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Character Education

Lesson Plans

I Heard the Owl Call My Name

40
The 40-Minute Lesson Plan is essential elements of the CBL lesson plan. We suggest the teacher reads aloud or uses an audio book for the reading portion. 40-min includes: Background, Wordwall, Key Paragraph, and Writing Prompt
60
The 60-Minute Lesson Plan uses the same elements as the 40-minute plan, but also covers a visual activity and discussion. 60-min includes: Background, Wordwall, Key Paragraph,Writing Prompt and adding the Key Questions
90
The 90-Minute Lesson Plan contains all elements of the lesson plan. If time is available, we recommend using this version to get all of the benefits of CBL. The full lesson includes: Background, Wordwall, Key Paragraph, Writing Prompt, and Key Questions of the 40 and 60 minutes options while incorporating the Mapping Activity, Visual Activity and creating the Timeline as a class.

Day 1

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

Where is Kingcome? Is it a real place?

Yes, Kingcome is a real place. It is an unincorporated settlement of the Kingcome Inlet are of the Central Coast of the British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few miles up the Kingcome River from the head of the inlet. It is the home of one of the four tribes of the Tsawataineuk, a subgroup of the Kwakwaka'wakw, and was in the past the site of a large cannery. It is the setting for the book I Heard the Owl Call My Name.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

bishop

ordained

stern

nautical

galley

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Start at the beginning and review the story so far.

  • Mention the setting and main character.
  • Point to each timeline item as you quickly review it.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 9-15

Setting

Characters

Pages

Vancouver, Canada, 1960s

the bishop and the doctor

9

on the Boat

Mark and Caleb

10-13

on the boat

Mark and Jim

13-15

the outpost

Mark, Jim, the oil agent and his wife

15

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Mark Brian is a young vicar. A doctor has told the bishop that Mark has terminal cancer, and has two good years of life left.
  • The bishop decides not to tell Mark, because he will “try too hard.” Instead he decides to send him to Kingcome, an Indian village on the west coast of Canada. The bishop acknowledges that it is the hardest job there is, but insists it is also where Mark is sure to learn the most in the shortest period of time.
  • Caleb, an old priest who previously ministered to the Indians of the area, teaches Mark how to pilot the boat that will take him to Kingcome. While doing so, he imparts his wisdom to Mark.
  • Jim Wallace, an Indian from Kingcome accompanies Mark to the village.
  • Twenty hours into the journey, Mark and Jim stop at a floating outpost, for fuel and supplies.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Review the cover of the book:

Choose three animals:  one that represents your mind, another that represents your physical being or your body, and a third that represents your "spirit" or personality.

Then create a bookmark imitating the Kwakiutl style.  You may wish to organize your animals in a totem, or you may choose to represent them as three interacting animals in a drawing, similar to what you see on the side of the building on the Kingcome website.  It is up to your teacher to decide on appropriate materials and to set any other limitations.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Who is the main character?  What is his job?  Where is he going? Why has the bishop sent him there?
  2. Mark Brian is supposed to learn a lot in the next two years.  What do you think he will learn?
  3. What do you think would be important to learn before you died?
  4. What do you think the Bishop’s experience was like at the Indian villages?
  5. What kind of work do you think Mark will do at the village?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 9

“So short a time to learn so much?  It leaves me no choice.  I shall send him to my hardest parish.  I shall send him to Kingcome on patrol of the Indian villages.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Before you being writing, brainstorm with the following questions: What do you think the main character, the young vicar Mark, will learn from living in Kingcome? What do you think motivated the Bishop to send him there?

What do you think the message of this story is going to be? Write an informative paragraph that clearly details what you think this story will be about. How would you feel if you were the young vicar, unaware of your terminal illness? Would you be excited for the new opportunity or would you be nervous? How would you feel entering into a whole different culture with an entirely unfamiliar set of customs and way of life? Provide details from the book as well as evidence from your own life to use as information in your paragraph. Make sure you end with a reiteration of your stance. When you have finished writing, go over your work and revise it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 2

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

Try using the zoom and satellite features on this map to get a sense of the remoteness of Kingcome and the boat trip necessary to get there from Vancouver, Canada.

http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&tab=wl&client=safari&hl=en&rls=en&q=british+columbia+Kingcome+map

What is a potlatch?  A potlatch is a ceremonial feast among certain Native American peoples of the northwest Pacific coast, as in celebration of a marriage or accession, at which the host distributes gifts according to each guest's rank or status.  Between rival groups the potlatch could involve extravagant or competitive giving and destruction by the host of valued items as a display of superior wealth. (answers.com)

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

bow-17

porthole- 17

firs- 17

crests- 18

bilge- 21

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 15-22

Setting

Characters

Pages

in the boat

Mark and Jim

15-17

flashback to before Mark left

Mark and the bishop

18-20

on the boat

Mark, Jim, and four Kwakiutl Indian men

21-22

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Mark and Jim left the outpost and Mark made the dinner for the two of them in the galley.
  • They slowed the boat as they passed the float of the hand-logger, Calamity Bill. Jim told Mark a funny story about Calamity and his long underwear.
  • They passed a killer whale, and Mark recalled all that the bishop told him about the village of Kingcome and the people that lived there.
  • In the morning, Jim left in the speedboat with supplies to take upriver. (The boat is too large to navigate beyond this point.)
  • He soon returned with four Indian men in 30 foot-long canoes. The men have come to help lash the organ to the canoes in order to get it upriver.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

Throughout the weeks that follow:

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Create an Open Mind Portrait for Mark. What is he thinking and feeling throughout the novel?

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Create a visual or a diagram showing how you think these six men intend to get the organ up the river using two canoes with outboard motors.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Who is Calamity Bill?  What is implied through his character about the non-Indian people that choose to make their living here?
  2. What realizations about his new surroundings do you think Mark makes after seeing the killer whale and the results of a large mudslide?
  3. What do you think the bishop means when he says, “This is the village.  If you go there from the time that you tie up to the float in the inlet, the village is you”?
  4. How are these six guys ever going to get this organ upriver using two giant canoes?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 19-20

“And the bishop had been silent for a moment before he added slowly, ‘This is the village.  If you go there, from the time you tie up at the float in the inlet, the village is you.  But there is one thing you must understand.  They will not thank you.  Even if you should leave a broken man, they will not thank you.  There is no word for thank you in Kwa’kwala.’”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Write a paragraph that explains why people should say ‘thank you’ to each other. Do you believe it is important? Why or why not?      Do you know how to say ‘thank you’ in any other languages? If so, which ones?

Feel free to use the Internet to look up how to say ‘thank you’ in different languages and write them down. How would you feel if you had to live in a village full of people who never said ‘thank you?’ Maintain a formal tone throughout your writing; use similie, metaphor or analogy to get your point across. When you have finished your assignment, be sure to edit your work.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 3

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What are some Native American death and burial customs?

A burial tree (or scaffold tree) is a tree or simple structure used for supporting corpses or coffins. They were once popular with American Indians. Also, a period of mourning and wailing would occur after a death. Usually, the women of the village wail and lament. Also, prayer feathers were often tied around the heads of the deceased, and traditional foods and special herbs were placed at the gravesite. 

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

gunwale-22

sleek-23

lectern-23

autopsy-26

solemn-26

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 22-29

Setting

Characters

Pages

on the shore of Kingcome

Mark, Jim, and the four other men

22-23

the vicarage

Mark, Jim, and the professional wailer

23-25

the vicarage

Mark, Jim, the chief councilor, and the constable

25-27

the old burial ground

Mark and the villagers

27-28

the vicarage

Mark and Jim

28-29

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Mark and Jim head up the river with the two canoes, the four Kwakiutls and the organ.  Upon arrival, they carted the organ carefully up the steps of the church and set it in its place, only to find out that in the dampness, it would not play.
  • At the vicarage, Mark finds out that a young child, a weesa-bedo’, has died and is awaiting the RCMP constable’s arrival to o.k. the burial.
  • The young constable arrives with his girl in tow.  He is angry that the Kwakiutls have moved the body from the riverbank.  As the body is ten days old, the constable becomes sick while attempting an autopsy.  He throws up in the bushes.
  • After the constable is gone, Mark carries out the funeral for the village at the old burial ground nearby.
  • Mark and Jim return to the vicarage, leaving the rest of the village at the burial ground.  Someone has aired out the vicarage and left plates of hot food for them to eat.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Have you learned any Kwakiutl Indian customs, myths or symbols in today’s reading? If so, add them to the lists you created earlier.
  • Add to your Open Mind Portrait for Mark. What is he thinking and feeling in today’s reading?

