CAS English 1



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|High School English Rationale |

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|Disciplinary Literacy (DL) Design Principles |

|The instructional model embedded in the English Core Curriculum for Grades 6-12 is based upon the principles of Disciplinary Literacy, a |

|pattern of teaching and learning designed by the Institute for Learning (IFL) at the University of Pittsburgh. The DL pattern is built on |

|the following core principles drawn from research on learning and cognitive science. |

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|1. Students learn core concepts and habits of thinking within each discipline as defined by standards. |

|All students are enabled and expected to inquire, investigate, read, write, reason, represent, and talk about the critical questions, |

|problems, and concepts defined by the discipline’s standards. Students experience curricula characterized by depth and consistency. The |

|students, scaffolded by the teacher, do the intellectual work involved in understanding core content and learning to identify big ideas and|

|driving questions within the discipline. |

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|2. Learning activities, curricula, tasks, text, and talk apprentice students within the discipline. |

|Students learn by “doing” the discipline, by engaging in rigorous, ongoing investigation that mirrors the work of practitioners of the |

|discipline. All lessons, assignments, materials, and discussions serve as scaffolding for students’ emerging mastery of |

|discipline-specific knowledge and habits of thinking. Students learn to articulate how and why the activities they are engaged in will |

|help them deepen their understanding of a literary concept or in what ways they are working like members of a literary community (readers, |

|writers, and speakers). |

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|3. Teachers apprentice students by giving them opportunities to engage in rigorous disciplinary activity and providing scaffolding |

|through inquiry, direct instruction, models, and coaching. |

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|The Core Curriculum provides opportunities for students, both within and beyond the classroom, to acquire knowledge and literary habits of |

|mind through active engagement in appropriate tasks. Teachers use a variety of instructional approaches— including inquiry, direct |

|instruction, modeling and observation, differentiation, and guided reflection—to scaffold students’ learning. The curriculum also |

|orchestrates opportunities for students to learn from each other as well as from masters of the discipline. Scaffolds are put in place to |

|assist performance of tasks and then are withdrawn as students become independent. |

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|4. Intelligence is socialized through community, class learning culture, and instructional routines. |

|Students are encouraged to take risks, to seek and offer help when appropriate, to ask questions and insist on understanding the answers, |

|to analyze and solve problems, to reflect on their learning, and to learn from one another. Class routines build a learning culture that |

|invites effort by treating students as smart, capable, responsible learners. Teachers arrange environments, use tools, and establish norms |

|and routines that communicate to all how to become smarter in their discipline. |

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|5. Instruction is assessment-driven. |

|Teachers use multiple forms of formative and summative assessment and data to guide instruction. Throughout the year, teachers assess |

|students’ grasp of content area concepts; their habits of inquiring, investigating, problem-solving, and talking; their learning processes;|

|and their interests. Teachers use these formative assessments to help tailor instructional opportunities that address the needs of their |

|students. Students are engaged in self-assessment through “StepBacks” and “Retrospective Work.” These promote metacognitive |

|understanding of how learning has occurred and support students to transfer ways of learning to new situations and develop the ability to |

|effectively manage their own learning. |

|All references to Disciplinary Literacy and the DL Pattern are adapted from “A Framework for Disciplinary Literacy in Middle and High |

|Schools.” Copyright © University of Pittsburgh |

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|High School English Rationale |

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|The DL Pattern: |

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|Students have been reading, writing, and discussing texts in the ELA Core Curriculum across Grades 6-11 using a common, consistent, |

|repeated pattern of instruction. The following is a general outline of that pattern: |

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|Read to Get the Gist: Students read for comprehension or “gist.” Students respond to open-ended comprehension questions individually|

|in their Reader’s/Writer’s Notebooks, Pair/Share their thinking, and then quickly discuss as a whole group with the teacher charting |

|responses. The chart becomes an artifact of the learning and a scaffold for further work with the text. This is comprehension-level |

|work, and the frequency of this task depends upon the level of difficulty of the text. |

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|Reread for Significance: Students reread/scan all or part of the text in order to pull lines that are of particular significance. |

|Significance is sometimes determined by the student through reflection on the impact the text had on him/her; other times it is |

|determined by the teacher in order to focus on a particular literary element or aspect of the author’s craft. Students write the line|

|and an explanation of its significance on a T-chart in their Reader’s/Writer’s Notebooks. Students then share with a partner or small|

|group before participating in whole class discussion. This work should also be charted and used later as an artifact. This is |

|interpretive/inferential work where connections are made within and between texts, as well as to prior knowledge. |

