English Language Arts: 
​
Life Stages and The Human Experience

Portfolio Guide

Portfolio Worksheets

Unit Theme and Plan

ELA UNIT: THE GAME OF LIFE

Activities

​​GROUP READING INTEGRATION MODEL
Used Throughout the Entire Unit
Reading Structure Used Every Week:
Collaborative Close Reading Circles (CCRCs)

Core Texts: David Copperfield & Jane Eyre
Focus: Identity, agency, power, choice, and consequence

WEEK 1 — PHASE 1: BIRTH & EARLY CHILDHOOD
Game Concept: Starting Squares & Inherited Circumstances
LESSON 1 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Life as a System of Rules, Chance, and Choice
Teacher Script / Explanation
“When we play a game, we usually know three things:

1. where we start
2. what the rules are
3. what counts as winning

Life works the same way — except we don’t choose our starting square, and the rules aren’t always fair or written down.”
Explain explicitly:

• Starting square = birth conditions (family, money, gender, health, safety)
• Rules = expectations created by society, adults, institutions
• Chance events = illness, death, loss, opportunity
• Choices = moments where character is revealed
• Winning in literature ≠ money or marriage
  → it means agency, self-knowledge, integrity

Connect to genre:

• David Copperfield and Jane Eyre are bildungsroman novels
• These novels ask: How do you become yourself in a world designed by others?

Model with a familiar example (brief):

• Cinderella didn’t choose poverty
• Spider-Man didn’t choose the bite
• What matters is how they respond

Close the mini-lesson by framing the unit:
“We’re going to track these novels the way you’d track a game — move by move — to see how identity is built.”
LESSON 2 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Narrative Voice Shapes Power
Focus: David Copperfield
Explain:

• David tells his story as an adult looking back
• This creates dramatic irony:
  • child David doesn’t understand what’s happening
  • adult David does

Teach explicitly:

• When narrators look back, they often:
  • highlight vulnerability
  • emphasize injustice
  • guide reader sympathy

Model with a short passage:
“Notice how Dickens lets us feel the fear first, then explains why it mattered.”
Key takeaway students write:
The narrator controls how much power the reader gives a character.
LESSON 3 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Characterization Through Resistance
Focus: Jane Eyre
Explain:

• Jane is powerless socially, but powerful internally
• Brontë uses:
  • internal monologue
  • moral language
  • refusal

Teach explicitly:

• Resistance does not require authority
• It requires:
  • self-definition
  • refusal to accept false narratives

Model:
“Jane has no money, no status, and no protection — but she refuses to agree with the story others tell about her.”
Key sentence students copy:
A character’s first act of agency is often internal before it is visible.
LESSON 4 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Writing Comparative Claims
Explain:

• Comparison ≠ listing similarities
• Comparison = relationship between ideas

Teach the formula:
Both authors show ________, but Dickens emphasizes ________, while Brontë emphasizes ________, revealing ________.
Model a weak vs strong claim:

• Weak: “Both characters are orphans.”
• Strong: “Both novels portray orphanhood as a loss of protection, but Dickens emphasizes emotional neglect, while Brontë emphasizes moral resistance.”

LESSON 5 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Evidence Explains, Not Decorates
Explain:

• Quotes don’t speak for themselves
• Explanation is where analysis happens

Teach the Evidence Sandwich:

1. Claim
2. Quote
3. Explanation
4. Connection to theme

Model with a sentence from each novel.

WEEK 2 — PHASE 2: EDUCATION & SOCIAL CONDITIONING
Game Concept: Learning the Rules
LESSON 6 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Institutions Create Identity
Explain:

• Institutions don’t just teach skills
• They teach:
  • obedience
  • hierarchy
  • acceptable behavior
  • silence

Introduce hidden curriculum:
“What students learn without being explicitly taught.”
Examples:

• Who gets praised
• Who gets punished
• Who gets ignored

LESSON 7 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Setting as a System of Power
Focus: Salem House
Teach:

• Settings can function like characters
• Ask:
  • Who controls the space?
  • What behaviors are rewarded?
  • What behaviors are punished?

Model:
“Salem House doesn’t just exist — it acts.”
LESSON 8 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Moral Language Can Hide Harm
Focus: Lowood
Explain:

• Brontë uses religious and moral language to expose hypocrisy
• Suffering is framed as virtue

Teach:
When institutions claim morality, always ask:

• Who defines “good”?
• Who suffers?
• Who benefits?

