Yearlong+Plan

Photo Credit: http://celestinechua.com/blog/101-questions-to-ask-yourself/ ||
 * Colorado State university
 * Yearlong Plan  ||
 * **EDUC 463: Methods in Teaching Language Arts Fall 2011 ** ||
 * //What does your world look like? //
 * //What does your world look like? //
 * **By: Jordan Rhodes ** ||
 * **10/10/2011 ** ||


 * This plan is intended to demonstrate the ability to plan standards-based instruction that aligns standards, instruction, and assessment for the span of an entire year. The overarching theme present in this yearlong plan was specifically designed with a 10th grade World Literature & Composition class in mind.  ||


 * Introduction **


 * //Overarching Concept: //**

The overarching concept or theme for this yearlong plan revolves around the idea of constructing meaning, morals, values, and self-knowledge of the world that we live in. Constructing meaning, morals, values, and self-knowledge is a process that incorporates all aspects of life including love, government, culture, etc. into a system of practice that influences the ways in which we live our lives. In other words, when things are meaningful and valuable to us, the core of our being is reached, we are motivated to live the lives that we desire, and most of all, when we can conceptualize our beliefs and the reasons for them, we are able to fully embrace and understand ourselves and our life. Constructing the meaning and value of a person is comprised of components of belief that an individual feels and thinks to be meaningful. When attempting to understand ones’ self, it is crucial to understand the meaningful aspects of our lives and how they will affect us. By embracing these aspects of our lives we are able to obtain a higher quality of life. As teachers, we are educating our students to become empowered, knowledgeable, and functional citizens in the American public. We are preparing our students to live a life of experiences. These experiences will come about in their lives and will enable them to create the best life possible for themselves. In order to do this, we must expose our students to a wide array of literature, writing, discourse, media, etc. in order for them to better understand the world they live in so that they are more able to appreciate and comprehend the things that they believe to be true. So, we ask ourselves what the world looks like; what do I believe in; why do I think/believe/feel this way; what are the most important things in my life? It is more than to just say “this is who I am” and “this is what I believe”, it is use metacognition to understand the knowledge behind our own thoughts and the factors and beliefs that influence this thinking and feeling. What makes this so challenging is the fact that the world is constantly changing, so how do we allow students to construct their own beliefs and knowledge about the world? I believe it is to create opportunities for the students to make personal connections with the material they receive inside the classroom to the outside world that they will soon explore. It essential for the students to understand that it is their choice to think and believe the way they choose. The most rewarding experiences in and out of the classroom have revolved around the powerful impression that, through choices, and in the strange spell of discourse, it is possible to see the world differently. It is pivotal for an educator to evoke magically inspired episodes—moments when our thinking goes beyond our own natural sphere of habits and rituals and presents a whole new lens that we can see clearly through—those “ah ha, I get it” moments. In this sense, it is the goal of this yearlong plan to harbor an inclusive classroom that encourages each student to “think outside the box” by stimulating different styles of thinking that will allow for the consideration of how literature relates to their own lives and the world at large.

What does your world look like?
 * //Overarching Question: //**


 * //School & Community Context: //**

[[image:http://englishmethodsf11.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=629&h=288 width="629" height="288" caption="Text Box: Chaparral High School

Address: 15655 Brookstone Drive Parker, CO 80134-3553 Phone: (303) 387-3500 E-mail: www.chaparralhs.org/ District: Douglas County School District RE-1 Principal: Ron Peterson        e-mail: Ronald.Peterson@dcsdk12.org phone: 303-387-3500 "]]Chaparral High School 15655 Brook

This yearlong plan is intended to be taught in a 10th grade World Literature & Composition course at Chaparral High School in Parker, Colorado. The schedule at Chaparral starts at 7:45am and goes until 2:50pm. Each class period meets for 40 minutes each day, Monday-Friday.

 Chaparral High School is a first-rate school that serves grades 9th-12th in the Douglas County School District RE-1. There are 13 public high schools within this district. This outstanding institute of education is among the few public schools that receive a distinguished GreatSchools rating of 8 out of 10, based upon the most recent standardized test results. This school has approximately 2,130 students, giving the school an 19:1 student to teacher ratio. Not only that, this school has a community rating of 4 out of 5 for every 23 school community members. The school offers over thirty activity organizations that are open to the majority of students. Chaparral’s activities have earned several state and national awards and are especially highlighted in the areas of: academic contests, band, basketball, and football.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The demographics in this school are predominately Caucasian (about 85%) with a low Hispanic (9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3%), and African American [not Hispanic] (2%) population. The amount of students that are eligible to receive a free or reduced-price lunch is 5% which is significantly lower than the Colorado average of 35%. My class will be representative of the demographics of the larger school.


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Classroom: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">My ideal classroom involves the task of creating an inclusive environment involves establishing a differentiated classroom, one that meets the needs of ALL students of every type of intelligence and learning style. In order to do this, as Mr. Rick Wormeli, one of the first Nationally Board Certified teachers in America, says, we must integrate the developmental needs of students into their learning, “make academic struggle virtuous”, provide multiple pathways to students so that they can discover what works best for them, “give formative feedback”, and go out outside of the box and be unconventional. I couldn’t agree with him more. In other words, this is about doing the “little things” to adapt to the varying intelligences and learning abilities of each student. For example, making the curriculum a powerful physical and memorable experience requires both stimulation of the brain through manipulatives, visual images, playing music, or food, to name a few, and the satisfaction of physical restlessness by such things as: stress balls, walking around the classroom, or bean bag chairs. Included in my classroom are fitness ball chairs, a basketball hoop trash can, bean bag chairs and other various types of manipulative to stimulate an active physical experience for the students. In addition, I have included a ? jar on my desk that will be used throughout the year for Coming to Presence activities and perhaps journal entry prompts.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">To say a little more about the layout of my classroom, I have placed the desks in a horseshoe shape facing the SmartBoard with enough room to move between the desks at every angle and when necessary, the desks may be easily moved to pair share or work in groups. Also included in my classroom is a bookshelf that will be littered with literature for all students to check out and a desk to keep their portfolio in the classroom that it does not get misplaced.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">It is difficult to say just what my classroom will look like, but this 3D representation does a good job visually representing what I hope my classroom looks like. Realistically speaking however, it may be difficult to provide absolutely everything I wish, like fitness ball chairs, when first starting, but regardless, I will always try to make my classroom be a safe haven for all of my students; a place where they love to come and feel comfortable coming to.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Along with doing the “little things” that definitely seem to make all the difference, it seems as though all of this demands flexibility and adaptability. You can always do your best to be prepared, and have your content down pat, but sometimes there are those days when a student is crying in the hallway and needs your attention and time, so your plan that you spent the last hour on goes right out the window. So, it is imperative that as teachers we are not only flexible with lesson plans, turning in assignments, grading, that entire sphere of academic rigor, but that we treat each student as an individual because that is what teaching is all about, the students. Therefore, various strategies that come from my Standards Toolbox (completed in EDUC 350) will be used to create a learning environment characterized by acceptable student behavior, efficient use of time, and disciplined acquisition of knowledge, skills, and understanding. For example, each class will begin with a Coming to Presence Activity based on the main concepts or themes that will be learned about that day in order to not only establish and reconfirm a positive classroom environment each and every day, but balance this community with the curriculum as well. In addition to this, the classroom will be flooded with posters, student work from the ceiling, a word wall, and other nostalgic pieces that make it feel more like home. Below I have listed “essential aspects of my classroom”—things that are expected to happen day in and day out in the classroom.


