10th Grade English

Ms. Schwartz
2014-2015 Units of Study
Introductory Writing Assignment 10th grade Soundtrack of my Life Narrative Essay
Includes narrative writing, incorporation of quotes, in-line citations, organization, and
oral presentation.
Mini Unit Taking the students summer reading novel, John Knowles A Separate
Peace, and teaching the students the literary criticism theory that they will apply to
their Book Club reading activities throughout the year (biographical lens, historical
lens, gender lens, Marxist lens, reader-response lens).
Introductory writing assignment + mini unit: September
Unit 1: The Odyssey
Unit 2: Mans Search for Meaning
Unit 3: Julius Caesar
Unit 4: All Quiet on the Western Front
Unit 5: 100 Years of Solitude
Grammar and SAT Vocabulary will be intertwined in each unit.
Book Clubs begin during Quarter 2.
Unit 1: The Odyssey and Book Clubs
(New Unit)
October-November
Priority Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over
the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific
details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3

Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)
develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot
or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word
choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place;

how it sets a formal or informal tone).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5

Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events
within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such
effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6

Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of

literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world
literature.

Texts
The Odyssey by Homer
Trojan War informational packets
Mythology texts/excerpts
Back from War, But Not Really Home by Caroline Alexander (New York Times)
Homecoming of Odysseus May Have Been In Eclipse by John Wilford (NY Times)
Lost in the Odyssey by Matt Gross (NY Times)
SOAPBOX; An Odyssey by Marcia Worth-Baker (NY Times)
The Humbling of Odysseus by Chris Hedges (NY Times)
The Odyssey Years by David Brooks
The Tipsy Hero by Alexander Nazaryan (NY Times)
The Zeus Trip by Jenifer Conlin (NY Times)
A Long, Strange Trip by Steve Coates (Ny Times)
Websites:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/teaching-topics/the-odyssey/
Essential Questions
Thematic Questions:
Skill Based Questions:

Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings

Thematic Understandings:
Reading entertains, informs, educates, and
opens doors.
What is the relevance of Homer to students today? Storytelling can be simple yet complex
What is said is important, but how it is said is
How can a 2000 year old story teach us about our
equally important
lives today?
Good stories must be crafted, using various
literary devices, tone, and correct conventions.
What makes up a hero?

Allegorical nature of Odysseusadventure what

human failing does each stop highlight?

CONCEPTS
Students will know
Vocabulary/Concepts
Audience
Characterization
Connotation
Conventions
Denotation
Dialogue
Direct Quotation
Antecedents
Hubris
Epic
Epithets
Figurative Language
Simile
Allusion
Flashback
imagery
Narration
Plot
Omniscient Point of View
Revision
Setting
Thesis
Tone
Epic Hero
Epic Simile

SKILLS
Students will be able to do
Students will be able to recognize
the relevance of Homer and The
Odyssey in modern life and their
own lives specifically
Students will understand the basic
literary tools involved in an epic story,
including plot, characterization, setting,
theme, and how the amalgamation of
these create works of art and the
mythology of a culture
Students will understand allegory and
how writers often write of one thing
while really examining something else
Students will understand the role The
Odyssey plays in their lives today in
terms of pop culture (re: television,
movies, music, et al.)
Students will understand
characterization and how Homer helped
create the epic hero to define character
(and cultural) beliefs and mores.
Students will be able to define and
recognize blank verse, Homeric simile,
implied metaphor, and other literary
tools used by Homer in The Odyssey
Students will be able to compare
personality traits of characters found in
the play
Students will be able to comprehend the
basic moral behind each adventure and
how that moral pertains to their own
lives.

