English IV (12th Grade)
Description
Come explore the world of big ideas in English IV, where you are able to choose which path you will travel first as you explore highly-engaging, thematic units. Each path will guide you through a series of literary pieces that allow you to analyze the political, social, economic, and cultural messages of its time as well as its relevance to the world you live in today. Each path revolves around a central theme. The works in the course span a period of over 1000 years and have been written by authors who share common ideas, but employ a variety of literary genres to express their views. Whether it is the dramatic ending of a play, or the colorful images in a verse of poetry, the words of these authors will leave you with a new understanding of the world around you. As you travel down each path, you will create authentic work pieces that will engage you in higher-level learning and provide you with a greater understanding of literature and its connection to the world.
Major Topics and Concepts
Semester 1
Forces of Nature
Readings
Excerpts of Beowulf, Macbeth, and "Heroism."
Concepts
Character development
Plot analysis
Theme
Tone
Mood
Literary devices
Syntax
Thematic analysis
Six traits of writing
Narrative writing process
Proper use of conventions
Skills
Reading Shakespeare
Conducting literary analysis
Writing to address multiple texts
Incorporating direct quotes
Planning a narrative
Writing a narrative
An Empire Divided (Honors)
Readings
"Land of Hope and Glory," "Song to the Men of England," and The Man Who Would Be King
Concepts
Figurative language
Poetic forms and devices
Elements of Fiction: plot, character, conflict, theme, setting, point of view
Tone
Mood
Diction
Connotation and denotation
Syntax
Skills
Experiencing and analyzing poetry
Analyzing literary text
Writing an informative/explanatory essay
Semester 2
Expressions
Readings
Selected poems, "The Story of an Hour," "A Jury of Her Peers," excerpts of pieces written by Benjamin Franklin, Judith Sargent Murray, and selected newspaper and magazine articles.
Concepts
Figurative language
Figures of speech
Poetic forms and devices
Tone
Mood
Diction
Connotation and denotation
Imagery
Allusion
Symbolism
Character development
Historical context
Thematic analysis
Summary
Skills
Experiencing and analyzing poetry
Writing poetry
Reading and analyzing informational text
Identifying and understanding different perspectives
Summarizing
Proof of Satire
Reading
Selected political speeches, selected closing arguments from well-known court cases, selected newspaper and magazine articles, "Advice to Youth," and "Burlesque Autobiography"
Concepts
Basic elements of persuasion
Compare and contrast
Argument analysis
Characteristics of an effective claim
Appeals to logic, emotion, and ethics
Logical fallacies
Research skills
Ethical researching and writing practices
Six traits of writing
Argument writing process
MLA format
Domain-specific language
Precise language
Humor and satire
Proper use of conventions
Skills
Analyzing arguments
Identifying appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos
Researching multiple sides of an issue
Stating a claim
Interpreting visual representations of data
Creating an infographic
Identifying satire
Analyzing satirical works
Fall of the Empire (Honors)
Reading
"Shooting an Elephant," "Speech at Calicut," "To Every Englishman in India," and various news articles
Concepts
Characteristics of nonfiction texts
Theme
Figurative language
Tone
Mood
Diction
Connotation and denotation
Syntax
Conventions
Skills
Analyzing traits of a personal essay
Research to support writing a news article
Analyzing traits of professional writers
Writing an inverted pyramid news article
Course Reading List
All texts are available to students in the course
Semester 1
Module 1:
Excerpts of Beowulf
Excerpts of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Excerpts of "Heroism" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Module 2:
Preamble to the United States Constitution
The Bill of Rights
Various articles and court cases
"Fire and Like"
Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
Semester 1 Honors:
The Man Who would Be King by Rudyard Kipling
"The Land of Hope and Glory" by Arthur C. Benson
"Song to the Men of England" by Percey Shelley
Semester 2
Module 3:
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
"A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell
Excerpt of the "Ladies’ Declaration of Independence"
Excerpt of letter by Abigail Adams
Excerpt of "The Good House-wife" by Benjamin Franklin
Excerpt of "On the Equality of the Sexes" by Judith Sargent Murray
Selected newspaper and magazine articles
"In Superman and Christopher Reeve, different ideas of American heroes" by Ted Anthony
"Women in combat face doubts over emotions, ability" by Julie Watson
"Fur Flies at ‘Kung Fu Panda’ premiere at Cannes" by David Germain
"Big-screen superheroes include, dummy, recluse, and 2 drunks"
Selected poetry
"She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Bryon
"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman
"The Eagle" by Alfred Lord Tennyson
"The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Lord Tennyson
"The Bells" by Edgar Allen Poe
"The Lamb" by William Blake
"The Tyger" by William Blake
"A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns
" ‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers-(314)" by Emily Dickinson
A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear
"Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns
"An Essay on Man" by Alexander Pope
"Emancipation" by Emily Dickinson
Selections from Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
Students choose one article to closely read:
"The Lumineers ride folk rock wave to Grammys"
"‘Anything goes’ now in campaign financing?"
"For 1st time since 1999, music revenues inch up"
"Practically human: Can smart machines do your job?"
"Games likely to follow Pentagon on women in combat"
"Funny women flourish in female-written comedies"
Module 4:
Political Speeches
ichelle Obama’s speeches on childhood obesity
Anti-Federalist Papers No. 84 by "Brutus"
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address (year)
Selected closing arguments from well-known court cases
hicago Black Sox Trial, 1921
Lindbergh Trial, 1935
Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka
Selected newspaper magazine articles
Why Soda Ban Will Work in Fight Against Obesity; Food Regulations Have Proven Record." by Nadia Arumugam
"You’re not special" by David McCullough, Jr.
Excerpts of "Advice to Youth" by Mark Twain
Excerpts of "Burlesque Autobiography" by Mark Twain
Excerpts of "Autobiography" by Benjamin Franklin
Quotations of Soda Ban Explained video by Casey Neistat
Selected Poetry
"Sonnet 130" by William Shakespeare
Semester 2 Honors:
"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s speech at Calicut
"To Every Englishman in India" by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Various news articles