A STORY WORTH READING: THE COURSE PLAN English 9 Casey Beeman

PART I: Environment Envisioning This course plan is designed with a ninth grade, English Language Arts (ELA) classroom in mind. The school is located in a typical, suburban setting and consistently maintains 1,000 students on average. The demographic, much to do with the location, is predominantly middleclass Caucasian. There is, however, a diverse third of the student population that represents the racial, spiritual and sexual minorities in our community.

As an introduction to high school, this course explores concepts that may prove relevant in the life of a freshman. With a focus on three themes (developing identity; coming-of-age; making yourself), this course aims to provide an environment that models creative, critical thought and its use in making sense of reality. During this critical exploration, it will be important to consider the ELA common core standards because there are a mess of expectations that students are required to meet. When teaching this course, we must always be integrating the state mandated standards in order to properly prepare our pupils.

The students will read a variety of texts in the form of multiple technological mediums. By studying a wide range of literary formats, the students are able to gain an enlightened consideration for the world around them. Slowly, they will begin to realize how they are defined by their environment, much like certain characters in our readings. For example, The Hunger

Games would be an ideal introduction to the identity unit of this course. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet also explores identity, with its "individual versus society" conflict. Melba Beals'
autobiographical novel, Warriors Don't Cry, is a firsthand account of the Little Rock integration. While exposing unprecedented intolerance and racism, this text touches on bullying, bravery and an imminent identity crisis as reflected through the eyes of a young, black female. With a study of these texts, students will find that this course provides valuable insight into the development of self, or identity.

Establishing an identity is a tremendously important idea that consistently reoccurs in literature, but it is only the beginning. Students are beginning to mature into the adult versions of themselves, naturally transforming and shaping their identity. Upon entering ninth grade, they find that the educational environment has drastically changed. Now young adults, these boys and girls are in the delicate process of growing up. Every young adult has some sort of conflict that prevents the child within from letting go, but certain texts like The Perks of Being a

Wallflower, The Sea Wolf or Red Badge of Courage explore this concept, thoroughly shedding
light upon the growing-up process. All three texts acknowledge that leaving adolescence can be an intimidating journey, but, with this course, they assist students in understanding the complexities of their own coming-of-age tale.

The third and final thematic focus of this course is the ambitious art of "making yourself." In some of the texts we will explore, there is a common trend that relates power and control. In particular, we would like to focus on the power of a person to create their own reality when in pursuit of dreams. The best representative of this thematic concept is found in our study of The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian author. In this foreign text, Coelho depicts a young man's journey to achieve his personal legend (dream), during which, the young man faces many philosophical obstacles which force him to confront his fears. In pursuit of self-actualization, he actively acknowledges his role in writing, or creating, his own story. This text ties together the three course themes, ultimately suggesting the course's guiding question: Will my story be one worth reading?

The final project will be a culmination of our yearlong study, focused on answering the guiding question. With all standards considered, the intended course outcomes should be reflected in this end project. They will need to use their newly developed literary skills to relate our class work with their own personal experiences. Assessment will be based on their application of these skills, their attempt to relate with the literature, and the depth of their introspection in regards to our thematic focus.

PART II: Integrating State Mandated Standards (CCS) into ELA Course Goals

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA)

9TH GRADE READING, WRITING, SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS

ELA Skills and Concepts For IntegrationStudents Have To (SW): SW read and analyze a diverse mix of literature, learning to define the explicit meaning, the consciously crafted structure, and the textual developments that occur. SW analyze text: recognize and sight textual evidence of explicit meaning. SW analyze text: determine themes SW analyze text: character development and interactions SW analyze text: author's conscious word choice and potential meaning SW analyze text: author's conscious event choices and development of plot structure. SW establish a more worldly point of view by reading from a diverse range of texts SW experience multiple artistic mediums SW compare texts to other works SW develop techniques for independently analyzing and understanding a work of literature. RL-7 RL-9 RL-10 RL-6 RL-5 RL-4 RL-2 RL-3 RL-1 READING LITERATURE (RL) READING INFORMATIVE (RI) Related ELA Standard-

SW comprehend an informative text's explicit meaning and intended message. SW recognize the central idea's development through text and accurately summarize SW recognize how the main points are introduced and developed. SW determine word meanings and the impact of using that particular word. SW assess the structure of the text's sections and consider the impact of their placement SW consider the author's purpose, message and point of view SW engage the text through various mediums. SW critique the text, evaluating its argument

RI-1 RI-2 RI-3 RI-4 RI-5 RI-6 RI-7 RI-8

based on the author's reasoning. SW analyze historical documents. SW independently comprehend informative text. RI-9 RI-10

