English 11 Curriculum

Common assessments: Freedom/Oppression Unit 18 Weeks Final Assessment

Overarching Big Ideas English 11  Argument, Rhetoric and Critical Reading perspectives (analyzing literature from a rhetorical perspective)  Social awareness  Writing in action (real audiences and purposes)

Possible Poetry Extensions for any unit: Elementary audience Poetry connection –wiki Colloquium Bag activity

Brief rationales for the curriculum: Test prep for writing – consider different perspectives Critical Encounter in High School English by Deborah Appleman Standards Reading Rhetorically Perspectives through other arguments – deeper reading, counterarguments in reading – recognize multiple perspectives, recognize how their own argument has merit – select the ways to have a stronger rhetorically argument

To Do List:  Determine ACT preparation  Identify minimum number of timed writings (ACT)  Enter Freedom and Oppression test into Data Director  Create 18wks final exam and enter into Data Director  Distribute curriculum and collaborate ideas with entire English 11 staff

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Unit 1: Reading and Writing Rhetorically Length of Unit: 3-4 weeks

Unit objectives: Students will…  Recognize and apply a variety of reading and memory strategies  Read actively, interpret and analyze multiple texts from different perspectives  Understand and apply elements of rhetoric and literary theory

Themes/Big Ideas:  Reading and responding to a texts (writing is thinking)  Active Reading/Reading habits  Literary Theories and Multiple Perspectives

Reading and Writing Rhetorically Teacher resources:  John C Bean, Virginia A. Chappell, Alice M Gillam. Reading Rhetorically. Teachers College Press and NCTE. 2000.  Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents. Pearson Longman: New York. 2005.

Focus activities: Writing as a means of thinking Form = Audience + Purpose, Rhetorical Triangle Reading Strategies (rhetorical triangle, rhetorical windows, thematic connections, marking up text, questioning a text, self-assessment) Literary devices—intentional use of “special effects” in literature How to mark a text (Adler article)

Literary Lenses Teacher resources: Critical Encounters in High School English, by Deborah Appleman Reading with various lenses/perspectives (high interest texts: films, nursery rhymes, children’s books, poetry, images to learn strategies)

Focus activities: “Little Miss Muffet” article Optical Illusion Powerpoint Nursery Rhyme and Shel Silverstien poetry analysis “The Blind Men and the Elephant”

Lenses for reading rhetorically:  Reader Response (beginning natural and familiar for students)  Marxist  Feminist  Archetypal

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Other lens options for student extension:  Transcendentalism (Freedom and Oppression unit)  Naturalism (Confronting Reality: Jack London)  Race Theory  Psychoanalytical  Ecocriticism

Essential questions:  What specific strategies do authors use to appeal to certain audiences and/or communicate their messages (application of rhetoric)?  How does active reading help enhance comprehension and depth of thought?  What strategies can be utilized to improve reading comprehension and analytical thought  How do people with different experiences view literature (and society) differently  How does the meaning of a text change when considered from different perspectives?

Culminating Activities:  Lens quiz (using notes)  Written analysis of nursery rhymes and children’s poetry from alternative perspectives  Common–text Lens project (Star Wars or Wizard of Oz)

Linking Text Options:

“How to Mark a book” by Mortimer Adler “Retrain Your Brain” March 2008 Reader’s Digest “Superman and me” by Sherman Alexie “Fast Car” Lyrics by Tracy Chapman “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson “The Blind Men and the Elephant” African Folk Tale “Paris” by Pamela Gay “The Elephant Man” by Gahan Wilson and Frank Quitely “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway “My Papas Waltz” Star Wars (film) The Wizard of Oz (film) The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (book or film)

Content Standards for English Language Arts:

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Unit 2: Novel Choice Unit

Length of Unit: 3-4 weeks

Unit objectives: Students will be able to …  Read a novel actively and critically, annotating a text for meaningful information  Analyze the relevance of several literary perspectives in relationship to the novel  Practice identifying vocabulary that is relevant to students and to the text they are reading  Think critically in order to apply rhetoric to a novel and synthesize an essay evaluating a literary perspective relevant to the novel.

Big Ideas:  Apply critical reading and literary perspective ideas to a choice novel  Analyze the complexity of a novel through literary perspectives  Consider the elements of a novel in order to analyze the novel thoroughly

Essential questions:  How do people with different experiences view literature (and society) differently  How does the meaning of a text change when considered from different perspectives?  What are some elements of fiction writing and how do those elements help a reader understand the complexity of the story and of the message the author is communicating?