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:  Create an open mind portrait of the constable and the village (or a symbolic villager).  Use thought bubbles to show what each is thinking about the other.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. What is wrong with the piano?
  2. What do the artifacts in the church tell you about the way traditional Kwakiutl culture interacts with the tradition of the church?
  3. Why is the woman crying on the steps of the vicarage?
  4. Why do you think Mark decides to be the first to leave the funeral and the burial grounds?
  5. Based on evidence so far, what can you say about the Kwakiutl people? .Think about the organ, the weesa-bedo’, the funeral, and the gluckaston dinner provided at the vicarage.

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 26

"You had no business to move him. You know the rules. In an accident the body must not be moved."

"We were not sure he was dead.  We thought we could revive him."

"And when you couldn't, you should have covered him up and left him there."

"On the edge of the river with the tide coming in?  In the rain?"

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

The constable is not showing much sympathy.  It is clear that he does not have a lot of respect for the Kwakiutl people.  Pretend you are a member of the Kwakiutl people and write an explanatory paragraph of your views in comparison with the constable’s. Describe why you value your actions and customs, as a member of the village. Why are your traditions worthwhile? Use examples from the text as well as your own personal opinions. Conclude with a reiteration of your explanation and be clear and consice in your writing.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 4

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What are prefabricated buildings?

Prefabricated buildings are composed of several factory-built components or units that are assembled on-site to complete the unit. Wolgaster Holzblau built one of the first prefabricated buildings in the world in 1885. Prefabricated housing became popular after the Second World War due to the need for mass accommodation for military personnel. Currently, McDonald’s uses prefabricated structures for their buildings. In today’s reading, the Bishop offers to send Mark a prefabricated building to replace the current dilapidated vicarage that exists in Kingcome. A prefabricated building would stand out as a modern structure in the village.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

imminent-30

matriarch-31

tarpaulin-32

moored-34

oppressive-36

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 30-37

Setting

Characters

Pages

social hall

Chief Eddy and the other men

30-31

outside

The women of the village

30-32

the middle of the night

Ms. Hudson, Marta, Sam, Ellie, Keetah, T.P., and Peter

32-33

in the morning on the porch of the vicarage

Mark and Chief Eddy

34-36

in the church

Mark

36

down the river

Mark, Jim and local villagers

36-37

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • In the evening, the women gather together to knit and talk about the vicar. The men gather in the social hall to play La-hell and they also discuss the new vicar.
  • During the night, many wake up and ask questions about the vicar, such as "Will he know that I am free here?" and "How long will he be here before he knows that I walk among the dead?"
  • In the morning, Mark inspects the vicarage and the church. He makes a plan to clean and repair both.
  • The chief brings Mark a letter from the bishop offering to send a new prefabricated vicarage. But Mark writes back to decline, realizing that he cannot begin his relationship here begging for help or living a higher quality of life than others.
  • After cleaning the church all day, Mark and Jim take the boat to the other villages to schedule masses. Everyone is polite, but not friendly.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • What Kwakiutl Indian customs, myths or symbols appear in today’s reading? Are they new to you? If so, add them to the lists you have been maintaining.
  • Create an Open Mind Portrait (OMP) for Jim. What do you think he is feeling throughout today’s reading?

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:  Create a postcard snapshot of the old vicarage, detailing its state of disrepair.  On the back side make a list of pros and cons for getting a new vicarage immediately. Why do you think Mark insists on waiting?

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. What do you think Jim means when he asks himself in the night, “I wonder if he will know I am free here”?
  2. What do you think Peter means when he asks, “I wonder how long he will be here before he knows I walk among the dead”?
  3. Why doesn’t Mark jump at the chance to have a new vicarage? What does he stand to learn by living in the old one?  What judgments might others have made about Mark had he asked for the new vicarage right away?
  4. What is the difference between being polite and being friendly?
  5. What lessons can Mark learn from living without modern amenities?  What lessons have you learned as a result of experiencing difficulties in life?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 38

“Please, my lord, do not send me a new vicarage.  At least, not yet.  I do not even know how to get it up the river, much less put it up.  I am going to begin today by cleaning the church.  When I finish, I shall patch up the vicarage.  It’s strange, but since receiving your letter, I do not seem to find the sweet smell of death too oppressive.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

The paragraph above is from a letter written by Mark to the bishop. Mark tells the Bishop that he does not want a new vicarage yet.  But the only reason he gives to support this opinion is the difficulty in moving and assembling the structure. However, there are other reasons, that remain unsaid: if Mark accepted the new vicarage, he feels that he would lose integrity with the people he is serving.

Think about the situation before you being writing. Then, write an explanatory paragraph that describes Mark’s opinion. Do you personally feel that he should accept the new prefabricated vicarage? Will accepting it truly deteriorate any integrity that exists between the people of the village and the young vicar? Why or why not? How would you define integrity in this situation? Use similie, metaphor or analogy to get your point across. Remember that integrity requires wholeness. When you have finished writing, be sure to go over your assignment and revise it. Maintain a formal tone throughout your writing and conclude with a reiteration of your stance.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 5

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

Who is ‘Schweitzer?’

In today’s reading, Mark quotes Schweitzer when he defends his faith to the village teacher. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was a German philosopher, theologist, organist, and physician. He is best known for his interpretive life of Jesus. In 1952 he received a Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of “Reverence of Life,” which he expressed many ways but most concretely in the founding and sustaining of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Gabon, Africa.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

accosted-38

calamity-39

naïve-39

ajar-40

hymn-41

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 37-42

Setting

Characters

Pages

on the speedboat

Mark and Jim

37-38

in the village

Mark, the man with the washing machine, the teacher, Chief Eddy, and two children.

38-41

the church

Mark, the congregation, and Marta Stephens

41-42

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Returning from the villages, Mark realizes that he is a guest in these people’s house.  He realizes that this might never change.
  • Arriving at the village, there is still daylight.  Mark hoes the weeds and tall grass around the vicarage.  He then helps another man fix a washing machine.
  • The next morning, the man he had helped returned the favor, aiding Mark in repairing a step leading to the vicarage.  While repairing the roof of the vicarage, the chief came by for a short chat…as did Sam who came to beg for money, as did the teacher, who simply came to complain.
  • Two young children came by the vicarage.  They were about six years old - too young to be afraid.  They were the first friends Mark has.  The chief came by again, and taught Mark a simple Kwakiutl greeting, “weeksas.”
  • After the Sunday sermon, entitled “It’s better to be a small shrimp in the sea of faith, than a dead whale on the beach,” Marta Stephens gives Mark a toque, a knit hat, to keep his head warm on the river.  She says he looks like an egg with it on.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

For the weeks that follow:

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:  Review Mark’s last 24 hours (you will need to review yesterday’s reading as well).  Make a list of all of the productive things Mark did during that time.  Then make a list of the productive things you intend to accomplish in your next 24 hours.         

And/Or

Create a single-frame cartoon that depicts the differences between Mark and the teacher in the way that each views the Kwakiutl people or the way that each views his purpose in Kingcome.  Include a caption below the cartoon.  The caption can be of your own making or it can be chosen from the text.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Why does Mark help the man with the washing machine?  Why does the same man help Mark the following day?
  2. What do you imagine Sam said to Mark through his tears while he was trying to convince Mark to lend him some money?  What do you think Mark was trying to tell the teacher when he offered to trade his outhouse for the teacher’s small bathroom?
  3. What does it say about the village that everyone attended mass that morning?
  4. What about this village makes it a community?  What communities are you a part of?  Is your neighborhood a community?  Your school?
  5. Do you agree with Mark’s statement “It’s better to be a small shrimp in the sea of faith, than a dead whale on the beach?” Who or why not?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 41

“He was wrong. Everyone came except the teacher, Sam, the sick and the very young.  On the very first hymn he found he must never for an instant let go of a high note because if he did, his congregation would sink an octave and never come up again.  He was young enough to be a little proud of his first sermon, to which he had given considerable thought:  ‘It is better to be a small shrimp in the sea of faith than a dead whale on the beach.’”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Mark has been charged by the bishop with bringing the Christian faith to the Kwakiutl people.  However, he knows that he must be careful to bring it in such a way as to supplement and not replace existing Kwakiutl beliefs and culture.  Mark also understands that he has as much to learn from the Kwakiutl people about life as they do from him.  Review today’s reading.