ELA Skills and Concepts For IntegrationStudents Have To (SW): SW develop their writing with routine practice, learning to produce clear and concise arguments, thoughtfully constructed narratives and informative texts. SW write a properly defended argument, using valid reasoning and sufficient evidence to defend your position. SW write an appropriately organized informative text, with thoughtful analysis conveying complex ideas. SW write a narrative that showcases the written voice, the consciousness of textual details and a consideration of structure. SW produce clear writing by developing a recognition for appropriate writing formats (formal, informal, business, pleasure). SW reconsider their writing through the process of editing, peer-revision and selfrevision. SW use technology to publish writings, taking advantage of the ability to link information to other information. SW conduct a written research project that reflects an understanding of the research topic while considering multiple perspectives and sources. SW gather information from various resources and provide the proper citations and bibliography. SW contrast and compare texts to one another, relating them in a manner that expresses an W-9 W-8 W-7 W-6 W-5 W-4 W-3 W-2 W-1

Related ELA Standard-

WRITING (W)

overall theme, or opinion. SW write routinely. W-10

ELA Skills and Concepts For IntegrationStudents Have To (SW): SW communicate effectively and efficiently while demonstrating a respect for other ideas and opinions by listening, relating and responding to the speaker. SW discuss ideas verbally in groups (small or large) in order to build upon each other's ideas, thus, developing informed perspectives. SW evaluate a myriad of diverse media sources, considering the source's credibility. SW identify the speaker's point of view and rational, then, evaluate the speaker based on these things. SW present information in a clear, concise and logical manner for the listener. SW use digital media to enhance the intended message. SW differentiate between formal and informal situations and adapt their speech accordingly, depending on the circumstance. SL-6 SL-5 SL-4 SL-3 SL-2 SL-1

Related ELA Standard-

SPEAKING AND LISTENING (SL)

ELA Skills and Concepts For IntegrationStudents Have To (SW): SW produce grammatically correct English when writing and speaking, composing and comprehending figurative language, and clarifying meaning when necessary. SW command English grammar in their use of writing and speaking. SW explore language in multiple contexts. SW figure out how to clarify word, phrase and sentence meanings. SW accept the ambiguity of figurative language LS-5 LS-3 LS-4 LS-1

Related ELA Standard-

LANGUAGE STANDARD (LS)

and develop an artistic understanding of its use. SW expand their intellectual vocabulary to achieve higher level comprehension. LS-6

OVERVIEW OF COURSE OBJECTIVES STUDENTS WILL ACTIVELY GAIN (S.W.A.G.)

1. SWBAT a wider grasp of life's complexities through critical exploration of characters, structures, and narrative development in diverse readings. 2. SWBAT the ability to independently interpret a text, recognizing key literary elements that reflect the author's intent and allow the reader to analyze and critique the purpose and merit of the work. 3. SWBAT an understanding of how to appropriately create and evaluate an argumentative stance or position based on audience, reasoning and research coupled with the ability to properly cite their sources as to avoid plagiarism. 4. SWBAT the opportunity to develop their writing, reading, speaking and listening skills by routinely engaging in each discipline to make writing a craft, reading a hobby, speaking effective and listening an act of attentive patience and respect. 5. SWBAT exposure to multiple forms of technology, allowing them to gather information from diverse media sources and then present the information using equally diverse media sources. 6. SWBAT an important exploration of the language in multiple contexts, formats and from multiple points of view in order to expand their insight on various concepts.

UNIT OUTLINES Unit: ELA Concepts: Possible Alternate Mediums: 1. Who Am I? Theme(s)- Man v. Society, Power, Identity Movie- The Hunger Games (2012) The Declaration of Literary Devices- Character Development & Interaction, Independence (1776)
Course Concept Questions (CCQ):

Who am I? How am I here? Chain of events. If I were in the games, how would I do? What would my strength be? My weakness?

The Hunger Games (THG)

Point of View (POV) Discussion of texts- Clear and concise points, considerate speakers, respectful listeners Integration of historical texts

Which district would I be from? Could I survive? Consider THG and the U.S. Declaration of Independence. What rights did it grant us that were lost in THG?

2. Who Am I NOT?

Theme(s)- Man v. Self, Society & Nature; Power & Control

Essays/ Articles on 1984 (to critique; to help develop writing process)

Who am I NOT? Who do I WANT to be? What is holding me back? Does society have standards/ rules that keep me from truly being myself? What is Winston's deal? What is he NOT that he wishes he could be? How can we compare Winston's struggle with the LGBT article? How are their internal and external struggles similar? How can we compare 1984 with THG? Who is "big brother" in THG? Can we compare and contrast Winston and Katniss?