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|Read Again to Interpret Ideas in the Text: Students here are given an open-ended writing prompt. This is referred to as a |

|“WriteAbout.” At this point, “reading” may simply be returning to the text to find support for one’s claims. Students write to make |

|and support claims for use in the Inquiry-based Discussion which follows. The progression here moves from individual and paired work |

|to a more defined discussion model, with protocols set by the class to assure accountability. |

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|Read Again to Analyze the Author’s Methods: Students look at the text again for a new purpose. This time, they are analyzing a |

|particular aspect of the writer’s craft/technique, which may include stylistic, grammatical, or structural nuances. Students may be |

|asked to pull lines that exemplify the writer’s use of this technique and then critically evaluate their effect on the reader and the |

|meaning of the text. Students at this stage are often asked to use, or mimic the author’s use of, the technique in a writing exercise|

|of their own, referred to as a “WriteLike.” |

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|Frequently during this pattern a “StepBack” and/or “Retrospective” occurs to encourage students to either examine, metacognitively, |

|the learning that has occurred, or to tie it retrospectively to previous learning. |

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|High School English 4 Road Map |

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|The English 4 Core Curriculum is divided into seven units of varying length. This year, students will work on “Language and |

|Representation,” studying how writers and dramatists use language to represent themselves, their ideas, the worlds and places they want |

|the reader to enter, and the arguments they want to convince us of within their texts (including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama).|

|Students will write about their own lives and their own neighborhoods, consciously choosing strategies to influence their readers in |

|particular ways. Students will interact with texts in academic ways that mirror the types of work they will be asked to do in college |

|English courses. |

|This course will also promote real-world skills, including research methods (gathering information via observation, library and web |

|research, and interviewing; reviewing data and informational texts written by others; categorizing and sorting information; and writing |

|it up in various formats), technology-based activities (using and evaluating web resources, producing power point presentations, and |

|using technology for additional sections of the culminating project), and college/career-based writing (college essay, resumes, short |

|informational briefs). |

|The course is aligned to the PA Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening as well as PA Assessment Anchors and |

|Eligible Content. |

|Each unit focuses on a thematic Unit Question and a series of related Overarching Questions that guide the unit’s inquiry. These |

|questions also relate to and expand upon the course theme “Language and Representation.” |

|Unit Questions: |

|How do writers use language to represent themselves and others in narratives? |

|How do poets and lyricists shape and reflect the world? |

|Who decides on the meaning of a play? The writer? The director, the actor or the reader/viewer? |

|In what ways is language power? |

|How is Pittsburgh represented in different genres of literature? |

|How do authors use their own identity and experiences to create an identity for their protagonist? To what effect? |

|How does the pursuit of happiness shape our choices and lives? |

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|Students will read a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts including short narratives, informational text, drama, poetry, and novels. |

|In the course of this reading, students will focus on specific comprehension strategies, the structures and purpose of the genre, and the|

|author’s techniques related to each. Through this work, students will strengthen key comprehension skills. Through repeated use of the |

|design principals of the curriculum, students will also practice the art of literary interpretation, analysis, and criticism. |

|Students are encouraged, in the course of the year, to read 25 books, which include the novels read for the class. The purpose of this |

|is to improve reading fluency, to increase vocabulary acquisition, to independently practice the habits of mind apprenticed throughout |

|the year, and to encourage students to self-select reading for their own purposes. |

|Students write in response to the texts and from their own knowledge. The Reader’s/Writer’s Notebooks are used for daily informal |

|QuickWrites, notes, charting, and reader responses as part of the DL Pattern of instruction. Students are also required to complete a |

|portfolio of more formal, process writing including: |

|A narrative/short story |

|A Response to Literature – Interpretive or Critical Analysis |

|A Response to Nonfiction |

|An Informative Essay |

|A Persuasive Essay |

|A Reflective Essay |

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|In this course, grammar study is tied to the reading and writing that students are required to do. Additional grammar and mechanics can |

|be addressed through mini-lessons based on formative assessment of students’ needs. Vocabulary study is also tied to students’ reading |

|and writing. Students are expected to develop independent strategies for determining meaning of unknown words in context and |

|incorporating new vocabulary into their speaking and writing. |

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|The Pennsylvania Speaking and Listening Standards are addressed daily as students participate in partner, small-group, and whole group |

|discussions as well as formal and informal oral presentation related to their reading and writing. |

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Theme:

Language and Representation

“Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.”

