This unit is designed to build comprehension strategies for students by transferring information from one mode of communication to another: students will literally illustrate written and inferred information and ideas. Mapping activities will ask students to represent abstract ideas as physical images and spaces. In this process, students will visualize concepts such as characterization and conflict and present them as places on a map, in order to demonstrate an understanding of the interconnectedness of literary elements.
Throughout the unit, students will study, discuss, and create a variety of maps, which will help them develop a broader understanding of how maps can be used and what they can represent. As they progress through the unit, students will collect their work in an “atlas,” which they can use to reflect on their own learning. At the end of the unit, these atlases will be reviewed, revised, and submitted. In completing this task, students will monitor their own progress and comprehension, reinforcing the effectiveness of the mapping strategies we have used throughout the unit.
To accommodate the needs of various types of learners, this unit incorporates full-group, small-group, and independent, self-directed instructional methods. Instruction begins in a full-class setting to introduce and practice the key concepts of mapping elements of literature. Once those fundamental methods have been established, students will transition to cooperative, small-group activities, in which they will focus on visually representing more abstract concepts. The final stages of the unit give students the opportunity to explore materials and assemble their final projects independently.