Brainstorm at least two ways that Mark has attempted to be respectful of Kwakiutl culture (one that shows his desire to connect faith with existing beliefs, and the other that shows his desire to learn about the people he is serving).  Write an informative paragraph that describes how these instances have helped him grow close to the Kwakiul people. Be sure your paragraph has an introduction with a thesis statement, a middle that includes examples from the text, and a conclusion that restates or reiterates your thesis.  Trade with a partner and use the rubric you created to evaluate, edit and revise.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 6

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the lifecycle of a salmon?

At two to seven years old, salmon are ready to spawn; unlike many other species, salmon lay eggs only once. In fall the mature salmon change color and return from the ocean to the spawning beds where they were hatched. This process takes a long time since the salmon must spendtime at the mouths of riversin order to readjust to the fresh water they have grown unaccustomed to. Migration is often difficult since salmon must encounter obstacles such as fish ladders and dams before making it back to the waters where they were once hatched.

For more information, check out the link (below):

http://www.streamexplorers.org/fish-facts/salmon-life-cycle

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

beset- 43

futility-43

parish- 43

stealthily-43

moored-47

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

Read p. 43-50

 

Setting

Characters

Pages

downriver

Mark, Jim and the swimmer

43-45

picnic at the spawning

grounds

Mark, Jim, Keetah, Marta, and the two children

45-48

in the woods

Mark, Jim, and the other hunters

49-50

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Mark is feeling lonely, still like an outsider. Then something changes.
  • While on the boat, Mark and Jim spot the running of the salmon upriver toward their spawning ground. Mark asks Jim if they can see the end.  Picnicking where the swimmers end, Mark reveals that he has a twin sister.  The others tell him that this means he is of the salmon people.
  • Upon returning from the picnic, Jim tells Mark that he will marry Keetah one day.
  • Soon the salmon run is over. The fishing season ends, and hunting season begins.
  • Mark accompanies Jim and some other men on a hunt. They track and shoot a bear and a wolf.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Create a visual depiction of the courageous and adventurous salmon using the style of the Pacific Northwest Indians.  Include a caption from today’s reading.  For an example of salmon in Pacific Northwest Native American art, try researching online. Feel free to conduct additional research using other internet or authoritative print resources.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Why do you think Mark is still feeling like an outsider?  What advice would you give him?
  2. Why do you think Mark begins to feel like less of an outsider after the picnic?
  3. Mark indicates that he believes everyone has a purpose in life, one that is both courageous and adventurous.  What do you think you stand to gain from a courageous and adventurous life?
  4. Foreshadowing is a literary device use by an author to drop a hint to the reader about events that may take place later in the story. What event does the adventurous and courageous death of the salmon foreshadow in the story?
  5. Do you think Mark will fulfill his purpose through courage and adventure before he dies?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 47

“But Keetah, it isn’t.  The whole life of the swimmer is one of courage and adventure.  All of it builds to the climax and the end.  When the swimmer dies he has spent himself completely for the end for which he was made, and this is not sadness.  It is triumph.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

In the paragraph above, Mark reminds the reader that life has a purpose, and that a purposeful life is both courageous and adventurous.

Do you agree with the statement “when the swimmer does he has spent himself completely for the end for which he was made, and this is not sadness. It is triumph.” Do you believe that the swimmer’s death is triumphant? Or do you find it tragic? Explain your opinion using evidence from the text as well as your own personal experience. Be sure to maintain a formal tone throughout your writing. When you have finished your assignment, revise and edit it.  

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 7

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the royal we?

The ‘royal we,’ also known as the ‘majestic plural,’ is the use of a plural pronoun to refer to a single person. It is commonly used by a person of high office, or by a bishop or university rectors.  The royal we is used when a leader is speaking on behalf of the people or congregation that he/she is leading. In I Heard the Owl Call My Name, Mark often uses the royal we… that is, until Jim uses it.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

sufficient-51

predecessor-53

sundry-54

primitive-56

tentatively-56

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

Read p. 51-58

Setting

Characters

Pages

the hunting grounds

Mark and Jim

51-52

Kingcome

Mark, villagers, and the doctor

53

on the boat to Alert Bay and back

Mark, the boy with appendicitis, and Jim

53-55

in the village

Mark, The bishop, the bear, and Chief Eddy

55-57

the outlying villages

Mark, Jim and the parishioners

57

at the church on Christmas Eve

Mark and his congregation

57-58

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • After Jim asks Mark, “Have we had sufficient to suffice?” Mark stops using the "Victorian we."
  • Mark and Jim begin to see each other as friends, as is exemplified in Jim’s chiding of Mark about his boating skills.
  • Fall turns to winter in the village, and things start to fail and fall apart under the harsh conditions. The roof of the vicarage develops leaks.  The furnace in the church fails.  And the boat stalls during a trip in very dangerous conditions.
  • At Christmas, the churches in Vancouver, a large city in western Canada, send gifts for the people in Mark’s parish. Mark and Jim deliver the gifts to the outlying villages and hold mass at each before returning to Kingcome on Christmas Eve.
  • At Christmas Eve mass, Mark meets his congregation at the door, shaking each hand and welcoming them. He realizes his deep commitment to them and says to himself, “Yes, my Lord.”

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:  Four-day Newspaper Activity

Using large paper (a couple of 11x17 pieces taped together or a piece of chart paper), create a front-page layout for the local Kingcome newspaper.  Give your paper a name (Kingcome Times for example).  Divide the rest of your paper into four sections, one for each day’s story this week.  In the first section create a headline for a news story you are going to write, drawing from an event in today’s reading – perhaps about the bear that chased Mark, the delivery of Christmas gifts, the Christmas mass, the destructiveness of harsh winter conditions, or the near death of the young boy with acute appendicitis. Create a visual to go along with the story and include a caption below it.  Then write the first few introductory sentences that will draw the reader’s interest.  (You will complete the article for your journal today.) Feel free to look at examples of newspapers to help you come up with ideas for the format and conten of your newspaper.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Why do you think Mark decided to stop using the “Victorian we” after Jim used it?
  2. Explain to a partner how Mark knows Jim is becoming his friend after Jim teases him.
  3. What do you think the bishop means when he writes back to Mark, “Wait - you will come to know them”?
  4. In today’s reading, Mark writes the bishop and says he has only come to know what the Kwakiutl people are not.  The bishop writes back saying, “Wait - you will come to know them.”  Later, when the boat breaks down, Mark says out loud, “Yes my Lord.  No, my Lord.” He indicates he is addressing the bishop.  Use what you know to make a prediction about what Mark meant at the end of this chapter when he said again, “Yes, my Lord.”  Explain your answer to a partner.
  5. The last paragraph for today reads, “For the first time he knew them for what they were…”  What were they?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 58

“He went to the door and opened it, and he stepped out into the soft white night, the snow whispering now under the footfalls.  For the first time he knew them for what they were, the people of his hand and the sheep of his pasture, and he knew how deep was his commitment to them.  When the first of the tribe reached the steps, he held out his hand to greet each by name.  But first he spoke to himself, and he said, ‘Yes, my Lord.’”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Over the next week you will be a newspaper reporter for a village Kwakiutl paper run by the students of the Kingcome schoolhouse.  Choose an event from today’s reading to report on. The bear that chased Mark, the destructive powers of winter, the delivery of Christmas gifts, the near death of the boy with acute appendicitis, or the near sinking of Mark and Jim’s boat are a few possible topics. 

Make sure that you are able to create a detailed explanation with each topic you choose, and be sure your story has a beginning, a middle and an end.  Be factual in your account, but try to keep the story focused on the people involved.  While some details and facts are provided in the reading, you may need to include some of your own creative facts and details as well.

Use similie, metaphor or analogy to get your point across. For instance, you may draw on your own personal experience. Also, internet and authoritative print resources can be referenced for extra research.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 8

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

How does a plane breach the sound barrier?

