I. Unit Goals:

A. Students continue to master the acquisition of vocabulary standard. Students will verify meanings of words by the author’s use of definition, restatement, example, comparison, contrast and cause and effect. Students will also use multiple resources to enhance comprehension of vocabulary.

B. Students will read purposefully and automatically, using the comprehension and self-monitoring strategies. As they encounter increasingly challenging literary texts, students may more consciously employ strategies and benefit from teacher modeling of the reading process.

C. Students will apply reading applications to literary text. This includes comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of literary characters, evaluating the author’s use of point of view in a literary text, and evaluating the ways an author develops point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes.

D. Students will write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and understands the author’s use of stylistic devices and effects created. This will include composing reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life. Students’ responses to literature will extend beyond the summary and support references to the text.

II. Common Core Standards Addressed in Unit:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2
Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3
Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5
Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.A
Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.B
Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.D
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.10
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, and audiences.

II. Assessment Plan:

Students will be informally assessed before and during the reading of the novel. Students will respond to journal prompts and complete graphic organizers in which each student’s comprehension may be monitored and assessed. Student progress will be formally assessed after the eighth chapter (middle of text) and at the end of the text. Students will plan out and write essays on at least two synthesizing questions about the novel. The emphasis of these assessments will be on critical analysis and comprehension as opposed to the recollection of random facts. Students will be graded using scoring guides and checklists. The students will also be objectively assessed using a paper and pencil vocabulary test. This test will be graded using the 93-100 A grading scale.

Learning Goal:	Assessment type:	Format:	Adaptations:
Goal A: Vocabulary	Formative Post	Observation of student activity, “Word Expert.” Paper and pencil test over vocabulary	Not applicable
Goal B: Reading Process	Informal Formative	Comprehension Questions Class Discussions Admit Slips
Goal C: Reading Applications	Pre-assessment Formative	Journal Prompts Graphic organizers Small group activities Exit Slips
Goal D: Writing Process	Formative and post assessment	Reflection paper on two essay topics and questions. Students complete after

V. Daily Lesson Plans:

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	1. Students will read purposefully and automatically, using the comprehension and self-monitoring strategies. As they encounter increasingly challenging literary texts, students may more consciously employ strategies and benefit from teacher modeling of the reading process. 2. Students will apply reading applications to literary text. This includes comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of literary characters, evaluating the author’s use of point of view in a literary text, and evaluating the ways an author develops point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes.
Objective(s):	1. Students will make predictions about the characters in The Fall of Rome. 2. Students will make inferences about Mr. Washington while reading chapter one.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Indirect characterization worksheet (Appendix A)
Methods / Activities:	1. Introduce the novel to students. Share information about the author, emphasizing the different Cleveland connections the book and author have. Martha Southgate attended Cleveland Public Schools, her mother walked the entire route of the Underground Railroad in Ohio… 2. Students brainstorm what they know about Ancient Rome. Share answers whole group. Discuss how this knowledge may be connected to the story. Collect student responses. 3. Pass out the novel. Have students preview the book. Discuss what students notice and how that might impact their reading of the narrative. 4. Review the terms indirect and direct characterization. Students work in small groups to complete indirect characterization worksheet about Mr. Washington. 5. Review answers if time.
Assessment:	Pre-Assessment: Students brainstorm what students know about Ancient Rome. Discuss how these things might apply to the novel.
Class Period for Reading:	Read Chapter 2 (pp. 14-28)

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	1. Students will read purposefully and automatically, using the comprehension and self-monitoring strategies. As they encounter increasingly challenging literary texts, students may more consciously employ strategies and benefit from teacher modeling of the reading process. 2. Students will apply reading applications to literary text. This includes comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of literary characters, evaluating the author’s use of point of view in a literary text, and evaluating the ways an author develops point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes. 3. Students will write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and understands the author’s use of stylistic devices and effects created. This will include composing reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life. Students’ responses to literature that will extend beyond the summary and support references to the text.
Objective(s):	1. Students will answer literal, inferential, evaluative, and/or synthesizing questions to show comprehension of print materials. 2. Students apply reading comprehension strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting, recalling and summarizing, and making inferences and drawing conclusions. 3. Students will produce a variety of informal writing products.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Small strips of paper for admit and exit slips
Methods / Activities:	1. As students enter the room, distribute strips of paper to them and have them answer the question, “What does it mean to read with a critical eye?” 2. Begin class discussion with student responses on admit slips. Introduce and/or review literary techniques: switching point of view, figurative language, etc… As a part of this discussion, review indirect characterization worksheet. 3. Students work in partners to skim through chapters one and two to find examples of different literary techniques the author uses in the text. Record on chart paper. 4. As a wrap-up to the discussion, students complete exit slips, answering the question: “What literary techniques does Southgate employ in the first several chapters?”
Assessment:	Admit Slips: Students anonymously respond to this question, “What does it mean to read with a critical eye?” Exit Slip: Before students leave, students answer this question: “What literary techniques does Southgate employ in the first several chapters?”
Class Period for Reading:	Read Chs. 3 & 4 (pp. 29-60)

