A-G/CP English 11. Gorman Learning Center (052344) Basic Course Information

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1 A-G/CP English 11 Gorman Learning Center (052344) Basic Course Information Title: A-G/CP English 11 Transcript abbreviations: A-G/CP Eng 11a / A-G/CP Eng 11b Length of course: Full Year Subject area: English ("b") / English UC honors designation? No Prerequisites: None Co-requisites: None Integrated (Academics / CTE)? No Grade levels: 11th Course learning environment: Classroom Based Course Description Course overview: This eleventh grade English Language Arts course is a survey of American Literature using My Perspectives by Pearson (2017) as the core text. In addition to the wide variety of fiction and nonfiction selections from the anthology, students will also read one contemporary novel, one classic novel, one classic novella, and a play by seminal American authors including a choice between three contemporary nonfiction novels (Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, or Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, or The Lost City of Z by David Grann), one classic novel (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald), a choice between three classic novellas (The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, or The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros), a classic play (The Crucible by Arthur Miller), and an historical memoir (Warriors Don t Cry by Melba Patilla Beals). In addition, students will read a wide variety poetry from key American poets such as Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Students will also study many of America s founding documents (nonfiction), such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Students will participate in a social studies interdisciplinary unit about the Civil Rights era. Each of the six units in the course are centered around an

2 essential question. Text selections, learning activities, and writing assignments connect to the essential question, creating a sense of coherence and thematic continuity. Throughout the course, students will engage in a variety of short and sustained writing tasks across genres, including argumentative, expository, descriptive, and narrative writing. Students will also produce full-length essays that involve the complete writing process, from brainstorming to publishing/presenting. Students will have multiple opportunities for developing speaking and listening skills, from comparing audio or video versions of texts to the written works, informally discussing texts they are reading, and fformal oral presentations of their own written works and the works of others (ex: memorized recitation of the Gettysburg Address and an oral interpretation/recitation of a poem by Walt Whitman). Students will also complete sustained multi-step projects that involve synthesis of diverse research materials and the production of unique content. Course content: Unit 1: Writing Freedom essential question, What is the meaning of freedom? Key readings include, but are not limited to, the Preamble to the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, and The Gettysburg Address. Key skills/concepts taught include, but are not limited to, annotation/close-reading, the impact of historical context on a text, and analyzing an author s arguments. Assignment Summary: Illustrated Bill of Rights One of the many freedoms Americans enjoy is the freedom to pursue a profession of personal interest. Aligning with the essential question and freedom themed texts in this unit, students will create several key career documents, ranging from filling out real life job applications to preparing a resume to writing a follow-up to their interviewer. Students will study interview techniques and, to practice critical speaking and listening skills, will be mock interviewed by an adult. Students will also watch filmed interviews and peer mock interviews, discussing in small and large groups and later composing a written reflection about their observations. After reading the Bill of Rights, students will create a cartoon-strip style summary of the document. Each amendment will be illustrated and paraphrased. After completing the cartoonstrip summary, students will select three of the ten amendments and write an analysis paragraph of each: a) What is the impact of this amendment on our lives today? b) How would life be different if we did not have this right? c) How does this amendment relate to the theme of freedom? Unit 2: The Individual and Society

3 essential question, What role does individualism play in American society? Key readings include but are not limited to a choice between contemporary non-fiction novels: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, or Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, or The Lost City of Z by David Grann. This unit will focus on reading, explicating, and comparing/contrasting poetry; it includes a variety of poetry selections from Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and T.S. Eliot.Key skills/concepts taught include, but are not limited to, theme, poetic devices, sensory details, diction, figurative language, and characteristics of technical documents. Assignment Summary: Survival Manual Students will learn about techniques for reading poetry, including reading the selection aloud, reading it multiple times through, annotating the text, and looking for poetic devices. Students will learn about characteristics of poetry and how a poem differs from other types of writing, with special attention paid to the differences between poetry and a nonfiction novel (as that is the other type of writing being focused on this unit and will provide a great comparison in theme, but a stark contrast in form). After reading a new poem, students will fill out a poem response form, which includes identifying a poetic device present in the poem (ex: sensory details, alliteration, hyperbole, etc.), most interesting lines from the poem, topic of the poem, a letter grade for the poem and an explanation, etc. Students will use the poem response form as a springboard for analysis oriented discussion with their teacher and/or peers. Students will engage in a speaking and listening activity in which they prepare and deliver an oral interpretation of one of the poems by Walt Whitman (a partner option is included). Steps involved will be to choose a poem, analyze the poem, rehearse their presentation of the poem, and evaluate partner readings. During the presentation, students will perform a dramatic reading of the poem in which they follow the notes and presentation cues they ve created. Students must interpret the poem orally and convey an overall impression of its meaning through the level of formality, tone, emotional attitudes, gestures, facial expressions, and dramatic pauses, etc. employed. Unit 3: Power, Protest, and Change essential question, In what ways does the struggle for freedom change with history? Key readings include, but are not limited to, from What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? by Frederick Douglass and Ain t I a Woman? by Sojourner Truth.