When an airplane travels through the air, it produces sound waves. If the plane is traveling slower than the speed of sound (the speed of sound varies, but 700 mph is typical through air), then sound waves can propagate ahead of the plane. If the plane breaks the sound barrier and flies faster than the speed of sound, it produces a sonic boom when it flies past. The boom is the "wake" of the plane's sound waves. All of the sound waves that would have normally propagated ahead of the plane are combined together so at first you hear nothing, and then you hear the boom they create.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

dissent-61

precede-61

faltered-62

reverberating-63

eeriest-65

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 61-66

Setting

Characters

Pages

in the village

Mark, Peter and all the villagers

61-62

in the church

Mark and Gordon

62-64

Mrs. Hudson’s house

Mark, Keetah, and Mrs. Hudson

64-66

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • At Christmas, everyone is home in the village, even the hunters and fisherman, and even the students from the school in Alert Bay.
  • A somber mood exists in the village after Christmas. The children that have returned for vacation from Alert Bay have changed.  They have internalized mainstream Canadian culture, and forgotten or denied pieces of their own Kwakiutl culture.
  • Mark finds Gordon, an Alert Bay student, reading in the church on several occasions. Mark loans Gordon some books, and Gordon shows Mark the mask he intends to ask Peter to repair for the upcoming dance.
  • A plane breaches the sound barrier, sounding off a large thunderous boom. Children run out to see.  Gordon stares upward, and Mark relates this to the call he felt from the train whistle of the freight trains near his grandmother’s home in the Midwest.
  • Keetah tells Mark that Mrs. Hudson is very ill. When Mark goes to her, he finds that her illness is related to the letter she received from Keetah’s sister saying that she is marrying a white man.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

For the weeks that follow:

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Continuing with the Kingcome newspaper, create a headline for today’s news story.  You may wish to focus on the overall “depth of sadness” in the village.  Or you may wish to focus on a particular event, such as Gordon and the sound barrier, Peter, or Mrs. Hudson’s illness.  Create a visual with a caption, and write the interest-grabbing introduction.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. What explanation does Peter give for the tone of sadness in the village?
  2. What do you think Gordon is thinking as he looks upward after the plane that hit the sound barrier?
  3. What has caused Mrs. Hudson to become ill?  Is she really ill?
  4. Do you think Keetah’s sister is lost to the tribe and her family forever as Mrs. Hudson suggests?
  5. Why is Part II of this book called “The Depth of Sadness”?  Do you think the village and ways of the Kwakiutl will disappear?  Why?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 61

“But after Christmas, when the snow turned to slush and the rain fell, the children were kept inside and the men played La-hell in the social hall long into the night, Mark felt a strange little wind of dissent which seemed to whisper in the firs, to precede him, to follow him wherever he went.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

You are a local reporter for the Kingcome newspaper published through the school.  Report on the “depth of sadness” in the village.  Write an explanatory article: explain how the village is experiencing a shift in values and traditions that leads to this “dept of sadness.”

You may decide to write about the sadness in general, or to focus on a particular person, such as Peter, Gordon, or Mrs. Hudson.  Before you being writing, make an outline and plan what you are going to say. Be sure your story has a beginning, a middle and an end.  Be factual in your account, but try to keep the story focused on the people involved.  While some details and facts are provided in the reading, you may need to include some of your own creative facts and details as well. Make sure you conclude with a reiteration of your stance and, when you have completed your assignment, be sure to go over your work and revise it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 9

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is a potlatch?

Potlatches were social occasions given by a host to establish or uphold his status position in society. Often they were held to mark a significant event in his family, such as the birth of a child, a daughter's first menses, or a son's marriage. Potlatches are to be distinguished from feasts in that guests are invited to a potlatch to share food and receive gifts or payment. Potlatches held by commoners were mainly local, while elites often invited guests from many tribes. Potlatches were also the venue in which ownership to economic and ceremonial privileges was asserted, displayed, and formally transferred to heirs.

More information about potlaches can be found here:

http://www.answers.com/topic/potlatch

For an example of a Kwakiutl Ceremonial Blanket, research online.

For an explanation of the Hamatsa dance, see:

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hamatsa.html

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

lavish-70

rituals-70

gale-71

shame-72

exiles-73

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 67-74

Setting

Characters

Pages

Gilford Village

Mark, Jim, Keetah, visitors and villagers

67-72

Kingcome

Mark, Keetah’s family, and the bishop

72-74

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Mark is invited to hold Evensong in the Gilford Village longhouse before the potlatch celebration.
  • After Evensong, dancing goes on for hours. Keetah’s sister and her new husband are there.
  • After the dancing, Jim provided Mark with a history of potlatches and of the Hamatsa dance he performed as a boy.
  • Days later, after returning from a call to Turnour Island, Mark finds that Keetah and her family, including Mrs. Hudson, are leaving the village in shame, because Keetah’s sister’s husband has stolen a valuable tribal mask.
  • Not knowing what to do, Mark writes the bishop for advice. The bishop writes back, providing him with the story of Tagoona an Eskimo priest and a problem.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

For the weeks that follow:

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Continuing with the Kingcome newspaper, create a headline for today’s news story, which should cover the stolen mask.  Include a visual with a caption.  Then write the interest-grabbing introduction. Also, to provide a visual example of the mask’s appearance, feel free to conduct online research online or using authoritative print resources.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. What details have you surmised from the text about potlatches?  How have they changed in the last century?
  2. Jim tells Mark that before the mid-1800s, potlatch ceremonies were  marked by lavish gift-giving that often left the givers broke and starving.  What does giving of this type say about the character and culture of the Kwakiutl people?
  3. Explain to a partner why Keetah’s family is leaving the village in shame.
  4. Have you ever felt responsible for someone else’s actions?
  5. What do you think the bishop intends for Mark to understand from the story he tells him about Tagoona, the Eskimo priest?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 73

“What have you done to us?  What has the white man done to our young?" and they waded into the icy water and climbed into the canoe, and because, to keep them here, someone had removed the outboard motor, one of the old men poled to the center of the river where the current took them, the paddles lifting and falling.  Not even Keetah looked back.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

As a reporter for the local Kingcome newspaper, report on the stolen mask.  Be sure to include an interest-grabbing introduction. In the body of your article explain in detail all the facts of the story. Who is to blame? What exactly happened? Whay did it happen? And where did it happen? Provide a detailed explanation as to why the family must leave.  Use similie, metaphor or analogy to get your point across. Feel free to end your assignment with a question or a possible solution. When you have finished writing, be sure to go over your work and revise it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 10

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What are O’olachon?

The o’olachon is also known as the candlefish. It is a small ocean fish, smelt along the Pacific coast of North America. Indigenous communities along the Pacific coast made the o’olachon an important part of their diet, as well as a valuable trade item. The species was caght using nets, traps and rakes. They can be dried, smoked or canned and were often processed for their rich oil. In 2008, the o’olachon were identified as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. 

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

vague-75

pattering-79

penniless-79

deliberately-79

objected-79

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 75-80

Setting

Characters

Pages

February and March in Kingcome

Mark, Jim, and the tribespeople

75

Marta’s house

Mark, Marta , and the other women

75-76

Alert Bay

Mark and the sergeant

76-77

back at the village

Mark, T.P. and the sergeant

77-80

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • The months of February and March passed with no fishing or hunting, only clamming.
  • One day when the men were out clamming, Mark paid a visit to the women who were knitting. He realized that they were talking about him in Kwa’kwala.  The women laughed when the realized he understood, and they never talked about him again in his presence.
  • Jim visited Keetah and the oldsters. He told Keetah he intended to marry her one day.  While Jim was visiting, Mark went to Alert Bay to talk to the RCMP agent about Ellie and Keetah’s sister.  The agent told him he would investigate.
  • The village prepares for the o’olachon, a smelt fish. Before the run, T.P. and elder recount two o’olachon myths.
  • One day following the run, the RCMP agent came to the village. He showed Mark a picture of an Indian girl who Mark identified as Keetah’s sister.  The RCMP agent told Mark that she had died penniless, from an overdose.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Come up with a title for your final newspaper article on the depth of sadness in Kingcome.  You will likely wish to report on the death of Keetah’s sister.  Create an appropriate visual and include a caption.  Then begin the article with an interest-grabbing introduction. You may conduct an internet search to see examples of newspaper articles, headlines, captions and pictures in order for you to get an idea of what they look like.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. What did Mark realize while visiting the women of the tribe?  What does this suggest about Mark’s relationship to the tribe?  Is he becoming less of an outsider?
  2. How does Keetah respond when Jim says he intends to marry her?  Do you think she will ever marry him?
  3. Why can’t the RCMP agent do anything for Ellie or Ellie’s mother?  What advice might you give Mark?
  4. Review the two myths regarding the o’olachon.  What do you think are the intended messages?
  5. Explain to a partner what you think happened to Keetah’s sister after she left Kingcome.

