Multidisciplinary Unit

The Maze Runner​ by James Dashner

Description of Concept:
In this unit, students will be relating topics in social studies to ideas from ​The Maze Runner
by James Dashner. The main concept that we will be focusing on is power in politics. In the
novel, decisions are made solely by those in control with no input from the ordinary
citizens.

Text #1 - Voting Simulation for Class President

Objectives:
1. Students will be able to identify components of the modern day voting process.
2. Students will be able to compare different forms of government.

Standards:
SS.CV.1.6-8.LC: Identify roles played by citizens (examples: voters, jurors, taxpayers,
military, protesters and office holders).
SS.CV.3.6-8.LC, MdC, MC: Compare the means by which individuals and groups change
societies, promote the common good, and protect rights.

Text Citation:
N/A

Text Description:
This text would be a simulation of the voting process taking place over the course of a week
or two. Students would register to vote, do research on the candidates, understand the
electoral college, and watch a political candidate take office.

Rationale:
I decided that this would be a good simulation to use because then students could see the
political process of voting first-hand rather than just hearing about it. I would attempt to
make it as realistic as possible, drawing bridges between our simulation and voting in
political elections outside of the classroom. I think it is important for students to
understand a few concepts about voting that may not be obvious, such as the need to
register to vote and how the votes are tallied up.
Phase Description

Phase 1: Activating & Connecting
BLL Ch. 7
Before bringing up the process of voting, I would
use the problematic situation approach to gain
student interest. I would tell the class that I have
chosen a class president for them and it will be
me. I will now make all of the decisions on behalf
of their class and they will abide by my rules.
Ideally, this would create controversy and
students would insist that they get to choose
their own representative. This would lead into
the simulation of the voting process.

Phase 2: Monitoring & Checking
BLL Ch. 8
While learning the content of this lesson, I will
have students keep an interactive notebook
where they can write my notes on the left side of
the page and their thoughts on the right side.
This will help them with the vocabulary related
to the voting process such as electoral college,
congress, senate, house of representatives, etc.

Phase 3: Consolidating & After students have gone over all of the new
Reconnecting terms, I think it would be beneficial for them to
BLL Ch. 9 create a List-Group-Label. Students will identify
the words, confer as a group, then label and
categorize them. This will solidify their
understanding of the meaning of the words and
how they relate to one another.

Phase 4: Extending & Reflecting As a reflection activity, I would use a Discussion

BLL Ch. 10 Web. Students would brainstorm reasons for and
against the democratic process. They would then
come to a group consensus on why the
democratic voting process is the best way to
conduct elections. I think this will help students
understand other forms government such as
monarchy, dictatorship, and a republic.
 Text #2 - School to Prison Pipeline Documentary

Objectives:
3. Students will be able to analyze the American prison system.
4. Students will be able to describe what the school to prison pipeline is.

Standards:
SS.CV.6.6-8.LC: Determine whether specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed)
resolve the problems they were meant
to address.
SS.IS.8.6-8.LC: Analyze how a problem can manifest itself and the challenges and
opportunities faced by those trying to address it.

Text Citation:
(2014, June 21). Retrieved May 05, 2018, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FCGUaOKRks

Text Link:
https://youtu.be/4FCGUaOKRks

Text Description:
This text is a video documentary of the school to prison pipeline.

Rationale:
I decided that a video on the school to prison pipeline would be a relevant way to inform
students about the American prison system. They will be able to relate to this because they
too are in school and can probably imagine themselves or their peers getting caught in the
same situations. This concept relates to The Hunger Games because the kids in the book are
stuck inside the maze like a prison.
Phase Description

Phase 1: Activating & Connecting
BLL Ch. 7
To activate student interest, I would use the
guided imagery approach. I would show students
a picture of a prison cell and ask them to imagine
sitting in it for 30 minutes. No cell phone, no
snacks, no tv. Then 2 hours. What about a
lifetime? Hopefully this will gain student interest
to learn about how people get trapped in this
system.

Phase 2: Monitoring & Checking
BLL Ch. 8
After watching this documentary, I would have
students work on a Think-Pair-Share. I would
give them time to reflect on what they saw for a
few minutes, taking some notes in their
notebook. Then, students would get together to
discuss their thoughts on the subject matter.
Afterwards, they would share with the class
what they discussed. This will allow students to
gain an understanding of points of view that may
be different from their own.

Phase 3: Consolidating & To reconnect student’s understanding of the

Reconnecting topic, I will have them search for an article online
BLL Ch. 9 about the school to prison pipeline. Then, they
will create a Found Poem on the article. I think
this would be a great way to solidify their
understanding because it will be a second source
of information for them to view and they can
showcase their creative abilities. I hope the
creative aspect of this activity will capture
student interest.

Phase 4: Extending & Reflecting
BLL Ch. 10
To reflect on the concept, I will have students
participate in a Fishbowl Discussion. This
activity will allow students to reflect on the new
insights gained from the documentary and their
online article. They will be able to bounce ideas
off of each other and understand alternate
viewpoints (hopefully students will not be
 uncomfortable sharing views on the
controversial issues regarding this topic - I plan
to create an environment where any opinion is
welcome and acceptance is standard).

Assessment
In this unit, a formative assessment will be used as an exit slip on the democratic voting
process. The exit slip will just ask students to write down 3 things that they understand
about American elections. This will give me a good idea of what students are very familiar
with and the things that few students wrote down could be areas that require reteaching.
As a summative assessment for the unit, I would have students create a research
presentation on prison statistics from different cities and countries. This would be a group
project where students could choose a location to focus on, they would research the
demographics and statistics of prison populations. Then, the students would present their
findings to the class. The reason for this project is to either give credit to the claim that
America is the most incarcerated country in the world or to prove it wrong. It will also be
interesting to compare cities in America to see what the demographics are for their prison
populations.