Noam Chomsky

|FIRST MARKING PERIOD |

|UNIT |OVERARCHING QUESTIONS |FOCUS CONTENT AND SKILLS |

|Unit 1 | |Reading |

| |Why do people tell stories? What makes a |Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of texts |

|How do writers use language to represent |good story? |Construct meaning through interpretation and analysis and |

|themselves and others in narratives? |What choices do writers make when writing |evaluate an author’s use of techniques |

| |narratives? What influences those choices?|Identify and analyze characteristics of genre |

|Suggested Pacing: |How do we represent ourselves in writing? |Examine the author’s biases and assumptions |

|(5 Instructional Weeks) |What strategies can we learn from |Analyze author’s purpose and the effectiveness of literary |

|Report Period One |published writers? |elements |

|Weeks 1 - 5 | |Writing |

|Major Works | |Write short stories with various organizational methods, |

|Selected narratives from McDougal Littell The | |literary elements, and devices for specific purpose |

|Language of Literature | |Write with a clear focus, develop appropriate content and |

|Excerpt from Beowulf (anonymous) | |demonstrate an understanding of style |

|Excerpt from Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey | |Compose a college application essay |

|Chaucer | |Revise to improve writing |

|Excerpt from The Decameron by Giovanni | |Grammar, Vocabulary and Language Study |

|Boccaccio | |Using language to represent yourself in a college essay: |

|"Araby" by James Joyce | |introductory phrases; precise word choice; and |

|"At The Pitt-Rivers" by Penelope Lively | |incorporating academic phrases. |

|Selected informational texts from the textbook | |Analyze textual context to determine or clarify the meaning|

|and internet | |of unfamiliar or ambiguous words and to draw conclusions |

|Reading and Writing Our Roots (anthology) | |about nuances or connotations of words |

|“Teeth” by Lee Gutkind | |Revise writing to improve style, word choice, sentence |

|Culminating Project | |variety, and subtly of meaning |

|Short Story/Narrative | |Portfolio Entry |

|Response to Literature: Critical Analysis | |Response to Literature: Critical Analysis |

|Report/Informational writing | | |

|College Application Essay | | |

|FIRST MARKING PERIOD |

|UNIT |OVERARCHING QUESTIONS |FOCUS CONTENT AND SKILLS |

|Unit 2 |How do poets use language to represent |Reading |

|How do poets and lyricists shape and reflect |themselves, their worlds, and their |Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of texts |

|the world? |environments? What’s universal? What’s local?|Construct meaning through interpretation and analysis |

| |How do readers create meaning from poetry and|and evaluate an author’s use of techniques |

|Suggested Pacing: |songs? |Examine the author’s biases and assumptions |

|(4 Instructional Weeks) |What choices do poets and lyricists make when|Analyze effectiveness of literary elements given the |

|Report Period One |writing poetry? What influences those |topic and purpose of poem |

|Weeks 6 - 9 |choices? |Identify, analyze, and evaluate a variety of complex |

| |How would we represent ourselves using |informational texts |

| |poetry? How would we know we were effective? |Writing |

|Major Works | |Write poetry with various organizational methods, |

|Selected Romantic and Modernist poetry from | |literary elements and devices for specific purpose |

|McDougal Littell The Language of Literature | |Write persuasive essays using rhetorical strategies, |

|Selected song lyrics | |clarify and defend positions with precise and relevant|

|Models of poetry and music reviews | |evidence and logical reasoning |

| | |Write with a clear focus, develop appropriate content |

|Culminating Project | |and demonstrate a personal writing style |

|Response to Literature: Interpretative | |Reflect on own writing and respond to the writing of |

|Response to Literature: Magazine music review | |peers—make and support inferences |

|Persuasive Essay | |Revise to improve writing |

|Short collection of poetry and/or songs | |Grammar, Vocabulary and Language Study |

| | |Identify and use grammar particular to the genre of |

| | |poetry (e.g., line breaks, when to use end |

| | |punctuation, capitalization, etc.) |

| | |Grammar particular to Response to Literature (academic|

| | |language, declarative sentences, introductory phrases |

| | |as transitions) |

| | |Grammar particular to Persuasive Essay (rhetorical |

| | |strategies, word choice) |

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| | |Portfolio Entry |

| | |Persuasive Essay |

| | |Response to Literature: Interpretative |

|SECOND MARKING PERIOD |

|UNIT |OVERARCHING QUESTIONS |FOCUS CONTENT AND SKILLS |

|Unit 3 |How are themes such as loyalty, ambition and |Reading |

|Who decides on the meaning of a play? The writer?|community represented in plays? |Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of texts |

