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Unit Arc	Instructional Time	Essential Question	Key Milestones
Spark Lessons 1–3	3 lessons 50 minutes each	How does memory help us know who we are—and what is lost when memory disappears?	Lesson 1: Intro via Anansi Folktale—Stories Carry Cultural Memory Lesson 3: Intro to Investigation 1 EQ & Memory Theme
Investigation 1 Lessons 4–22	19 lessons 50 minutes each	How does memory help us understand who we are—and what is lost when memory disappears?	Lesson 8: Academic Discussion Lessons 15–16: Core Writing (Parts 1 & 2) Lesson 21: Investigation 1 Assessment Lesson 22: Flex Huddle
Investigation 2 Lessons 23–37	15 lessons 50 minutes each	How do stories help communities survive change and imagine a future worth building?	Lessons 23–24: Flex Research Lesson 33: Academic Discussion (Socratic Seminar) Lesson 36: Investigation 2 Assessment Lesson 37: Flex Day

Unit Arc

Instructional Time

Essential Question

Key Milestones

Spark
Lessons 1–3

3 lessons
50 minutes each

How does memory help us know who we are—and what is lost when memory disappears?

Lesson 1: Intro via Anansi Folktale—Stories Carry Cultural Memory
Lesson 3: Intro to Investigation 1 EQ & Memory Theme

Investigation 1
Lessons 4–22

19 lessons
50 minutes each

How does memory help us understand who we are—and what is lost when memory disappears?

Lesson 8: Academic Discussion
Lessons 15–16: Core Writing (Parts 1 & 2)
Lesson 21: Investigation 1 Assessment
Lesson 22: Flex Huddle

Investigation 2
Lessons 23–37

15 lessons
50 minutes each

How do stories help communities survive change and imagine a future worth building?

Lessons 23–24: Flex Research
Lesson 33: Academic Discussion (Socratic Seminar)
Lesson 36: Investigation 2 Assessment
Lesson 37: Flex Day

Unit Context

Knowledge Building Topic

Futuristic worlds, human memory, and storytelling: How storytelling helps us understand how memory works, and how stories preserve cultural knowledge and identity across time.

I'm Learning About

how interstellar travel works and how humans adapt to extreme environments.
how memory functions in the brain, and what happens when it is altered or erased.
how stories carry cultural knowledge and identity across generations.
how imagined futures help us explore difficult questions and envision what comes next.
how storytelling helps communities maintain identity and adapt through change.

Knowledge Goals

Explain the neuroscience of memory and the scientific realities of interstellar travel, connecting these concepts to the novel's central themes.
Analyze how the author uses speculative science and storytelling to explore memory, identity, and community across time.
Evaluate how cultural storytelling traditions around the world preserve knowledge and identity across generations.
Synthesize scientific and literary sources to examine how imagined futures help us explore difficult questions about the present.

Knowledge-Building Questions

How does human memory work—and what happens to identity when memories are altered or erased?
What scientific realities must humans confront to survive long-distance space travel?
How do storytelling traditions around the world preserve cultural identity and knowledge across generations?
How does speculative fiction use science and imagination to explore the choices and values of future societies?

Essential Questions

Investigation 1: How does memory help us understand who we are, and what is lost when memory disappears?
Investigation 2: How do stories help communities survive change and imagine a future worth building?

Unit Texts