Unit 6: What Makes a Hero?
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNITUNIT 62 The BIG Question What Makes a Hero? My heroes “are and were my parents. I can’t see having anyone else as my heroes. —Michael Jordan Probably the greatest basketball ” player ever, fi ve-time Most Valuable Player; led the Chicago Bulls to six championships Image 100/SuperStock LOOKING AHEAD The skill lessons and readings in this unit will help you develop your own answer to the Big Question. UNIT 6 WARM-UP • Connecting to the Big Question GENRE FOCUS: FOLKTALE, FANTASY, AND MYTH Persephone . 619 by Alice Low READING WORKSHOP 1 Skill Lesson: Activating Prior Knowledge Hurricane Heroes . .628 by Thomas Fields-Meyer, Steve Helling, and Lori Rozsa, from People All Stories Are Anansi’s . 636 by Harold Courlander WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Fable . 642 READING WORKSHOP 2 Skill Lesson: Clarifying The Twelve Labors of Hercules . 650 by Walker Brents Pecos Bill . 660 by Mary Pope Osborne READING WORKSHOP 3 Skill Lesson: Comparing and Contrasting Dragon, Dragon . 674 by John Gardner The King of Mazy May . .688 by Jack London WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Fable . 702 READING WORKSHOP 4 Skill Lesson: Predicting Aunt Millicent . 710 by Mary Steele A Mason-Dixon Memory . 734 by Clifton Davis COMPARING LITERATURE WORKSHOP The Toad and the Donkey . 748 by Toni Cade Bambara Doc Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby . 751 by Virginia Hamilton UNIT 6 WRAP-UP • Answering the Big Question 615 UNIT 6 WARM-UP What Makes a Hero? Connecting to In real life, heroes are people admired for great qualities or achievements. Who are your heroes? What do your choices suggest about the qualities and achievements you admire? In literature, hero has a slightly different meaning. In this unit, you’ll read about some literary heroes and some real-life heroes. As you read, think about whether these heroes have qualities you admire. Real Kids and the Big Question JESSICA has always admired her cousin Luke. Luke is a wheelchair athlete who plays basketball. He is also an honor student. Whenever Jessica is feeling down about school, Luke always reminds her to keep a positive attitude. Luke helps Jessica with her Spanish class and acts as her big brother. If you asked Jessica what makes a hero, what do you think she might say? Why? SHEA’s father always takes time to help Shea with his homework. He drives him to baseball practice. They spend time together just talk- ing. Shea’s father tries to teach Shea those things that he feels are impor- tant in life. Shea looks up to his father. If you asked Shea what makes a hero, what do think he might say? Why? Warm-Up Activity In your Learner’s Notebook, write the names of two people you admire and why you admire them. 616 UNIT 6 What Makes a Hero? (l)Gerard Fritz/Imagestate, (r)Getty Images UNIT 6 WARM-UP You and the Big Question Reading about heroes in different times and places may help you decide how you would answer the Big Question. Big Question Link to Web resources to further explore the Plan for the Unit Challenge Big Question at www.glencoe.com. At the end of the unit, you’ll use notes from all your reading to complete the Unit Challenge. You’ll choose one of the following activities: A. Wall of Heroes You and your classmates will interview people in your school about their heroes. You will create a Wall of Heroes in your classroom that has the pictures and stories of the heroes in your community. B. A Hero for Today Choose one of the heroes in the stories you read, and write a story about what this hero would do today if he or she were a hero in your community. • Start thinking about which activity you’d like to do so you can focus your thinking as you go through the unit. • If you choose the first activity, decide who you will interview and the questions you will ask them about their heroes. • If you choose the second activity, take notes as you read the selections so you can decide which hero you’d like to use as your “Hero for Today.” Keep Track of Your Ideas As you read, you’ll make notes about the Big Question. Later, you’ll use these notes to complete the Unit Challenge. See pages R8–R9 for help with making Foldable 6. This diagram shows how it should look. 1. Make one Foldable page for each selec- 4. Halfway down the inside page, write the tion. At the end of the unit, you’ll staple label The Big Question. You’ll write your the pages together into one Foldable. thoughts about the Big Question below 2. Label the front of the fold-over page with this label. the selection title. (See page 615 for titles.) 