ASSESSMENT
Formative Assessment:
Gods/Goddesses Business cards: Students will research a specific God or Goddess whom
we will encounter in The Odyssey. Once students have gathered research, they will think
creatively and create a modernized business card for that God. This will be presented and
displayed around the room. Ex. Apollos Tanning Salon
Short Response and Multiple Choice Questions: Students will respond to a variety of
questions about the texts using strong pieces of textual evidence to support their claim.
Performance Assessment #1: Groups of students will be assigned to discuss the meaning
of each episode and how it could relate to our own lives. Students will write a character
analysis of Odysseus, his tragic flaw, and how we can learn from him with the use of textual
evidence, in-line citations, and paraphrasing.
Performance Assessment #2: Students will be given short writing assignments throughout
this unit that are reflective of the Task 3 short response on the Regents exam.
Vocabulary Quizzes: Students will demonstrate their ability to understand and use academic
vocabulary and vocabulary from Homers Odyssey in a vocabulary quiz.
Summative Assessment: Synthesis essay in which students gather nonfiction sources
related to one of the essential questions.

Unit 2: Mans Search for Meaning

November-December
Priority Common Core State Standards
Literature
10.09 Identify and analyze the development of themes.
Writing
10.16.1 Establish a context.
10.18.2 Support a position with precise, relevant examples and
evidence.
10.18.6 Identify sources and judge their usefulness or credibility.
10.18.7 Document sources using appropriate citation format.
10.18.11 Reveal the significance of the subject and events.
Speaking/Listening/Viewing
10.21 Respond to presentations with affirmations, challenges, and relevant questions
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its

development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is
shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the
text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3

Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting

motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters,
and advance the plot or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact
of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a
sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5

Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order

events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing,
flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6

Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of

literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world
literature.

Texts
Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Excerpts from Night by Wiesel
Interviews, essays, videos, excerpts, photographs, etc.:
https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-resources/resourcecollections/holocaust-resource-collection

Essential Questions
Thematic Questions
What does Holocaust and Human
behavior mean to you?
Are human beings good or bad at
heart?
What does it mean to study human
behavior?
How did prisoners survive
concentration camps? What motivated
them to continue to live?
What would I have done under similar
circumstances?
What can such a catastrophe tell us
about human nature?
Why is memory important?
Why is it important to create
memorials?
How do people survive great
atrocities?
What are the circumstances that give
rise to genocide?

Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings

Thematic Understandings
Students will realize what motives
people had to live during the horror of
the Holocaust.
Students will realize that mans
inhumanity to man can surface in a
variety of historical circumstances.
Students will understand the dangers of
blind obedience to authority.
Students will understand that as
Raphael Lemkin states, The function of
memory is not only to register past
events, but to stimulate human
conscience.
Students will realize that genocide,
wherever it happens, has common
themes.
Students will understand that stories of
individuals experience can illustrate
historical moments and give the reader
an opportunity to explore universal
themes such as genocide, survival, and

Why do people treat each other the

different ways they do?
If there is a higher power, and if we
think that higher power is essentially
good, then why is there evil in the
world?
What should a person do when s/he
doesn't understand something? Should
a person obey authority or his/her own
moral compass?
What comparable examples are there
of peoples inhumanity to others?
Where does one draw the line between
obeying the law or obeying ones
conscience?
What is the role and responsibility of
the individual in society?
Why is the study of the Holocaust
relevant today?
How is this memoir different than other
Holocaust survivors memoirs?

CONCEPTS
Students will know
How to differentiate between
subjective and objective
sources.
The historical circumstances
of the Holocaust and other
occurrences of genocide.
How to compare and contrast
information on the same topic
making perceptive
connections.
How to establish a context in
their own writing.
Identify and analyze the
development of themes.

Textual evidence is used to support

analysis
o quote
o paraphrase
Academic Vocabulary / Background
Vocabulary

racism, etc.

SKILLS
Students will be able to do
Write a research paper that
clearly demonstrates their
ability to distinguish between
subjective and objective view
points.
Reflect on the meaning of
memory.

Cite several pieces of textual evidence

to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
o

Holocaust
genocide
clarifying question
essential question
atrocity
liberty
Anti-Semitism
Nazi
Jew
SS
concentration camp
ghetto
Gestapo
exterminate
annihilate
Caisson
Capo
Existentialism
Moslem
Nihilism
Sigmund Freud
Gotthold Lessing
ASSESSMENT
Formative Assessment:
Assessments: TBD
Ongoing Assessments: Exit tickets, graphic organizers,
comprehension checks, class discussions
Summative Assessment: Write a literary essay exploring how Paul Fleischman
develops a theme through the course of the novel.