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Whitman-Hanson Regional High School provides all students with a high- quality education in order to develop reflective, concerned citizens

and contributing members of the global community.

110/111 English II (A & B) Academic 120 # of Days

Course Description

This course offers the study of various types of literature, both classical and contemporary, with an emphasis on

American Literature. Literary selections may include novels, drama, short stories, poetry and nonfiction. Students

are given intensive experiences in all language skill areas: reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing and

analysis. This course continues the studies undertaken in English I Academic. Preparation for the MCAS test and

new SAT is included in this course. Students will be evaluated on outside reading assignments. This course

addresses Whitman-Hanson Student Learning Expectations 1-6.

Instructional Strategies

Instructional Strategies include but may not be limited to the following:

Student Learning

Expectations

1. Read, write and communicate effectively.

2. Utilize technologies appropriately and effectively.

3. Apply critical thinking skills.

4. Explore and express ideas creatively.

5. Participate in learning both individually and collaboratively.

6. Demonstrate personal, social, and civic responsibility.

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PART A

Unit of Study – Romanticism and the American Short Story

Common Core State

Standards

RL.11–12.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings;

analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is

particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful.

RL.11–12.9: Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American

literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

RI.11–12.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style

and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

W.11–12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately

through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

SL.11–12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and

sufficient evidence.

L.11–12.3: 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.

Time Frame:

3 weeks

Text (Chapter/Pages)

Short Stories:

“Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket” (Jack Finney)

“The Possibility of Evil” (Shirley Jackson), and “The Lottery” (Shirley Jackson),

excerpts from “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Poe)

“Edna’s Ruthie” (Cisneros)

*See short story packets with Pre-AP resources/activities: “Possibility of Evil” and “The Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket”

Other Resources:

Short Story PowerPoint

Literary Terms: grades 9/10: LTF

Short story literary devices/foundation unit

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Essential

Questions Concepts, Content:

How does the author build suspense in “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket”?

What are the similarities and differences between Shirley Jackson’s two works?

How does the modern short story reflect the conventions established by Poe?

How does an author create meaning through literary devices?

How does Poe use diction/syntax/figurative language/imagery to create mood/tone/etc.?

Targeted Skill(s)

Close analysis of the literary elements of the short story (annotating a text, analyzing diction and figurative language)

Characterize Miss Strangeworth (Post-mortem of a protagonist activity – LTF – dialectical journals/writing assessment)

Students will be able to break down a writing prompt and understand how to use concrete evidence (diction, figurative language,

etc.) to explain abstract ideas (tone, theme, mood, etc).

Comparison and contrast of selected short stories

Learn the MLA format

Clarify your intention

Find common grounds for comparison

Methods of comparison

Writing:

Potential essay topics:

“The Lottery” and “The Possibility of Evil” essay Comparison and contrast paper rubric Tone assignment: “The Lottery” and “The Possibility of Evil”

Tone sheet: LTF

“The Cask of Amontillado”essay: characterization Literacy rubric Literary analysis rubric Compare and contrast the authors’ purpose in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket.” Compare the use of foreshadowing, mood, point of view, and descriptive writing in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The

Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket.” Open response: diction/syntax/mood/tone in “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Poe)

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Open Response: How does diction and figurative language create suspense in “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket”?

Assessment

Practices:

Common characterization open response: “Edna’s Ruthie” Teacher-created Unit Tests, Quizzes, Class Discussions, Projects

Terminology

Literary Terms: grades 9/10: LTF

Unit of Study –Transcendentalism and The Gospel According to Larry

Common Core State

Standards RL.11-12.2: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text,

including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.11-12.9: Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American

literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

RI.11-12.5: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including

whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

W.11-12.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and

well-structured event sequences.

SL.11-12.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners

can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance,

and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range or formal and informal tasks.

L.11-12.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9-10 reading

and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Time Frame:

3 weeks

Text (Chapter/Pages)

Novels:

The Gospel According to Larry (Janet Tashjian)

Selections:

Walden (Henry David Thoreau)

Essays and excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson

Non-Fiction:

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“Walden” (E.B. White)

Other Resources:

Essential

Questions Concepts,

Content:

What is American Individualism?

Has the modern man lost his connection to the natural world?

Targeted Skill(s):

Define the major characteristics of American Transcendentalism

Trace the influence of Thoreau’s Transcendentalism to modern times

Reflective writing

Creative writing

Writing:

Possible Writing Topics:

Syntax sermons/Oral Presentations

Point of view sermons/Oral Presentations

Open-response question

Transcendentalism essay

Long composition-MCAS

Literary analysis rubric

Assessment

Practices:

Teacher created Unit Tests, Quizzes, Class Discussions, Projects, Essays

Terminology Selected Literary terms

Unit of Study – Emerging Modernism

Common Core State

Standards RL.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well

as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RL.11-12.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective,

analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

W.11-12.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to

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task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

SL.11-12.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in

presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

L.11-12.6: Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for

reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in

gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Time Frame:

5 weeks

Text (Chapter/Pages)

Novel:

The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Poems:

“Chicago” (Carl Sandburg)

“I Hear America Singing” (Walt Whitman)

“The Unknown Citizen” (W.H.Auden)

Songs:

“Little Pink Houses” (John Cougar Mellancamp)

“Coming to America” (Neil Diamond)

Informational Texts:

“What is the American Dream?” (Library of Congress)

“The American Dream: All Gush and Twinkle” (Louis Auchincloss)

“Color Symbolism and The Great Gatsby” (Daniel J. Schnieder)

Other Resources:

The Great Gatsby film (2012)

Essential Questions Concepts, Content:

How did modernization result in isolation and disillusionment in the early American twentieth century?