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Essential Aspects of my classroom: //**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Development of relationships
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Safety & Security
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Promotion of learning with learning
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Encouraging Students to be themselves
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Respect/Kindness
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Fostering creativity
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Opportunities for social interaction

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> Along with all of this, another important aspect of my classroom will be my classroom management plan. This document will be the guiding light for what my classroom will look like. With any hope, I will be able to effectively balance the rigorous demands of the academic curriculum with essential needs of all the students within the classroom community. Included in my management plan will be such things as: a course description, learning and knowledge base, goals and objectives, evidentiary outcomes, required texts and materials, graded assignments, expected behavior, policies and rationale, information on assessments and a tentative timeline for all assignments.


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Content & Description: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The theme described in this yearlong plan was developed with the “end in mind” and is designed to meet the developmental and educational needs of 10th grade students through the study of reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, visually representing and thinking using various pieces of literature. The literature used in this plan will focus on the following teaching and learning objectives:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Semantics
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Short stories
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Novels: A Place Where the Sea Remembers, Anthem, book club
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Plays
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Poetry
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Essays
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Grammar/vocabulary/test preparation
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Speeches: informative, oral interpretation, impromptu, persuasive

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The literature that focuses on these objectives is studied for its appreciation, comprehension, perceptive understanding, critical inquiry, and analytical techniques. The texts used will enable students to develop essential literacy skills that will allow them the opportunity to fully participate in and expand their understanding of the world we live in. The literature is also used for the enrichment and development of essential composition skills. Reading and writing are intrinsically intertwined and will be taught in conjunction with one another throughout the entire year. Certain modes of writing will be covered more thoroughly throughout this course with a strong focus being placed on analysis, compare and contrast, argumentative, and research projects.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Each unit will have common or universal theme that is present and emphasis will be placed on addressing and understanding these prevalent themes. Students will read a significant amount of literature with a learner-center and differentiated approach to instruction.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">In attempting to come up with an answer to the overarching question, students will embark on a holistic adventure around the world. This includes a vast array of mediums and a wide variety of texts from various genres, contexts, regions and authors. This will be an exciting and inspirational year that will encourage students to be lifelong learners, to think outside the norm, and hopefully discover more about themselves with an unforgettable experience.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The plan for this course will hopefully prepare the students for college level coursework, but it will also help them learn and develop critical skills in reading, writing, thinking, visualizing, listening and speaking in order to engage in profound discussions, work collaboratively to solve problems, link essential ideas, and to do so clearly and persuasively.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Understanding that college may not be in some of their future plans, which is perfectly alright, this will be a wonderful class that will provide them with the opportunity to learn and build upon essential literacy skills in order to help them become a critical thinker in our society. However, it is important to remember that I can learn just as much from each of them as they can learn from me, so we will be exploring and learning right alongside one another in order to help all of us be successful both inside and outside of this class.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">This Yearlong Plan outlines 35 weeks of instruction. The reason for this is because according to the schedule from Chaparral High School, this is the number of weeks that school will be in-session. I also took into account testing days, assemblies, sick days, etc. Each unit is jam packed full of thing that if need be expanding one into another week would be an easy task.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Students will have concepts and skills mastered that are set forth by the Colorado Academic Standards. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">** Note:The Standards and evidence outcomes are under the “Standards Addressed” portion in each Unit. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">**Note: that not all Standards and evidence outcomes are specifically addressed because the unit assignments/projects/readings/writings are produce evidentiary support.


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Essential Learning/Grade Level Expectations: //**


 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Standard (CDE) ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Tenth Grade Level Expectation ** ||
 * # **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">1. ****<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Oral Expression & Listening **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">1. Content that is gathered carefully and organized well successfully influences an audience.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">2. Effectively operating in small and large groups to accomplish a goal requires active listening.
 * 3) **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">2. ****<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Reading for All Purposes **
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">1. Literary and historical influences determine the meaning of traditional and contemporary literary texts
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">2. The development of new ideas and concepts within informational and persuasive manuscripts.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">3. Context, parts of speech, grammar, and word choice influence the understanding of literary, persuasive, and informational texts.
 * 7) **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">3. ****<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Writing & Composition **
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">1. Literary or narrative genres feature a variety of stylistic devices to engage or entertain an audience.
 * 9) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">2. Organizational writing patters inform or persuade an audience.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">3. Grammar, language usage, mechanics, and clarity are the basis of ongoing refinements and revisions within the writing process.
 * 11) **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">4. ****<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Research & Reasoning **
 * 12) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">1. Collect, analyze, and evaluate information obtained from multiple sources to answer a question, propose solutions, or share findings and conclusions.
 * 13) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">2. An author’s reasoning is the essence of legitimate writing and requires evaluating text for validity and accuracy. ||   ||


