English 9/Intro to Lit/Comp SEMESTER 1
Unit/
Dates
Theme/
Essential
Question
A: 8/209/4 (9
sessions)
Rites of
Passage
B: 9/710/13 (21
sessions)
Investigative
Journalism
How does
adversity allow
one to experience
personal growth?
(narrative
nonfiction)
How can your
journalistic
writing illuminate
social issues and
effect change?
C: 10/1411/6 (12
sessions)
NOTE—
quarter ends
on 10/15
D: 11/912/8 (16
sessions)
What Has
Value?
How do true
friendships
respond to
adversity?
The Literary
Essay:
Analyzing
Craft and
Theme
How does refining
your thinking and
articulating claims
about what you
read make you a
more empathetic
person?
2015-­‐16 Bonsignore ProjectBased
Learning/
Performance
Task
Baseline writing
samples
Primary/Secondary Texts
Strategy/
Standards Focus
“Vegetarian Enough,” Annie Choi (memoir)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings excerpt, Maya
Angelou (memoir)
Cornell Notes;
RI/RL.9.1-3: Key
Ideas and Details
Narrative mentor texts from
YouthJournalism.org
Excerpts from The Blind Side, Bomb: The Race to
Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous
Weapon, and Angels and Demons
“The Trouble with Sleep Texting,” U.S. News
and World Report
W.9.3: Write
narratives to develop
real or imagined
experiences or events
using effective
technique, wellchosen details, and
well-structured event
sequences. Also,
W.9.6, W.9.7, W.9.8,
L.9.1, L.9.2.
Story Impressions
(prediction); SL.9.1-3:
Comprehension and
Collaboration;
RI/RL.9.4-6: Craft
and Structure
Publish a
journalistic essay
digitally.
W.9.1: Write
arguments to support
claims in an analysis
of substantive topics
or texts, using valid
reasoning and
relevant and
sufficient evidence.
Publish a series
of literary essays
based on theme
and craft; make
comparisons
between texts.
“The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant (short story)
“The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” Leslie Marmon
Silko (short story)
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck (novel)
“Grandfather’s Blessing,” Julia Alvarez (memoir)
“Rules of the Game,” Amy Tan (short story)
“Birches,” Robert Frost (poem)
Participate in a
series of Socratic
seminars and
debates.
SEMESTER 2
English 9/Intro to Lit/Comp E: 11/911/24 (10
sessions)
Forces of Nature
E: 12/912/16 (4
sessions)
Other Worlds
F: 1/61/29 (13
sessions)
Crossing
Borders
G: 2/12/26 (16
sessions)
Position
Papers:
Research and
Argument
How do the
environmental risks
and benefits of the
place a person lives
impact the
relationship one has
to the natural
world?
How do things
fantastic,
mysterious, and
magical manifest
themselves in our
everyday lives?
How can one
challenge
prejudice?
2015-­‐16 An Inconvenient Truth excerpt (informational text)
“The Deadliest Tsunami in History?” National Geographic
(informational text)
“Orphans Give Indian Couple Will to Live,” Shaikh Azizur
Rahman (newspaper article)
“Wave,” Dave Wisely (poem)
Power Notes (visual
representation of text);
RI/RL.9.4-6: Craft and
Structure
Create a digital remix
of a piece of text that
illustrates how word
choice, structure, and
rhetoric create
meaning.
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” James
Thurber (short story)
“The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,”
Gabriel Garcia Márquez (short story)
INFORMATIONAL TEXT—TBD
Story Mapping
(visual representation
of text); SL.9.4-6:
Presentation of
Knowledge and Ideas
Construct a nonprint response
that makes an
argument about
a short story we
have read.
“Delfino II: Diez in the Desert,” Sam Quinones,
QAR/ReQuest/Your
Own Questions
(questioning);
RI/RL.9.7-9:
Integration of
Knowledge and Ideas
Make an
argument for
which medium is
more persuasive,
literature or
informational
text.
Publish a series
of position
papers on
several
multifaceted
issues.
(biography)
“Mexicans Begin Jogging,” Gary Soto (poem)
“Hip-Hop Planet,” James McBride (article)
A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry (play)
“The Case for Reparations” excerpt, Ta-Nehisi
Coates (essay)
Selected mentor texts—TBD
What is the value
of social activism?
H: 2/293/25 (10
sessions)
NOTE—
quarter ends
on 3/3
Echoes from
the Past
What
responsibility does
a person have to
his or her
conscience?
Bonsignore “Orpheus and Eurydice,” Betty Bonham Lies
(myth)
Antigone, Sophocles (Greek tragedy/play)
INFORMATIONAL TEXT—TBD
“The Most Dangerous Game,” Richard Connell
(short story)
W.9.2: Write
informative/
explanatory texts to
examine and convey
complex ideas,
concepts, and
information clearly
and accurately
through the effective
selection,
organization, and
analysis of content.
Text Coding (thinkaloud); SL.9.1-3:
Comprehension and
Collaboration
Participate in a
mock trial.
English 9/Intro to Lit/Comp J: 3/7-4/1 (11
sessions)
The Dark Side
2015-­‐16 INFORMATIONAL TEXT—TBD
Pyramid
Diagram/GIST
(summarization);
RI/RL.9.7-9: Integration
of Knowledge and Ideas
Transform “TMDG”
into a Serial-like
podcast.
Documentaries: Primary source documents and interviews,
Bringing
located and conducted by students
History to Life
SL.9.4-6: Presentation
of Knowledge and
Ideas; W.9.7-9:
Research to Build and
Present Knowledge
Produce a
documentary
film to inform
about an aspect
of local history.
Dialectic Journal
(conversation with
text); RI/RL.9.4-6:
Craft and Structure
Publish a short
literary essay
based on craft
and theme.
What obligation
does one have to
protect someone
who is weak?
I: 3/284/22 (16
sessions)
What are the
qualities of good
questions?
J: 4/255/26 (16
sessions)
Bonsignore Family Ties
How can you
balance the
responsibilities
you have to your
family and to
yourself?
Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare (play)
“The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst (short story)