Date:
Home Connection
Highlights of Unit 2: Imagining the Future
Dear Family,
In this unit, students will learn about space exploration, considering
concepts related to space missions and colonizing other worlds. Students
will read a variety of texts and listen to and view media as they discuss
the Essential Question for the unit.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
As a class, in small groups, and independently, students will
work to answer the question Should humanity’s future lie
among the stars? Give your student the opportunity to
continue the discussion at home.
TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR STUDENT
• What are some of the ways you could answer the question
Should humanity’s future lie among the stars?
• What do these texts say about space exploration? What
obstacles do we need to overcome before we explore further?
• Why do you think outer space is so popular in the media and
in books and films?
UNIT 2 SELECTION TITLES, AUTHORS, GENRES
WHOLE-CLASS LEARNING
“Dark They Were, and Ray Bradbury Science-Fiction
Golden-Eyed” Fantasy
Dark They Were, and Ray Bradbury and Media: Radio Play
Golden-Eyed Michael McDonough
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PEER-GROUP LEARNING
“Science-Fiction C. S. Lewis Lyric Poetry
Cradlesong”
“First Men on the Moon” J. Patrick Lewis Lyric Poetry
“The Last Dog” Katherine Paterson Science-Fiction
Adventure
“Mars Can Wait. Oceans Amitai Etzioni Argumentative
Can’t.” Essay
from Packing for Mars Mary Roach Argumentative
Essay
INDEPENDENT LEARNING
Your student will choose one of the following to read
independently. You may want to read it as well, so that you can
discuss it together.
“Future of Space Exploration Nola Taylor Redd News Article
Could See Humans on Mars,
Alien Planets”
“Danger! This Mission to Maggie Koerth-Baker Magazine Article
Mars Could Bore You to
Death!”
“Neil deGrasse Tyson on Neil deGrasse Tyson and Interview
the Future of U.S. Space Keith Wagstaff
Exploration After Curiosity”
“Ellen Ochoa: Director, Ellen Ochoa Media: Video
Johnson Space Center” Biography
TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR STUDENT
• How did you choose which selection to read?
• What is the most interesting aspect of space exploration that
you learned from your reading?
PERFORMANCE TASKS AND PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT
Your student will need to answer the question Should
humanity’s future lie among the stars? He or she will write an
argumentative essay, drawing on knowledge gained from the
selections in this unit, as well as from the Performance Tasks
he or she completed.
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the content posted in its original format.
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Whole-Class Learning Performance Task
After completing the Whole-Class section of the unit, your
student will learn how to put together an argument in the
form of an editorial. He or she will then write an editorial
answering the question Is space exploration important?
Peer-Group Learning Performance Task
After completing the Peer-Group section of the unit, your
student will work with his or her group to write and present
a critique about one of the selections in the unit.
End-of-Unit Performance-Based Assessment
At the end of the unit, your student will pull together his or
her learning by completing a Performance-Based
Assessment addressing the question Should humanity’s
future lie among the stars? In response to that question,
he or she will write an argumentative essay.
Activities and assignments in Unit 2 will help your student
meet the following Florida’s B.E.S.T. standards. Here are some
key standards students will work toward in this unit.
Reading
• 7.R.1.2 Compare two or more themes • 7.C.3.1 Follow the rules of standard
and their development throughout a English grammar, punctuation,
literary text. capitalization, and spelling appropriate to
grade level.
• 7.R.2.4 Track the development of an
argument, analyzing the types of • 7.C.5.1 Integrate diverse digital media to
reasoning used and their effectiveness. build cohesion in oral or written tasks.
• 7.R.3.1 Analyze how figurative language
contributes to tone and meaning and
Vocabulary
explain examples of allusions in text(s).
• 7.V.1.1 Integrate academic vocabulary
• 7.R.3.4 Explain the meaning and/or appropriate to grade level in speaking and
significance of rhetorical devices in a text. writing.
• 7.V.1.3 Apply knowledge of context clues,
figurative language, word relationships,
Communication
reference materials, and/or background
• 7.C.1.3 Write and support a claim using knowledge to determine the connotative
logical reasoning, relevant evidence from and denotative meaning of words and
sources, elaboration, a logical phrases, appropriate to grade level.
organizational structure with varied
transitions, and acknowledging at least
one counterclaim.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUING SUPPORT!
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the content posted in its original format.
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