ELA, Office of Curriculum Development Page 3 of 3 s1

ELA Unit Overview Grade 9, Quarter 3, 3-5 Weeks

Unit Title: What’s in a Name? Unifying Concept: Relationships and Communities Overview: In Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, the protagonists attempt to build a relationship with each other, despite the prejudices learned and social pressure from their families. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet must reconcile their feelings from the feud between their families and the infatuation they have for one another. Students will examine their own personal and familial relationships, cultures, and communities; how they affect personal perceptions and actions; and the conflicts that can be created as a result. Additionally, this unit will examine and analyze different artistic and real-life depictions of the themes and events from Shakespeare’s play. Students will also select one of the seventeen “Global Goals for Sustainable Development,” identify one of the problems that prevent that goal from being accomplished, and propose a possible solution.

Purpose: To examine how we build relationships with people who are different from us. To analyze how communities and families affect personal perceptions. To discuss how people communicate emotions to others effectively. To argue how conflict is an inevitable part of relationships. To write problem-solution argumentative pieces on issues facing our global community.

Enduring Understandings: Essential Questions: 1. Literature teaches us about different types of relationships and 1. How do we find common ground with people who are different from us? how they impact our lives. 2. How much do our communities and families determine how we see other 2. Good writers support their claims using strong evidence and people? logical reasoning. 3. How do we communicate our emotions to others? 4. How is conflict an inevitable part of relationships? Target Standards are emphasized every quarter and used in formal assessment to evaluate student mastery. Highly-Leveraged 1 are the most essential for students to learn because they have endurance (knowledge and skills are relevant throughout a student’s lifetime); leverage (knowledge and skills are used across multiple content areas); and essentiality (knowledge and skills are necessary for success in future courses or grade levels). 9.RL.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. 9.RL.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. 9.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. 9.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text. b. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

Supporting are related standards that support the highly-leveraged standards in and across grade levels. 9.RL.9 Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare). 9.RI.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. 9.RI.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning. 9.W.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. 9.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. a. Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]"). b. Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., "Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning"). 9.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence. 9.SL.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

Constant Standards are addressed routinely every quarter. 9.RL.1,10 9.RI.1,10 9.W.4,5,10 9.SL.1,2,6 9.L.1,2,6 Selected Readings of Complex tests Extended/Short Texts: Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet Are from Palestine,” Carol Rosenberg “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst

Additional Instructional Resources Texts: “Romeo and Juliet in Bosnia,” Bob Herbert “Dear Juliet,” Lisa Bannon “Your Laughter,” Pablo Neruda “How Do I Love Thee,” Elizabeth Barrett Browning “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun,” William Shakespeare “On the Matter of Romeo and Juliet,” Nazim Hikmet

Electronic Resources and Alternative Media: Alan Rickman reads Sonnet 130 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP06F0yynic

Christopher Warner’s “In on a Secret? That’s Dramatic Irony” http://ed.ted.com/lessons/in-on-a-secret-that-s-dramatic-irony-christopher-warner

CrashCourse’s “Of Pentameter & Bear Baiting—Romeo & Juliet Part I” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kz-C7GryY

CrashCourse’s “Love or Lust? —Romeo & Juliet Part II” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J4hoAatGRQ

The Global Goals for Sustainable Development http://www.globalgoals.org/

World’s Largest Lesson https://www.tes.com/worldslargestlesson www.folger.edu http://ed.ted.com/lessons/in-on-a-secret-that-s-dramatic-irony-christopher-warner

Performance Assessments Formative Assessments: Summative Assessments: 1. Argument paragraph practice 1. Argumentative problem-solution essay in support of a Global Goal 2. Annotations 2. Mock trial: Argue which character should have the most blame in the 3. Figurative language quiz play’s outcome 3. School City Answer Key Only Assessment

ELA, Office of Curriculum Development © Page 3 of 4 This definition for highly-leveraged standards was adapted from the “power standard” definition on the website of Millis Public Schools, K-12, in Massachusetts, USA. http://www.millis.k12.ma.us/services/curriculum_assessment/brochures