How did the economic conditions of the 1920s define its values?

Targeted Skill(s):

Note the relationship between themes in early twentieth century American literature and nineteenth century

American thought.

Examine evidence of the alienation of “modern man.”

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Close analysis of literary elements

Writing:

Open response: Characterization-Daisy Buchanan Open response: Characterization-Tom Buchanan Open response: Characterization-Dan Cody Open response: Theme: Illusion vs. Reality-Gatsby and Daisy Open response: Mood-Gatsby Research Paper: The Great Gatsby

Critical essays: The Great Gatsby-“All Gush and Twinkle,”“The World as Ash Heap,”etc.

Assessment Practices:

Teacher created Tests, Quizzes, Class Discussions, Projects, and Essays

The Great Gatsby Unit

Terminology alienation

American modernism

Color symbolism

disillusionment

industrialization

Literary Terms: grades 9/10: LTF

Unit of Study –The Modern Novel: A Separate Peace Common Core State

Standards RL.11-12.2: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text,

including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.11-12.9: Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American

literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

RI.11-12.5: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including

whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

W.11-12.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and

well-structured event sequences.

SL.11-12.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners

can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance,

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and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range or formal and informal tasks.

L.11-12.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9-10 reading

and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Time Frame:

1 week

Text (Chapter/Pages)

Novel: A Separate Peace

Other Resources:

Essential

Questions Concepts,

Content:

How are people impacted by war?

Is competition healthy or unhealthy?

Is idealism practical in times of war?

What characterizes a coming-of-age experience?

Targeted Skill(s):

Define the major characteristics of the modern novel.

Explain how the historical background (WWII) affects the plot/characters.

Reflective writing

Analytical writing

Writing:

Possible Writing Topics:

MCAS Unit: A Separate Peace

Long composition-MCAS

Literary analysis rubric

Critical essays

A Separate Peace essay packet

Essay foundation

Assessment

Practices:

Teacher created Unit Tests, Quizzes, Class Discussions, Projects, Essays

Terminology

Literary Terms: grades 9/10: LTF

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PART B

Unit of Study – Challenges of the Twentieth Century

Common Core State

Standards RL.11-12.5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice

of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall

structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

RL.11-12.7: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play

or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by

Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)

RI.11-12.2: Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the

text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective

summary of the text.

W.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information

clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

SL.11-12.3: Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance,

premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

L.11-12.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Interpret figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their role in the text.

Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

Time Frame:

5 weeks

Text (Chapter/Pages)

Novel:

Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)

Excerpts from The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

Short Stories:

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (Flannery O’Connor)

“The Bear” (William Faulkner)

“Winter Night” (Kay Boyle)

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” (Katherine Anne Porter)

“A Worn Path” (Eudora Welty)

Poems:

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“Theme for English B” (Langston Hughes)

“Mother to Son” (Langston Hughes)

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (Langston Hughes)

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (Maya Angelou)

“The Bean Eaters” (Gwendolyn Brooks)

“Acquainted with the Night” (Robert Frost)

Essays:

From “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (Martin Luther King, Jr)

Speeches:

William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

“In Praise of Robert Frost” (John F. Kennedy)

Other Resources:

o Flannery O'Connor's “A Good Man is Hard to Find”: Who's the Real Misfit? (National Endowment for the

Humanities) (RL.11-12.9)

o Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”: Every Punctuation Mark Matters: A Mini-lesson

on Semicolons (ReadWriteThink)

o Of Mice and Men film (Gary Sinese)

Essential Questions Concepts, Content:

Does Twentieth-century American literature represent a fulfillment of America’s promise?

Targeted Skill(s):

Understanding of the outcomes of The Great Depression

Instruction of the process of the research paper, i.e. literary criticism, MLA format, etc.

Utilize skills in preparation for MCAS

Close analysis

Writing:

Essays Open Response questions that segue into the MCAS Long Composition Open response: symbolism “Shoulders” Open response: Characterization-Curley

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Open response: Characterization-Slim Open response: Close analysis-Diction/Imagery/Tone Open response: MCAS-Ma Joad characterization Open response: Extended metaphor/tone MCAS Long Composition Prompts

Literacy Rubric

Literary Analysis Of Mice and Men MCAS Unit

Assessment Practices:

Teacher created Tests, Quizzes, Class Discussions, Projects and Essays

Time Frame:

7 weeks

Text (Chapter/Pages)

Julius Caesar/MCAS prep

Other Resources: Julius Caesar: No Fear Shakespeare

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Essential Questions Concepts, Content:

What defines the tragic hero?

Does fate or free will play a stronger role in men’s lives?

Is idealism a noble/practical characteristic when assuming leadership?

Should one person have absolute control?

Mob mentality: How does/can one maintain individuality when part of a larger group?

Targeted Skill(s):

Understanding of Roman culture

Understanding/analysis of/paraphrasing of Shakespearean language

Understanding/analysis of major themes, motifs, symbols, etc.

Identification of literary devices

Universal applications to our lives

Utilization of skills in preparation for MCAS

Close analysis

Writing:

Essays

Oral recitation: soliloquies, monologues, speeches Act I writing assignment

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Open response: Brutus’s soliloquy-Act II, i Open response: Brutus and Cassius-Act II, i Creative Writing Project “Sonnet 18”: Open response MCAS Long Composition Prompts Mock Orations Julius Caesar Newspaper Caesar Unit

Assessment Practices:

Teacher created Tests, Quizzes, Class Discussions, Projects and Essays

Trimester 1 exam

Trimester 2 exam