Ninth Grade - ELA
• Literacy
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Early Civilizations and Migration (600 BCE)
Lesson 1
Preshistory
Students read specific pages in the National Geographic Almanac and answer targeted questions that require factual responses (e.g., listing physical differences of early hominids and describing how Homo habilis and Homo erectus altered their environments). In Option 1 students must write a narrative "A Day in the Life" describing shelter, food, tools, and daily tasks with concrete details. In Option 2 students must collect observations in a real environment, identify specific resources and strategies, and note anticipated problems, requiring use of facts and examples to develop their ideas.
Lesson 2
Early Agriculture
Students answer guided reading questions that provide factual explanations (e.g., why sheep domestication mattered, how irrigation influenced civilizations, and why rivers aided settlement). Students write a detailed dialogue that must demonstrate understanding of advantages and disadvantages of hunting-gathering versus farming, requiring concrete details and examples. In Option 2 students analyze domesticated animals by listing uses, benefits, and challenges, and in mapping/Fertile Crescent activities students gather geographic and rainfall data and use those facts to explain settlement patterns.
Lesson 3
Early Civilizations
Students are asked to read specified pages and answer focused questions that require facts (e.g., explaining irrigation and iron-working effects). Activity 1 requires students to fill a chart about cultural hearths using geographic features and to speculate how those resources advantaged civilizations. Activity 2 and the homework flowchart ask students to write descriptive phrases and explain stages (food supply, specialization, government) comparing villages and complex civilizations, using concrete details from the readings and provided answer keys.
Lesson 4
Mesopotamia
Students are asked to produce an informative mini-project (booklet or report/podcast) that must address six specific areas (Geography & Natural Resources, Economic Development, Political Development, Social Distinctions, Cultural Characteristics, Religious Beliefs), which requires inclusion of factual details. The activities prompt concrete factual responses (e.g., list jobs associated with agriculture, state the percentage of people living outside cities, describe cuneiform writing) and direct students to read and analyze primary-source laws from the Code of Hammurabi and list four inferences. The answer key and activity pages supply specific factual targets and examples students should include (map labeling, job lists, social-class diagram, description or image of a ziggurat).
Lesson 5
Egypt
Students are asked to produce an informative mini-project (booklet or WebQuest) that must address six specific topics: Geography & Natural Resources, Economic Development, Political Development, Social Distinctions, Cultural Characteristics, and Religious Beliefs. The booklet pages prompt students to describe and explain (e.g., draw a government diagram and explain roles, list trade goods offered and imported, describe the significance and construction of pyramids, explain the Egyptian view of the afterlife and burial practices). The WebQuest option requires students to identify at least one important idea for each topic, locate websites that illustrate those ideas, and explain why those sites were chosen.
Lesson 6
Trade and Empire Building
Students answer focused reading questions that require concrete facts (e.g., how seasonal flooding affected Harappan civilization; with whom Harappans traded and what they exported). Students complete the "Early Trade Systems" activity by filling a chart of imports/exports for Mesopotamia and Egypt and explaining how specific technologies (wheel, writing, boat-building, animals, roads) facilitated trade with one specific example each. Students complete the "Expansion of Empires" page by providing three examples of why civilizations needed money, explaining limits of internal resources, naming two ways military technologies became civilian technologies, and writing a reasoned response to a bonus sustainability question.
Lesson 7
New Beliefs and Technologies
Students read assigned textbook and source pages and answer focused factual questions (QUESTION #1-#4), requiring them to extract concrete historical details. In Option 1, students fill a comparative chart with specific categories (When/where; Gods; Scriptures & Key Beliefs; Religious Practices), which requires selecting and recording relevant facts and examples. In Option 2, students must write a 2-minute voice-over script for each faith that explicitly asks them to state origin, key beliefs/texts, and requirements of the faithful, requiring organized development of each topic. The Inventions homework asks students to explain political, economic, military, and social applications of specific innovations, prompting them to provide examples and plausible uses.
Lesson 8
Historical Essay
Students are instructed to go back to earlier readings to look for specific evidence to support main points and to provide parenthetical references for quotations and specific information (including an example citation). The rubric explicitly requires that body paragraphs contain strong topic sentences supported by relevant and accurate evidence and that accurate parenthetical citations are provided throughout. Activity steps require students to develop a thesis, outline main ideas, and use evidence to support those ideas when drafting and revising their essays.
