11/16/2007
Units of Study
10th Grade
“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as
if they had never happened before.”
Willa Cather
First Semester Theme: My Story
Second Semester Theme: The World’s Story
The Big Ideas in English Language Arts that drive instruction:
• Independent thinkers construct meaning through language.
•
Through literacy experiences, we discover personal values, build self-awareness, and gain
an appreciation of a variety of perspectives to have a more meaningful and enjoyable life.
•
English Language Arts helps us use a variety of literacy experiences to gain insight and
effectively express ourselves to the world.
Year at a Glance
Title
Semester 1:
1st Unit
Writing
Skills Assessed through
Common Assessments
Units in both semesters are of varying lengths, not equal 6-week units.
My Story
Memoir
Literary Elements: tone
(process writing)
Writing Traits
2nd Unit
My Story
Practice TAKS
Reflective writing
Reading Comprehension: inferencing
main idea, author's purpose
(process writing)
3rd Unit
My Story
Literary Analysis
Literary Element: mood
Figurative Language: simile, metaphor,
personification
Writing Traits (see District Rubric)
Semester 2:
4th Unit
5th Unit
A research paper must be completed and assessed by the end of the second semester.
The World’s Story
Personal Connection
Literary Elements: theme, character
motivation
to Literary Theme
Sentence Structure
Textual Evidence
(process writing)
The World’s Story
Timed writing prompt Viewing & Representing
(focus: persuasive techniques in
advertising & other media forms)
Writing Traits: Idea Development and
Organization
Inquiry/ Research
Research Paper
Research Skills
Writing Traits
Presentation Skills
11/16/2007
Unit 1 TOPIC: My Story
English II
BIG IDEA: By reading about other people’s experiences and writing about our own experiences, we can
better understand ourselves and our world.
Skills to be Mastered:
TEKS:
2 – The student uses recursive writing processes when
appropriate
1B – write in a voice and style appropriate to audience and
purpose
1C – organize ideas in writing to ensure coherence, logical
progression, and support for ideas
5A – evaluate writing for both mechanics and content
5B – respond productively to peer review of his/her own work
12A - analyze the characteristics of clearly written texts,
including the patterns of organization, syntax, and word choice
Writing: Memoir
Literary Element: tone
Writing Traits: focus and coherence, organization,
idea development, voice, conventions
11A - compare and contrast varying aspects of texts such as
themes, conflicts, and allusions
UNDERSTANDINGS
Learners will understand that:
•
By determining successful characteristics in a particular genre,
we can also write an effective paper in that genre.
•
To achieve effective writing, a writer must focus on one topic,
create an appropriate structure, develop ideas, demonstrate a
unique voice and style, and utilize appropriate conventions.
•
Breaking down text and analyzing its elements can help us
determine the meaning of a piece of text.
•
Literary analysis requires textual evidence to be valid.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Thematic
• How can writing become a tool for understanding my
own experiences?
Skills
• What are the characteristics of an effective memoir?
• How can I organize my writing to best convey my
meaning?
• How would I describe my voice in my writing?
Students will know . . .
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tone is the writer or speaker’s attitude toward a subject,
character, or audience, and it is conveyed through the author’s
diction and syntax.
A memoir is usually written in first person about a past event
and has a reflective element.
Focus and coherence is choosing an appropriate topic,
having a purpose, and a sense of completeness.
A cohesive piece of writing carries a theme throughout a
piece of writing, tying it all together so that the writing flows
and connects.
Organization occurs when a paper contains a hook or lead,
sentence-to-sentence connections, paragraph-to-paragraph
progression, and a closing. The order and logic of the paper
makes sense.
Transitions connect different ideas, tie paragraphs or
sentences together, and allow a piece of writing to flow
smoothly.
Idea development occurs when a writer gives adequate
examples, explanations, facts, reasons, details, and
descriptions to fully support each thought or point.
Voice - the personality and distinct way of “talking on paper”
that allow a reader to “hear” a human personality in a piece of
writing
Correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and usage are
conventions that make certain the meaning is conveyed to the
reader accurately
Students will do . . .
•
Read various pieces of literary text and
analyze the author’s tone and its effect on the
piece.
•
Read models of memoirs and determine
characteristics of the genre.
•
Write a memoir using the writing process.
•
Take Practice TAKS test.
11/16/2007
Unit 2 TOPIC: My Story
English II
BIG IDEA: Great literature explores universal themes of the human condition and helps us gain insight
into our own experiences.
