d like to implement one of our complete Fishtank Plus units, including all in-lesson and unit-specific Plus features, check out 9th Grade ELA.
“To be Nobody is to be vulnerable. In the most basic sense, all of us are vulnerable; to be human is to be susceptible to misfortune, violence, illness, and death [...] Unfortunately, for many citizens—particularly those marked as poor, Black, Brown, immigrant, queer, or trans—State power has only increased their vulnerability, making their lives more rather than less unsafe.” - from Nobody by Marc Lamont Hill
In Unit 1, students will explore the factors, people, things, and characteristics that make people more or less visible in the eyes of others through their reading of a plethora of short stories, poems, essays, and letters. Throughout the unit, students will read short texts to analyze the techniques authors use to develop and portray complex characters and speakers, synthesize themes about visibility and invisibility across texts, and examine how authors use word choice and language to develop their perspectives.
This unit starts with an introduction to the course essential questions around invisibility, where students begin to explore who or what makes people invisible and the plethora of attempts that individuals who are lacking visibility take to become more seen. To introduce this concept, the unit begins with an excerpt from Marc Lamont Hill's book, Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond, and Emily Dickinson’s, “I’m Nobody! Who are You?” setting a foundation from which students should analyze the various prose and poetry that follow: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Imitation,” Junot Diaz’s “How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie),” Sherman Alexie’s “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Frank Ocean’s Open Letter on Tumblr, Dream Hampton’s “Thank You, Frank Ocean,” Jose Olivarez’s “(citizen) (illegal),” and Fatimah Asghar’s “Super Orphan.” The exposure to multiple genres will help students learn how to work with and navigate a variety of text types, seeing the commonalities in how they should approach each as a reader and critic, more than their differences.
During this unit, students will also craft standalone argument paragraphs about the extent to which characters and/or narrators in the unit texts are “nobodies” as defined by Marc Lamont Hill. By the end of the unit, students will have established their thematic foundation for the year: “Invisible Humans: Literature of the Marginalized and Othered” and will be able to define invisibility and identify the key characteristics of marginalization and otherness.
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These assessments accompany Unit 13 and should be given on the days suggested in the Lesson Map. Additionally, there are formative and creative assessments integrated into the unit to prepare students for the Performance Task.
The Free Response Question is an open-ended prompt that assesses students ability to analyze and interpret a given text or literary work, apply critical thinking skills, and construct well-supported arguments. Free Response Questions can be on-demand timed writing or take-home assignments, depending on the needs of students.
The Socratic Seminar assesses students on their ability to push themselves and their peers to think critically and participate meaningfully in conversation by collecting and evaluating evidence, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully. Socratic Seminar assessments may occur mid-unit as a way to synthesize the ideas of the text/unit to that point or summative, taking place at the end of a unit.
The Performance Task is the culminating assessment of the unit in which students have the opportunity to show the skills and content they have learned.
The central thematic questions addressed in the unit or across units
Thematic
Skill
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
humanityintersectionalitymarredmisogynisticpliablesubmissivelysubvertedsusceptiblevisibilityvulnerability
conflictdictionmetaphornarratorotherperspectivesimilesymboltone
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 13 , view our 9th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
In order to successfully teach this unit, you must be intellectually prepared at the highest level, which means reading and analyzing all unit texts before launching the unit and understanding the major themes the authors communicate through their texts. By the time your students finish reading this text, they should be able to articulate and explain the major themes the authors communicate through their texts related to the following thematic topics as they uncover them organically through reading, writing, and discourse. While there is no one correct thematic statement for each major topic discussed in the unit texts, there are accurate (evidence-based) and inaccurate (non–evidence-based) interpretations of what the authors are arguing. Below are some exemplar thematic statements.
Notes to help teachers prepare for this specific unit
Unit 1 features some controversial texts, “How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie)” and “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” that have been banned in some schools around the country because their authors, Junot Diaz and Sherman Alexie, have been accused of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. A primary point of contention is that Diaz’s and Alexie’s poor behavior with women and sexist acts are grounds for removal from classrooms and curriculums. Additionally, “How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie)” contains a few profane words and includes brief references to sexual acts. We strongly believe that these texts, despite their flawed authors, are meaningful and appropriate for high school students, so long as proper guidance and support are provided around how to discuss and handle mature topics.
