"Thank You, M'am" Mini-Unit - Emergency Sub Plan, Middle High School

I created this mini-unit when my principal asked me to attend a 4-day training on only the third week of school. Because we had not yet gotten far into the curriculum, I didn’t want to rely on a substitute to teach a new skill. I wanted something that students could work on independently, yet still be critical thinkers. Thus, I created this packet for the story “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes and a companion film, Finding Forrester.

Whether you use this for an sub plan or not, the mini-unit is full of thoughtful activities, including color-marking and annotation, critical thinking questions, writing prompts, graphic organizers, and more.

Depending on your situation, you can choose to complete only the story materials, or you can also purchase the movie Finding Forrester, to add a few extra days to the unit, particularly helpful if you plan to be out for more than a day or two. Directions are included for either option, and if you choose to leave out the film, just don’t print those pages.

In this 12-page mini-unit, you will find the following:
-2 different directions cover pages; 1 that includes the film and 1 that does not (only print the one you will use)
-three-page text of the story, “Thank You, M’am,”
-2 pages of story questions
-paragraph chunking prompts for the story, so that students can -practice writing text evidence and commentary
-2 pages of questions to accompany the movie Finding Forrester
-paragraph chunking prompts for the movie
-story-film comparison graphic organizer
-story-film comparison chunking prompts

If you like this, I know you'll like some of my other literature resources:
Most Dangerous Game Short Story Unit
Romeo and Juliet Close Reading Unit
TKAM - Paired Passage Bundle