LESSON 9 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Comparative Institutional Critique
Explain:

• Both schools enforce control
• But they use different tools:
  • Salem House → fear
  • Lowood → morality

Teach:
Different systems can produce the same outcome: compliance.
LESSON 10 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Synthesis Writing
Explain:

• Synthesis = connecting evidence to a broader idea
• Not summary, not opinion

Teach:
“What do these examples together reveal about society?”
WEEK 3 — PHASE 3: WORK & INDEPENDENCE
Game Concept: Survival Squares
LESSON 11 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Work as Identity
Explain:

• Work determines:
  • how others see you
  • what choices you have
  • how safe you are

Teach:
Independence requires more than income — it requires stability.
LESSON 12 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Shame as Social Control
Focus: David’s factory work
Explain:

• Shame keeps people compliant
• Dickens exposes how humiliation replaces compassion

Teach:
When dignity is removed, agency shrinks.


LESSON 13 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Conditional Independence
Focus: Jane as governess
Explain:

• Jane earns money
• But she remains socially constrained

Teach:
Economic independence without social power is fragile.
LESSON 14 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Economics Shapes Choice
Explain:

• Money affects:
  • ability to leave
  • ability to refuse
  • ability to survive mistakes

Teach:
Financial pressure turns choices into forced moves.
LESSON 15 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Reflective Synthesis
Explain:

• Reflection asks:
  • What changed?
  • Why?
  • What does it mean?

WEEK 4 — PHASE 4: LOVE & POWER
Game Concept: Partnership Squares
LESSON 16 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Love Is a Power Relationship
Explain:

• Love includes:
  • affection
  • dependency
  • vulnerability

Teach:
Equality determines whether love expands or limits agency.
LESSON 17 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Emotional Immaturity vs Stability
Focus: David’s relationships
Explain:

• Dora represents desire without responsibility
• Agnes represents mutual growth

Teach:
Love can delay maturity or support it.
LESSON 18 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Power Imbalance in Romance
Focus: Jane & Rochester
Explain:

• Rochester controls:
  • information
  • wealth
  • space

Teach:
Love without transparency is not equality.
LESSON 19 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Argument Through Evidence
Explain:

• Claims must be defended with:
  • quotes
  • reasoning
  • explanation of impact

LESSON 20 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Relationship as Identity Test
Explain:
Relationships test whether characters will trade selfhood for security.
WEEK 5 — PHASE 5 & 6: CRISIS & ENDGAME
Game Concept: Forced Turns & Winning Redefined
LESSON 21 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Moral Choice Framework
Teach the four lenses:

1. Desire
2. Fear
3. Values
4. Consequences

LESSON 22 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Loss as Transformation
Explain:

• Loss forces reflection
• Growth is not guaranteed — response matters

LESSON 23 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Integrity as Agency
Explain:
Jane’s refusal protects identity, not romance.
LESSON 24 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Choice Cards as Analytical Writing
Explain:

• Each choice reveals:
  • values
  • priorities
  • identity

LESSON 25 MINI-LESSON
Mini-Lesson: Endings as Authorial Arguments
Explain:

• Endings answer:
  • What matters?
  • What is enough?
  • What is success?

Teach:
Winning the game means defining it for yourself.

Instructions:
Students remain in the same reading groups for the entire unit to:

• track character growth consistently
• build accountability
• deepen comparative analysis

Group Size: 4 students
Texts: Same excerpt, different analytical lenses
CORE GROUP ROLES (ROTATE WEEKLY)
Each student has a defined cognitive task during reading.
1. The Navigator (Comprehension & Context)

• Summarizes each paragraph or section in plain language
• Tracks plot movement without interpretation
• Clarifies confusing syntax or Victorian language

2. The Rule-Maker (Power & Systems)

• Identifies:
  • rules being enforced
  • authority figures
  • institutional pressure
• Connects moments to the Game of Life “rules”

3. The Agent (Choice & Identity)

• Tracks:
  • moments of choice
  • resistance
  • silence or compliance
• Notes what the character could have done but didn’t

4. The Evidence Keeper (Language & Theme)

• Selects key quotations
• Explains how diction, tone, or imagery shapes meaning
• Prepares evidence for writing and discussion

Each group completes one shared reading record per lesson.
WHERE GROUP READING FITS INTO THE DAILY LESSON FLOW
Every reading day now follows this structure:

1. Mini-lesson (10–12 min)
2. Group Reading (25–30 min) ← NEWLY INSERTED
3. Cross-group synthesis (10–15 min)
4. Writing / Life Board update (10 min)

WEEK 1 — PHASE 1: BIRTH & EARLY CHILDHOOD
Game Concept: Starting Squares
LESSON 2  — David Copperfield GROUP READING
Text: Chapters I–II
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/766/766-h/766-h.htm#link2HCH0001
Group Reading Segment (30 minutes)
Step 1: Purpose Setting (2 min)
Teacher states:
“As you read, your job is not to ‘get through’ the chapter.
Your job is to identify what David is given and what he is denied at the start of life.”
Step 2: Chunked Group Reading (20 min)

• Text divided into 3–4 chunks
• Groups read aloud, rotating readers each chunk

Each role listens for:

• Navigator → What literally happens
• Rule-Maker → Who holds power in this moment
• Agent → Does David act, submit, or resist
• Evidence Keeper → One quote that shows vulnerability

Step 3: Group Synthesis (8 min)
Groups answer:

1. What is David’s starting disadvantage?
2. Which adults function as rule-makers?
3. What early lesson is David learning about power?