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 79

“Mark went with the sergeant to the river’s edge and watched his boat head downstream to the inlet.  He did not know that when he turned back in his own eyes was the depth of sadness which he had begun to understand.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Today you are going to write your final newspaper article on the “depth of sadness” in Kingcome. Before you being writing, brainstorm about what you wish to write about: plan out which character you want to focus on and plan what you will say about them. You will likely wish to write about the death of Keetah’s sister. 

Write an informative paragraph that begins with an interest-grabbing introduction and then transitions to the facts. Use the facts to speculate what happened to Keetah’s sister during the three months leading up to her death.  End with your own thoughts on the current “depth of sadness” in Kingcome. Be sure to go over your work when you have finished: edit and revise your writing.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 11

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the exposition in a short story?

Exposition is when someone (the narrator most often but could also be a character) explains or tells the reader something: setting description, character attributes, history, philosophy, or explanations. It is aside from the plot and is generally considered to be something that should be minimized. Its main purpose is to introduce the storys characters and settings as well as develop the story’s main action and drive the story to its climax.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

exultantly-81

alders-81

committal-85

mewing-87

sleek-87

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 81-87

Setting

Characters

Pages

spring on the river

Mark, Jim and the fishermen

81-82

Gordon’s mother’s house

Mark, Marta, and Gordon’s mother

82-83

the funeral

Mark and his congregation

83-86

first day of summer in front

of the vicarage

Mark, Marta and Chief Eddy

86-87

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Spring comes again to Kingcome, and with it come the fish. The men gig for halibut and prepare the nets for the salmon.
  • Mark accompanies a group of fishermen for two days of halibut fishing.  He saves an injured seal pup, nurses it back to health, teaches it to swim and lets it go.
  • Gordon’s mother dies in childbirth.  Before she dies, Mark promises he will see that Gordon gets an education.
  • After the funeral, Mark explains his plan to send the older children to the residential school to be with Gordon, and that the village will care for the younger ones.
  • On the first day of summer, Mark is feeling very tired. The chief tells him that the men have decided it is time he had a new vicarage, and that they are willing to help build it.

 

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Create a postcard with the dilapidated vicarage on the front.  On the other side write a brief note to the bishop requesting he now send the materials for the new vicarage. In your note, provide an explanation of whay you have changed your mind. What experiences have led you to this decision?

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. If Mark is the priest, why does he take on so many other jobs and involve himself in so much of the everyday happenings of the village?
  2. Why do you think Gordon’s mother now wants him to have an education, when the children’s education was so much a part of the “depth of sadness”?
  3. What do you think is the meaning of the line, “When I am grown, my father will lack nothing”?
  4. The bishop tells Mark, “You suffered with them, and now you are theirs, and nothing will ever be the same again.”  Why is it important to the Kwakiutl that Mark suffered with them?  Explain this to a partner.

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 87

“Mark," he said, "the men have asked me to tell you that when you are ready to build a new vicarage, they will help you.  It would be wise to get it up before the rains come.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Before you begin writing, brainstorm a mental image of the old vicarage and then picture what you think the new vicarage should look like. Then, write an explanatory exposition snapshot for a short story about the building of the vicarage.  Be sure to describe the setting, including sensory details.  Include at least three characters and set up the conflict.  (Remember, the conflict can be between the character and himself/herself, between two or more characters, or between a character and nature.) Be sure to conclude with a reiteration of your explanation; use similie, metaphor or analogy to get your point across.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 12

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the rising action in a short story?

The rising action of a short story is when the events of a story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed. Essentially, the rising action encompasses the events that occur between the introduction and the climax. The main character is usually “in crisis” during this part of the story. This is the place for tension and excitement. The complication can arise through a character's conflict with society, nature, fate, or a number of themes. In this part of the story the main character is aware a conflict has arisen and takes some kind of step to battle this crisis.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

delicacies-91

prodigious-93

phosphorescence-95

sequins-98

torrential-98

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 91-99

Setting

Characters

Pages

the village

Mark, Marta, Keetah, Gordon, Jim and the villagers

91-95

the celebration

Mark, the bishop, Caleb, and the tribe

95-98

the float

Mark, the bishop, the pregnant girl, and the float plane pilot

98-99

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • The villagers come together to build the new vicarage. Mark stays with Marta as it is being built, and she treats him to wonderful meals each day.
  • Mark encourages Keetah to record the myths and traditions of the tribe so that they will not be lost. Gordon, home from school, visits Keetah when he is not off fishing.  When he is there, Jim stays away.
  • After the vicarage has been completed, the bishop is invited to come and bless it. He arrives with six city rectors, and Caleb comes also.
  • Following the blessing and a dance celebration, the bishop and clergy prepare to leave. Mark is worried because in two days' time the law will change and the Kwakiutl will be able to buy liquor.  He says he is “…afraid some of [his] best parishioners will end up in the gutter.”
  • The bishop replies that “the church belongs in the gutter.” As the float plane flies off, Mark feels something wet touch his cheek, and it is not a raindrop.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Review Keetah’s description of the hamatsa on page 92.  Create a visual depicting the fierceness of this dancer. Use internet or other authoritative sources to get a visual understanding of the hamatsa.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Find someone who remembers from an earlier day’s reading what Che-kwa-la means.
  2. What do you think Gordon is referring to when he asks Marta, “Do you think I can do it?”
  3. What would happen to the Kwakiutl if all of the old traditions were forgotten?  Does your family have any traditions?  What are they?  Who would you be without them?
  4. What events in today’s reading demonstrate that Mark has been accepted as a member of the Kingcome community?
  5. What do you think the bishop means when he says, “The church belongs in the gutter.  It is where it does some of its best work”?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 92

“I was afraid of the hamatsa dance.  I was afraid of the men who looked so fierce with their heads wreathed with hemlock, and their bearskins tied with cedar rope.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Write an explanatory snapsot of the rising action - the events leading up to the climax - for a story about the hamatsa.  More information on the hamatsa can be found on pages 116-118 in I Heard The Owl  Call My Name, and at

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hamatsa.html but knowing that the hamatsa is a cannibal spirit of the forest is likely enough to create a short story.] Before you begin writing, brainstorm what will occur in your rising action. Remember that rising action takes the reader up to, but not into, the climax of the story.  Write your snapshot using at least two important actions that rise in intensity. When you have finished writing, be sure to go over your writing and edit it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 13

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the climax in a short story?

The climax is the high point of the story. It is the main event or danger that the character faces. This is the darkest moment, the worst challenge the character must oppose. At this point it looks as if the character will fail, and will never get what he/she wants. The turning point may be either physical or emotional. In a romance, the girl may turn the hopeful lover down, in an action story, the character may be surrounded by enemies with no chance of escape. For more information about the different elements of a short story, check out the link below:

https://wikis.engrade.com/plottingashortstory

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

anxiety-100

affable-101

rebuked-102

ample-104

ghastly-104

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 100-105

Setting

Characters

Pages

the village

Mark, Jim, the Americans, and the anthropologist

101-104

up the river

Mark, Jim, and the anthropologist

104-105

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Returning from patrol of the outlying villages, Mark is anxious. Since the new law allowing the purchase of alcohol, an increasing amount of money is being spent on it, and it is causing many fights.
  • After another patrol, Jim and Mark return to the village to find a group of rich American tourists.
  • Then an English anthropologist visits the village. She is critical of the role of the church in village life and refers to the people as Quackadoodles.
  • On a trip in a fishing boat, the anthropologist becomes seasick. On her way to the float to catch the plane, she tries to help free the boat where it runs aground, but steps into a hole and sinks to her armpits.
  • Leaving her at the float, Mark turns to Jim and says, “Let’s go home, Quackadoodle.”

