NINTH GRADE CURRICULUM OVERVIEW Ninth grade English Language Arts continues to build on what students have already learned and to develop new knowledge and understanding. Ninth grade, as a bridge between middle school and high school, emphasizes the importance of intellectual curiosity and student responsibility in the educational process. Ninth graders are directed toward independent thinking and forming textually supported opinions. The curriculum consists of written composition, exploration of language, critical analysis of literature, vocabulary, independent reading and oral presentations. Through the study of the six major archetypes, students develop tools for literary analysis. Students are encouraged to make connections between classic multicultural mythologies and their own worlds as they join in mankind s eternal search for understanding: where do we come from, what laws do we need to create and obey, and what is our destiny. Written Composition and Language Writing is an important component of ninth grade English. Students manipulate language by using complex combinations of sentences (constructs 1-9) including mastering a balanced three (compare/contrast structure) paragraph. Students continue to work on mastering the multi-paragraph essay utilizing the elements of good writing. They develop proficiency in exploring literary concepts by journal writing, analytic essays, and creative compositions. Students become familiar with the resources of the library and write a research paper using the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. With teacher guidance, students will continue to work on mastering the process of creating valid thesis statements, beginning with an assigned topic, followed by creating a statement of fact about the topic, narrowing to an announcement of intent about the purpose for writing the paper, and ultimately focusing on an original thesis which is strong enough to warrant a literary analysis. A strong emphasis is given to revising and to editing. Students self-edit.
and peer-edit their writing for content and standard English conventions. Students become proficient in writing essays to explain, to persuade, and to entertain. Reading and Literature Students work on close reading skills: precision of language is crucial to understanding increasingly complex literature. Man the Myth Maker and the study of archetypal patterns create the focus of ninth-grade English. All students read either Romeo and Juliet or Julius Caesar, A Raisin in the Sun, The Catcher in the Rye, Animal Farm, The Pearl, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Alchemist. Additionally, books are selected from the following: Farewell to Manzanar, Hamilton s Mythology, Hiroshima, The Odyssey, Blake s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, A Separate Peace, Tom Sawyer, and Tuesdays with Morrie. A unit on poetry is taken from selections in a class anthology. In addition to assigned literature, independent outside reading is required each marking period. Page 2
GRADE 9 Understandings Essential Questions What Students Will Know and Be Able To Do I. Students will understand that the study of the six major archetypes is a tool to look at the world and to look at literature. What are the six major archetypes? How are the needs of a particular culture in a particular time reflected by their mythology? Why do so many societies share so many myths and fundamental beliefs? How can students use their knowledge of the archetypes to understand literature? Students identify the major archetypal patterns in mythology, films and modern literature. Students brainstorm additional archetypal patterns. Students compare and contrast the impact of cultures on various literary pieces. Students compare and contrast the impact of the historical time period on various literary pieces. Students understand how the archetypes relate to ancient and contemporary societies. Students research various cultural celebrations of light and renewal that occur around the time of the winter solstice. Students write a literary analysis based on their knowledge of the archetypes. Page 3
II. Students will understand that writers, artists, and philosophers use archetypes and archetypal symbols as a shorthand approach to connect to the collective unconscious of mankind. How can students use their knowledge of the archetypes to understand their connectedness to the world? Students will identify the psychological implications of archetypal patterns by analyzing thematically similar literature. Students will apply their understanding of archetypes to contemporary literature and events through writing journals, and creative compositions. Page 4
III. The Golden Age: students will understand the human need for an improved world where man can live in peace and harmony. Why do archetypal creation theories share a belief that a world characterized by chaos must be replaced by a world of peace and harmony? Why do humans seek oneness with divinity? After the displacement of chaos with order, why is love often the first gift created? Why do we study ancient gods and goddesses? How does the Golden Age transcend being a physical location? What are the Four Ages, and why is it important to understand them? How can we relate the concept of the Four Ages to our lives today? Is the Golden Age lost to modern man? Students will compare and contrast the similarities and differences in the creation myths, identifying the cultural implication to variations. Students will identify author exploration of our kinship with nature and consider whether materialism is a tradeoff for union with nature. Students will write modern creation myths which address their own views of the psychological and sociological needs of today. Students will identify the promise of a Golden Age in advertising. Students will create modern gods who have the form and feelings of human beings and exhibit behaviors which show how the human mind works. Students will identify the Golden Age myth and message in different literary forms (fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry) and be able to question and to reflect on issues encountered in texts. Students will identify the Four Ages. Students will connect the Four Ages archetype to additional literature, both in class (The Pearl) and in outside reading (i.e. children s books, fairy tales and related literature The Lord of the Rings). Students will identify figurative language including alliteration, hyperbole, simile, personification and metaphor and incorporate these tools in their writing. Students will construct more than one interpretation to show Page 5
IV. God Teacher: students will understand how the figure of a godteacher is manifested in mythology, history, literature and everyday life. Why is it important to identify a godteacher? What are the characteristics shared by literary, historical, and contemporary god-teachers? How does the godteacher serve as a connection between the human and the divine? A god-teacher is our representative in heaven; he can be both savior and scapegoat. Do we still need such a representative? Without one, do we answer the questions: Who are we? What is our destiny? Why would people want to create a myth about a loving godteacher? (Prometheus) What is the difference between a goddivergent readings. Students will connect ideal human order to harmony with gods and nature through literary analysis and discussion. Using their knowledge of the archetypal god-teacher, students will identify the literary characters, historical figures, and contemporary counterparts who teach moral and values. Students will describe the similarities and differences among Prometheus, Dionysus, Old Man, Kabezya Mpungu, and Nu Kua. Students will identify the characteristics of the god-teacher in The Mysterious Stranger, Snake, and The Program, stories in Man the Myth Maker. Students will identify the positive characteristics of the godteachers in each of the following: the pearl in The Pearl, Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird, Momma in A Raisin in the Sun, Phoebe in The Catcher in the Rye, the alchemist in The Alchemist, and Phineas in A Separate Peace. Students will determine the god-teacher qualities of historical figures, including Anne Sullivan, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Ghandi, Christ, Mohammed, Mother Theresa, and Moses. Students will evaluate the function of god-teachers in film, including Yoda, Gandalf, and Dumbledore. Students will identify god-teachers in their own lives and reflect on the importance of these individuals as well as the nature of their gifts through journaling, essay writing, and class discussions. Students will identify god-teachers in literature. Students will identify contemporary god-teachers. Students will identify the validity of contemporary god- Page 6