Groups record answers on a shared page.
LESSON 3  — Jane Eyre GROUP READING
Text: Chapters I–IV
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm#chap01
Group Reading Segment (30 minutes)
Purpose Statement:
“As you read, track how Jane responds when she is told who she is.”
Chunked Reading (20 min)
Groups read aloud with role focus.
Role lenses:

• Navigator → Gateshead setting + events
• Rule-Maker → Social and gender rules imposed
• Agent → Jane’s verbal resistance
• Evidence Keeper → Language of self-definition

Group Synthesis (10 min)
Groups complete:

• One sentence starting: Jane asserts agency when…
• One quote showing resistance

LESSON 4 — COMPARATIVE GROUP DISCUSSION (UNCHANGED, BUT GROUNDED IN GROUP READING)
Groups now compare their own collected evidence, not teacher-provided examples.
WEEK 2 — PHASE 2: EDUCATION & SOCIAL CONDITIONING
Game Concept: Learning the Rules
LESSON 7  — David Copperfield SALEM HOUSE GROUP READING
Text: Chapters VII–VIII
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/766/766-h/766-h.htm#link2HCH0007
Group Reading Focus
“Schools teach rules about who deserves dignity.”
Roles Emphasize:

• Rule-Maker → Punishments, authority, humiliation
• Agent → When David submits vs reflects
• Evidence Keeper → Irony in Dickens’ language

Group Task (Post-Reading):
Create a Salem House Rule Chart:

• Rule
• How enforced
• Impact on identity

LESSON 8  — Jane Eyre LOWOOD GROUP READING
Text: Chapters V–VII
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm#chap05
Group Reading Focus
“Suffering is framed as moral education.”
Groups annotate for:

• Religious language
• Hypocrisy
• Who benefits from discipline

Group Synthesis:
Answer:
How does Lowood justify cruelty?
LESSON 9 — GROUP COMPARISON WORKSHOP
Groups now compare their Salem House vs Lowood charts and prepare one comparative claim for class discussion.
WEEK 3 — PHASE 3: WORK & INDEPENDENCE
Game Concept: Survival Squares
LESSON 12  — David Copperfield FACTORY GROUP READING
Text: Chapters XI–XII
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/766/766-h/766-h.htm#link2HCH0011
Group Reading Focus
“Work can erase dignity.”
Roles Emphasize:

• Navigator → Work conditions
• Rule-Maker → Economic pressure
• Agent → What David cannot refuse
• Evidence Keeper → Shame language

Group Output:
A “Forced Move” card for David.
LESSON 13  — Jane Eyre GOVERNESS GROUP READING
Text: Chapters X–XI
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm#chap10
Group Reading Focus
“Independence with limits.”
Groups identify:

• Gains Jane makes
• Constraints that remain
• One moment of hope
• One moment of restriction

WEEK 4 — PHASE 4: LOVE & POWER
Game Concept: Partnership Squares
LESSON 17  — David Copperfield RELATIONSHIP GROUP READING
Text: Chapters XXXIII–XXXV
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/766/766-h/766-h.htm#link2HCH0033
Group Focus:
“What kind of partner grows agency?”
Groups analyze Dora vs Agnes using the Power Meter collaboratively.
LESSON 18  — Jane Eyre ROCHESTER GROUP READING
Text: Chapters XV–XVII
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm#chap15
Group Focus:
“Who controls knowledge?”
Roles emphasize secrecy, testing, and imbalance.
WEEK 5 — PHASE 5: CRISIS & ENDGAME
Game Concept: Forced Turns & Winning Redefined
LESSON 22  — David Copperfield CRISIS GROUP READING
Text: Chapters LIII–LIV
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/766/766-h/766-h.htm#link2HCH0053
Groups track:

• Loss
• Reflection
• Identity shift

LESSON 23 — Jane Eyre REFUSAL GROUP READING
Text: Chapters XXVII–XXVIII
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm#chap27
Groups map Jane’s moral reasoning step-by-step.
LESSON 25 — FINAL GROUP SYNTHESIS: ENDGAME
Texts: Final chapters for both novels
Groups answer:
Did this character win — or redefine the game?
WHY THIS GROUP READING MODEL WORKS

• Prevents passive reading
• Forces evidence-based discussion
• Aligns directly to analysis and writing
• Mirrors AP Lit / college seminar practices
• Supports diverse learners through shared cognition