Mastery Skills:
Writing: Reflective
Reading Comprehension: inferencing
main idea
author's purpose
Literary Element: mood
UNDERSTANDINGS
Learners will understand that:
•
Breaking down text and analyzing its elements can help
us determine the meaning of a piece of text.
•
Literary analysis requires textual evidence to be valid.
•
Writing is a tool that we can use to reflect upon our
experiences.
Students will know . . .
TEKS:
1A - write in a variety of forms...such as...personal forms such as
response to literature, reflective essay...
1B - write in a voice and style appropriate to audience and
purpose
2A - use prewriting strategies to generate ideas, develop voice,
and plan
4A - use writing to formulate questions, refine topics, and clarify
ideas
7B - draw upon his/her own background to provide connection
with texts
7F - produce summaries of text by identifying main ideas and
their supporting details
7G - draw inferences such as conclusions, generalizations, and
predictions and support them with text evidence and experience
9B - compare text events with his/her own and other readers'
experiences
11A - compare and contrast varying aspects of text such as
themes, conflicts, and allusions
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Thematic
• How are stories from different places and times about
me?
Skills
• How do literary elements affect the meaning of a
piece of literature?
•
•
The main idea is what the paragraph or passage is
mostly about or the most important idea the writer is
trying to state.
•
A summary is a short restatement of a literary piece,
which includes the main points and concepts of the
selection.
•
Making an inference is using the clues in the text to
draw a conclusion about what you read.
•
The author’s purpose is the reason for creating the
writing.
•
Authors’ purposes include to inform, to entertain, and
to persuade
•
Mood is the atmosphere or predominant emotion in a
literary work
•
Reflective Writing gives a person the opportunity to use
writing to express, discover, record, and develop ideas,
as well as to problem solve
How do I find appropriate textual evidence to support
my ideas?
Students will do . . .
• Read various pieces of text and to make
inferences and to determine main ideas and
author's purpose.
•
Read various pieces of literary text and
analyze the mood and its effect on the
meaning and the effectiveness of each
piece.
•
Respond to reflective writing prompts.
11/16/2007
Unit 3 TOPIC: My Story
English II
BIG IDEA: Great literature utilizes literary elements, figurative language and sound devices to create
layers of meaning. Proficient readers analyze these elements to deeply understand the text.
Mastery Skills
TEKS
10B - use elements of text to defend his/her own responses and
interpretations
11A – recognize/compare and contrast elements of texts such as themes,
conflicts, and allusions both within and across texts
11B – analyze the relevance of setting and time frame to text’s meaning
11C – describe and analyze the development of plot and identify conflicts
and how they are addressed and resolved
11D - analyze the melodies of literary language, including its use of
evocative words and rhythms
11F - understand literary forms and terms
Writing: Literary Analysis
Figurative Language: simile, metaphor,
personification
Writing Traits
1B – write in a voice and style appropriate to audience and purpose
1C – organize ideas to enhance style and voice
UNDERSTANDINGS
Learners will understand that:
•
•
•
•
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Figurative language helps the reader better experience
the writing and understand the meaning of a text by
producing images in a reader’s mind to express ideas in
fresh, vivid, and imaginative ways.
•
How does figurative language add to the effectiveness
of a piece of writing?
•
How do I find appropriate textual evidence to support
my ideas?
•
How do I write an effective literary analysis?
Breaking down text and analyzing its elements can help
Good
readersthe
read
“between
the oflines.”
us determine
meaning
of a piece
text.
Literary analysis requires textual evidence to be valid.
Students will do . . .
Students will know . . .
•
A simile is a comparison of two different things or
ideas through the use of the words “like” or “as.”
•
A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things not
using “like” or “as.”
•
Personification is a type of figurative language in
which a nonhuman subject is given human
characteristics.
•
Read a variety of literary text to analyze text
for simile, metaphor, and personification and
their effects on the meaning and effectiveness
of each text.
•
Write an analytical essay that focuses on the
effect of a literary element(s) on a piece of
text and supports the analysis with textual
evidence.
11/16/2007
Unit 4 TOPIC: The World’s Story
English II
BIG IDEA: Literacy experiences allow us to explore our world, draw connections, and learn.
Mastery Skills
Writing: Personal connection to a literary theme
TEKS
2 - The student uses recursive writing processes when appropriate.