 * // Language Arts Categories Addressed: //**

//<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Representing // || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Blog Entry; <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Allegorical Essay  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">YouTube Clips; songs   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Group discussions   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">YouTube Clip   || || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Shakespeare’s Play  || ||
 * || //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Reading //  ||  //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Writing //  ||  //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Listening //  ||  //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Speaking //  ||  //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Viewing //  ||  //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Visually //
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Unit 1 ** ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||
 * || || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Writing speech   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Propaganda film strip; speeches   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Informative Speech   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Being an audience   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Creating advertisement   ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Unit 2 ** ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||
 * || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Various readings from text book; Sherman Alexie Novel   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Argumentative essay; dialectical journal entries; homework essays   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">YouTube Video   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Formal debate   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">YouTube Clip   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Character Sketch   ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Unit 3 ** ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||
 * || //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Anthem //  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Utopia Project; Dialectical Journal; homework   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Audience for Utopia Projects   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Presenting Utopia Projects   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Viewing Utopia Projects   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Creating aspects of the Utopia Project (flag, label, etc.)   ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Unit 4 ** ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   || ||
 * || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Reading Various pieces   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Dialectical Journal Entries;
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Unit 5 ** ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||
 * || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Reading various pieces from textbook   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Multigenre project; Dialectical Journal; Homework Prompts   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Audience for Inspirational Speech   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Inspriational Speech   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Audience for Inspirational Speech   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Multigenre project   ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Unit 6 ** ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   || ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   || ||
 * || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">A Midsummer Night’s Dream; other material from textbook   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Multigenre project   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Shakespeare Read aloud   || ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Movie—
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Unit 7 ** ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">X   ||
 * || //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">The Stranger; Oedipus Rex //  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Book Report; Persuasive Speech   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Audience for Speeches   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Presenting Speeches   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Viewing Speeches; Toy Story 3 Clips   ||  <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 10.6667px;">Persuasive Speech PowerPoint   ||


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Other Standards Addressed: //**

The assignments and daily in-class activities listed below are also included within this yearlong plan are designed to address standards. Since these activities are progressively occurring throughout the year, and are included within one or more units they were therefore excluded from the “Standards Addressed by Unit” list above. Provided below is a list of the ongoing projects and activities for the year with the respective standards they are intended to address:

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.2.g.—journal entries will prove that students will read and comprehend literary nonfiction independently and proficiently. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">4.1.a-g.—students will collect, analyze, and evaluate information obtained from multiple sources to answer questions, propose solutions, or share findings and conclusions for each piece of literature they are exposed to through the year. They are required to do a minimum number of 3 entries for each piece of literature they read.
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Dialectical Journal //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.h.—By the end of this grade, students will be able to read and comprehend literature of all sorts by completing this independent multifaceted project that was completed throughout the year. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.3.c.—Students will master context, parts of speech, grammar, and word choice that influence the understanding of literature over the course of the year in this culminating assignment.
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">World Literature Portfolio Project (Yearlong Project) //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.g.—students will be able to explain the relationship between author’s style and literary effect through various journal entries presented in their writer’s notebook.
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Writer’s Notebook //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.3. a-f.— students will demonstrate proper grammar, lauguage usage, mechandics, and clarity in all writing assignments over the course of the year. This will be an ongoing process throughout the year. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.1.a.—Students will write narratives in a variety of mediums to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. ii. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.1.b.— Write literary and narrative texts using a range of stylistic devices (poetic techniques, figurative language, imagery, graphic elements) to support the presentation of implicit or explicit theme ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.2.a.i.-xi.—students will have organizational writing patters that inform or persuade an audience through their multigenre projects. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.d—Students will be able to rehearse their presentations to gain fluency, to adjust tone and modulate volume for emphasis to develop poise in front of their classmates. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.e—Use feedback to evaluate and revise presentation through collaborative peer review. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.1.d.—Students will revise texts using feedback to enhance the effect on the reader to clarify theme in peer workshops. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.1.c.— Use a variety of strategies to evaluate whether the writing is presented in a creative and reflective manner (e.g., reading the draft aloud, seeking feedback from a reviewer, scoring guides). ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.e—Use feedback to evaluate and revise presentation through a one-on-one student lead conference with the teacher. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.1.c.— Use a variety of strategies to evaluate whether the writing is presented in a creative and reflective manner (e.g., reading the draft aloud, seeking feedback from a reviewer, scoring guides).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Writing Assignments //**
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Multigenre projects //**
 * 1) i. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Peer Workshops //**
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Student-Lead Conferences //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.2.a.vii.—students propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate to the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas by actively participating every day in class (participation will be a part of their grade).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Participation //**


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Speeches //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.a.—students will be able to present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and loically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and the task by formally writing their speeches, memorizing them, and engaging in oral presentations. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.b.—students will be able to select organizational patterns and structures and choose precise vocabulary and rhetorical devices in a series of organized speeches: informational, inspirational, and persuasive. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.c.—students will be able to make decisions about how to establish credibility and enhance appeal to audience through creating and outlining organized speeches. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.d.—Students will be able to rehearse their presentations to gain fluency, to adjust tone and modulate volume for emphasis to develop poise in front of their classmates. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.1.e.—Use feedback to evaluate and revise presentation through collaborative peer review. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.2.a.v.—choose specific words for intended effect on particular audiences when composing a speech. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.2.a.i.-xi.—students will have organizational writing patters that inform or persuade an audience through their informative and persuasive speeches.
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Units //**


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1. **//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Semantics //**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> (4 weeks)
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">a. The Study of Meaning
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">b. Informative Speech—advertisement and what techniques it uses to convey meaning.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2. **//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Choices We Make //**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> (6 weeks)
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">a. What makes life worth living? What influences the choices we make?
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">b. //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> by Sherman Alexie
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">c. Argumentative Debate over controversial issues (religion, abortion, death penalty,etc.)
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3. **//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Individual & Society //**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> (4 weeks)
 * 9) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">a. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How does an individual fight against an unjust or corrupt society?
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">b. Is it possible to be an individual within a society?
 * 11) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">c. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What is the relationship between individuals and the government?
 * 12) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">d. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How do we develop a self-identity? A culture?
 * 13) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">e. //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Anthem //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">by Ayn Rand—excerpts from //The Giver// by Lois Lowry
 * 14) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">4. **//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Freedom & Politics //**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> (6 weeks)
 * 15) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">a. What does freedom mean?
 * 16) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">b. Freedom in America
 * 17) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">c. Holocaust
 * 18) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">5. **//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Life & Loss //**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> (4 weeks)
 * 19) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">a. What does it mean to live? What does it mean to die?
 * 20) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">b. How do you define death? What is lonliness?
 * 21) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">6. **//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Power of Love //**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> (4 weeks)
 * 22) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">a. What is love? What is worth loving? How do you know when you love?
 * 23) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">7. **//<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Self-Discoveries //**<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> (7 weeks)
 * 24) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">a. Who are you? What do you live for?

