SURVEY OF WORLD LITERATURE THROUGH A HUMANITIES APPROACH

9th Grade English

Daily Goals for Each Student

To learn something about yourself

To learn something about the way the world works

To learn something about how language works

Essential Questions

Why is it important that we study art forms such as philosophy, literature, art, and music in concert?

How can studying the humanities help us to find our common humanity?

How does a study of past art forms help us to understand our modern world?

Why is the “personal journey” a recurrent feature of myth, and how do elements of myth manifest themselves in contemporary literature? How does this speak to a sense of common humanity or the common human experience?

What is the relationship between our stories and our identities?

Units of Study

Mini-unit on Intro to the HumanitiesHero’s Quest (The Common Human

Experience): Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi The Odyssey by Homer Night by Elie Weisel

The Impact of Culture (The Significance of Situated Knowledge): Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston Krik? Krak! By Edwidge Danticat Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Approach to Writing

National Writing Project

Writing is a not only a means to express ideas, but a way to GET ideas. (Writing is thinking!)

Good writing skills are not simply “natural” – they are learned. All students can become more skillful writers if they are taught the processes and techniques of quality writing. Writing Improvement Logs (students should earn credit

for improvement/progress)

Approaches to Writing

Developing writers should regularly be exposed to quality texts.

Developing writers should have diverse and frequent writing experiences. Narratives Literary analysis essays Poetry Articles/news writing Multi-media projects

Grading

Each marking period: 21% of total grade Writing 35% Tests 30% Quizzes 20% Homework 15%

Authentic Assessment: 8% of total gradeFinal Exam: 8% of total grade

Equality vs. Equity

Homework

Practice for assessments/reinforcement of concepts

Agendas and Handouts on First Class

No “daily” homework late (4 points or fewer)

Authentic Assessment

“This I Believe” Essay Based on “word of intention” A culmination of a year’s worth of

analysis/exploration of this personally meaningful word/idea

Examples: uncertainty, risk, companionship, commitment, travel, education, beauty, acceptance, protest, etc.