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	1. Students will read purposefully and automatically, using the comprehension and self-monitoring strategies. As they encounter increasingly challenging literary texts, students may more consciously employ strategies and benefit from teacher modeling of the reading process. 2. Students will apply reading applications to literary text. This includes comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of literary characters, evaluating the author’s use of point of view in a literary text, and evaluating the ways an author develops point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes. 3. Students will write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and understands the author’s use of stylistic devices and effects created. This will include composing reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life. Students’ responses to literature that will extend beyond the summary and support references to the text.
Objective(s):	1. Students will answer literal, inferential, evaluative, and/or synthesizing questions to show comprehension of print materials. 2. Students apply reading comprehension strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting, recalling and summarizing, and making inferences and drawing conclusions. 3. Students will produce a variety of informal writing products.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Character Trait Checklist (Appendix B)
Methods / Activities:	1. Students respond to journal prompt: Explain this quote: “Our character is not so much the product of race and heredity as of those circumstances by which nature forms our habits, but which we are nourished and live.” 2. Share and discuss student responses. 3. Introduce Character Checklist. Review vocabulary terms and character traits. Complete in small groups and share student responses.
Assessment:	Students respond to journal prompt: Explain this quote: “Our character is not so much the product of race and heredity as of those circumstances by which nature forms our habits, but which we are nourished and live.”
Class Period for Reading:	Read Chs. 5 & 6 (pp. 61-85)

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	Students will apply reading applications to literary text. This includes comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of literary characters, evaluating the author’s use of point of view in a literary text, and evaluating the ways an author develops point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes.
Objective(s):	1. Students will make critical comparisons in reading, writing and/ or speaking. 2. Students apply reading comprehension strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting, recalling and summarizing, and making inferences and drawing conclusions.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate
Methods / Activities:	1. Students spend the first five to seven minutes responding to the journal prompt. Collect student answers. 2. Review the procedures of literature circles. Explain that students will participate in a modified version today. Each student is to pick a word, sentence and paragraph that is significant in some way or will generate discussion. Students may pick passages that are confusing that may be illuminated through group discussion. 3. Assign students to small groups to share words, sentences and passages selected. Selections should be selected from Chapters five through eight. 4. Groups are to select one word from the whole discussion to share with the entire class. Share the significance of the word and how group selected that word.
Assessment:	Students respond to a journal prompt that relates to the previous night’s reading: “Ms. Hanson’s life takes on aspects of a rollercoaster at times. Sketch a rollercoaster and place events from Ms. Hanson’s life in appropriate places along the roller-coaster.
Class Period for Reading:	Read Chs. 7 & 8 (pp. 86-117)

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	Students will write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and understands the author’s use of stylistic devices and effects created. This will include composing reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life. Students’ responses to literature that will extend beyond the summary and support references to the text.
Objective(s):	1. Students will use the writing process to generate ideas, organize information, revise writing and edit drafts. 2. Students will write two essays from a list of seven essay prompts.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Essay Questions / Topics and rubric (Appendix C)
Methods / Activities:	1. Introduce the essay questions and topics to the class. Read them together as a group and answer any questions students have about them. 2. Model how to pull quotations from the text to support details or assertions in student answers. 3. Students begin writing their essays in class and finish for homework.
Assessment:	Essay Questions (2)
Class Period for Writing:	Students respond to two essay questions / topics.

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	Students continue to master the acquisition of vocabulary standard. Students will verify meanings of words by the author’s use of definition, restatement, example, comparison, contrast and cause and effect. Students will also use multiple resources to enhance comprehension of vocabulary.
Objective(s):	1. Students will use grade appropriate strategies to determine meaning and pronunciation of unknown words. 2. Students will master vocabulary words from vocabulary list.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Vocabulary List (Appendix D)
Methods / Activities:	1. Introduce vocabulary words from text. Students make predictions about the meaning of the words in class. 2. Each student is to become an expert on one word. Assign one word to each student. Each student is to find definition, part of speech, synonym and antonym for each word. Share responses with the group.
Assessment:	In-class assessment / observation. Teacher will observe student responses when students report out to the group.
Class Period for Reading:	Students write sentences and definitions for vocabulary words. Read Chs. 9 & 10 (pp. 118-140)

