December Unit #1: A Pre-Analysis-Unit Mini-Project

Just the thing you need for a few days leading into break!

Happy December, party people. As we wrap up 2023, I am changing the script a bit and delivering two weeks of unit plans — this week and next week. While I teach these units back-to-back, you can mix and match them to fit your needs!

This week: a pre-analysis-unit mini-project focused on helping students learn to break down texts

Next week: a unit on review writing

I’m sharing my unit plan, my slides, and a Google Drive folder full of reproducibles (as I tried to build some more individual accountability into my workshop. More on that later.).

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Breaking down a text into multiple pieces for examination is (perhaps) the most fundamental skill of any kind of analysis, including review-writing. We can’t write thesis statements or use text evidence until we have studied the text from multiple angles.

This unit teaches students how to do just that in a fun, silly, over-the-top way.

Here’s the gist:

• Study Sink Reviews on TikTok as a mentor text

• Students choose their own, ordinary, everyday item in the school building

• Students create their own Sink Reviews-inspired videos

• Have a mini film festival!

Here’s how we do it: