Leadership & Responsibility: High School English Unit

Leadership & Responsibility: A High School English Thematic Unit

Grades 9–12 | Literature • Writing • Research • Public Speaking • Critical Thinking

What does it really mean to lead—and what responsibilities come with power?

Leadership & Responsibility is a complete high-school English thematic unit built around the essential question:

What are the responsibilities of power?

Using John Hersey’s A Bell for Adano as the central literary text, students examine leadership, authority, empathy, decision-making, responsibility, consequences, trust, and moral courage. From the opening activities through the final assessment, students are encouraged to develop and defend their own ideas rather than simply memorize one definition of “good leadership.”

This unit combines literature study with meaningful writing, speaking, research, reflection, and higher-level analysis. Students move from exploring their own ideas about leadership to analyzing leadership in literature, researching real-world examples, writing and delivering a speech, completing an informational essay, and examining the consequences that come with positions of authority.

What’s Included

• Separate Student Edition and Teacher/Parent Edition
• A Bell for Adano literature study and reading activities
• Leadership anticipation guide and introductory activities
• Character, motivation, theme, power, and consequence organizers
• Text-evidence and literary-analysis practice
• Socratic discussion preparation
• Vocabulary study and review
• What Makes a Good Leader? 3–5 minute speech project
• Speech brainstorming, research, organization, drafting, revision, and presentation materials
• Authentic student speech examples for analysis
• What Is the Responsibility of Power? informational/explanatory essay project
• Essay planning, evidence collection, drafting, revision, and editing support
• Authentic student essay example for analysis
• Rubrics for major writing and speaking assignments
• Final leadership reflection
• Optional leadership-themed film and media connections
• Optional extension assignments for additional challenge and advanced learners
• Advanced A Bell for Adano analytical essay on authority, empathy, and moral courage
• Optional A Bell for Adano character guide
• Full A Bell for Adano unit assessment
• Teacher/Parent answer key
• Parent/teacher guidance for pacing, differentiation, and implementation

Designed for Flexible High-School Use

The unit is designed for Grades 9–12 and can be adapted for different ability levels. It works well for homeschool families, traditional classrooms, tutoring settings, co-ops, or independent high-school English study.

Students who need more structure can use the included organizers and planning pages, while advanced students can complete the deeper literary-analysis and synthesis extensions.

The unit can be completed in approximately 5–7 weeks, depending on reading pace and which optional activities are selected.

A Different Kind of Leadership Unit

Rather than simply asking students to identify the characteristics of a good leader, this unit asks them to wrestle with harder questions:

When should a leader follow orders—and when should judgment come first?

Can someone hold power without truly leading?

Are good intentions enough?

What responsibility does a leader have for unintended consequences?

What happens when doing what seems right carries a personal cost?

And ultimately:

What are the responsibilities of power?

A Bell for Adano provides a particularly strong framework for examining these questions as students compare official authority with community-focused leadership and consider the relationship between empathy, responsibility, judgment, and moral courage.

Important Note

A copy of John Hersey’s A Bell for Adano is not included with this resource and must be obtained separately.

Books, films, and other copyrighted works referenced in the unit are not included. This educational resource is independently created and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the authors, publishers, studios, or rights holders of referenced works.

Digital Download: This is a digital product. No physical item will be mailed.

Usage: For personal, homeschool, or single-classroom use only. Please do not redistribute, share, or resell the file.