|The director, the actor or the reader/viewer? |How do readers create meaning from plays? |(plays, both modern and Shakespearian) |

| |How do playwrights use the conventions of drama |Construct meaning through interpretation and |

|  |to represent their stories, the worlds and |analysis and evaluate an author’s use of |

|Suggested Pacing: |environments they want us to experience, and to |techniques |

|(7 Instructional Weeks) |convince us about some aspect of life? |Examine the author’s biases and assumptions |

|Report Period Two |How do drama experts categorize plays |Identify and analyze how dramatic conventions |

|Weeks 1 - 7 |(Shakespearian, modern, tragedies, etc.)? How can|(e.g., stage directions, monologues, etc.) |

| |these categories help us read and understand |enhance a dramatic script |

| |plays? |Identify, analyze, and evaluate a variety of |

|Major Works | |complex informational texts |

|The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare | |Writing |

|(McDougal Littell, The Language of Literature) | |Write a Response to Nonfiction with a clear |

|Fences by August Wilson | |focus, develop appropriate content and |

|Published play reviews | |demonstrate an understanding of style |

|Short excerpts of movie versions of play | |Write a dramatic passage using various literary |

| | |elements and devices for specific purpose |

|Culminating Project | |(including stage directions) |

|Response to Literature (Interpretive) | |Revise to improve writing |

|Response to Nonfiction | |Grammar, Vocabulary and Language Study |

|Dramatic Passage | |Identify and use grammar particular to the genre |

| | |of plays (e.g., rhyme, anastrophe, direct |

| | |address, etc.) |

| | |Grammar particular to Response to Literature |

| | |(academic language, comparative introductory |

| | |phrases, including references and quotes) |

| | |Word choice for developing characters |

| | |Lexicon for critiques of drama |

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| | |Portfolio Entry |

| | |Response to Nonfiction |

“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” Mark Twain

|SECOND MARKING PERIOD |

|UNIT |OVERARCHING QUESTIONS |FOCUS CONTENT AND SKILLS |

|Unit 4 |How is language used in politics, the press, |Reading |

|In what ways is language power? |workplace and academia? |Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of |

| |How do gender, racial, and socio-economic |informational texts (speeches, newspaper |

|  |differences in language affect power |articles, academic articles, and political |

|Suggested Pacing: |relationships? |propaganda) |

|(2 Instructional Weeks) | |Construct meaning through interpretation and |

|Report Period Two | |analysis and evaluate an author’s use of |

|Weeks 8 - 9 | |techniques |

| | |Examine the author’s biases and assumptions |

| | |Distinguish among facts and opinions, evidence |

|Major Works | |and inference across a variety of texts |

|Selected texts from McDougal Littell, The | |Evaluate textual evidence and draw complex |

|Language of Literature | |conclusions |

|Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader| |Writing |

|and Guide | |Write complex informational essays making and |

|“Gender, Lies, and Conversation” by Deborah | |supporting inferences with relevant and |

|Tannen | |substantial evidence and well-chosen details |

|“The Power of Words in Wartime” by Robin Tolmach | |Write with a clear focus, identifying topic, |

|Lakoff | |task, and audience |

|“The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas | |Revise to improve writing |

|Jefferson | |Grammar, Vocabulary and Language Study |

|President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance | |Analyze textual context to determine or clarify |

|Speech | |the meaning of unfamiliar or ambiguous words and |

|Selected newspaper articles | |to draw conclusions about nuances or connotations|

|Culminating Project | |of words |

|Research Paper | |Grammar particular to informational reports |

|Short Reflective Essay | |(academic phrasing, including quotes, compound |

| | |subjects, works cited page) |

| | |Objective versus persuasive markers in |

| | |informational writing |

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| | |Portfolio Entry |

| | |Report/Informational Writing |

|THIRD MARKING PERIOD |

|UNIT |OVERARCHING QUESTIONS |FOCUS CONTENT |

| | |AND SKILLS |

|Unit 5 | |Reading |

|How is Pittsburgh characterized in |What do we learn about Pittsburgh, its |Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of texts (creative |

|different genres of literature? |people and history, from reading these |nonfiction, informational texts, poetry, etc.) |

| |texts? |Construct meaning through interpretation and analysis and evaluate|

|Suggested Pacing: | |an author’s use of literary elements and techniques given the |

|(8 Instructional Weeks) |What do we learn about how writers |purpose of the text |

|Report Period Three |represent cities and characters, |Identify and analyze characteristics of genre |

|Weeks 1 - 8 |especially Pittsburgh and Pittsburghers? |Examine the author’s biases and assumptions |