Final Project
Flow Chart
Students are required to create flowchart boxes that include an image, an approximate date, and a 2–3 sentence description explaining the significance of each element (Option 2 and Option 1 template). The rubric explicitly requires that descriptions for each box be "informative, well written, and free of error," and asks students to note specific advantages that changes (e.g., pastoralism, agriculture) created for civilizations. The unit test asks students to write a paragraph defining "civilization" and to list and explain at least three characteristics that differentiate civilizations from smaller communities.
Unit 1: Lord of the Flies
Lesson 2
Life on the Island
Students gather and record concrete details, quotations, and page-numbered examples on STEAL character pages (Speech, Thoughts, Actions, Effect on Others, Looks). The Parent Plan gives model uses of quotations and inferred details (e.g., noting Ralph's quote about 'Hands up' and Jack seizing the conch) that students are asked to record. Students also write original sentences (Part II) that demonstrate use of clause structures while referring to the novel, showing some practice composing informational sentences about the topic.
Lesson 3
Paths in the Jungle
Students are prompted to read and annotate an article and to identify the author's thesis and supporting points (Activity 1 and the Student Activity Page with spaces for "Author's main argument/thesis" and "Key points that support the thesis"). The Parent Plan skills explicitly list "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis," which directs students to use evidence from texts. The activity also offers an optional second article and asks students to note "What three reasons does this author give," encouraging collection of multiple supporting reasons.
Lesson 4
Images from Paradise
Students are directed to fill a "Five Senses" chart with quotations from the book or original embellished sentences, noting whether each description is positive or negative and explaining how it exemplifies imagery. The activity requires students to include the original quotation and an embellished version and to write an explanation of how the description serves as imagery, which has them use concrete textual details and quotations to support an interpretation. The Parent Plan and skills list also state students will determine meanings of words/phrases and use various phrases and clauses to convey specific meanings and add variety to writing.
Lesson 5
Not Hunting, But Hunted
Students analyze underlined passages from Lord of the Flies and a paired Example A/B to identify how minute, concrete details (sunlight, posture, voice inflections) and a series of discrete verbs slow narrative pacing. Students are instructed to recreate an important personal moment in "slow motion," practicing insertion of sensory details, physical motions, and expanded sequences of actions. Activity 2 asks students to draft laws or create a system for adopting laws, prompting them to use knowledge of history and society to support their responses.
Lesson 6
Symbolism, Part 1
Students are asked in Activity 1 to choose an interpretation for each symbol and "write an explanation supported by the text," which directs them to cite textual support for their claims. The Student Activity Page and Parent Plan specify that students will provide two to three sentences explaining their choice for each symbolic item. Activity 2 requires students to write a one-page journal entry that should "record actions and quotes from the other main characters," explicitly asking students to use quotations and concrete actions as evidence.
Lesson 7
Bowed and Bowed Again
Students identify and bracket prepositional phrases in full sentences quoted from Lord of the Flies and draw arrows to the words those phrases modify, using textual quotations as examples. Students write journal sentences that contain noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and absolute phrases, practicing how language details add information. Students predict and record how Jack, Piggy, and Ralph will respond under both the characters' knowledge and the reader's knowledge, using novel details to support those predictions.
Lesson 8
Defects of Human Nature
Students are asked to choose themes that support Golding's identified major theme and to "support those choices by referring to details from the novel," which requires selecting relevant textual evidence. Students must write 3–4 sentence explanations about how a chosen minor theme supports the major theme, practicing short informative/explanatory writing. Vocabulary activities ask students to match words to context and fill blanks, helping students use precise language when developing explanations.
Lesson 10
Which Is Better?
Students are asked to complete a 'Developing Civilization' chart comparing similarities and differences between the boys and early peoples, using concrete points such as food scarcity, shelters, infrastructure, and lack of medicine. The lesson supplies factual background and definitions (e.g., description of Roman aqueducts and a definition of civilization and savagery) that students can use as supporting information. Students are also asked to write a one-page journal entry analyzing Jack's leadership and contrasting it with Ralph's and with the boys' prior civilized lives, which invites use of textual details such as Piggy's quoted question.
Lesson 11
The Film
Students are asked to watch the 1963 film and complete a "Movie vs. Book" chart that requires them to list specific similarities and differences in characters, setting, theme, and plot, which prompts use of concrete details and examples. Students must answer journal questions asking them to argue whether omitted scenes were critical to the novel's major theme and to describe visual differences, requiring them to cite and explain specific scenes or images. The parent answer key models use of specific facts and examples (e.g., hair color differences, added Piggy scene, omitted conversation with the officer) that students can use as evidence.