Nineteen Eighty-Four
Orwell, 1949

Literary Analysis- Explicit & Implicit meaning, character development Music- Rage Author intent; Impact of author's choices Writing Process (peer and self revision); critiquing writing Anti-Plagiarism- Research/ Reference other texts and sources Against the Machine Article about LGBT struggle against society, self & nature Movie- 1984

3. Who Are We?

Theme(s)- Man v. Nature; Savagery; Loss of Innocence; Power and Hierarchy

Movie- Pleasantville (loss of innocence) Game- Unit long

What does LOTF suggest about society? about human nature? about power and hierarchy? How does the savagery in LOTF compare to the THG? How do the characters in THG differ in their temperament, perspective and point-ofview? Consider LOTF and 1984. How

Lord of the Flies (LOTF)

Golding, 1954

Character Analysis (what each character represents) Author Intention (impact of words, word meaning)

division of the class (fire vs. hunter) where the students compete in LOTF themed activities

do these societies differ? What

Symbolism (conch shell, classes, monster) Clarification of word meaning (context clues; alternative resources)

if one of the two tribe leaders was actually Winston later in life? Would he have been Jack or Ralph? Who are WE as a collective? What keeps us in line? from becoming savages? In what ways are we still savages (NFL, UFC)? Why do we still love violence? Compare LOTF and Pleasantville, considering the loss of innocence and the result.

4. Who should we NOT be?

Diverse texts (Autobiography) Diverse demographic (African-American, female) Point-of-View (racism, violence, bullying)

DocumentaryLittle Rock segregation

Who should we NOT be? What aspects of society exist that shouldn't? Intolerance? Racism? Imagine being an African American in this setting. How would you have handled the attacks, the threats and the torment? Was Melba more MLK or MX in her philosophy? Imagine being a white person in this setting. How would you act? Like link? Was Link handling things appropriately? Is it okay to be friendly, but act racist around the other whites? What kinds of people do we see on Jersey Shore? Are they good or bad? Are their actions positive or negative? Are all people from Jersey like this? What does it say about our culture when we put this stuff on television? Are we okay" with that behavior? Weren't most people "okay" with the

Warriors Don't Cry

Beals, 1994

DocumentaryMartin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm-X Movie- 12 Angry

Integrating Historical Documents

Men Guest Speaker Music- Imagine by John Lennon TV- Jersey Shore Clips

Little Rock racism?

5. Who am I becoming?

Perspective/ Point-of-view Writer evaluation/ analysis

Movie- The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012) Alternate Reading:

Does it feel like Charlie is writing his letters to you? How might you respond? Pick a particular letter and write a response to it.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Chbosky, 1999

Character development Diverse texts (letter format) Diverse demographic (introverted male) Diverse concepts (rape, drugs, suicide, sexuality, love, depression, family, friendship...)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

(Haddon, 2003)

How do you relate to Charlie? What do you think of his choices? His perspective? What role does love play in this story? Compare the text with The

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. How do the

main characters seem alike? How do they seem different?

6. Who am I becoming-ing?

Diverse texts (Autobiography) Diverse demographic (Asian-American, female)

Paper Daughter
Mar, 2000

Theme(s)- Class and Culture Struggles, Identity...)

7. Loving Life and Language

Determination of Word Meaning (context clues, literary resources)

Play- Romeo and Juliet Movie- His Girl

How does Shakespeare's language hinder our ability to understand R&J? Consider both the written version and the spoken version. Can you understand? What does this suggest about effective language use? about literacy? about language evolution? Compare the main love stories

Romeo and Juliet (R&J) and

Shakespeare's poetry/sonnets

Diverse text (play/ script)

Friday (1940) Poem- Jabberwocky

Diverse mediums (acting in class, observing the play live) Speaking and Listening Skills (clear, concise, and audience appropriate language use;

(Carroll, 1872) Alternate Reading:

of R&J and His Girl Friday. How does Romeo relate to Walter Burns? How far would they go to get the girl? Who goes further? How do Juliet and Hildy relate? What do these

Twilight Saga

respectful and attentive listening)

characters suggest about women of their time? about gender roles? about love? TWILIGHT ALTERNATIVE: When considering R&J, Twilight, and His Girl Friday, how do the three main female characters compare? Who is the strongest? Who is the most naive? Now consider the male suitors (Romeo, Paris, Tybalt, Edward, Jacob, Walter, Bruce) and decide which three men should go to which girl. Romeo and Bella? Jacob and Hildy? Edward and Bruce?