teacher and a false god-teacher? What is the difference between a role model and a god-teacher? How are the needs of a people or society reflected by their choice of godteachers? From what highly revered (godlike) sources do modern people get information about how to live? Do we have godteachers today? How can recognizing a god-teacher s gift help us to understand the importance of his/her lesson? Why is it necessary to understand the nature and implication of the god-teacher s gift? What gifts are present in contemporary society, and how are these gifts used or abused? teachers through class discussions. Students will identify how the dissemination of information (TV, magazines, news, film) impacts modern belief and behavior. Through analysis of specific literary pieces, students will identify the importance of the god-teacher s gift to society. Students will compare and contrast the gifts, recipients needs, and recipients response to gifts in various literary pieces. Students will recognize and describe the extent to which gifts are present in their own lives. Students will recognize and explain how this archetype relates to each of the other five archetypes. Page 7
V. End of Childhood: students will understand that the loss of innocence is universal. What have you lost? What is the difference between childish and child-like? At what point is innocence lost? Would you rather live innocently or not? How is the loss of childhood similar to loss of the Golden Age? How is the loss also a metamorphosis? Is it possible for an adult to have a loss of innocence? How many times can one lose one s innocence? Is it desirable to lose one s innocence? Why is experience the opposite of innocence? In a literary piece students will trace the factors which cause a character to lose innocence. In a literary piece students will describe how a loss of innocence leads to experience (adulthood). Students will provide literary examples of how childhood cannot be preserved. Students will provide literary examples of how adults can suffer from a loss of innocence. Students will identify in literature characters who experience when ignorance is bliss and when knowledge is power. Page 8
VI. Cataracts of Heaven: students will understand that the flood is a universal cyclical pattern as well as a dialectical pattern: death/rebirth, destruction/ reconstruction, water as a destructive/lifegiving/purifying agent. How is the study of the flood archetype a result of the previous three archetypes? Who bears responsibility for the flood? What are the qualities that enable one to survive the flood? If the flood is a manifestation of divine rage, what can one do to appease the gods? Can a whole community reform its morals and values? Is a great charismatic leader necessary for renewal? What kind of community, what laws (if any), institutions and occupations would you set up if you were the founder of a new Golden Age? What are modern forms of the flood? Students will identify in literature the human desire for a second chance and the need to hope. Students will identify the characteristics and qualities of individuals who begin the renewal process. Students will identify modern flood texts. Students will identify situations in literature where the cycle does not renew. Page 9
VII. Metamorphosis: students will understand that we study metamorphosis in nature, so we can understand everchanging humanity. Why is this the most metaphorical archetype? Why is the understanding of transformation important? How can the metamorphosis archetype be used as a tool to understand ancient and modern mythology? How can the metamorphosis archetype be used as a tool to understand contemporary literature? How can the metamorphosis archetype be used to understand changes in our lives? What are the dangers of compartmentalizing, labeling, and judging something as fixed? Students will identify metamorphosis metaphors in literature. Students will compare and contrast the literal cycles in nature to the metaphorical cycles in literature and life. Students will compare and contrast characters who accept change and characters who resist change. Page 10
VIII. Human Year: students will understand that patterns in the natural world are analogous to patterns in human life. What are some patterns in the natural world? Why would a writer compare a human life to a pattern in nature? Why are there cycles in our lives that we cannot explain or alter? To what extent can we control the patterns in our own lives? Why do people need or want to create metaphors of the human life to the seasons? How is the metamorphosis archetype present in the human year archetype? What metamorphoses does every human experience? Why is it easier for primitive people, living closer to nature, to perceive the In a literary work students will identify the recurring patterns in nature, and how they relate to patterns in human life. Students will identify rituals and their functions in literature and in life. Students will compare and contrast human life to the course of a day. Students will compare and contrast human life to the changing seasons of the year. Students will identify the connections an author makes between the human and natural worlds and explain how this understanding gives order to human existence. Page 11
correlation between human life and natural patterns? What is the greatest source of change in our universe? What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening? How is a human life like a year? How is a human life like a day? We speak of the tree of life. How is a human life like a tree? What social rituals are based on cyclical patterns in nature? Page 12
IX. Students will understand that research is the process of obtaining information and/or knowledge from a variety of sources. What are the hard sources available in the school and town libraries? What are the credible electronic sources? How can we best use the skills of the librarian? What are the steps of the research process? How does research elevate a literary analysis? Why use supportive in-text citations? What is the difference between sources cited and sources consulted? Why use the MLA style sheet? Students will locate information from a variety of sources (books, periodicals, electronic sources). Students will evaluate the credibility of the source. Students will use both primary and secondary sources. Students will take notes in their own words and organize notes in outlines, on note cards or on graphic organizers of choice. Students will use in-text citations. Students will compile a MLA bibliography distinguishing between sources cited and sources consulted. Students will produce a multi-paragraph research paper. Page 13