Final Project
Now You Have the Conch
Students are directed to locate and note passages (with page numbers) and to use those passages as support for a thesis (Brainstorming step and sample prompt). The outline and guided-organizer pages require students to include specific examples and quotes from the text and to explain how those examples support each topic sentence. The rubric explicitly evaluates "Support" (e.g., "Ideas have relevant support with insightful explanations"), and the "You Are the Editor" pages ask students to check that paragraphs contain quotes/references and clear explanations linking evidence to points.
Unit 2: World Religions (600 BCE - 600 CE)
Lesson 1
Rise of Religions
Students read definitional material (Question #1 and the "Things to Know" section) that includes an extended definition of religion and Durkheim's characterization of the sacred. Students are asked to collect concrete examples: the homework requires finding at least two ways religion overlapped with politics or government in each listed civilization. Students must summarize and reflect on a contemporary news article about religious conflict (Activity 3) and answer focused questions about Hatshepsut using a Smithsonian article and textbook readings, which asks for specific factual connections between religion, gender, and power.
Lesson 2
Shamanism, Animism, Ancestor Veneration
Students are given explicit definitions and facts in the "Things to Know" and Reading and Questions sections (for example, the definition of animism and the shaman's role) that they must use to answer comprehension questions. Students are asked to locate and compare two or three folktales (Option 1) or research two holidays and describe their practices (Option 2), completing activity charts that require concrete details and examples. Students must fill a Dimensions of World Religions booklet with sections asking for rituals, experiential feelings, narratives, doctrinal beliefs, ethics, institutional structures, and material examples, which requires gathering and developing relevant facts and examples about the topic.
Lesson 3
Hinduism
Students are asked to write a 4-page children's-book section about a Hindu festival that requires naming the festival, stating when/where/who participates, explaining its meaning, and describing celebration practices—tasks that require concrete details and relevant facts. In Option 2 students must write at least one 4–5 sentence paragraph from the perspective of three different castes, demonstrating development of a topic with specific details about village life and caste effects. The Ramayana activity asks students to summarize plot, analyze a specific image (noting medium and culture), and connect the story to Hindu beliefs, which requires selecting relevant examples and explaining their significance. The homework asks students to fill in the Dimensions of World Religions booklet, using research to summarize dimensions and map information, which requires gathering and organizing pertinent facts and examples appropriate to the audience.
Lesson 4
Buddhism
Students read pages 44–53 and answer specific content questions (e.g., identify the Four Noble Truths and explain the Heart Sutra in their own words), requiring them to extract factual details and quotation-based material. Students fill out Activity 1 chart comparing Theraveda, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, recording key differences and contextual facts from the reading. Students complete Activity 2 (Dimensions booklet) and a homework option that asks for a 1–2 page reaction paper summarizing the Buddha's life and teachings or a narrative timeline with paragraphs explaining the importance of key events, tasks that require selecting and organizing supporting details and explanations.
Lesson 5
Daoism and Confucianism
Students answer focused reading questions that require quoting and defining key terms (for example, Question #1 asks "What is the Dao?" and the provided answer cites textbook language). Students fill in the Daoism and Confucianism sections of a "Dimensions of World Religions" booklet and are asked to do online research as needed, which requires collecting facts and concrete details to develop those entries. In Homework Option 2 students must find at least three related quotations and write 1–2 paragraphs explaining similarities or differences, which asks students to use quotations and supporting explanation to develop a topic.
Lesson 6
Judaism
Students are asked to produce a narrative or a multi-slide presentation that must include factual elements such as when a holiday occurs, its religious meaning, faith practices, personal and family traditions, and other interesting facts. Reading questions and activities require students to describe the origins of Judaism, the development of mobile religious practices, and the geographic disbursement of Jews on a labeled map. The slideshow directions require citations for images and allow additional slides so students can include all important information they find.
Lesson 7
Christianity
Students are asked to read assigned background texts and answer content questions that require factual responses (e.g., Questions #1–#4 referencing the Almanac and One-Stop Guide). In Activity 1 students must read at least two scientific articles about the life of Jesus or read Matthew 5–7 and then summarize key points, explain reasons scholars pursue historical corroboration, and reflect on reactions — tasks that require selecting and reporting relevant facts and examples. Activity 2 directs students to fill in the Dimensions of World Religions booklet using online research, and homework asks students to use a Crash Course video and a Pew report to answer questions about the spread and distribution of Christianity.
Lesson 8
Islam
Students are asked to create a timeline of Muhammad's life with one clear, well-organized paragraph for each date explaining the event and its significance, which requires selecting and explaining relevant facts and details. Students must fill the Islam section of a "Dimensions of World Religions" booklet and may perform online research to provide maps and dimension-based information, requiring them to gather and present concrete information. The homework comparison asks students to read parallel stories from the Bible and the Qur'an and complete a Venn-style activity summarizing shared elements and noting omissions, tone, and differences, which requires using specific examples from texts.
