In this unit, students begin reading a retold version of the literary classic Peter Pan to build their understanding of how the historical context of a literary classic can have an impact on the content and also to analyze how writers develop characters to capture a reader's imagination. In the first half of the unit, students read an informational text to build background knowledge about the author, J.M. Barrie, and some of the relevant aspects of society in Great Britain at the time the original novel was written. Students then focus on analyzing how the events in each chapter build on what came before and consider how the illustrations in the first four chapters of Peter Pan contribute to the meaning of the text. After reading each chapter, students make connections between the historical context and the content of the chapter.
For the mid-unit assessment, students closely read a new chapter of Peter Pan and answer selected response and short-constructed response questions about the text. In the second half of the unit, through teacher-guided close reading, independent close reading, and discussion, students analyze the characters by carefully examining their traits, motivations, actions, and points of view. They also analyze figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of the text. For the end of unit assessment, students closely read another new chapter of Peter Pan, answer selected response questions, and complete a table to analyze the character traits, motivations, actions, and points of view.