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Design a totem or a blanket in Kwakiutl style that tells the events of today’s reading or that portrays a particular theme regarding the conflict between native and white culture. You may conduct research online or using authoritative sources in order to get an idea of what a totem or Kwakiutl blanket looks like.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. What does Jim draw in the sand?  What does it represent?  What does it have to do with the title of this part of the novel - Che-kwa-la? Do you think he is right?  Why?
  2. Why do you think Mark refuses to drive the Americans back to their yacht?
  3. What would you say to the anthropologist in Mark’s defense?
  4. Many Kwakiutls are spending all their money on liquor.  What do you think will be the end result?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 103

“She did not hear him.  What a shame that Christianity had come here!  If the white man had not intruded where he was not wanted, where he did not belong, even now, protected by the mountains and the river, the village would have remained a last stronghold of a culture which was almost gone.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Write an explanatory snapshot of the climax of a short story in which Mark engages in a heated argument with the anthropologist.  Remember that the climax is the point where the rising action has reached its most intense point.  Before you being writing, branstorm and plan what you want to happen in your short story. Make the reader feel the intensity of Mark’s reaction. How is the anthropologist violating the idea that “integrity requires wholeness?”  Keep in mind also that Mark is a priest.  He may lose his “cool,” but he would not say anything to offend God. Keep it clean. When you have finished writing, be sure to go over your work and revise it. Conclude with a reiteration or summary of your explanation.

Or

Create your own snapshot with a climax around a heated argument.  Make the reader feel the intensity of the situation and the intensity of the characters' feelings.  Same rules apply.  Keep it clean.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 14

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the falling action and the resolution in a short story?

Following the climax, the story begins to slowly wind down. Falling action, one of the two final story elements, shows the result of the actions or decisions the character has made. This eventually leads to the final part of the novel, the crisis resolution.

The resolution, also often called denouement, which is French for "to untie" or "unraveling", is the conclusion of the story. Here, the conflicts are resolved, all loose ends are tied up, and the story concludes with either a happy or sad ending.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

ill-kempt-107

slovenly-107

materialism-108

anachronism-108

tenets-109

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 106-112

Setting

Characters

Pages

on the river toward

Vancouver

Mark, Jim, Gordon, and the three other boys

106-108

Vancouver

Mark, his sister, his old friends, and the professor

108-109

Powell River

Caleb, Mark, Jim and the boys

109-110

Kingcome inlet

Mark and Jim

110-111

Kingcome

Mark and Chief Eddy

111-112

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Mark and Jim are taking the four boys to the Canadian school in Vancouver, where they will board with white families.
  • As ordered, Mark uses this time as a vacation. He visits with his sister, his old friends, and with a professor from his university days.
  • When his vacation is over, they continue on to the Powell River where Caleb meets them and as promised has found homes for the four boys to board. Gordon will board with a doctor and his wife, the other three with a widow.
  • Mark and Jim return to the village. Mark feels as if he has returned home.
  • Upon arrival, the chief is painting his canoe. He tells Mark how Sam spent most of his money on alcohol and the rest on a washing machine he lost in the river before getting it home.  He has agreed to let Ellie go away to school in Alert Bay.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Imagine the conversation between Sam and Mark about Ellie. Create an Open Mind Portrait for each of them. Use thought bubbles and speech bubbles to show what each is saying and what each is thinking while they are saying it.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Where are Mark and Jim taking the boys?
  2. What do you predict will be the outcomes for these boys as they seek to fit into a place as different from their village as another planet?
  3. Why do you think Mark’s sister has sadness in her eyes?  Does she know something he doesn’t?
  4. According to Mark, why do people attend his church?   What could the church of his friends learn from this?
  5. What do you think will become of Ellie after she leaves the village for school?  Will she return?  Will she find happiness and a way to live in harmony after the suffering she has endured in the village?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 111

“Did wonders for his wife, boss.  You’d never know her.  She beat him over the head with a skillet and locked him out of the house, and she wouldn’t let him in until he agreed to let Ellie go out to school.  I expect they’ll be over to see you tonight.’”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Ellie has suffered much in her life with an angry father and a mother who could not protect her.  She deserves a happy ending to her story. Brainstorm how you would want her story to end and plan an outline before you begin writing. Then, write the falling action and resolution that allow her to live on after the conflict of her childhood.  Be explanatory and informative in your writing; use similie, metaphor or analogy to get your point across. Focus on the following questions: What do you think happened to her at school?  What do you think she did afterwards?  What made her happy? When you have finished writing, be sure to go over your work and revise it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 15

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is a ‘rite of passage?’ Is it present in many short stories?

A rite of passage is a ritual or event that marks a person’s transition from one status to another. One of the most common rites of passage is the transitional phase between childhood and full inclusion into a tribe or social group. The concept of a rite of passage is used to explore and describe various other milestones in an individual’s life. Rites of passage are present in many ‘coming of age’ narratives. This subject has been popular in short stories and literature throughout the ages.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

endure-113

macabre-115

bewitched-117

myth-117

forbade-118

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 113-118

Setting

Characters

Pages

Marta’s house

Marta, Mark, Mrs. Hudson, T.P., Peter, and several other elders

113-114

the ancient burial ground

Mark, Jim, and other young men

114-115

Peter’s house

Mark and Peter

115-118

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Marta asks Mark to come to dinner. She does not invite Jim.  After dinner, the elders arrive to talk to Mark about something important.
  • The elders wish for Mark to help them by putting all the people in the ancient burial ground to rest.
  • It takes many days. The boxes hung from trees have fallen and broken open.  Trees have fallen on the houses holding more boxes.  To collect all the bodies and bones takes time.  Finally, all are placed in a communal grave and Mark gives them a proper burial service.
  • Back at the vicarage, Peter tells Mark that the rains will bring new life to the burial ground and when it has grown over, the old will visit it often to be sure it is safe from the hamatsa.
  • Peter tells Mark the story of the hamatsa and how the hamatsa dance has changed in recent times.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Create a totem or a piece of art in the style of the Kwakiutl that tells the story or the hamatsa. Feel free to conduct research into totem poles, Kwakiutl art traditions, and/or the hamatsa in order to gain more information for your project.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Why did Marta ask Mark to dinner?
  2. What do you imagine the boy sent to live in the cedar house deep in the woods was feeling before being called to dance the hamatsa?  How do you think he felt when it was over?
  3. What do you think the author meant when she said that Mark “…knew that it was the hamatsa who had been freed at last from his holy madness, and was at peace in the deep woods”?
  4. Why do you think the people of the village wait to ask Mark to help them move the burial boxes? What does this tell you about Mark’s relationship with the people of the village?
  5. How has the hamatsa changed over time?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 117

“And the dance was based on the myth?"

"Yes.  In the winter ceremonials, the hamatsa dance was the last and it took four nights.  The young man who did it disappeared from the village and he lived beyond the old burial ground in a little cedar house hidden deep in the woods.  I know, because when I was a young boy, my father’s house was the last in the village, and I was the one who took him food.’”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Before you begin writing, take a moment to brainstorm: pretend you are an elder of the Kwakiutl who danced the hamatsa in the winter dance as a boy.  In an explanatory paragraph, explain to Mark in a paragraph or two how this rite of passage transformed you from a boy to a man. Be detailed and creative in your description and maintain a formal tone throughout your writing. Conclude with a reiteration or summary of your explanation. When you have finished your assignment, be sure to revise your work.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 16

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the cedar-man myth?

Tseiqami is a man who comes from the cedar tree and Thunderbird, lord of the winter dance season, a massive supernatural bird whose wing beats cause the thunder, and the flash of whose eyes causes lightning. Tseiqami hunts whales for its dinner out at sea, and sometimes helped heroic ancestors build houses by placing giant cedar beams for them. Thunderbird has a younger brother named Kolus.

