Semester 2: 6 Weeks
Central Text
Selections
Grade 10 –English 2 Intensive Reading - Collection 2 – The Natural World
EQ:
Close Reader
Selections
what extent are human beings connected, rather than separated from nature?
Anchor Text:
Science Essay: “Called Out” by
Barbara Kingsolver, 1180L, p.
53
LG: Determine a central idea in an
essay and figurative, connotative,
and technical meanings of words,
and phrases.
Poem:
“When I Heard the Learn’d
Astronomer” by Walt
Whitman, p. 59
Reading Focus
Close Reader:
Poem: “Starfish” by Lorna Dee
Cervantes, p. 58d
Essay: “Sea Stars” by Barbara
Hurd, p. 58e
purpose.
Anchor Text:
Short Story:
“My Life as a Bat” by Margaret
Atwood, p. 71A
LG: Analyze a writer’s choices in
LG: Support inferences about
theme.
Comparison
Analysis
Research
MHM Research Guide
Kylene Beers Discussion Terms
Language Focus
Analysis
Oral Report
Discussion
Scientific Terms
Participial Phrases
Relative Clauses
Using Reference Sources
Colons and Dashes
Blank Knowledge Rating
Chart
Close Reader:
Blog: In Defense of Everglades
Pythons by Andrew C. Revkin,
p.70c
Close Reader:
Short Story: The Seventh Man
by Haruki, p. 78c
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
Respond Thoughtfully in Discussions
Interactive Whiteboard Lesson: Analyze Text
Structures
Analyze Impact of Word Choice on Tone
Conducting Research on the Web
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Golden Novel:
“Night” (to be
assessed on QBA2
exam)
Task A:
Write a Research
Report Rubric, p.
86
Performance
Task B:
Participate in a
Panel Discussion,
p. 87
Task B:
Participate in a
Panel Discussion
Rubric, p. 90
Academic Vocabulary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Performance
Task A:
Write a Research
Report, p. 83
(grammar, vocabulary, syntax)
advocate (advocacy, advocator)
discrete (discretely, discreteness)
domain (dominion)
enhance (enhancement, enhancer)
scope (scope out)
Extensions (Gifted Strategies)
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ACHIEVE 3000
Teengagement:
Listening & Speaking
Focus
Formative and
Summative
Assessments
Online Selection
tests
ACHIEVE Tracking
Sheet
terms of text structure, figurative
meaning, and tone.
Poem:
“Carry” by Linda Hogan, p. 79A
Additional
Suggested
Resources
Writing Focus
Central Idea
Figurative Language
Theme
Point of View
Inferences
Personification
Reading Log
LG: Identify the theme of a poem
through writing an objective
summary that states the key events
and ideas in the poem.
Argument:
from Hope for Animals and
Their World by Jane Goodall,
1300L, p. 61
LG: Analyze an author’s claim and
A: How does wilderness remind us what it means to be human? B: To
Print Version
Pose and Respond to Questions
Analyze Figurative Meanings
Interactive Whiteboard Lesson: Figurative
Language and Imagery
Interventions (ESE Strategies/ ELL Strategies)
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Determine Central Idea: Level Up Tutorial (Main
Idea and Supporting Details)
Determine Theme Through Objectives Summary:
Level Up Tutorial (Universal and Recurring
Themes)
Analyze Author’s Claim and Determine Purpose:
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
Level Up Tutorial (Elements of an Argument)
Analyze Author’s Choices: Text Structure: Level
Up Tutorial (Plot: Sequence of Events)
Support Inferences About Theme: Level Up
Tutorial (Imagery)
Collection 2 Thematic Connections
“Wilderness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from. “ –
Terry Tempest Williams
Connection: Both texts deal with natural
behaviors of flowers and water. To
Kingsolver, it is important to see where
the blooming phenomenon comes from,
there is no way to predict or recreate it
without the workings of wilderness. In
“Carry,” life and death happen all the
time and yet, the water is continually
moving on. Both texts show human
involvement is irrelevant, and nature will
continue regardless.
Text 1
"Called Out" by
Barbara Kingsolver
The wilderness and
blooming of a large
amount of wildflowers
in Arizona has cause
the author to
appreciate the beauty
and science behind the
excessive bloom.
Connection: Both texts require
knowledge to understand the scientific
nature of wilderness. In “Called Out,” the
writer is investigating why there are so
many wildflowers, but her true interest
is in the beauty of the flowers. In “When
I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” the
speaker is becoming overwhelmed with
information about wilderness and seeks
the natural beauty of the stars in the sky
to escape.
Text 5
"Carry" by Linda Hogan
The author of the poem
discusses how the
wilderness of the water
has elements of life in it to
appreciate that extend
beyond the human world.
The water shows that
being human/alive is just
temporary and although
life may end, wilderness
goes on.
Connection: Both texts deal with the idea of thinking
and living past the human world and appreciating the
life that is present in the natural world. Atwood
demonstrates the perspective of the bat and shows
their struggles. Hogan shows the perspective of a river
and the life in the water and the life taken from it.
Text 2
Connecting Theme
How does
wilderness
remind us
what it
means to be
human?
"When I Heard the
Learn'd Astronomer" by
Walt Whitman The
speaker of the poem is
infiltrated with
information regarding
astronomy. He becomes
overwhelmed and goes
outside to look at the
stars silently, and is
comforted by the
wilderness.
Connection: Both texts discuss the necessity of
knowledge in order to understand areas of nature. In
“Astonomer,” the speaker is seeking knowledge about
astronomy to learn more about the sky, although it
becomes too much. Goodall sought information about
the Beetle for understanding. Although knowledge is
needed to learn more, it is also important to appreciate
wilderness through observation.
Text 4:
"My Life as a Bat"by
Margaret Atwood
The wildness of being a
bat brings the speaker a
sense of wisdom. As a bat,
she is able to gain new
perspective on life and
what it really takes to be a
bat living in the human
world.
Text 3
Connection: Both texts
explore two different animals
that people typically want
nothing to do with. Jane
Goodall discusses people’s
disgust for burying beetles,
although they are needed as
recyclers in the ecosystem. In
Atwood looks at life from the
bat’s perspective and the
common negativities people
associate with bats. Without
their critical roles of these
animals, nature would be
vastly different.
Hope for Animals and
Their World by Jane
Goodall The American
Burying Beetle and other
insects in the wilderness
inspire curiosity in people
to learn more or just to
observe them. Wilderness
reminds humans that to
understand the working of
nature, research and
studying are needed.