English Language Arts Curriculum

Objectives

Read, analyze, and understand texts of multiple genres of increasing levels of complexity; demonstrate increasing sophistication in the production and publication of writing; generate research questions and conduct sustained research projects; create and deliver polished multimedia presentations; recognize and apply conventions of Standard English.

Texts & Reference Materials

Literature:

•     (Note that selections may vary by academic year.)

Novel & Plays:

•     The Giver, Lois Lowry
•     Macbeth, William Shakespeare
•     Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
•     Selected Short Stories
•     “My Side of the Story,” Adam Bagdasarian
•     “The Gift of the Magi,” O Henry
•     “To Build a Fire,” Jack London
•     “The Scholarship Jacket,” Marta Selinas

Selected Poems

•     “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost
•     “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman
•     “Casey at the Bat,” Ernest Lawrence Thayer

Selected Works of Non-Fiction:

•     Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted Version), Trevor Noah

Language:

•     Wordly Wise Vocabulary Study, Levels 6-7
•     The Rooted Mind: Latin and Greek Roots Challenge
•     Various teacher-generated materials
•     Selections from NoRedInk.com and IXL.com

Content

Literature:

•     Cite evidence from the text to support claims about explicit and implicit meaning
•      Summarize and draw inferences about the text
•     Identify theme and analyze its development over the course of a text
•     Review literary elements; recognize how those elements interact with each other to create meaning
•     Analyze the interactions between characters and events as they support characterization, plot development, and theme
•     Analyze the structure of a text; be able to explain how parts of a text support the whole
•     Compare and contrast writer’s point of view across multiple texts
•     Understand how diction supports tone, theme, and point of view
•     Trace and evaluate claims and arguments about a similar topic across multiple texts
•     Understand the Ancient Greek origins of drama
•     Understand and recognize the structure of a Shakespearean play: Exposition; Exciting Force; Rising Action; Climax; Falling Action; Catastrophe

Language and Writing:

•     Write argumentative, narrative, and informative essays
•     Produce clear, coherent, well-developed passages of writing, with organization and style appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
•     Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed
•     Use technology, including current web-based communication platforms, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others
•     Conduct research; gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation
•     Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; retain and further develop language skills learned in previous grades
•     Recognize and correct vague pronouns and shifts in pronoun number and person
•     Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
•     Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, mythological allusions) in context.
•     Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
•     Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, mythological allusions) in context.
•     Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; independently research words and gather vocabulary knowledge
•     Coordinate phrases and clauses in simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, with emphasis on agreement of pronouns and their antecedents.
•     Form and use verbs in the active and passive voices and the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive moods to communicate a particular meaning.18
•     Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
•     Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.

Objectives

Cite strong textual evidence to support textual analysis; identify multiple themes in complex works of literature, especially as those themes interact with each other to create meaning; understand competing or contradictory motivations of complex characters; place literature in cultural contexts, recognizing how a character’s point of view and actions signal acceptance or rejection of cultural norms or the intellectual ideas of a period or place; acquire an increasingly comprehensive academic vocabulary; demonstrate understanding of the conventions of Standard English; write in a variety of styles and genres, paying close attention to purpose, context, and audience; design and deliver polished presentations for a variety of purposes.

Texts & Reference Materials

Literature:

•     (Note that selections may vary by academic year.)

Novels & Plays:

•     This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, Kenneth Oppel
•     These Violent Delights, Chloe Gong
•     Vinegar Girl, Ane Tyler
•     The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
•     The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas
•     A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
•     Student choice of text, by vote

Selected Short Stories:

•     “The Somebody,” Danny Santiago
•     “A & P,” John Updike
•     “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman
•     “Sredni Vashtar,” Saki
•     “A Family Supper,” Kazuo Ishiguro
•     “In the Shadow of War,” Ben Okri
•     “Encounter,” Roy Jacobsen
•     “Night Women,” Edwidge Danticat

Selected Poems:

•     Sonnets, William Shakespeare
•     Selections from Billy Collins’ Poetry 180
•     Lyrics from popular music (e.g., works by Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Tupac Shakur)
•     Romantic poetry (Wordsworth, Keats, Blake, Coleridge)
•     Metaphysical poetry (Donne, Marvell, Cowley)
•     “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou

Selected Works of Non-Fiction:

•     They Called Us Enemy, George Takei, with supporting primary source documents (e.g., “West Coast Widens Martial Law Call” and “Only 2,971 Enemy Aliens Are Held; Rest of the 1,100,000 Being Watched Here Are Unmolested,” 1942, The New York Times
• Newspaper articles and essays on a variety of topics, student- and teacher-selected

Language:

•     Wordly Wise Vocabulary Study, Levels 8-9
•     The Rooted Mind: Latin and Greek Roots Challenge
•     Various teacher-generated materials
•     Selections from NoRedInk.com and IXL.com

Content

Literature:

•     Analyze how modern works of literature draw on ancient religious, mythological, folk, and classical literary texts; understand why these texts endure
•     Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what a text states explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
•     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 a text
•     Analyze how complex characters with multiple or conflicting motivations develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, advance the plot, and/or develop the theme
•     Determine the figurative or connotative meaning(s) of words and phrases as they are used in a text; analyze the impact of words with multiple meanings, as well as symbols or metaphors that extend throughout a text and shape its meaning
•     Analyze how text structure coan 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.
•     Analyze a case in which a character’s point of view and actions signal acceptance or rejection of cultural norms or intellectual ideas of a period or place, drawing on a wide reading of literature
•     Analyze a critical response to a work or body of literature, provide a summary of the argument presented and evaluate the strength of the evidence supporting it
•     Independently and proficiently read and comprehend complex literary texts representing a variety of genres, cultures, and perspectives
•     Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what a text states explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
•     Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized or deemphasized in each account.
•     Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements or incomplete truths and fallacious reasoning.
•     Analyze seminal documents of historical and literary significance, noting how they address related themes and concepts.

Language and Writing:

•     Write arguments (e.g., essays, letters to the editor, advocacy speeches) to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence
•     Write informative/explanatory texts (e.g., essays, oral reports, biographical feature articles) to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
•     Write creative narratives to develop experiences or events using effective literary techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured sequences
•     Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
•     Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience
•     Use technology, including current web-based communication platforms, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically
•     Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self- generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject
•     When conducting research, gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation
•     Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences
•     Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on complex topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively
•     Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally), evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source
•     Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, vocabulary, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
•     Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., audio, visual, interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest
•     Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate
•     Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; retain and further develop language skills learned in previous grades
•     Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
•     Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening
•     Use a range of strategies to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases in complex texts
•     Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings
•     Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; independently research words and gather vocabulary knowledge