Culminating Activity:  Active Reading Response Packets (3 total)  Critical Lens Essay  Elements of the Novel presentation

Primary Texts

Provide students with a recommended reading list, inquire with Karen Anderson on books of high interest, and/or select from the English Department novels from below:

 The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury  A Separate Peace by John Knowles  A Night to Remember by Walter Lord  Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes  Montana 1948 by Larry Watson  The Good Earth by Pearl Buck  David Copperfield by Charles Dickens  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Linking Text Options:

 Star Wars (film)  The Wizard of Oz (film)  The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (book or film)

Content Standards for English Language Arts

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Unit 3: Writing for Action and Awareness Length of Unit: 3 to 4 weeks  Using rhetoric to make change  Service project – awareness and action  Writing for action  Research for action  Argument throughout history

Big questions: In what ways do people use literature as a means for change?  How does literature comment on social issues through different stories? / How does literature represent  How does literature present itself as a means of increasing awareness of social issues?  Social issues impact the way literature is written  Example where change needs to happen  Crucible – Arthur Miller argues that communism parallels the witch trials – the extent of which communism is the problem, allegory as rhetorical device

Optional:  Thoreau “Civil Disobedience” (transcendentalism)  Birmingham Jail MLK  Patrick Henry  (option) Declaration  O. E. – share story (narrative)  Cambodia civil war, Rwanda, Darfur, Sudan, Afghanistan  Research throughout the unit on issues in the world, informative research  Find example and compare to class  Anthology project – collect relevant pieces

 Stage one: increase awareness

 Douglas Battle with Mr. Covey  Wheatley  In Search of our Mother’s Gardens  Chief Joseph  Blackhawk  Momaday  Angelou “My Guilt”  Indian’s of Alcatraz (satire as a literary device)  Videos  I know why the Caged Bird Sings  The Crucible (preface with Sarah’s web search activity)

 Daily practice – provide text

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers  Reading the news – what is the argument, what strategies are used to analyze the argument

 Needs a final assessment - argument  Look at current issues in society  Create an argument – use strategies  Best way to convey to your audience  Choose audience and purpose – which strategies work in that situation  Unit Test—arrange parts like ACT? Especially rhetorically-structured questions —common assessment  Authentic audiences and purposes—social awareness research proejct  “Caged Bird” – distant hill  reaching out – raising awareness (poster in school, morning announcements, website, podcasting, brochures)

1. Identify Big Ideas, Objectives

Big Ideas:

Unit objectives:

Students will be able to …

2. Develop Essential Questions and Design Potential Culminating Activities

Essential questions:

Culminating Activity:

3. Primary Texts

Linking Text Options

Identify Genre Study and Literary Analysis

Identify Reading, Listening, Viewing, Strategies and Activities

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Identify Writing, Speaking, Expressing Strategies and Activities

Ongoing Literacy Development and the Dispositions and Essential Questions

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Unit 4: Confronting reality Length of Unit: 3 to 4 weeks

Disaster Project—how does society react to disaster and respond to disaster both short term and long term.

1. Identify Big Ideas, Themes, Objectives

Big Ideas:

Themes:

Unit objectives:

Students will be able to …

2. Develop Essential Questions and Design Potential Culminating Activities

Essential questions:  How does literature explore social and personal encounters with reality?

Culminating Activity:

Disaster project

3. Primary Texts

Nonfiction Book: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Vidoes: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Call of the Wild by Jack London Two Soldiers Blue Hotel Call of the Wild Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Ernest Hemingway

Nonfiction book Tuesdays with Morrie

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers Short Stories To Build a Fire An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge A Rose for Emily (perspective/social encounter: society members build a reality they want versus the one that really exists—Rumors--poem) Soldier’s Home Richard Cory—Robinson (connect with modern media and paparazzi—Brittany spears, etc.) Bells for John White’s Daughter (poem compare with Death of the Ball Turret Gunner) Death of the Ball Turret Gunner (poem compare and contrast with Bells for John White’s Daughter)

Multigenre paper (Dawn’s, we don’t have the information on this)

Linking Text Options

Identify Genre Study and Literary Analysis

Identify Reading, Listening, Viewing, Strategies and Activities

Identify Writing, Speaking, Expressing Strategies and Activities

Ongoing Literacy Development and the Dispositions and Essential Questions

English: Curriculum 2/22/08 A product of Charlotte Teachers