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">When first thinking about what types of units should be included in this yearlong plan, it made sense to divide it up by region (i.e. Latin American, Russian, Chinese, etc.); having it revolve around taking a journey around the world, reading certain pieces of literature from authors from that particular region. It made sense to do it this way because most of what the authors write about are things that are relevant in their culture. For example, “Writing As an Act of Hope” by Isabel Allende, a Latin American author, describes the culture of her country and brings up this idea of magical realism which is an important aspect of most literature from this region of the world. However, thinking a little more about it and what I was really trying to accomplish with the main concept of this yearlong plan—what does their world look like to them, not what the world already looks like— I decided that basing my units by theme would be a better and more interesting approach for the students. So, my units are designed around an overarching concept that integrates a wide variety of literature from all parts of the world. It was my thought that students would have more exposure to more types of literature from these regions, rather than picking a choosing one novel from that region to explore.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">I must say that it extremely difficult to try an incorporate a wide range of literature from all over the world, and do so in one year, but it was my aim with this yearlong plan to expose the students to a vast array of various types and genres of literature from numerous authors so that students have the opportunity to <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">develop skills in understanding writings in all genres.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The units are organized in a naturally progressive way toward the end result, what their world looks like. As I mentioned earlier, I started this plan out with the “end in mind” and I wanted to not only design my lessons with that in my head, but order them that way too. The class starts out by looking at what the meaning of language is. This will hopefully put a whole bunch of thoughts and questions in their head about perception, reality, language choices, meaning, morals, etc. that will continue throughout the rest of the semester. I have a feeling that students will really enjoy this unit if they really start to dig deep into it. Through the course of the year, students will explore concepts like choice, society, love, war, and self-knowledge, etc. that will expose them to things that they may have never even thought about before. The idea is that students will be able to build up their skills of inquiry, analysis, comprehension, communication, listening, speaking, writing, reading, etc. to delve into these immensely complex topics so that they can see not only how literature relates to their lives and the world at large, but how significantly impactful it is and how it has shaped their world.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">These units are meant to be taught recursively and in tangent with one another since no one piece should stand alone and the ideas behind all of the units are indefinitely related. With any hope, the repeated application of themes prevalent in the world today will function to influence the students and help them develop their own system of beliefs about the world.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">As I mentioned above, __Coming to Presence Activities__ will be used daily in the classroom. These exercises could take anywhere from 2-10minutes.


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Reading List: //**


 * Provided Word Literature textbook:
 * § Holt’s //Elements of Literature: World Literature,//(2006). Print.
 * o This approved textbook contains a significant amount of stories, poems, essays, etc. that directly relate to the overarching themes in this plan. This textbook has a nice variety of types of literature from a wide range of regions around the world and will be beneficial for this plan:
 * § **//Stories within this text://**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Carpe Diem” by Horace (p.303)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“A Problem” by Anton Chekhov (p. 814)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Ring” by Isak Dinesen (p. 882)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela (p. 965)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Life Is Sweet at Kumansenu” by Abioseh Nicol (p. 986)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Love Must Not Be Forgotten” by Zhang Jie (p. 1062)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka (p. 869)
 * **// Others Listed Per Unit //**


 * § Sherman Alexie’s //The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian//
 * o Since this is not only a highly censored book, and may not be able to be taught exclusively in the classroom, I will still hopefully be able to use aspects of it for my units. Therefore, I will provide all components of the text that we will be looking at. This book will make many people cringe, but there are several subjects in this book that we tend to ignore because they are difficult (alcoholism, modern-day racism, death, poverty, etc.), but more than likely, every student will have some way to relate to one of these “tough subjects” and why wouldn’t we give them the opportunity to do so in a safe environment? This text lends itself to be taught with many other texts and many different styles that will help to expand the way students think about reading. This is a newer text that will help students engage in the 21st century world and deal with these “tough subjects” through a more modern lens.
 * § //Anthem//by Ayn Rand
 * o Anthem contains many elements that not only appeal strongly to young readers, but illuminate the overarching concept in Unit 3. It is a uniquely inspirational story that contains a character fighting for what he believes in. The novella portrays events with contemporary and timeless significance, challenging readers to think about what life must have been like and what their life is like now.
 * § Selected excerpts from //The Giver// by Lois Lowry accompanied with the ideals in //Anthem//.
 * § //The Stranger//by Albert Camus
 * o This is an exceptional novel that is a widely read 20th Century book, and for a good reason. It challenges readers to stay true to themselves and embrace honesty—essential aspects in self-discovery.
 * § //A Midsummer Night’s Dream// by William Shakespeare
 * o This awe-inspiring classical play is a must read! It is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works and is widely performed all over the world. This story depicts important aspects about love, the relationship between nature/humans/animals, the differences between perception and reality, the list is virtually endless.