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	1. Students will read purposefully and automatically, using the comprehension and self-monitoring strategies. As they encounter increasingly challenging literary texts, students may more consciously employ strategies and benefit from teacher modeling of the reading process. 2. Students will apply reading applications to literary text. This includes comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of literary characters, evaluating the author’s use of point of view in a literary text, and evaluating the ways an author develops point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes. 3. Students will write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and understands the author’s use of stylistic devices and effects created. This will include composing reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life. Students’ responses to literature that will extend beyond the summary and support references to the text.
Objective(s):	1. Students will answer literal, inferential, evaluative, and or synthesizing questions to show comprehension of print materials. 2. Students will make critical comparisons in reading, writing, and/or speaking.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Quote from the author taken from www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=415580&agid=10-39k (Appendix E)
Methods / Activities:	1. Review what class has learned about each character. Split into three groups. Each group is assigned one of the three main characters (Rashid, Mr. Washington, Ms. Hanson) and answers the following prompt: Pretend you are a team of psychologists. How would you analyze your character? What drives him or her? Why does he/she act the way he/she does? Is the character happy? What recommendations would you make to him/her? 2. Share responses whole group. Discuss each group’s insights about their respective character. 3. Introduce Southgate’s quote to the class. How does it apply to each of the different characters? Discuss answers whole group.
Assessment:	Group responses to small group analysis of each character will be collected and read.
Class Period for Reading:	Read Chs. 11 &12 (pp. 141-174)

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	1. Students will read purposefully and automatically, using the comprehension and self-monitoring strategies. As they encounter increasingly challenging literary texts, students may more consciously employ strategies and benefit from teacher modeling of the reading process. 2. Students will apply reading applications to literary text. This includes comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of literary characters, evaluating the author’s use of point of view in a literary text, and evaluating the ways an author develops point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes.
Objective(s):	Students will answer literal, inferential, evaluative, and/or synthesizing questions to show comprehension of print, electronic, and visual media.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Comprehension Questions (Appendix F)
Methods / Activities:	1. Review events in the story up until Chapter 12. Answer any questions that students have about what they have read so far. 2. Students work in partners and/or small groups to complete the comprehension questions for Chapters 9-11. 3. Review answers and use these questions to guide discussion and make predictions for the rest of the novel.
Assessment:	Student comprehension questions will be collected and scored.
Homework:	Read Chs. 13 & 14 (pp. 175-204)

Date/Time/Location:
Goal(s) Addressed:	Students continue to master the acquisition of vocabulary standard. Students will verify meanings of words by the author’s use of definition, restatement, example, comparison, contrast and cause and effect. Students will also use multiple resources to enhance comprehension of vocabulary.
Objective(s):	Students will use grade appropriate strategies to determine meaning and pronunciation of unknown words.
Materials:	Vocabulary Test (Appendix G)
Methods / Activities:	Students will use class time to take a vocabulary test.
Assessment:	Paper and pencil vocabulary test
Class Period for Reading:	Read Chs. 15 & 16 (pp. 205-216)

Date/Time/Period:
Goal(s) Addressed:	Students will write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and understands the author’s use of stylistic devices and effects created. This will include composing reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life. Students’ responses to literature that will extend beyond the summary and support references to the text.
Objective(s):	Students will answer literal, inferential, evaluative, and/or synthesizing questions to show comprehension of print, electronic, and visual media.
Materials:	The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate Graphic Organizer (Appendix H) Final essay questions / topics (Appendix I)
Methods / Activities:	1. Share final thoughts about the story. 2. Introduce graphic organizer to class. If Ms. Hanson, Rashid and Mr. Washington were in a race, who won? Complete graphic organizer and share responses with the class. 3. Introduce second set of essay questions. Review steps for writing a response with supporting details and quotations from the book.
Assessment:	The graphic organizer completed in class will serve as an informal assessment. Students will be formally assessed on their responses to the final essay topics and discussion questions.
Class Periods for Writing:	Essay questions / topics

Appendix A

The Fall of Rome – Pre-reading Activity	Name: ________________________

Date: ______________

There are several voices or narrators in this novel. The first one we meet is Mr. Washington, a teacher at a exclusive private boarding school. Read the first chapter (pp. 7-14) carefully, looking for insight into Mr. Washington’s personality. In the left hand column record something that he says and in the right hand column, discuss what this tells the reader about this character.

Sentence, Passage from the book (page number)	What insight does this give us into the character?

Appendix B

Understanding Characters through Character Traits: Review the following traits as they relate to each character. Mark an X in the box that each trait applies to.