| | |Analyze elements of style |

|Major Works |What are the characteristics of effective|Identify, analyze, and evaluate a variety of complex informational|

|Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman |creative non-fiction? |texts |

|(creative nonfiction) | |Distinguish among facts and opinions, evidence and inference |

|Reading and Writing Our Roots (anthology) |How do we represent our own communities, |Make connections across texts |

| |historical periods, and the lives of |Writing |

|Culminating Project: Pittsburgh |those around us? What is the relationship|Write a compare/contrast essay (state an opinion, support that |

|Neighborhood Project |to who we are? |opinion with reference to the texts, etc.) using the appropriate |

|Compare/Contrast Essay | |structure |

|Short Informational Text | |Write an engaging informational text embedding information and |

|Creative Non-Fiction Essay | |references; Identify, collect, explain information |

|Artistic Representation | |Write a creative non-fiction essay |

|Presentation | |Develop an alternative artistic representation of their |

| | |neighborhood |

| | |Revise to improve writing |

| | |Grammar, Vocabulary and Language Study |

| | |Identify and evaluate devices and syntactical structures that |

| | |convey the personality of a character or of a neighborhood/place |

| | |(using description, word choice, personification, naming, etc.) |

| | |Identify and evaluate sentence-level structures and syntax that an|

| | |author can use for two different first-person characters in the |

| | |same text (e.g., sentence length and structure, choice of topic, |

| | |word choice, use of slang, other “Tells,” etc.) |

| | |The Pittsburgh Lexicon |

| | |Grammar and conventions for presentations |

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| | |Portfolio Entries |

| | |Response to Nonfiction (Compare/Contrast Essay) |

| | |Informational Writing |

"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive."

James Baldwin

|FOURTH MARKING PERIOD |

|UNIT |OVERARCHING QUESTIONS |FOCUS CONTENT AND SKILLS |

|Unit 6 |How do these works add to our understanding of |Reading |

|How do authors use their own identity and |what is means to become a “decent” person? |Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of texts |

|experiences to create an identity for their |What is the relationship between these authors |(novels, memoirs, nonfiction, informational texts,|

|protagonist? To what effect? |and their texts? |etc.) |

| |In what ways is an author’s own experiences an |Construct meaning through interpretation and |

| |asset and a liability to their telling of a |analysis and evaluate an author’s use of literary |

|Suggested Pacing: |story? |elements and techniques |

|(5 Instructional Weeks) |How do authors use language to convey the concept|Examine the author’s biases and assumptions |

|Report Period Three Week 9 |of identity? |Identify, analyze, and evaluate a variety of |

|Report Period Four | |complex informational texts |

|Weeks 1-4 | |Distinguish among facts and opinions, evidence and|

| | |inference |

| | |Make connections across texts |

|Major Works | |Writing |

|The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison | |Write a persuasive essay using rhetorical |

| | |strategies and a variety of forms/structures |

|Excerpts from Cultural Contexts for Ralph | |Revise to improve writing |

|Ellison’s Invisible Man | |Grammar, Vocabulary and Language Study |

|Selections from Patterns for College Writing, | |Identify and evaluate grammar structures used in |

|10th Edition | |first person narratives |

| | |Grammar structures particular to persuasive |

| | |writing (using rhythm and sound as persuasive |

|Culminating Project | |techniques, e.g., asyndeton, antithesis, |

| | |alliteration, etc.) |

|Persuasive Essay | |Word choice for persuasion for these types of |

|Short Informational Essay | |persuasive essays |

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| | |Portfolio Entry |

| | |Persuasive Essay |

|FOUTH MARKING PERIOD |

|UNIT |OVERARCHING QUESTIONS |FOCUS CONTENT AND SKILLS |

|Unit 7 |How does Hurston create voice in her writing? |Reading |

| | |Identify author's purpose |

|How does the pursuit of happiness shape our |What role does community play in this novel? |Identify author's style |

|choices and lives? | |Support generalizations |

|  |In the novel, what is the relationship between voice | |

|Suggested Pacing: (5 Instructional Weeks) |and experience? |Writing |

|Report Period Four | |Write a persuasive essay |

|Weeks 5-9 | | |

| | |Grammar and Mechanics |

| | |Active and passive voice |

|Major Work | |Verbs |

|Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale | | |

|Hurston | |Vocabulary |

| | |Tier Two and Tier Three words |

|Culminating Project | | |

| | |Portfolio Entry |

|Response to Literature | |Response to Literature Essay (Critical Analysis) |

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