4 Additionally, students will participate in an interdisciplinary unit involving social studies and the Civil Rights period in American History. For work in both courses, students will read Warriors Don t Cry by Melba Patilla Beals, a memoir about the battle to integrate Little Rock s Central High. Interdisciplinary connections will focus on rhetorical and syntactical patterns used to persuade in historical speeches and texts. In addition, students will listen to and discuss a variety of historical speeches as well as watching and reflecting on multimedia clips from various key historical moments (ex: Giving Women the Vote). Assignment Summary: Preparing for Employment Students will write an informative essay, based on texts they have read throughout the unit and their own research, about four teenagers from different historical periods who stood up for their beliefs and enacted change in their society. Students will learn about the characteristics of informative essays: facts, details, data, and evidence to present information about a topic, a clear thesis statement, extended definitions, quotations, and examples to support the information presented, use of varied sentences structures, precise language, a formal style and objective tone, etc. Students will study an informative essay model entitled, The Zigzag Road to Rights. Students will pre-write and plan using a graphic organizer, gather evidence using both internet and text sources, select direct quotations to support their arguments, organize and draft their essay using an outline, incorporate language development conventions with a focus on syntax and sentence patterns (simple sentence, inverted sentence, compound sentence, complex sentence, compound-complex sentence), revise their draft, edit and proofread, and present their final paper orally to an audience, Throughout this unit, students will be asked to identify rhetorical patterns used in famous speeches and essays centered around the themes of protest and change. In their Informative Essay, students are asked to focus on the effect of syntax on their writing; the rubric and lessons require a variety of sentence patterns to be used for different ideas (ex: a simple sentence may be best suited to a simple ideas, while some patterns better convey complex, related ideas). Students will also study the literary form of memoir through their reading of Warriors Don t Cry. Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur essential question, What is the relationship between literature and place? Key readings include, but are not limited to, the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Key skills/concepts taught include, but are not limited to, setting, historical context, plot, characterization, symbolism, and theme.

5 Assignment Summary: Create-a-Character Essay This essay combines several types of writing: summary, narrative, and literary analysis. Students will create a character to insert into The Great Gatsby. This cannot be a character already in the story; it is a character from the student s imagination. In the first paragraph, the student will write a scene where their imaginary character plays a role in the story and interacts with actual characters. In the second paragraph, the student will write a physical description of their imaginary character (must incorporate figurative language). In the third paragraph, the student will describe the personality, thoughts, and beliefs of the character and how h/she views other important characters in the novel. In the final paragraph, the student will either describe how this character would have altered the ending of the novel or will write another scene showing the changes their presence made. Students will engage in the entire writing process while writing this essay, from brainstorming, to drafting, to revising and proofreading, to presenting the polished final draft aloud to an audience. Unit 5: Facing Our Fears Unit Overview essential question, How do we respond when challenged by fear? Key readings include, but are not limited to, the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Key skills/concepts taught include, but are not limited to, historical context, characteristics of drama, comparing and contrasting audio and written versions of the play, the impact of inflection and expression when reading, and making inferences. Assignment Summary: Newspaper Project The assignment is to create the cover of a Salem newspaper from during the time of the witch hunt. It should be written from the perspective of characters living within the world of The Crucible. The writers of the newspaper have knowledge of all the actions taking place throughout the novel and the articles, headlines, and artwork should relate to the exciting and shocking current events taking place in their town! The newspaper cover should include the title of the newspaper, a headline for the main article, one main article ( words), a headline for the secondary article, one secondary article ( words), a table of contents, and one advertisement. Students will select and maintain the tone of their newspaper (serious? satirical?). Students will read an article from their newspaper aloud to their teacher and/or peers and discuss other components of their project in front of an audience. Unit 6: Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales

6 essential question, What do stories reveal about the human condition? Key readings include, but are not limited to, a choice between three novellas: The Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men, or The House on Mango Street. Key skills/concepts taught include, but are not limited to, genre, the impact of culture on literature, flashbacks/framing devices, point of view, conflict, and conclusions. Assignment Summary: Performance Task Assessment Writing a Narrative: Brainstorming, Outlining, Drafting, Revising, Editing, Proofreading, and Presenting to an Audience Students will write a fictional narrative addressing this question: How do stressful situations reveal the best and worst in people? Begin by creating a fictional scenario that is dramatic and stressful enough to trigger widely different responses from characters. Students will brainstorm and be sure to include the following characteristics of a well-written narrative: a clear and consistent point of view, well-developed characters, a smooth sequence of events, effective use of dialogue, sensory language, and a conclusion that brings the story to a satisfying close. Students will move from brainstorming to outlining by creating a plot diagram. After drafting, student will evaluate their narrative using checklists provided in the anthology. Students will edit for conventions and proofread for accuracy. Finally, students will present their polished narrative as a dramatic dialogue to their teacher and/or peers. Course Materials Textbooks Title Author Publisher Edition Website Primary My Perspectives Pearson Pearson 2017 [ empty ] Yes