Final Project
Dimensions of World Religions
Students are asked to complete a "Dimensions of World Religions" booklet and to use a rubric that requires accurate, carefully chosen information for each religion, which prompts them to gather facts and concrete details. The unit test identification items require students to provide who/what, associated belief system, location/time, and the significance of terms in about two sentences each. The essay prompts require students to describe origins, deity/deities, basic tenets, and core practices of faiths and to explain similarities and differences in a 5–7 paragraph response, which asks for development with relevant facts and examples. The provided answer key models concise facts and definitions students are expected to use for identification and significance.
Unit 2: Short Stories
Lesson 1
The Gift of the Magi
Students are asked to go online and research the Magi, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon, take notes, and "write a couple of sentences describing the historical significance" of these figures and explain why the author alludes to them. Students are asked to annotate texts and to "cite strong and thorough textual evidence" in the skills list and complete a homework descriptive paragraph that asks them to practice descriptive writing. Students also record instances of situational and dramatic irony and summarize story elements using a graphic organizer.
Lesson 2
The Necklace
Students are prompted to identify and use textual evidence to support a theme claim (Activity 1 requires filling a theme web using annotations and textual evidence). The lesson explicitly tells students they will practice incorporating direct quotes into their writing and offers the APE strategy (Answer, Prove, Extend) that directs students to "Provide evidence... Use specific examples and quotations from the text." The Parent Plan and Skills list require students to "cite strong and thorough textual evidence" and to write an objective summary that includes plot details, setting, and the main idea.
Lesson 3
Literary Response
Students are prompted in Activity 1 to find specific examples or quotations from both stories and to note them in a three-column graphic organizer labeled Details / Evidence from "The Gift of the Magi" / Evidence from "The Necklace". The "Details and Support" page uses the APE method requiring students to turn a point into a question, answer it, prove it with quotations or examples from each text, and extend by explaining how the evidence supports the point. The informal outline and paragraph instructions explicitly require body paragraphs to contain evidence (examples, explanations, quotations). The rubric awards points specifically for supporting ideas with textual evidence and for explaining how the evidence supports points.
Lesson 4
Characterization
The lesson's Skills section explicitly lists "Develop a topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic." Several tasks require students to cite textual evidence: Question #2 asks students to "Support your answer with evidence from the story," and the Characterization activity and Student Activity Page ask students to record examples, quotations, and concrete details (speech, appearance, thoughts, actions, how others respond) and label them as direct or indirect characterization. The Character Portrait homework asks students to plan physical description, actions, quotes, thoughts, and direct/indirect characterization, which requires selecting relevant details and quotations about a character.
Lesson 5
Edgar Allan Poe
Students are asked to locate and record specific textual examples and quotations: the Gothic Characteristics activity requires students to provide text examples for five features, and the storyboard task requires students to quote corresponding story sections under each panel. The Foreshadowing activity directs students to find three to four examples of foreshadowing and record them in a journal, and the Crazy Like a Fox homework has students list evidence in two columns (rational vs. irrational) and answer whether the narrator is reliable. The Parent Plan sections supply model textual details and quotations that students are expected to use as evidence.
Lesson 6
The Lottery
Students are instructed to provide specific textual evidence for interpretations (Things to Know) and the Skills list explicitly requires citing "strong and thorough textual evidence." The Black Box activity and Student Activity Page ask students to record physical descriptions, townspeople reactions, and connections to the town's history, which directs them to gather concrete details and examples from the text. The lesson includes an explicit quoted passage from the story for close analysis and the homework directs students to "support your ideas with your own evidence and observations."
Lesson 7
Everyday Use
Students are asked to research Alice Walker using provided web links and record facts on the "Author's Biographical Data Sheet," requiring them to gather biographical details and note parallels between the author and the story. The "Quilted Heritage" activity asks students to describe a specific quilt panel and explain how the quilt reflects the lives and culture of those who stitched it, prompting concrete description and cultural evidence. The Parent Plan skills explicitly state students should "cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions," and Activity 2 asks students to write a paragraph reflecting how changing point of view alters the story, which requires development with supporting details.
Lesson 8
Harrison Bergeron
Students are asked to compare and contrast the printed story and the film (Activity 2) by listing scenes the director added/altered/deleted and explaining why, which requires them to provide concrete examples and explanations. Journal homework asks students to respond to open-ended questions with explanations (not yes/no), prompting them to support opinions about equality, competition, and alternatives to handicapping the gifted. One teacher answer key example points students to a specific quotation from the text to support an interpretation of the society's origins.