3. Open the Foldable. Label the top of the inside page My Purpose for Reading. You will write your purpose for reading the selection below this label. Warm-Up 617 UNIT 6 GENRE FOCUS: FOLKTALE, FANTASY, AND MYTH A folktale is a story that has been told by generations of storytellers before being written down. The story may be just fun, or it may teach a lesson about life. In this unit, you will also read fantasies and myths. A Skillss Focus fantasy creates a new world very different from the world we live in today. • Keyy skills for reading folk- A myth is usually about gods, goddesses, and large questions such as the talales,al fantasies, and myths origin of the earth, the sea, and the seasons. • KeyK literary elements of folk- tales, fantasies, and myths Why Read Folktale, Fantasy, and Myth? SkillsS Model Folktales, fantasies, and myths take you to places, times, and people you never before imagined. They make you think about what’s important to you You will see how to use the key reading skills and literary and to all human beings. And they’re fun to read! elements as you read • “Persephone,” p. 619 How to Read Folktale, Fantasy, and Myth Key Reading Skills These skills are especially useful tools for reading folktales, fantasies, and myths. You’ll learn more about these skills later in the unit. ■ Activating prior knowledge Before you read, recall what you already know about the characters, topic, or the setting you’ll read about. (See Reading Workshop 1.) ■ Clarifying As you read, ask yourself questions about the plot, charac- ters, setting, and point of view of the story to make sure you understand it. (See Reading Workshop 2.) ■ Comparing and contrasting As you read, compare and contrast within the story. Also compare and contrast different stories or styles to each other. (See Reading Workshop 3.) ■ Predicting Make guesses about the characters and events in the story as you learn more about them. (See Reading Workshop 4.) Key Literary Elements Objectives (pp. 618–623) Reading • Activate prior knowl- Recognizing and thinking about the following literary elements will help edge • Clarify meaning • Compare you understand more fully what the writer is telling you. and contrast • Make predictions ■ Hero: a literary work’s main character, usually one with admirable Literature Read folktales, fan- tasies, and myths • Identify key qualities. A hero can be either male or female, but a female hero is literary elements: hero, cultural sometimes called a heroine (HAIR oh un). (See “Hurricane Heroes.”) context, theme, and setting ■ Cultural context: shared qualities and beliefs of people living in a particular time and place (See “The Twelve Labors of Hercules.”) ■ Theme: the main idea of a story (See “Dragon, Dragon.”) ■ Setting: the time and place of a story (See “Aunt Millicent.”) 618 UNIT 6 What Makes a Hero? UNIT 6 GENRE FOCUS Myth ACTIVE READING MODEL by Alice Low 1 Key Reading Skill Activating Prior Knowledge I know that things happen in P ersephone1 was a high-spirited, sunny girl who loved myths that can’t happen in springtime and fl owers and running outdoors with her real life. Gods and goddesses in myths had power over 2 friends. She was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of the people’s lives. harvest, and she and her mother spent more time on 2 Key Reading Skill 3 earth than on Mount Olympus. Clarifying I have a feeling One bright day on earth Persephone was picking lilies this story will mention several and violets with her friends. She could not gather enough things that I don’t understand very well. I’ll take notes in my of them, though her basket was overfl owing. 1 2 Learner’s Notebook so I can “Persephone, it is time to go home,” called her friends. find out about them and “Just one minute longer,” she called back. “I see the remember them. First, I’ll sweetest fl ower of all—a narcissus, I think. I must have write down Mount Olympus. one.” She wandered into a far corner of the meadow, and just as she was about to pick the narcissus, she heard a deafening noise. Suddenly the earth split open at her feet. Out dashed a golden chariot pulled by black horses and driven by a stern-faced man in black armor. Persephone dropped her basket and started to run, but the driver grabbed her by the wrist. He pulled her into Four Seasons – Spring, (detail), 1896. Alphonse Mucha. Analyzing the Art Do you think the young woman in this painting is a lot like Persephone? Why or why not? 1. Persephone (pur SEF uh nee) 2. Demeter (dih MEE tur) 3. Mount Olympus (oh LIM pus) is a tall mountain in Greece.