1B- write in a voice and style appropriate to audience and purpose
1C - organize ideas in writing to ensure coherence, logical progression,
and support for ideas
3A - produce legible work that shows accurate spelling and correct use of
the conventions of punctuation and capitalization such as italics and
ellipses
3B - demonstrate control over grammatical elements such as subject-verb
agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb forms, and parallelism
3C - compose increasingly more involved sentences that contain gerunds,
participles and infinitives in their various functions
3D - produce error-free writing in the final draft
5A - evaluate writing for both mechanics and content
10B - use elements of text to defend his/her own responses and
interpretations
Writing Traits: focus and coherence, organization,
idea development, voice, conventions
Literary Elements: theme, character motivation
Sentence Structures: absolute phrase, participial
phrase, parallel structure, repetition
Textual evidence used to support analysis
UNDERSTANDINGS
Learners will understand that:
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
•
Finding themes in literature helps make reading
relevant and changes lives by altering thinking.
• Readers need to defend analysis and reactions to
literature by finding and explaining appropriate text
evidence to support their ideas.
• Writers use a variety of sentence structures to better
• Good
readers
read “between the lines.”
convey
meaning.
• To achieve effective writing, a writer must focus on one
topic, create an appropriate structure, develop ideas,
demonstrate a unique voice and style, and utilize
appropriate conventions.
•
•
•
How do literary elements affect the meaning of a
piece of literature?
How do I find appropriate textual evidence to support
my ideas?
How does changing the structure of a sentence impact
the meaning of a piece of writing?
Students will do . . .
Students will know . . .
•
•
Theme is the central message of a literary work. It is
not the same as a subject, which can be expressed in a
word or two: courage, war, survival, etc. Theme is
expressed in a sentence or general statement about life
or human nature. A literary work can have more than
one theme.
•
Character Motivation – a circumstance that prompts a
character to act in a certain way or that determines the
outcome of a situation or work
•
An absolute phrase includes a subject and a verb and
modifies an entire sentence; however, the verb is an
“ing” or “ed” verb, not a main verb. They can appear
anywhere in a sentence and are set off by a comma.
•
A participial phrase is a phrase that uses an “ing” or
“ed” verb and that functions as an adjective.
•
Parallel structure occurs when a writer puts similar
elements or ideas in similar grammatical form.
•
Repetition is the deliberate use of any element of
language more than once – sound, word, phrase,
sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern.
Read various pieces of literary text and
analyze theme and character motivation in
each piece.
o Read literary text and answer
analytical short answer response
questions, supporting analysis with
textual evidence.
•
Read models of TAKS essays and determine
characteristics of successful TAKS writing.
•
Write an essay that responds to a TAKS-like
prompt. Use the revision process to review
writing strategies learned this year in
preparation for the February TAKS test.
•
Within a piece of writing, use sentence
structures that contain absolute phrases,
participial phrases, parallel structure and
repetition.
11/16/2007
Unit 5 TOPIC:
Viewing and Representing/ Timed Writing
English II
BIG IDEA: To be responsible consumers of products and information, people must be able to determine
the purposes of various media forms and the persuasive devices contained within.
Mastery Skills
TEKS
1C - Organize ideas in writing to ensure coherence, logical
progression, and support for ideas
Writing: Response to timed writing prompt
Writing Traits: Idea Development and Organization
12C - recognize logical, deceptive, and/or faulty modes of
persuasion in texts
Viewing and Representing Focus: persuasion in
advertising and other media forms
19B - analyze relationships, ideas, and cultures as represented in
various media
•
•
19C- distinguish the purposes of various media forms such as
informative texts, entertaining texts, and advertisements
Deconstructing media to get the main message
Distinguishing purpose of various media forms
20A- investigate the source of a media presentation such as who
made it and why it was made
20B- deconstruct media to get the main idea of the message’s
content
UNDERSTANDINGS
Learners will understand that:
•
20C- evaluate and critique the persuasive techniques of media
messages such as glittering generalities, logical fallacies, and
symbols
Writers must develop idea fluency when writing under
time pressure.
•
21A- examine the effect of media on constructing his/her own
perception of reality
All media messages are constructed for a specific
purpose.
• • Good
read “between
lines.”
Mediareaders
have embedded
values andthe
points
of view.
• Most media messages are organized to gain profit
and/or power.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will know . . .
•
How can I produce an effective piece of writing under
timed conditions?