Jerome Washington	Jana Hanson	Rashid Bryson
Empathy
Flexible
Driven
Intelligent
Creative
Self-Hatred
Gregarious
Spiritual
Analytical

Appendix C

Possible Essay Topics / Questions: Select two questions and write an in-depth answer to each using supporting quotations. Your response should be at least a page in length for each question and use at least three supporting quotations from the story.

1.	Why does the author choose to switch points of view? How does seeing the story play out through three distinctly different vantages help in your understanding of the characters, story and the tension displayed throughout the story?

2.	Explain the metaphor of the rollercoaster as it relates to Ms. Hanson. Do you think this is an apt metaphor to describe her life? Use details from the text to support your argument.

3.	Does the author use direct or indirect characterization to introduce the reader to the main characters (Mr. Washington, Rashid, Ms. Hanson)?

4.	Select three chapter titles, discuss their meaning on the surface and explain how they relate to the events in the chapter.

5.	What is the significance of the quotes at the beginning of the novel? How do they help inform your reading?

6.	Explain how Mr. Washington’s youth has influenced the man he has become today.

7.	Obligation is a central idea or theme in the story. Which character(s) does this theme relate to? How? Explain your argument.

Possible Essay Topics / Questions: Select two questions and write an in-depth answer to each using supporting quotations. Your response should be at least a page in length for each question and use at least three supporting quotations from the story.

1.	Why does the author choose to switch points of view? How does seeing the story play out through three distinctly different vantages help in your understanding of the characters, story and the tension displayed throughout the story?

2.	Explain the metaphor of the rollercoaster as it relates to Ms. Hanson. Do you think this is an apt metaphor to describe her life? Use details from the text to support your argument.

3.	Does the author use direct or indirect characterization to introduce the reader to the main characters (Mr. Washington, Rashid, Ms. Hanson)?

4.	Select three chapter titles, discuss their meaning on the surface and explain how they relate to the events in the chapter.

5.	What is the significance of the quotes at the beginning of the novel? How do they help inform your reading?

6.	Explain how Mr. Washington’s youth has influenced the man he has become today.

7.	Obligation is a central idea or theme in the story. Which character(s) does this theme relate to? How? Explain your argument.

Varieties of Fiction

Rubric for Fall of Rome Essay Questions

The essay questions are worth 100 points. The distribution of your points is reflected in the following rubric, which illustrates the strength and weaknesses of your paper.

Item Description	Points Possible	Question #1	Question #2	Comments
Content – Do you answer the question completely?	10
Credibility – Do you include your own analysis of events in your response?	10
Support– Do you provide specific quotations from the book?	5
Evidence – Do you explain and support your direct quotations from the book?	15
Well Developed and supported with specific details? Use of English Conventions	10

Grade: _______________

Appendix D

Vocabulary List:

Lavishly

Minutiae

Oratory

Solicitous

Ideological

Diminution

Unwavering

Clichéd

Undaunted

Steely

Stringent

Cadence

Deemed

Droned

Benighted

Render

Candid

raucous

Appendix E

A Note from the Author, Martha Southgate

The rolling hills and fields described in the opening pages of this novel are an accurate description of the campus of the northeastern Ohio prep school that I attended for four years (though it was not a boarding school). Everything else in The Fall of Rome, however, is fiction, my favorite way to write. I love making things up. The characters are not modeled on anyone I knew either then or now. My attendance at that school was a formative experience of my life and this book is an attempt to examine, through imagined characters and lives, some aspects of what that experience meant to me and what it might mean for others.

I'm in my forties. I think that people of my age and younger, the post-Civil Rights generation, face a world that is full of choices about what race means that someone of Jerome's age could not possibly imagine. I wanted, in this novel, to examine some of the ways such characters might clash as well as the ways they might come together around race and around values. These issues continue to interest me, and I imagine I'll always keep exploring them in my work.

Appendix F

Comprehension Questions: Answer each question in a complete sentence!

1. What does Mr. Washington fear before a race?

2. What did Rashid hold in “abeyance” from Mr. Washington?

3. How was Mr. Washington threatened when he first arrived at Chelsea?

4. What is another way of describing the “palpable current” between Ms. Hanson and

Mr. Washington?

5. What surprising news did Ms. Hanson receive before the dance? How did she react?

6. Describe the issue and/or problem Mr. Washington had at the dance.

7. Mr. Washington and Ms. Hanson had an encounter after the dance. The moment was quickly ruined a couple of days later. Why?

