English III Unit 11

Big Idea:

Examine both literary fiction and YA fiction to make and explain judgements about a work’s social, historical, and/or cultural values.

Using the following:

• The Things They Carried
• Fallen Angels

Student Expectations:

Priority TEKS

E3.14(B) write a poem that reflects an awareness of poetic conventions and traditions within different forms (e.g., sonnets, ballads, free verse);

E3.8 analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze how the style, tone, and diction of a text advance the author's purpose and perspective or stance.

E3.6 Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze how rhetorical techniques (e.g., repetition, parallel structure, understatement, overstatement) in literary essays, true life adventures, and historically important speeches influence the reader, evoke emotions, and create meaning.

Focus TEKS

E3.5(A) evaluate how different literary elements (e.g., figurative language, point of view) shape the author's portrayal of the plot and setting in works of fiction;

E3.5(B) analyze the internal and external development of characters through a range of literary devices;

E3.5(C) analyze the impact of narration when the narrator's point of view shifts from one character to another; and

E3.5(D) demonstrate familiarity with works by authors in American fiction from each major literary period.

Ongoing TEKS

E3.1(A) determine the meaning of grade-level technical academic English words in multiple content areas (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies, the arts) derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes

E3.1(B) analyze textual context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words

E3.1(C) infer word meaning through the identification and analysis of analogies and other word relationships

E3.1(D) synthesize ideas and make logical connections (e.g., thematic links, author analyses) between and among multiple texts representing similar or different genres and technical sources and support those findings with textual evidence

E3.1(E) use general and specialized dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, histories of language, books of quotations, and other related references (printed or electronic) as needed

E3.13(A) plan a first draft by selecting the correct genre for conveying the intended meaning to multiple audiences, determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies (e.g., discussion, background reading, personal interests, interviews), and developing a thesis or controlling idea;

E3.13(B) structure ideas in a sustained and persuasive way (e.g., using outlines, note taking, graphic organizers, lists) and develop drafts in timed and open-ended situations that include transitions and rhetorical devices to convey meaning;

E3.13(C) revise drafts to clarify meaning and achieve specific rhetorical purposes, consistency of tone, and logical organization by rearranging the words, sentences, and paragraphs to employ tropes (e.g., metaphors, similes, analogies, hyperbole, understatement, rhetorical questions, irony), schemes (e.g., parallelism, antithesis, inverted word order, repetition, reversed structures), and by adding transitional words and phrases;

E3.13(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and

E3.13(E) revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences.

E3.17(A) use and understand the function of different types of clauses and phrases (e.g., adjectival, noun, adverbial clauses and phrases); and

E3.17(B) use a variety of correctly structured sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).

E3.18 write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to correctly and consistently use conventions of punctuation and capitalization.

E3.19 spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings.

E3.24(A) listen responsively to a speaker by framing inquiries that reflect an understanding of the content and by identifying the positions taken and the evidence in support of those positions; and

E3.24 (B) evaluate the clarity and coherence of a speaker's message and critique the impact of a speaker's diction and syntax on an audience.

E3.25 speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to give a formal presentation that exhibits a logical structure, smooth transitions, accurate evidence, well-chosen details, and rhetorical devices, and that employs eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect), volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively.

E3.26 work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate productively in teams, offering ideas or judgments that are purposeful in moving the team towards goals, asking relevant and insightful

Learning Targets:

• Make inferences about character motivation.
• Explain the use of syntax and diction to create tone.
• Discuss the historical context of the setting and its importance to the work as a whole.
• Analyze the overall structure of the text.
• Provide text to support understanding and inferencing.
• Write a poem to demonstrate understanding of a particular theme of the novel.

Essential Questions:

• What conclusions can you draw about the Vietnam War from the two pieces?
• How does point of view affect reader response to the conflict facing the characters?
• How does the structure of the text reflect the experience of the characters?

Extra Information:

Adopted Textbook: Texas Treasures - American Literature, McGraw-Hill

District Grading Policy

Texas Gateway Online Resource Center