**// Semantics Unit //** Scheduled for 4 weeks
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Unit 1: //**
 * // Content & Goals: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Let’s face it; we are all language users in all facets of life. This can be either linguistic or non-linguistic, but regardless, there is meaning behind anything and everything in this world. Therefore, beginning the school year off with an understanding of semantics, the study of meaning, we are able to explore a wide subject within the general study of language. An understanding of semantics is essential to the study of language acquisition—how language users acquire a sense of meaning as speakers, writers, listeners, and readers. In addition, it is important to understand this relationship and how meanings change with the course of time, especially with the development and use of technology. This is important for the understanding of language in social contexts and how these are likely to have a direct affect on meaning and style. Semantics includes the study of how meaning is constructed, interpreted, clarified, obscured, illustrated, negotiated, contradicted, and paraphrased. An important focus for students during this unit will be to look at how the world uses language and what it means; how they use language and what that means for the context they live in; what affects that can have on other people; how meaning affects everything in our world. Students will have the opportunity to explore how literary and historical influences determine the meaning of traditional and contemporary literary texts.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">This unit will focus on these important Semantic theories:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Symbol and referent
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Conceptions of meaning
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Words and lexemes
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Denotation, connotation, implication
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Pragmatics
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Ambiguity
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Metaphor, simile and symbol
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Synonym, antonym and hyponym
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Collocation, fixed expression and idiom
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Semantic change and etymology
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Thesauruses, libraries and Web portals
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Epistemology


 * // Standards Addressed in Unit: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.2.a—Students will initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on essential topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively by engaging in small group discussions (throughout this unit and the year), the Socratic Seminar, and the Fishbowl Activity. In tangent with this is the speech, where students will actively listen and facilitate discussion by asking questions. With these reading and writing strategies, students will: ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.b—Students will determine the meaning of words phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyzing the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone by exploring and engaging in the theory of Semantics, propaganda, advertisements, and mind control techniques. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.f.—students will analyze how literary components affect meaning through the study of Semantics. Specific examples will be given. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.3.a.b.—students will determine the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning of words and phrases and well as demonstrating an understanding of these word meaning through the study and usage of Semantics.
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">i. come to discussions prepared
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">ii. Support others in discussions, activities, and presentations through active listening (speeches).
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">iii. Listen actively


 * // Assessments: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Pre-Assessment Test & Timed Writing ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework Assignments: essay about labels and advertisement ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Film Strip Worksheet ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Socratic Seminar Participation ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Informative Speech presentations ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Semantics Take-Home Exam

® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Propaganda Film Strip ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Saved By the Bell music clip ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Carpe Diem” by Horace (p.303)
 * // Texts: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Pre-Assessment Test & Timed Writing v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Carpe Diem” by Horace v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Saved By the Bell—thought control clip (music) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Memory Techniques (PowerPoint Presentation)—Lecture-based instruction
 * // Week 1: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Introduction to Semantics— v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Continue Semantics Discussion § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Oxford English Dictionary Exercise Online
 * // Week 2: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Our Verbal World: Exploring Maps, Territories, Perceptions, and Language
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">: Thinking about labels. Find 3 labels that have influenced your thinking in ways you have not realized before and write how and why. Then explain how changing a term could change how you think.
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Socratic Seminar (3 paperclips)
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Important theories in Semantics (list above)
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Specific emphasis on:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Symbol and referent
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Conceptions of meaning
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Denotation, connotation, implication
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Ambiguity
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Metaphor, simile and symbol
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Collocation, fixed expression and idiom
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Semantic change and etymology
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Thesauruses, libraries and Web portals
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Epistemology

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Exploration of the power of Rehtorical Devices & Definitions— v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Fishbowl Activity
 * // Week 3: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Euphemisms: Language for Polite Exchanges & Allness Attitudes for Know-It-All Syndrome
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Scenarios

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Semantics of Propaganda v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Informative Speech: Advertising Project v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Distribute Semantics Take-Home Exam
 * // Week 4: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Thought Control Techniques Film Strip
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Film Strip Worksheet
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">: Create your own thought control advertisement
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Work Day for Speeches—magazines/newspapers/Internet provided
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Speech Presentations

**// The Choices We Make Unit //** Scheduled for 6 weeks
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Unit 2: //**
 * // Content & Goals: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> Let’s face it; we all are faced with making choices, we make choices each day, little or big. Choice can be deemed as one of life’s greatest gifts. It is also one of those things that has obvious and immediate moral significance. Certain actions or outcomes result from the choices we make and this directly affects the way our lives are lived. It’s the difference between what we may consider what’s right and what’s wrong. Choice can make a crucial difference in our moral appraisal and assessment of our rights and obligations. But, either way, it is important that we look at the nature behind how and why we make choices that we do and the significance this may or may not have in our life.


 * // Guiding Questions: //**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1. What makes life worth living?
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2. What affects the choices we make?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3. How and why do we make the choices that we do?
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">4. Who deems what is “right” and “wrong”?


 * // Standards Addressed in Unit: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.2.a.viii.—students will respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding to make new connections by researching a controversial issue, writing an argumentative essay [picking a point of view], then respectively debating this issue and other controversial issues in a formal debate with classmates.


 * // Assessments: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework Assignments: essay about choices ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Character Sketch (participation) ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Argumentative essay ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Research about Debate topic ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">End of Unit Debate ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Dialectical Journal (will continue throughout the rest of the year, but entries will be graded periodically)


 * // Texts: //**

® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Sherman Alexie’s //The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian// ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“A Problem” by Anton Chekhov (p. 814) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Ring” by Isak Dinesen (p. 882) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela (p. 965) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Life Is Sweet at Kumansenu” by Abioseh Nicol ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Love Must Not Be Forgotten” by Zhang Jie (p. 1062) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">YouTube Censorship Video

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The choices we make affect the way other people perceive us and sometimes the way we see ourselves.
 * // Week 1: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Show PowerPoint presentation of Sherman Alexie (done in E401).
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Split Between Two Worlds” activity (done in E401).
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Excerpt from Sherman Alexie’s book (p. 55-66).
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Instant Replay Activity”—Powwow Polaroid on page 64 of __Sherman Alexie in the Classroom__
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Critiquing stereotype presentation in //Smoke Signals//” activity.
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“When Two World Collide”—Interview and follow up writing assignment

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Censorship v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Introduce Dialectical Journal Assignment v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">YouTube Clip on Censorship titled “Censorship in America” v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Banned books—what do you want to read? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Should we be able to speak, write, read, and view what we please? Why?
 * // Week 2: //**
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">This will be done in their composition notebook
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">This will continually worked on throughout the year, but entries will be collected periodically.
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Understanding irony and theme; Determining author’s purpose
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What are your thoughts about censorship?

