ERWC Units

What’s Next? Life AFter High School

Module Objective:

SWBAT become familiar with college and career expectations for reading independently, become familiar with the intellectual habits necessary for success in college and careers, organize information from online research and textual study, generate questions about ideas, arguments, analyses, and perspectives, apply the rhetorical framework to reading and writing situations.

Performance Task:

Personal Statement Essay, College and Career Research and Presentation and Resumes

Module Texts:

“Hidden Intellectualism”

“FAQ Fuide for College and Work”

“Want to Get Into College? Learn to Fail”

“10 Rules for Going to College When Nobody Really Expected You To”

“Not Going to College is a Viable Option”

“The 10 Most Common Excuses for Not Going to College”

“Why Go to College?”

“The Interview That’ll Bag a Job” by Sarah E. Needleman

Grit: The power of passion and perseveranceLeaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn't the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of "grit" as a predictor of success.

Let's raise kids to be entrepreneursBored in school, failing classes, at odds with peers: This child might be an entrepreneur, says Cameron Herold. In his talk, he makes the case for parenting and education that helps would-be entrepreneurs flourish -- as kids and as adults.

Animal Rights

Module Objective:

SWBAT cite strong textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says and implies, analyze how ideas, events, or narrative elements interact and develop over the course of a text, determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text, analyze an author’s assumptions and appeals (ethos,pathos, logos).

Performance Task:

Group Argumentative Research Essay and Rhetorical Appeals Presentation

Module Texts:

“Three Ways to Persuade”

“Hooked on a Myth: Do Fish Feel Pain?”

“A Change of Heart About Animals”

“Letters to the Editor in Response to “ A Change of Heart About Animals’

“Of Primates and Personhood”

Blackfish, Netflix documentary

Chimps have feelings and thoughts. They should also have rightsChimpanzees are people too, you know. Ok, not exactly. But lawyer Steven Wise has spent the last 30 years working to change these animals' status from "things" to "persons." It's not a matter of legal semantics; as he describes in this fascinating talk, recognizing that animals like chimps have extraordinary cognitive capabilities and rethinking the way we treat them -- legally -- is no less than a moral duty.

What's wrong with what we eatIn this fiery and funny talk, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what's wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking), and why it's putting the entire planet at risk.

Novel: Into the Wild

Module Objective:

SWBAT cite strong textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says and implies, analyze how ideas, events, and narrative elements interact and develop over the course of a full-length text, determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, determine author’s point of view and purpose

Performance Task:

Family History Project, Timed Literary Response Writing Task

Module Texts:

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

“Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau

“Money O!” by W.H. Davies

“Behind the Famous Story, A Difficult ‘Wild Truth’”

Racial Profiling

Module Objective:

SWBAT read and respond to an essay rhetorically, analyze an argument, interpret and integrate information from multiple sources, compare and contrast diverse perspectives on an issue, analyze contexts rhetorically

Performance Task:

Argumentative Essay

Module Texts:

“Jim Crow Policing”

13th (Netflix)

“Walking While Black” by Garnette Cadogan

“Policing the Police” Frontline, PBS

“Hard Truths: Law Enforcement and Race” by James B. Comey

Various other texts found online (Jigsaw activity)

Juvenile Justice

Module Objective:

SWBAT identify the main ideas, including the author’s main argument, summarize and respond to a text, analyze the impact of the author’s ethos on the credibility of an argument, compare different arguments and the rhetorical strategies, construct an argument using sources.

Performance Task:

Argumentative Process Essay

Module Texts:

“Sentencing Children” Independent Lens

TED Talk: Juvenile Justice

The Kalief Browder Story, Time documentary (netflix)

“Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”

“On Punishment and Teen Killers”

“Kids are Kids - Until They Commit Crimes”

“Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”

“A Closer Look at Juvenile Interrogations” American Constitution Society

“Member of Central Park Five Talks Justice” NPR (interview)

Juvies (dvd)

“Second Chance Kids” Frontline, PBS

Transcript of "A prosecutor's vision for a better justice system"TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript: When a kid commits a crime, the US justice system has a choice: prosecute to the full extent of the law, or take a step back and ask if saddling young people with criminal records is the right thing to do every time. In this searching talk, Adam Foss, a prosecutor with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Boston, makes his case for a reformed justice system that replaces wrath with opportunity, changing people's lives for the better instead of ruining them.