Writing Traits
•
Organization occurs when a paper contains a hook or lead,
•
How can I determine the purpose of and hidden
messages within a media presentation?
sentence-to-sentence connections, paragraph-to-paragraph
progression and a closing. The order and logic of the paper
makes sense.
•
Idea Development - elaborating in a piece of writing and
giving enough examples, explanations, facts, reasons, details,
and descriptions to fully support each thought or point
Viewing and Representing
• Media – any tool or technology used for sending and/or
receiving messages
•
•
The purpose of media is the reason for creating the
writing. Purposes include to inform, to entertain, to
persuade, and to sell.
The main message is what the media form is mostly
about or the most important idea the creator is trying to
convey.
Students will do . . .
•
Respond to a writing prompt under timed
conditions.
•
Analyze persuasive techniques used in various
media forms to determine the underlying
purpose and message.
11/16/2007
Floating Unit TOPIC:
Inquiry/ Research
English II
BIG IDEA: Inquiry and research help people discover new information, formulate questions, think
critically, and develop and defend thoughtful decisions.
Mastery Skills
TEKS
Writing: Thesis/Support Paper supported by research
(Minimum Expectations: 3-5 pages, 3 sources)
4A - use writing to formulate questions, refine topics, and clarify ideas
4B - use writing to discover, organize, and support what is known and
what needs to be learned about a topic
4C – compile information from primary and secondary sources in
systematic ways using available technology
4D – represent information in a variety of ways such as graphics,
conceptual maps, and learning logs
4E – use writing as a study tool to clarify and remember information
4F – compile written ideas and representations into reports, summaries,
or other formats and draw conclusions
5A - evaluate writing for both mechanics and content
12B – evaluate the credibility of information sources, including how the
writer’s motivation may affect that credibility
13A – generate relevant, interesting, and researchable questions
13B – locate appropriate print and non-print information using texts and
technical resources, periodicals, and book indices, including databases
and the Internet
13C – organize and convert information into different forms such as
charts, graphs, and drawings
13D - adapt researched material for presentation to different audience and
for different purposes, and cite sources completely
13E – draw conclusions from the information gathered
Note: Research paper can be worked on incrementally
throughout the year.
Research Skills:
Note Taking: use Note Page from Sr. Project Handbook
Paraphrase
Evaluate Internet Sources
Form essential questions
Form thesis
Use MLA format
Use parenthetical documentation
Presentation Skills (See Assessment Alignment document.)
UNDERSTANDINGS
Learners will understand that:
• Writing is a tool for learning and research.
• Research helps people make well-informed decisions.
• • Good
readers
readresearch
“between
the tolines.”
Writers
must often
in order
write
knowledgeably and thoughtfully about a topic.
• People must always document information to avoid
plagiarizing someone else’s work.
Students will know . . .
•
•
•
•
A thesis/support paper takes a position and uses
textual evidence or research to prove the assertion.
An essential question is a question that asks the
following: what arguable, recurring and thoughtprovoking questions will guide inquiry and point
toward the essential understandings of the unit?
Parenthetical documentation cites the source where
the writer found the research by putting the author’s
name and page number in parentheses after the
researched information.
A Works Cited page lists all of the sources that have
been cited in a research paper. The entries on this page
require a specified format. (See MLA Handbook)
16A - use the conventions of oral language effectively
16D - use effective verbal and nonverbal strategies in presenting oral
messages
17A - present and advance a clear thesis and logical points, claims, or
arguments to support messages
17B - choose valid proofs from reliable sources to support claims
17C - use appropriate appeals to support claims and arguments
17D - use language and rhetorical strategies skillfully in informative and
persuasive messages
17E - use effective nonverbal strategies such as pitch and tone of voice,
posture, and eye contact
17F - make informed, accurate, truthful, and ethical presentations
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
•
How does research make people better readers,
writers, and thinkers?
•
Why is it important to document sources where
information is found?
•
How do I develop a thesis and defend it with
research?
Students will do . . .
Big 6 Research
• Define a relevant question to research.
• Determine a research topic and essential questions.
• Find relevant sources and information about topic.
• Utilize note-taking strategies to summarize/ paraphrase
information.
• Compare and contrast different authors’ viewpoints on
the topic.
• Determine the thesis of various sources of information.
• Determine your own thesis.
• Write a thesis/support paper incorporating and
documenting researched information.
Utilize speaking skills to make a class presentation.