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What influences your choices: v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Love Must Not Be Forgotten” by Zhang Jie
 * // Week 3: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Family, religion, peers, media, etc.
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Think back to a time when you were faced with a decision and someone convinced you to make a choice that you were unsure about. What was the result of that decision? Did you have any regrets?
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Flashback & Analyze sequence of events


 * // Week 4: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The gravity of decision making— Why we make the decisions we do… Are there consequences? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“A Problem” by Anton Chekhov v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Ring” by Isak Dinesen
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Irony & Make inferences about character
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Marriage; static and dynamic characters; understanding cause and effect
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Writing cause and effect essays:
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">: Think about a difficult choice you had to make… What factors went into your decision? What caused you to make the decision you did and what were the effects of this decision?
 * // Week 5: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Why do we make the choices we do? (cont.) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Life Is Sweet at Kumansenu” by Abioseh Nicol v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Privileges
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Foreshadowing, irony, theme, figurative language


 * // Week 6: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Importance of word choice—carried over from Semantics v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Learning how to effectively say what you want to say and mean what you mean to say v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Research on a topic of their choice; write their beliefs to be true about this and evidentiary support. Complete a formal argumentative essay on this topic. v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The final couple of days of this unit, the students will engage in formal debates about a series of controversial topics that they will have to effectively and respectfully communicate to the opposing side. Relating back to semantics and saying what you mean to say.

**// Individual & Society Unit //** Scheduled for 4 weeks
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Unit 3: //**
 * // Content & Goals: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Let’s face it; we all have EGO. In other words, most feel this need for a self-identity within the greater society, but can we really exist outside of our society or are we inherently a part of it? What makes us individual? Ayn Rand says that Man’s self, in his mind or conceptual faculty, the faculty of reason, leads to a man’s emotions (5). It is reason that leads to man’s ability to make choices. In the previous unit we talked all about choices, but how does this shape who you are, your ego? This is an essential aspect to human identity and knowing one’s self.


 * // Standards Addressed in Unit: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.2.a.vi.—students will facilitate a group by developing an agenda designed to accomplish a specific goal when dividing the workload of the Utopia/Dystopia project up. This will also be addressed in the presentations of these projects.


 * // Assessments: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Sticky Notes ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework Assignments ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Dialectical Journal Entries ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">UPA worksheet ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Utopia/Dystopia End-of-Unit Project


 * // Texts: //**

v //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Anthem //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> by Ayn Rand v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka (p. 869) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">From the “Apology” from the “Dialogues” Plato (p.191) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Tuesday Siesta” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (p. 957)

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How far do you go for the passions in your life? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What are the passions in your life exercise. v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka
 * // Week 1: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">From the “Apology” from the “Dialogues” Plato (p.191) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Tuesday Siesta” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
 * // Week 2: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Socrates refuses to compromise his loyalty to the pursuit of truth at the cost of his life—how far would you go?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Analogies; analyze a speaker’s philosophical argument
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Group exercise—Let’s UPA (Understand Problematize and Act) [credit to Cindy O’Donnell-Allen
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What is the meaning of dignity? Poverty.
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Understanding setting; making inferences from details
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Writing exercise in writer’s notebook
 * // Weeks 3 & 4: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Define Utopia v //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Anthem //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> by Ayn Rand accompanied with excerpts from Lois Lowry’s //The Giver// v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Culminating Group Project—creating their own Utopia/Dystopia based on the novel //Anthem//. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Students should annotate the text as they read using sticky notes. These sticky notes will be turned in at the end of the unit for points.
 * o <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How does an individual fight against an unjust or corrupt society?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Is it possible to be an individual within a society?
 * o <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What is the relationship between individuals and the government?
 * o <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How do we develop a self-identity? A culture?

**// Freedom & Politics Unit //** Scheduled for 6 weeks
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Unit 4: //**
 * // Content & Goals: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Let’s face it; freedom doesn’t come free, or maybe it does? But, what is freedom anyway? How do we define something that is seemingly indefinable? Since we are all citizens of the United States of America, one way or another, by looking at the world we actually coexists in and the implications of that world we can see how it directly affects our lives. In addition, we can look at how our society compares to others to really understand culture and its influences on our lives. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.e.—students will be able to relate a literary work to primary source documents of its literary period or historical setting by exploring historical aspects of pieces of literature present in this unit. This unit will align nicely with the standards in place for Social Studies. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.2.a.b.c.d.e.—students will have evidence of the development of new ideas concepts within informational and persuasive manuscripts presentenced throughout this unit. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.2.f.—students will be able to analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance in this unit (Gettysburg Address).
 * // Standards Addressed in Unit: //**


 * // Assessments: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Letter to Martin Luther King Jr. OR Abraham Lincoln ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework Assignments ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Dialectical Journal Entries ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Blog Entry ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Allegorical Essay ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">End-of-Unit Exam (for Standardized Testing purposes) (Help them know how to take the test)

® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Freedom to Breathe” [prose poem] by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (p. 433) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Excerpts from the __Declaration of Independence__ ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">YouTube Clip—9/11 in NY ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">From “Night” by Elie Wiesel (p. 913) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Excerpts from the //Diary of Anne Frank// ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Martin Luther King Jr.’s __I Have a Dream Speech__ ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Abraham Lincoln’s __Gettysburg Address__ ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">National Anthem ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Pledge of Allegiance ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Norwegian Rat” by Naguib Mahfouz (p. 1031) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“International PEN Character” by International PEN (p. 979) ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Ocean of Words” by Ha Jin (p.1083)
 * // Texts: //**


 * // Weeks 1 -3: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Definitions of Freedom v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Freedom in America v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Martin Luther King Jr.’s __I Have a Dream Speech__ v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Abraham Lincoln’s __Gettysburg Address__ v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Freedom to Breathe” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Declaration of Independence—specifically the Bill of Rights—how do we read this?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What are freedom fighters?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">YouTube clip of 9/11
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">National Anthem
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Pledge of Allegiance—controversy in schools
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Other Nation’s National Anthems
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Song: “American Pie” by Don McLean
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The American Dream
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Prose Poetry
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Soviet Union in WWII
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Journal Entry in writer’s notebook about war & freedom: freedom at the cost of war?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Rosie the Riveter”
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Image of Women
 * <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Journal Entry: how has the image of women changed with time? Or has it?