This unit launches with a complex excerpt of nonfiction, the preface from Marc Lamont Hill’s Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond. It addresses issues of injustice that are rooted in the intersectionality of racism and classism. Subsequent texts integrate the following lenses: gender, immigrant status, and sexuality. No matter the racial, gender, sexual, and ethnic identities of your students, this unit will undoubtedly spark difficult—and important—conversations. Students may have strong emotional reactions to the content. As always, it is important to consider the knowledge and diverse experiences your students bring with them to your classroom.
Analyze how word choice and structure impact meaning in the opening paragraph of Nobody.
Standards
RI.9-10.2RI.9-10.4RI.9-10.5
Explain Hill’s perspective on invisibility including how specific details, lines, and words help to develop that perspective.
LO 1.2BRI.9-10.6
Analyze how Emily Dickinson uses literary devices to convey meaning in “I’m Nobody! Who are you?”
LO 1.3BRL.9-10.4
Analyze the techniques Junot Diaz uses to characterize Yunior, the narrator.
LO 1.3BRL.9-10.3
Characterize Nkem and interpret the symbolic shifts in her character.
Analyze how Alexie uses literary devices to illustrate his complex experience as an Indian on the reservation.
Formulate and share unique arguments about meaning in and across “How to Date…,” “Imitation,” and “Superman and Me.” Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a Socratic Seminar.
LO 1.4BRI.9-10.2RL.9-10.2
Explain Frank’s perspective on coming out and being queer including how word choice and figurative language help to develop that perspective.
Analyze “Thank You, Frank Ocean” as a response to Frank Ocean’s coming out letter.
Formulate and share unique arguments about meaning in and across Frank Ocean’s Open Letter on Tumblr, and “Thank You, Frank Ocean.” Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a Socratic Seminar.
Analyze how a character or speaker struggles with visibility and how this struggle contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole in a multi-paragraph response.
L.9-10.2.aLO 1.3ALO 1.3BLO 2.3ALO 2.3BLO 2.3CLO 2.3DRI.9-10.1RL.9-10.2W.9-10.2
Analyze how the author uses literary devices to convey the boy’s complex experience as a child of immigrant parents.
Analyze how the author uses literary devices to convey the speaker’s complex experience.
Formulate and share unique arguments about meaning in and across all texts from Unit 1. Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a summative Socratic Seminar.
LO 1.4BLO 5.1ALO 5.1BRI.9-10.1RI.9-10.2RL.9-10.1RL.9-10.2RL.9-10.3SL.9-10.1
4 days
Complete the performance task to show mastery of unit content and standards.
L.9-10.2.aLO 1.4BLO 5.1ALO 5.1BLO 5.2ALO 5.2BLO 5.2CLO 5.2DRI.9-10.2RL.9-10.2SL.9-10.1W.9-10.2
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The content standards covered in this unit
L.9-10.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.9-10.1.a — Use parallel structure.
L.9-10.1.b — Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations.
L.9-10.2.a — Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses.
RI.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
RI.9-10.5 — Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
RI.9-10.6 — Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
RL.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.9-10.2 — Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
W.9-10.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
W.9-10.2.a — Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.9-10.2.b — Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
W.9-10.2.c — Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
W.9-10.2.d — Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
W.9-10.2.e — Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
W.9-10.2.f — Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
LO 1.2B — Explain how the rhetorical features of an argument contribute to its effect and meaning.
LO 1.3A — Analyze how literary elements interact to develop the central ideas of a work of literature.
LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
LO 1.4B — Synthesize ideas from multiple texts and explain how the texts may convey different perspectives on a common theme or idea.
LO 2.3A — Assert a precise central claim that establishes the relationship between a work's features and overall meaning.
LO 2.3B — Organize ideas and evidence to effectively develop and support a thesis.
LO 2.3C — Select and incorporate relevant and compelling evidence to support a thesis.
LO 2.3D — Use an appropriate style and carefully selected language to strengthen an analysis.
LO 3.1A — Use context clues to infer the meaning of multiple-meaning or unfamiliar words.
LO 5.1A — Extend the conversation around an idea, topic, or text by formulating questions and recognizing the claims and perspectives of others.
LO 5.1B — Cite relevant evidence and evaluate the evidence presented by others.
LO 5.2A — Determine the purpose for communication and select an appropriate format.
LO 5.2B — Incorporate effective visual and multimedia tools to enhance the presentation and achieve the intended effect.
LO 5.2C — Demonstrate an awareness of the audience during both the planning and delivery of a presentation, and make adjustments based on the audience's responses.
LO 5.2D — Communicate clearly and effectively, using appropriate verbal and nonverbal techniques.
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