8. Expression of My Life and Language Contemporary Poetry 2000-2012

Muse Opus Project Music- Hip hop as poetry Speaking- Edgar Allen Flow (reading poetry in rhythmic fashion; reading random poems with a hip hop metronome)

8. Earning my legs

Character analysis (static vs. dynamic)

Text- What is Man?

How does Hump make a transition as a character? What steps does he take to "earn his legs?" Does he succeed? Who helps him along the way? Compare the intellectual conversations between Hump and the captain to those of Twain's What is Man?

(A philosophical
dialogue by Mark Twain) Debate- Form an argument based on a philosophical conversation between Hump and the captain

The Sea Wolf

London, 1904

9. Earning my place

Theme- Identity Diverse concepts (class

Play- A Number

(Churchill, 2002)
struggle, organized religion, social expectations)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Dick, 1975

10. Earning my badge.

Music- The General by Dispatch

Red Badge of Courage

Crane, 1895

11. Making Myself

Diverse demographic (Latino) Diverse setting (Mediterranean)

Movie- Into the Wild Alternate Reading:

What does it mean to you, this idea of 'making yourself?' If your life was a story, or movie, who would be writing it? Have you been writing your story? How does the young man write his own story? How is he making himself? Draw a timeline that begins today and takes you to your ideal self. Dream big. Make stuff up. Compare the text with Into the

The Alchemist
Coelho, 1988

The Pilgrimage
(Coelho, 1987)

Wild. How do the stories seem

similar? Do you think Alexander Supertramp might have read some Coelho?

PART III: Rationalizing The Gameplan This course plan is designed with a ninth grade, English Language Arts (ELA) classroom in mind, therefore, I chose a myriad of texts that I felt would help students entering into the brave new world that is high school. In my course planning, I decided to break the course up into three major segments, or themes, that could be considered pertinent parts of the "growing up" process (developing identity; coming-of-age; making yourself). Each segment was filled with texts, chosen for their capacity to represent the segment's particular theme. However, some of the texts could easily transcend into other segments. This will allow us to relate the themes together, thus, opening an avenue to relate the texts together.

If we begin with The Hunger Games, we begin with something that they are familiar with. If they are familiar with the text, hopefully they will be more likely to engage with the lesson. This text is our introduction to the question of "who am I?" By asking the students to consider themselves in The Hunger Games as a tribute, we can get to know them (and help them know themselves) in an atypical manner. By describing themselves in an imaginative way is less threatening and it gives them a context by which to consider themselves. How would you survive in the games? What strengths do you have that would be useful in the arena?

As with most of these discussions, they can be spoken or written, depending on whichever literacy needs exercising. Anytime the students are writing, they are working toward fulfilling their state mandated requirements. Anytime the students are speaking, they are

practicing effective communication. It is important to use both methods of discussion in order to fulfill our course goals.

I chose Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Lord of the Flies, and Warriors Don't Cry because they fit with the "developing identity" theme. Warriors Don't Cry is beneficial in multiple aspects. It is an historical autobiography, written by an African-American female who tells about her experience with racism, bullying and bigotry during her integration into an all white school. This text, along with Lord of the Flies, allow the students to think about who they are as individuals and who we are a society. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is another novel that would be great, that is, if the school district will allow it to be used in the classroom. It has a lot of progressive themes that the students would find exhilarating. However, their parents might not approve of such dramatically progressive concepts for their child's consideration.

In spirit of the common core standards, the course includes a Shakespeare unit, as well as many other classically required readings. A poetry unit is included, meant for both poetic exposure and self-exploration. With such a wide range of diverse considerations, the students are able to fulfill the state mandates. The many formats available to present these diverse texts also provide students with models by which they can form their own writing.

While much of this course is based on maintaining the standards that are set by the state, there are other objectives that I hope to achieve throughout the course. These objectives may be impossible to assess in so many ways, but they need not be assessed. They are the ideas that we hope to instill in our youth, the pieces of our self that we believe worth sharing.

They are the things that I hope to teach, but also learn, during this course. The three, course encompassing themes are aspects of growing up that I have found pertinent in my own life and experiences, still to this day. Not only are these concepts tools for the students growth, they are the basis for my own, continuing exploration of myself as a teacher and human being. Ultimately, I feel like these contemplations are the stepping stones of development, through which I hope to become a man worth listening to. When we find somebody worth listening to, we tend to learn from them.

In a way, the previous paragraph encapsulates the "making yourself" theme. I have a vision of the person I would like to be, and try to identify the steps that I must take to get there. Considering that this is a concept I am still working on at twenty-four, I feel like it is worth some high school contemplation. Will my story be one worth reading? Maybe the sooner it starts, the better off we will be. Then again, maybe we shouldn't introduce the "thinker's disease" to the young ones, blissfully drowning in hormones, television and infinite potential.