Thunderbird's adversary is Qaniqilak, spirit of the summer season, who is often identified as the sea god, Kumugwe. Kumugwe or Komokwa is the name of "Undersea Chief." Many Kwakwaka'wakw families have been blessed by riches and supernatural treasures bestowed by this god of the tides and maker of coppers.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

fowl-119

critical-121

hastily-125

dialects-126

abashed-127

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 119-127

Setting

Characters

Pages

the village

Mark, Jim, Gordon, Keetah

119-124

the river’s edge

Mark and Caleb

125-127

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Caleb writes to Mark that Gordon is suffering. He can not sleep and he has lost his appetite.  The elders believe he will come back as Jim did.
  • Then Caleb writes again that Gordon is doing much better. Still the old believe Gordon will return to stay.
  • At Christmas Gordon does return, but he has changed, adopted much of white culture. When he leaves after Christmas, Keetah goes with him.  Gordon believes that he will not return again.
  • Caleb comes for a surprise visit. He expresses his sadness and concern for the imminent disappearance of the old ways and the villages altogether.
  • Mark reminds Caleb that he has been like the cedar-man to the people of Kingcome.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Create an Open Mind Portrait for Keetah.  Use thought bubbles to show the inner conflict she must be having about whether to stay with Gordon or to return to her people in Kingcome without him.           

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Why do you think Gordon is suffering at the beginning of today’s reading?  What do you think happened to make him stop suffering?
  2. Do you think Gordon should go or stay?  What about Keetah?
  3. Do you think Keetah will return?  And if so, will she return by choice or out of failure?
  4. Do you think the village and people of Kingcome can survive the increasing invasion of Che-kwa-la?
  5. In what ways do you think Caleb has been in life what the cedar-man was to the residents of Kingcome in myth?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 124

“She will go with me.  I can’t leave her.  She will go with me.  She does not promise she will stay, but she will try.’’

And

“Gordon will do well, and in the end he will be able to live in both worlds," Mark said.  "But if Keetah is not strong enough to return by choice and not by failure, she will never again be able to live in either.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Pretend you are Keetah and that you have been living in the white world for several months.  Write an explanatory inner dialogue in which you wrestle with whether to stay with Gordon, or to return to Kingcome to be with your people and their ways. Which choice would show the most integrity? Remember that integrity requires wholeness. In your writing, be sure to be as detailed and descriptive as possible – use similie, metaphor or analogy to get your point across. Make sure you maintain a formal tone throughout your assignment and, when you have completed your dialogue, be sure to go over your work and revise it.        

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 17

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is a lung infection that can make you very sick. You may cough, run a fever, and have a hard time breathing. For most people, pneumonia can be treated at home. It often clears up in 2 to 3 weeks. But older adults, babies, and people with other diseases can become very ill. They may need to be in the hospital. Pneumonia usually starts when you breathe the germs into your lungs. You may be more likely to get the disease after having a cold or the flu. These illnesses make it hard for your lungs to fight infection, so it is easier to get pneumonia. Having a long-term, or chronic, disease like asthma, heart disease, cancer, or diabetes also makes you more likely to get pneumonia.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

gleefully-131

leeward-132

pneumonia-133

aft-135

squelched-135

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 131-135

Setting

Characters

Pages

the icy village in January

Mark, Jim, and the children

131-132

up the river

Mark, Jim, and the parishioners from the outlying villages

132

Calamity’s float house

Mark, Jim, Calamity, the couple from the float store and six crew from the neighboring camp

132-135

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • January brought an ice-over on the river. When the ice broke, Mark and Jim took the canoe to the float to get needed supplies for the village.
  • Passing Calamity Bill’s, they noticed there was no smoke coming from his chimney. They stopped to check on him.
  • Calamity had fallen and broken his hip. He refused to go to the hospital.  Mark and Jim sat with him through the night until he died.  Mark promised to spread his ashes on the mountain at the place Calamity pointed out.
  • In the morning, residents from the neighboring village brought a proper box for Calamity’s transport to the coroner.
  • Each time thereafter that Mark passed in sight of Calamity’s A-frame home, he said a prayer and reiterated his promise to distribute Calamity’s ashes on the first day of spring.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Calamity tells Mark not to say a bunch of lofty words about him when spreads his ashes, as they both know they would all be lies anyway.  But I think Calamity was just being modest.  Create a gravestone for Calamity.  Include a few words that evoke his best characteristics - the things you would want the world to remember or know about him. Do you believe he has shown integrity with the life he led? Remember that integrity requires wholeness.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. How do the residents of Kingcome react to the cold weather, the lack of fuel for fires and the lack of food during the ice and snow storm?
  2. What happened to Calamity Bill?  What is Calamity’s last request?
  3. Why do the local villagers come to Calamity’s aid?
  4. Have you ever done something to honor another person, alive or deceased? If so, what was it?
  5. Why do you think Calamity refused to go to the hospital? What would you have decided if you were in his position?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 135

“Two of the loggers helped put Calamity in the box, and carry it to the aft of the boat, and lash it down.  Then Mark put on his cassock and said for Calamity a few very simple prayers.  After the blessing Jim struck eight bells to mark the end of the watch and loosed the line, and Calamity started his last rough journey to what he had always called the happy logging country.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Before you begin writing, brainstorm what lessons you think Calamity has learned during his lifetime. Plan which of these lessons you want to communicate to your audience.

Next, write an explanatory resolution as Calamity reaches the end of his ‘quest.’. You may choose to write it using a third-person or a first-person narrative.  Either way, communicate to the reader the most important lesson(s) Calamity learned before his death. Make sure you maintain a formal tone throughout your writing. Conclude with a strong summary of your explanation. When you have finished writing, take time to go over your work and edit it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 18

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the hamasta dance?

The Hamatsa society is the highest ranking Kwakiutl secret society proud to perform the most important Kwakiutl dance - a winter initiation ceremony for the newest members of the society. It is 4 days long and very complex. The Hamatsa dancers represent a cannibal spirit who lives in the sky. The spirit’s translated name means "Cannibal at the north end of the world." The Hamatsa dancers are thought to each represent one of the spirit’s many mouths. His presence is made known though a strange whistling sound which is supposed to be the wind blowing through his millions of mouths. On the first day of the ceremony, the novice member is "possessed" by the spirit and wanders into the woods, and is not seen again until the last day of the dance. The rest of the dance involves the frenzied dancing of the Hamatsa dancers, and a final appearance of the initiate Hamatsa performing a symbolic re-enactment of the spirit’s first cannibal experience. Hamatsa Raven is considered to be the most important role of the ceremony, and is reserved for only senior members of the Hamatsa.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

haltingly-138

burden-140

exodus-143

pious-144

fundamentals-144

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 136-144

Setting

Characters

Pages

the village

Mark, Keetah, T.P., the other elder, Marta

136-142

the potlatch

the bishop, Marta, Jim, and Peter

142-143

the float

Mark and the bishop

143-144

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • Keetah returns to the village in March. Mark waits two weeks before she comes to him.
  • When she does, she explains to Mark that she has returned with child, but that Gordon does not and will not ever know that the child is his.
  • After Mass, T.P. announces that he will hold a potlatch and dance to pass family rights to Jim. Shortly after, Marta noticed that Mark had the look of death in his face.  She wrote to tell the bishop that he should come for the potlatch.
  • The bishop arrived. The potlatch began, and Jim danced what was left of the hamatsa.  Afterwards, Mark noticed the bishop speaking quietly to Marta, then Peter.  And Mark knew something was troubling him.
  • Mark ferried the bishop up the river to catch the float plane. The bishop remarked that things were easier here, where only the fundamentals counted, to learn what every man must learn in this world - enough of the meaning of life to be ready to die.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Create an Open Mind Portrait of the bishop and either Peter or Marta. Use speech bubbles to indicate what they are saying to each other about Mark.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Explain why Keetah returned by choice and not out of failure.
  2. What do you think the bishop was talking about to Marta and Peter?  What do you think each was saying?
  3. What is the significance of the hamatsa dance Jim performed to the changing state of the village?
  4. Do you think Mark has learned what he needs to know to be ready to die?  What do you think he learned?
  5. Do you think that Mark knows he is going to die?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 143

“On the second day there was another great feast and more dancing, and on the third morning the exodus began.  When the canoes had taken the last guests down the river, the bishop lingered in the quiet village.  Once Mark saw him talking to Marta by the river’s edge.  When he walked to the end of the village on an errand, he saw the bishop sitting with Peter, the carver, on the porch of the last house.  In the late afternoon he saw him go into the church himself.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

It seems that just about everyone knows Mark is dying but Mark. Write an explanatory paragraph that claims that Mark either has or has not learned enough to be ready to die. Do you believe that Mark has led a life of integrity? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning. Maintain a formal tone throughout your writing and when you have finished your assignment go over your work and revise it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 19

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the ‘reversal’ in a short story?