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">From “Night” by Elie Wiesel v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Excerpts from the //Diary of Anne Frank// v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">? Jar—what questions, thoughts, feelings do you have about WWII, the Holocaust, oppression, etc. (These are anonymous in order to encourage students to really ask questions they want the answer to). v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Guest Speaker (if time allows)
 * // Week 4: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Holocaust
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Modern day examples of oppression—why does this happen?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Understand Memoir, interpret real-world events
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Background on WWII and the Nazi concentration camps

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Norwegian Rat” by Naguib Mahfouz v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“International PEN Character” by International PEN
 * // Week 5: //**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How do people act under the constant pressure of a threat that never seems to materialize?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Understand ambiguity; Draw Conclusions; Analyzing Allegory
 * § **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">: Write an allegorical story in which the characters, settings, and events stand for things beyond themselves.
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Blog entry online
 * o
 * // Week 6: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Ocean of Words” by Ha Jin (p.1083) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">End-of-the Unit Exam formatted similar to a Standardized Test
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Analyze Character & Theme
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Compare Historical & Contemporary Issues
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Analyze Context clues
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Students will be better equipped to answer these types of questions by doing journal entries and __Coming to Presence__ activities that are similar in format.

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">.

**// Life & Loss Unit //** Scheduled for 4 weeks
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Unit 5: //**
 * // Content & Goals: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Let’s face it; life and loss can be some of the most grieved and celebrated aspects on earth and we all experience both at one point or another, but often times, knowing how to respond to these “tough” subjects isn’t always in the manual. Therefore, by exploring these dynamic topics, hopefully students will gain a better understanding and comprehension of what these subjects really mean in the context of their own world.


 * // Standards Addressed in Unit: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.d.—students will evaluate the contribution to society made by traditional, classic, and contemporary works of literature that deal with similar topics and problems throughout this unit as they look at life and loss.


 * // Assessments: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework Assignments ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Dialectical Journal Entries ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Inspirational Speech ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Multigenre project


 * // Texts: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“In the Beginning” from Genesis (p. 51) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Loneliness” by Tu Fu [poem] (p. 425) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Dreaming of Li Po” by Tu Fu [poem] (p.425) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“On Her Brother” by al-Khansa (p. 539) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Unmarked Boxes” by Rumi (p.559) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Guitar” by Federico Garcia Lorca (p. 895)


 * // Week 1 & 2: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What does it mean to live? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“In the Beginning” from Genesis v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“On Her Brother” by al-Khansa v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Loneliness” by Tu Fu [poem] (p. 425) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Dreaming of Li Po” by Tu Fu [poem] (p.425) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What does your life look like? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Inspirational Speech—brief 1-2 minute
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Creation
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Repletion; Compare & Contrast; Theme; Vocabulary
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Immortality
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Elegy
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Understanding Mood; A Happy Place
 * o **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">: Collect things that represent your life. [Depending on student population these could be hung in the room].


 * // Week 3 & 4: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Death—what does this mean and look like? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Song: “Dance With the Devil” by Immortal Technique v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“The Guitar” by Federico Garcia Lorca v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Unmarked Boxes” by Rumi v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Multigenre Project
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Reading obituaries in the newspaper
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Free Verse
 * o **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">: Find a song that means something to you. Bring the lyrics to analyze.
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Don’t grieve./ Anything you lose comes round/ in another form”.

**// The Power of Love Unit //** Scheduled for 4 weeks
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Unit 6: //**
 * // Content & Goals: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Let’s face it; love can be described as the most powerful and virtuous human emotion, but it is this abstract thing that refers to a variety of different feelings, emotions, moods, states, and attitudes of a wide spectrum. So, describing love can be a daunting duty at best, but shouldn’t everyone be able to do so? We should find out by exploring the intrinsic powers of love.


 * // Standards Addressed in Unit: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.b—Students will determine the meaning of words phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyzing the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone while reading sonnets and plays by various authors including William Shakespeare. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.c.—students will analyze the representation of a subject (love) in two different artistic mediums (lyrical song and sonnets), emphasizing what’s missing or different from the two.


 * // Assessments: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework Assignments ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Dialectical Journal Entries ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Love Quiz ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Multigenre End-of-Unit Project


 * // Texts: //**

v //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">A Midsummer Night’s Dream //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">by William Shakespeare v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Sonnet 49 & 71” by Pablo Neruda (p.938-939) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Aristotle’s 3 types of love (Eros, Philia, Agape)—online article ( <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">[] <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">).
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">If time, watch video of the play.


 * // Week 1: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What is love? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Aristotle’s 3 types of love (Eros, Philia, Agape)—online article ( <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">[] <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">). [courtesy of Tyler Szalwinski] v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—how does love relate to each of these needs? [courtesy of Tyler Szalwinski] v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Love Quiz (in-class) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What does love mean to you? How do you know?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Journal Entry


 * // Week 2: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What influences love? v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Sexuality & Love v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Lust vs. Love


 * // Week 3 + 4: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Love & Nature v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Sonnet 49 & 71” by Pablo Neruda (p.938-939) v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> //A Midsummer Night’s Dream// by William Shakespeare v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Students will complete a multigenre project that expresses their views on love. This should be highly personalized and should map out their experiences with love. It should come from the heart. This is a wide open project, but formal objectives will be met. [The assessment plan for this project is a holistic rubric that the students will help me create].
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Figure of Speech; Metaphor
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How Love Changes
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Structures of Sonnets—Petrarchan and Elizabethan (p.678)
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Read aloud in class

**// Self-Discoveries Unit //** Scheduled for 7 weeks
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">Unit 7: //**
 * // Content & Goals: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Let’s face it; we need to bring all this together! Thus far in the journey around the world we have looked at wide array of literature, writing, discourse, media, etc. in order for them to better understand the world they live in so that they are more able to appreciate and comprehend the things that they believe to be true. (And it’s not over yet!) So, we ask ourselves what the world looks like; what do I believe in; why do I think/believe/feel this way; what are the most important things in my life? It is more than to just say “this is who I am” and “this is what I believe”, it is use metacognition to understand the knowledge behind our own thoughts and the factors and beliefs that influence this thinking and feeling. Thus, our path to self-discovery and self-knowledge has been challenging and although we are not there yet, hopefully we will be by the end of this unit.