8. Why is Rashid getting ready to make “a splash”? How is he going to do this?

9. What happened at the staff meeting? Who is Brendan Hastings? How did he cause a division?

10. In Chapter 11, Mr. Washington makes a lot of references to Ancient Rome. Why? Explain.
Appendix G

Vocabulary Quiz:	Name: _______________________________

Fall of Rome	Date: _______________ Period: __________

Lavishly	solicitous	unwavering	steely	deemed	render

Minutiae	ideological	clichéd	stringent	droned	candid

Oratory	diminution	undaunted	cadence	benighted

raucous

Fill in the Blank: A word may be used more than once or not at all.

1. Let me be ________________. You are not going to pass unless you complete all of your work.

2. Ms. Dewees _______________________ on and on about completing necessary assignments.

3. There is an _________________ component to senior seminar.

4. Rashid remained ______________________ by Mr. Washington’s unfair treatment.

5. Ms. Hansen ___________________ that Mr. Washington was not treating Rashid fairly.

6. It is important to see the big picture and not get bogged down by the _______________.

7. The judge was going to __________________ his decision momentarily.

8. Rashid had an ____________________ loyalty to his brother, even after he was murdered.

9. Rashid tried to be ____________________ of his parents after Kofi died.

10. Gerald’s parents ____________________ spoiled him with care packages and presents.

True/False:	**Correct the statements that are false.**

11. _____ The prefix un- means to repeat the action of the word to which it is attached.

12. _____ Minutiae is to tiny as skyscraper is to tall.

13. _____ Steely is an adverb because it ends in –ly.

14. _____ Cadence and droned are related words because they both deal with sound.

15. _____ Another form of the word that does not change the meaning of stringent is string.

Matching: Synonyms

_____16. raucous	A. strict

_____ 17. benighted	B. opinion

_____ 18. lavishly	C. generous

_____ 19. stringent	D. manner of thinking

_____ 20. oratory	E. ignorant

_____ 21. ideological	F. strong

_____ 22. clichéd	G. become smaller

_____ 23. steely	H. public speaking

_____ 24. diminution	I. loud

_____ 25. candid	J. outspoken

Essay: Write a paragraph using at least eight vocabulary words from Fall of Rome. The paragraph must make sense and must contain context clues so that the meaning of each word is clear!

______________________________________________________________________

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Appendix H

Graphic Organizer – Who Won the Race?	Name: ________________________

Date: _______________

MR. WASHINGTON	MS. HANSON	RASHID BRYSON

R OADBLOCKS

FINISH START
Appendix I

Possible Essay Topics / Questions: Select two questions and write an in-depth answer to each using supporting quotations. Your response should be at least a page in length for each question and use at least three supporting quotations from the story.

1.	Where do you envision Rashid in ten years? Do you think he will be a success story? Do you think his opinion and feelings toward Mr. Washington may change over time?

2.	The Fall of Rome is a story about growing up, survival, and the coping mechanisms that young black men need to succeed. What are the different strategies that Rashid and Jerome Washington use to make themselves seen in a world that would prefer that they were invisible? Does the author make any judgements regarding whose way is more successful?

3.	Discuss the parallels between the characters of Rashid and Mr. Washington, focusing on the traits that their families share- especially their mothers. Think about how they both come to the Chelsea school to escape their history, but find it staring them in the face when they look upon each other. Which character seems better able to handle this combination of past and future?

4.	The idea of control is a central theme in this story, and we watch as different characters teeter on the edge of chaos in terms of their bodies, minds, and their surroundings. Select one character and elaborate on this.

5.	Refer back to the quotes at the beginning of the novel. What is the significance of the quotes at the beginning of the novel? How do they relate to the story now that you have finished it?

Possible Essay Topics / Questions: Select two questions and write an in-depth answer to each using supporting quotations. Your response should be at least a page in length for each question and use at least three supporting quotations from the story.

1.	Where do you envision Rashid in ten years? Do you think he will be a success story? Do you think his opinion and feelings toward Mr. Washington may change over time?

2.	The Fall of Rome is a story about growing up, survival, and the coping mechanisms that young black men need to succeed. What are the different strategies that Rashid and Jerome Washington use to make themselves seen in a world that would prefer that they were invisible? Does the author make any judgements regarding whose way is more successful?

3.	Discuss the parallels between the characters of Rashid and Mr. Washington, focusing on the traits that their families share- especially their mothers. Think about how they both come to the Chelsea school to escape their history, but find it staring them in the face when they look upon each other. Which character seems better able to handle this combination of past and future?

4.	The idea of control is a central theme in this story, and we watch as different characters teeter on the edge of chaos in terms of their bodies, minds, and their surroundings. Select one character and elaborate on this.

5.	Refer back to the quotes at the beginning of the novel. What is the significance of the quotes at the beginning of the novel? How do they relate to the story now that you have finished it?