The reversal occurs right before the resolution (or ending) of a short story. The reversal should be the consequence of the critical choice and the climax, and it should change the status of the characters – especially the main characters. For example, a downtrodden wife might leave her husband after a fight; a bullied child might stand up for a fellow victim and realise that the bully no longer has any power over him; Cinderella might be recognised by the prince.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

poingnancy-145

staunch-147

centuries-150

perceptive-152

efficacious-153

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 145-153

Setting

Characters

Pages

the float

Mark and the bishop

145

alongside the tugboat and the loggers’ float

Mark, the loggers, and the loggers’ families

146-147

Calamity’s inlet

Mark

147-148

returning to the village

Mark

148-149

the village and the old burial ground

Mark, Marta, and Keetah

149-152

back on the river

Mark and Jim

152-153

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • After seeing the bishop off, Mark heads further upriver on his way to commit Calamity back to the earth.
  • He stops to help a crew of loggers and their families move their float to a new location.
  • After the quiet ceremony for Calamity, Mark slowly comes to realize that he, himself, is dying. Upon arriving at the village, he hears an owl call, and he knows for sure.
  • Keetah finds Mark at the old burial ground, and asks Mark, on behalf of the village, to stay with them until he dies.
  • Shortly after, there is a distress call over the radio. A man is missing.  Mark and Jim go looking for him in the speedboat. When he is found, they head for the village.  Before they arrive, lightning strikes a tree on the hillside, causing a landslide.

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Maintain a list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Maintain a list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Maintain a list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Pretend you are Mark.  You know you are gong to die very soon, and that you will be replaced by a new vicar.  Think about all you have learned while in Kingcome.  Create a list of five suggestions that you will leave for the new vicar to help him make the most of his time with the Kwakiutl people.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. According to the narrator, what did Mark learn during his stay with the Kwakiutl?
  2. Why does the author tell us that Mark’s last words for Calamity echoed back to him?  What does the author communicate to the reader when he says something strange had happened to time?
  3. What is the significance of the title of the book?
  4. What do you think Mark will do, now that he has a choice?  Stay in the village, or return home?
  5. In a reversal story, the author leads you to believe that the story will end in a predictable way, but then surprises you with an ending you had not anticipated.  We assume from the beginning that Mark is going to die of cancer.  What might be some possible reversal-type endings?  Share with a partner.

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 153

“Then neither spoke, the wake from the bow white in the night.  As they neared the float thunder sounded overhead, and lightning cut the sky and struck a tree at the top of the inlet forty yards ahead of the boat and high above them.  The tree fell upon the trees below, and weakened by the heavy rains, they fell also, slowly at first, then faster and faster, end over end, until a long jagged strip peeled from the inlet side, and the whole world exploded into sound.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Use the details in the paragraph above to help you write an explanatory climax of a reversal story involving Mark, Jim and the landslide. 

Before you begin writing be sure to brainstorm and plan what you are going to write. Remember that the climax is the story’s most intense part.  Make the reader feel the danger, fear, panic, etc. as you unveil for the reader the events of the next paragraph(s) following the beginning of the slide.  Remember that in a reversal story, the author creates an ending different from the one he/she has led the reader to expect.  Think about how you expected the story to end.  Then think of possible ways to reverse or change that ending. After you have finished writing, be sure to go over your work and revise it.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.

Day 20

Outcomes for Today

W2. 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.

a.) Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b.) Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

c.) Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

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.

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).

W5. Developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a purpose and audience.

W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes.

Prepare

Background

Gather background knowledge about a place, time, event, person, or thing.

What is the significance of owls in Native American mythology?

In most Native American tribes, owls are a symbol of death. Hearing owls hooting is considered an unlucky omen, and they are the subject of numerous 'bogeyman' stories told to warn children to stay inside at night or not cry too much, otherwise the owl may carry them away. In some tribes, owls are associated with ghosts, and the bony circles around an owl's eyes are said to be made up of the fingernails of ghosts. Sometimes owls are said to carry messages from beyond the grave or deliver supernatural warnings to people who have broken tribal taboos. And in the Aztec and Mayan religions of Mexico, owls served as the messengers and companions of the gods of death.

Word Wall

Here are five vocabulary words to teach and add to the Word Wall.

prolonged-153

scolded-156

wreaths-157

trestles-158

literally-159

 

Read

Review

Review the timeline from the beginning every day.

Read

Read the selection, usually in a Shared Reading Read React Predict Cycle of 2-3 pages.

I Heard The Owl Call My Name, pp. 154-159

Setting

Characters

Pages

the village

villagers and Keetah

155-158

the church

T.P. and the congregation

158-159

Peter’s house

Peter and (Mark?)

159

 

Respond

Timeline

Agree on the facts in today’s reading and list the 3-5 most important on the timeline.

Students might mention:

  • The slide echoes through the village.  All the men get into their canoes to see if help is needed.
  • In the morning, some of the canoers return to say that the vicar’s boat has been overturned, and while they could not get close enough to reach it, a single voice was heard calling for help.
  • Later the canoes return with one figure wrapped in a blanket.  Inside the vicarage, Keetah finds that it is Jim who has survived.  She agrees to marry him when he has built a house for the two of them.
  • The funeral is held inside the church, led by T.P., the elder.
  • Peter stays up through the night, believing that when Mark’s spirit returns to the village, it would be rude if no one were there to greet him.  Time passes in the village as it always does, waiting for the swimmer to come again, “on his way to the climax of his adventurous life and to the end for which he has been made.”

Map

Add to ongoing class activities like a KWL chart or map: where did the characters go?

  • Complete the list of Kwakiutl Indian customs.
  • Complete the list of Kwakiutl Indian myths.
  • Complete the list of Kwakiutl symbols.
  • Complete the list of things that Mark does to become a part of the community he is living in. Also maintain a list of the things others in the community do to make him feel welcome.
  • Complete the list of evidence that Kwakiutl culture and village life are slowly disappearing.

Explore

Activity

Explore the reading more deeply with a visual or oral language activity.

One possible activity:

Pretend you are the movie producer for I Heard The Owl Call My Name.  Create a movie poster to advertise the premiere.  Include the title and a visual that reflects your understanding of an important theme in the book.  Include a quote that you feel represents that same theme.  Finally, decide on the most important three characters and choose three celebrities to star as them in the film.  [Remember that the theme of this unit is Integrity - that the way I live my life is whole, entire, undivided, sound, coherent, and principled.] There is an actual 1973 film version of the novel; you may wish to research movie posters online before designing your own for inspiration.

Discussion

Ask discussion questions of all 9 types (see Day 1).

Key Questions

  1. Were you surprised by the ending?  What do you think Mark learned to prepare him for the “end for which he was made”?
  2. Do you think Keetah would have married Jim if Mark survived? Why or why not?
  3. Do you think that it was better for Mark to have died quickly rather than a slow, painful illness.
  4. If Mark’s spirit did return to Kingcome, what form do you think he would take?
  5. What would you say is the most important message in this book?

Analyze

Analyze the key paragraph.

Key Paragraph – 159

“Past the village flowed the river, like time, like life itself, waiting for the swimmer to come again on his way to the climax of his adventurous life, and to the end for which he has been made.”

Extend

Write

Have each student write a short product based on today’s prompt to connect to the unit theme.

Final Assignment:

Over the last few weeks, you have written several explanations and snapshots for several stories.  You have learned about the parts of a short story, from the exposition and the rising action, to the climax, the falling action and the resolution.

Choose a snapshot you have already written and expand it into a full explanatory or informative story. Include all the parts of a story we have previously identified.  Be sure you have a strong setting, establish a clear point of view and develop three-dimensional characters.  Regardless of the story you tell, the central message ought to be about Integrity - becoming the person you know you have the potential to be. Before you begin writing your story, make sure you brainstorm and plan what you are going to write. Maintain a formal tone throughout your story and be as detailed as possible.

Use the assessment rubric you created today to guide your writing.  Then trade with a partner for editing.  Revise you work once you have feedback from your partner.

Close

Close by extending today’s lesson to life and the world.

Extend the reading to the students' lives or to the world.