Year-Long Curriculum Calendar

The calendar is based on standards for sophomores in South Jordan School District in Utah. The literature chosen for each unit originates from a list of books approved for students to read in tenth grade. Class meets every other day for 88 minutes. There are six units that run from August through June:
  • Unit 1- Language: Evolution and Relevancy Now
  • Unit 2- My Place in the World: Using Language for Personal Expression
  • Unit 3- The Power of Persuasion
  • Unit 4- Evolution of the American Dream
  • Unit 5- Multicultural Awareness: The Influence of Different Voices on Life and Literature
  • Unit 6- The Influence of Technology: Synthesizing Media and Literature

Course Throughlines

  1. We will appreciate the role of Language Arts in society as we apply literature themes to our observations, think critically to explore issues, and learn strategies to acquire academic knowledge.
  2. We will understand the continually evolving nature of language as a vehicle for constructing knowledge, acquiring skills, and recording the depth of the human experience.
  3. We will understand the skills, strategies, and processes of writing in order to develop a distinctive writing voice and explore ideas.

Unit 1- Language: Evolution and Relevance Now

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Unit Duration: August 26-September 24 (11 days)
Unit goals:
  1. Students will understand how language is formed through studies of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes. How can we learn definitions based on the makeup of words alone?
  2. Students will understand how language is still being created and changed. How has language changed in the last few years?
  3. Students will understand the usage of Language Arts in their lives.
Resources: Twelfth Night, “Words Containing Ancient Greek or Latin Roots,” “The Ancient Root,” excerpts from Our Greek and Latin Roots (Awareness of Language)

Final Performance: Students will be given a test. Half of the test will be words that the students will define then write sentences about using the first rites. The other half of the test will ask the students to pick a theme in Twelfth Night, tell about how it relates to the book, and tell how it relates to them today. 

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Unit 2- My Place in the World: Using Language for Personal Expression

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Unit Duration: September 20- November 5 (14 days)
Unit goals:
  1. Students will understand the use of language to teach deeper themes. How does a certain technique choice affect the meaning of a poem?
  2. Students will express themselves in various forms of poetry. How does poetry allow us to express emotions that we may not have been able to express otherwise?
Resources:Poems by Carl Sandburg, American Sports Poems, Sylvia Plath’s Metaphors, Truth and Lies   

Final Performance: Students will write a poem or song using techniques discussed in class (symbolism, voice, couplet, alliteration, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, tone, assonance, imagery, personification, mood, repetition) to teach others about some aspect of them as a person and will have the opportunity to perform their song (or poem) for the class.

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Unit 3- The Power of Persuasion

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Unit Duration: November 8-December 22 (15 days)
Unit goals:
  1. Students will understand rhetorical tools that writers and speakers use to persuade audiences. How do people manipulate language in order to persuade us to think a certain way?
  2. Students will understand the impact literature has on society. What impact do words have on others- Historically? Politically? Day to day?
  3. Students will understand how to evaluate sources and incorporate them into their writing. How can one decide what sources to include in order to persuade others to their point of view?
Resources: The Importance of Being Earnest, Commercials/advertisements, “I Believe in Barbecue,” Writing With Clarity and Style, Harrison Bergeron, Colbert Report

Final Performance: Students will write a well-developed research paper on an issue and prepare to debate in a small group using the information from their research paper. Debates will be done in fish bowl style and two or three students will work on each side of an issue.

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Unit 4- Evolution of the American Dream

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Unit Duration: January 3- February 18 (17 days)
Unit goals:
  1. Students will understand how American culture is defined through art and literature. What aspects of our culture are reflected in art and literature?
  2. Students will put ideas of the American dream in historical context to understand the evolution this dream has undergone. How has the American dream changed over time and from the typical idea of the American dream?
Resources: The Great Gatsby, The Pursuit of Happiness, artwork of Norman Rockwell and Elena Siff Erenberg, “Marriage is a Private Affair,” “Looking for Prince Charming,” and the poems “I yearn,” “Lost Sister,” and “[we who carry the endless seasons].”

Final Performance: Students will create a piece of art, literature, or drama to synthesize the ideas of the American dream in order to show their personal concept of what the American dream is. Students will be given the opportunity to share their work with the class.

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Unit 5- Multicultural Awareness: The Influence of Different Voices on Life and Literature

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Unit Duration: February 22-April 8 (17 days)
Unit goals:
  1. Students will compare and contrast themes of isolation, alienation, racism, and overcoming personal obstacles discussed by different cultures present in America. What issues do different cultures face in America?
  2. Students will understand the effect that the presence of multiple cultures has on America. How have the different cultures in America impacted the American culture as a whole?
Resources: Black Boy (and “Walking in Memphis”), House on Mango Street, El Norte(1974), Alfonsina Storni’s “You Want Me White,” Duke Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasie,” and a dozen recent magazines.

Final Performance: Looking specifically at themes and rhetorical devices, students will use examples from literature, media, and art to construct an essay that compares and contrasts two different cultures discussed in class and how they have impacted the American culture.

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Unit 6- The Influence of Technology: Synthesizing Media and Literature

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Unit Duration: April 11- June 1 (18 days)
Unit goals:
  1. Students will compare and contrast rhetorical tools of literature versus film and how they affect the audience. What elements of literature differ when viewed in media form?
  2. Students will comprehend and evaluate information texts in electronic forms. How has literature evolved, and how can we evaluate the electronic texts worth reading?
Resources: Computer lab, www.wikimmunity.org, excerpts from Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out, The Hunger Games

Final Performance: Students will write a paper to compare and contrast between a book and the movie that is based on the book. Students will prepare a book talk, including the comparisons that they found in the book and information from online sources to teach interesting facts about the book and movie. Students will be required to evaluate and choose appropriate sources. 

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