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COURSE OVERVIEW
COURSE OVERVIEW
Freshman English uses the HMH Intro to Literature curriculum. Students will access the materials both digitally, using Bremerton School Distrct's technology hub Clever, and with their consumable (paper) textbook. In a global online world, it is important for students to learn to navigate digital media in responsible and meaningful ways. That said, we acknowledge that we want to be intentional about how and how much screen time students experience. Therefore, students are expected to bring their spiral notebook and their charged Chromebook to class with them each day where there will be a balance of assignments due digitally as well as on paper.
In this class, collaboration and learning are not only expected, they are required!
Freshman Into Literature focuses on reading, text analysis, grammar and writing skills through a gradual release model - students work in whole class large groups, small groups, and independently to learn, practice, and apply skills on both digital and traditional paper activities, assignments, assessments, and projects. The curriculum is built to be flexible, allowing for individual need and choice, when appropriate.
Units are arranged thematically with reading standards taught, practiced, and assessed through multiple genres of reading and writing in each unit.
NOTE: The 2025-2026 school year is a BHS pilot year for the curriculum, therefore it is unlikely all units will be covered. Texts and assessments may change and may be covered out of order. Additional texts used for student choice may be accessed through the HMH Ed online site.
UNIT OVERVIEW
UNIT OVERVIEW
This year is the pilot year for our new ELA Curriculum, HMH Into Literature. With that in mind, we will be focused on accessing the units aligned with our Essential Reading and Writing Standards. If there is time at the end of the year, we will explore areas of the remaining units.
Freshman students will have two novel studies: Lord of the Flies and another (not yet determined).
First Semester 2025-2026: We will begin our studies with Unit 3, followed by Unit 1, and then students will read and analyze the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. As we continue to evaluate this new curriculum, we will update with the order of units for semester two.
UNIT 3: CRIME SCENES
Texts:
Entwined, Brian Tobin (Short Story)
Excerpt from The 57 Bus, Dashka Slater (Literary Nonfiction)
Why Are We Obsessed with True Crime?, Laura Hensley (Informational Text)
Gift-Wrapped Fathers, Eduardo (Echo) Martinez (Poem)
Bully, Radiotopia/PRX (Podcast)
Unsolved "Vigilante" Murder in the Heartland, C.M. Frankie (News Article)
Possible novels include: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote; Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, or We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss
Assessments:
Write an informative essay
Reflect and extend: sketchnote or argumentative essay
Grammar assignments
Create a podcast
Unit test
UNIT 1: AGAINST ALL ODDS
Texts:
Excerpt from A Chance in the World, Steve Pemberton (Literary Nonfiction)
The Leap, Louise Erdrich (Short Story)
Is Survival Selfish?, Lane Wallace (Argument)
The End and the Beginning, Wislawa Szymborska (Poem)
Excerpt from Night, Elie Wiesel (Memoir)
Excerpt from Maus, Art Spiegelman (Graphic Memoir)
Possible novels include: Night by Elie Wiesel, Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle, or Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers
Assessments:
Write an argument
Present and respond to an argument
Reflect and extend: author interview OR create a documentary
Grammar assignments
Unit test
UNIT 2: BREAKING THROUGH BARRIERS
Texts:
The Power of a Dinner Table, David Brooks (Editorial)
Once Upon a Time, Nadine Gordimer (Short Story)
Unusual Normality, Ishmael Beah (Personal Narrative)
Theme for English B, Langston Hughes (Poem)
The Vietnam Wall, Alberto Rios (Poem)
Views of the Wall (Visual Essay)
The Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln (Speech)
Excerpt from Saving Lincoln (Film Clip)
Possible novels include: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed; or Code Talker by Joseph Bruchack
Assessments:
Write a personal narrative
Reflect and extend: research report OR photo essay
Grammar assignments
Unit test
UNIT 4: LOVE AND LOSS
Texts:
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare (Drama)
My Shakespeare, Kate Tempest (Video and Poem)
More than Reckless Teenagers, Caitlin Smith (Literary Analysis)
Romeo is a Dirtbag, Lois Leveen (Literary Analysis)
Pyramus and Thisbe from Metamorphoses, Ovid (Myth)
Possible novels include: Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, or Solo by Kwame Alexander
Assessments:
Write a literary analysis
Reflect and extend: create a comic strip OR write a short story
Grammar assignments
Unit test
UNIT 5: FREEDOM AT ALL COSTS
Texts:
Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Short Story)
Exerpt from Interview with John Lewis, National Public Radio (Podcast)
Booker T. and W.E.B., Dudley Randall (Poem)
I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King Jr. (Speech)
Exerpt from Hidden Figures, Margot Lee Shetterly (History Writing)
Exerpt from Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi (Memoir)
Exerpt from Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, Marjane Satrapi (Graphic Memoir)
Possible novels include: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela; Goodbye, Vietnam by Gloria Whelan; or March by John Lewis
Assesments:
Write a research report
Reflect and extend: create a protest song OR write a poem
Grammar assignments
Unit test
UNIT 6: EPIC JOURNEYS
Texts:
Excerpt from The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald (Epic Poem)
Archeology's Tech Revolution, Jeremy Hsu (Informational Text)
Excerpt from The Cruelest Journey: 600 Miles to Timbuktu, Kira Salak (Travel Writing)
The Journey, Mary Oliver (Poem)
Possible novels include: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Finding Miracles by Julia Alvarez, or The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
Assessments:
Write an expository essay
Reflect and extend: create a movie trailer OR write a play
Grammar assignments
Unit test
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