 * // Standards Addressed in Unit: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">1.2.b.—students will evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggeration or distorted evidence when examining, analyzing, and synthesizing critiques of the literature. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">2.1.a.—cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text by completing a book report project. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">3.3.f.—the use of technology to produce, publish and update individual writing projects will be used during work-time for projects. ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">4.2.a.b.—prepared graduates will demonstrate a use of strategies, research techniques, etc. to gain a better understanding of an author’s reasoning. The texts in this unit will be evaluated on the essence of legitimate writing and whether it is valid and accurate.


 * // Assessments: //**

ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Homework Assignments ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Dialectical Journal Completed ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Reading Quizzes ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Book Report ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Persuasive Speech ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Yearlong Plan ü <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Multigenre Envisioning Project


 * // Texts: //**

® //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Stranger //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">by Albert Camus ® <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">“Toy Story 3” from Disney ® //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Oedipus Rex //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> by Sophocles (p. 202) (only if need more)


 * // Week 1-4: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Taking Responsibility for Own Actions & Shaping Your Own Desires v //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Stranger //<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">by Albert Camus v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Examine criticisms of this work v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> Book Report for //The Stranger// v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Introduce **//Multigenre Envisioning Project//**
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Read aloud in class & assign some for homework
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Existentialist novel?!
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Excerpts from Toy Story 3—an existentialist fable?
 * § <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Song: "Existentialism On Prom Night" by Straylight Run
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">For Yearlong Project
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">BloomBall?
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Allow work time in class—drafting, workshopping, conferencing


 * // Week 5-7: //**

v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Bringing it all together: v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Finding your own meaning of the world— <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">How does an understanding of universal themes in the literature of all cultures help us to better understand ourselves and our world? v <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Working on Projects v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Persuasive Speech—why should their worldly author be taught in future world literature courses. v <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The Dialectical Journal will be handed in and put in the student’s portfolio, the Yearlong Project will be completed and turned in, as will the Multigenre Envisioning Assignment. [Side note: it may be a bit deadly for the students to have all of these assignments turned in at the end of the year, but the Dialectical Journal and the Yearlong Plan were culminating projects that they should’ve been working throughout the entire year (or close to it), and they will have approximately weeks to work on the Multigenre Envisioning project; therefore, this is rather just a way to get this assignments to me for my final assessment of them.
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">This is a lengthy speech that requires research. It should include a PowerPoint Presentation as well.


 * // The Culminating Assessments: //**

There will be a series of culminating assessments that take place throughout the year to ensure that students have learned the essential skills and major concepts of the year.

The __first__ task:


 * //A Multigenre Envisioning Project//**

For this project, students will have the opportunity to build a highly personalized story in a multi-genre envisioning project. They will compose a multi-genre piece that envisions the type of world they live in. They will be able to choose the genres that seem most appropriate for the meaning they wish to convey, but they must choose at least two. Regardless of the genres they select, they will have three goals/objectives:


 * 1) 1. To __depict in detail__ what their world looks like
 * 2) 2. To __name the beliefs__ that inform this depiction
 * 3) 3. To __identify the sources__ of those beliefs and how they inform your view of themselves

Their final draft will also include a __brief reflection__ of their work that relays their thinking process in completing this assignment, directly addresses the scoring guide, and calls my attention to areas of their work that they feel are especially deserving of my attention, especially the most meaningful aspect of their work.


 * Resources, examples, and a list of multi-genre projects will be provided for the students.


 * This assessment is highly flexible and ambitious, and would most definitely require profuse scaffolding, conferencing, and work-shopping.


 * Students should be able to identify their beliefs about aspects of the world and the sources of those beliefs in order to help them to live the life they wish.


 * The audience will be me and their classmates. Also, depending on the class, we may present these wonderfully unique projects.

ex. A—These writers have put forth substantial effort in creating a polished product rather than a “work in progress”… (cont.)
 * The students will be required to have drafts ready periodically throughout the year for workshop time. But this project will be worth approximately 20% of their grade. It will be graded using a holistic rubric that the students help me to create.

The __second__ task:


 * //World Literature Portfolio Project//**

Over the course of the year, we will be on a journey around the world, visiting a variety of authors from different countries and regions in each unit, and in doing so, we will also explore a wide range of poetry, short stories, plays, essays, and novels. Unfortunately, while we will read many of the world’s best authors, we will have to leave many off the list.

Therefore, throughout their journey through world literature, they will work on a portfolio project that will showcase their work as a reader, writer, speaker, listener, and thinker. By the end of the year, they will have researched three worldly authors, read at least one text by the author that most interested them, found a critique on that author’s work, and ultimately putting a research paper/project and presentation together on why their author and their texts should be taught in a future world literature class.


 * //Specific components for this project will include//**: (more specific assignment sheets for the components listed below will be provided at appropriate times throughout the year).

Various parts of this will be collected throughout the year for points.


 * // Other Assessments: //**


 * //Dialectical Journal//**

The purpose of this to do have a series of conversations with the texts we read in order to develop a deeper understanding of the texts and topics that we cover in class. Procedure:
 * 1) 1. Label the assigned pages from the text
 * 2) 2. Each assigned reading should have 3 entries (1 entry= text [quote], question(s), responses).
 * Entries are due the day we discuss the assigned reading. Entries will be collected and checked at any time.


 * At the end of the year, the Reader’s & Writer’s notebook where students have completed most of their work for the class will be collected and used for their student portfolio.


 * A large portion of this course will be based upon class discussion; therefore, students will receive a culminating participation grade.

Works Referenced Wikipedia—The Free Encyclopedia. 2 October 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaparral_High_School_(Colorado)>.

Semantics— < http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/lang/semantics.htm>.

Multi-genre Envisioning Assignment: E401 & E402 with Professor Cindy O’Donnell-Allen. I look aspects from our Envisioning Assignment for that class and I used her “holistic grading rubric” to assess this final project.

A great resources for that I have used throughout this entire project is Mr. Laurie Rice, my cooperating teacher this semester for EDUC450, at Fort Collins High School.

Sherman Alexie—most of the material for that week came from E401. His book was our book club book. Credit goes to all of my group members.

Some references cannot specifically be cited because the thoughts and ideas in this yearlong plan have been a combination of conversations, discussions, and notes.


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">“I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance” on this Yearlong Plan. //**


 * //<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif';">_________________________________________________ //**