Language, Gender, Culture

Module Objective:

SWBAT explain how language and cultural norms shape identities, descriptively outline a speech, analyze and use personal experience, their own and others’, as evidence, evaluate and describe author’s stylistic choices, use writing to promote social change.

Performance Task:

Media Analysis Presentation

Module Texts:

“Honor Code”

“Phylosophe” (youtube) video clip

“Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”

“His Politeness Is Her Powerlessness”

“Prelude: The Barbershop”

“Five Masks We Wear and Why We Should Take Them Off” (HuffPost)

TED Talks: The Danger of Hiding Who You Are, How Movies Teach Manhood, Why I’m Done Trying to be Man Enough

“What Is Feminism? And Why Do Women and Men Hate It?” by Kathy Caprino

Why I'm done trying to be "man enough"Justin Baldoni wants to start a dialogue with men about redefining masculinity -- to figure out ways to be not just good men but good humans. In a warm, personal talk, he shares his effort to reconcile who he is with who the world tells him a man should be. And he has a challenge for men: "See if you can use the same qualities that you feel make you a man to go deeper," Baldoni says. "Your strength, your bravery, your toughness: Are you brave enough to be vulnerable? Are you strong enough to be sensitive? Are you confident enough to listen to the women in your life?"

The danger of hiding who you areMorgana Bailey has been hiding her true self for 16 years. In a brave talk, she utters four words that might not seem like a big deal to some, but to her have been paralyzing. Why speak up? Because she's realized that her silence has personal, professional and societal consequences. In front of an audience of her co-workers, she reflects on what it means to fear the judgment of others, and how it makes us judge ourselves.

Novel: 1984

Module Objective:

Performance Task:

Novel Study Website

Module Texts:

1984 by George Orwell

TED TAlk: “Why Privacy Matters” by Glenn Greenwald

Why privacy mattersGlenn Greenwald was one of the first reporters to see -- and write about -- the Edward Snowden files, with their revelations about the United States' extensive surveillance of private citizens. In this searing talk, Greenwald makes the case for why you need to care about privacy, even if you're "not doing anything you need to hide."

Independent Reading

Quarter 1:

Free choice.

Choose something that looks interesting. Do some research. Find something related to an interest of yours. It can be fiction, non-fiction, self-help, a biography, etc. My only requirement is that it is age and reading-level appropriate.

Project: A one-pager is a way of responding to a book on one piece of paper. It represents your own written and graphic interpretation of what you read. As you read, keep notes on sticky notes or in a small notebook about characters, setting, unknown vocabulary, quotes/passages that are important to the story, and theme.

Quarter 3:

Social Justice: Books on Racism, Sexism, or Class

Choose a book that is related to racism, gender issues/sexism, class/socio-economic issues, or the justice system. The following link will take you to some book titles and info but you do not have to choose from this list. Fiction or non-fiction books are acceptable.

Book Project Requirements:

1. Create a unique cover page.

Think “book jacket art” visual
Include the book’s title, author, your name, date and period.
You may also choose to include a significant quote or motif from the novel to grab people’s attention.
Art can be either traced or printed from the internet, BUT SHOULD NOT be artwork that is already found on a cover for your book. Think ORIGINAL!

2. Write a 2-3 page (at least 500-750 words) MLA formatted Critic’s Review of the book.

Include:

THESIS: Express your opinion of the book (be sure to use T.A.G.)
A brief summary of the book
- For fiction: details on characters, setting, plot, and overall conflict
- For nonfiction: explanation of the author’s main points and purpose
What you liked about the book
- Text evidence to support your opinion of the book
What you did not like about the book
- Text evidence to support your opinion of the book
Overall recommendation

3. Work Cited page

1984 poster.pdf

Student Sample of Career/ College Flyer

Student Sample of Career/ College Fair Slides

Student Sample College and Career Slides

Student Sample of College/Career Fair SLIDES

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