Final Project
Writing a Short Story
The lesson repeatedly instructs students to use precise, concrete sensory details and descriptive language (Parent Plan: "Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language") and the "Show, Don't Tell" section models using vivid description to develop scenes. The short story rubric and the revision activities emphasize descriptive language and literary devices as explicit criteria for evaluation. Student tasks require writing scenes that include physical description, dialogue, actions, and thoughts, and revision guidance asks students to add more descriptive language where needed.
Unit 3: Rise of the Empires (600 BCE - 600 CE)
Lesson 1
Persian Empire
Students read specified pages and answer focused questions that require summarizing Persia's beginnings, Zoroastrianism, Persian government, and the empire's end. Students complete Activity 2 by recording Politics, Religion, and Culture details (leader, administration, religious beliefs, tolerance, family structure, art/architecture) and are encouraged to use readings or online research to add concrete details. Students build a timeline and map, marking empire spans and 2–3 significant dates, which requires selecting relevant factual evidence and examples for chronology and geography.
Lesson 2
Greek Empire
Students read assigned textbook pages and answer focused comprehension questions that require citing specific facts about Sparta, Athens, colonies, and Greek theater. Students complete Activity 2 by filling a chart on politics, religion, and culture using different colors to distinguish Greece, Athens, and Sparta, which requires selecting and recording concrete details. Students also construct a labeled map and add the Greek empire to a timeline, reinforcing factual geographic and chronological information.
Lesson 4
Roman Empire
Students read assigned pages and answer targeted short-answer questions that require explanation (e.g., explaining whether the Roman republic was a democracy and describing the Roman army and slavery). In Activity 2 students collect and record politics, religion, and culture details in a three-part chart, distinguishing items relevant to the Republic, the Empire, or both. Homework asks students to create flashcards with terms and definitions, reinforcing the selection of relevant facts and concrete definitions.
Unit 3: Grammar, Part I
Lesson 3
Pronoun Problems
Students are asked to choose a topic (vague pronoun references or shifts in point of view) and teach someone else about it using a poster or a short slideshow. They must explain the topic in their own words, provide two example sentences that contain the error, and show corrected versions plus one or more strategies for fixing the errors. The Parent Plan encourages students to share their poster or presentation with family and answer questions, which requires presenting examples and explanations to an audience.
Lesson 4
Commas
Students are instructed to create a comma guide that must include the name of each rule, a short description, an explanation, and at least one example. Students must write and record pairs of sentences showing clauses used as essential versus nonessential and explain why each is essential or nonessential. For Activity 4 and the comma guide tasks, students must insert punctuation and for three sentences explain why they chose commas, dashes, or parentheses. Homework asks students to write in their journal what the Oxford (serial) comma is and to explain whether they think it should be used, citing observations about publications.
Lesson 5
Review
Students are instructed to record rules and examples on index cards and to "record notes, examples, etc." for the next groups of commonly confused words, which asks them to generate definitions and usage examples. The homework section provides extended definitions and usage notes for pairs like bad/badly and bear/bare, including example sentences. The student activity pages require students to correct and rewrite passages, which gives practice using correct word meanings in context.
Lesson 6
Colons and Semicolons
Students are asked to write two well-developed opening-paragraphs in The Great Punctuation Trial that require specific supporting material: the semicolon's paragraph must include an example joining two independent clauses, an example with a conjunctive adverb + comma, and an example of usage with complex lists; the colon's paragraph must include an example introducing a list, an example before a quotation, and an example before an instructional sentence. In multiple activities students parse, correct, and supply sentences using colons and semicolons (activity pages and answer keys), and they must explain rules and defend their choices verbally during the courtroom questioning.
Final Project
Wrapping Up
Students are asked to create a Grammar Tips visual aid that graphically explains rules (e.g., subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, who vs. whom) using information from the book, unit lessons, or other resources, which requires them to gather and present explanatory information. Students may also write a short paragraph quiz using commonly confused words, produce an answer key, and then explain any missed words to a quiz-taker, which requires them to clarify usage and provide corrective examples. The parent plan lists producing clear and coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience, and encourages choosing a project that will help or teach a friend or sibling.
Unit 4: Poetry
Lesson 1
Introduction to Poetry
Students write an initial definition of poetry and then revise or add to it after reading multiple poets' quotations, using those quotations as points of comparison. Students annotate poems and answer Poem Response questions that ask them to choose marked words with strong connotations and explain why they are effective, citing specific words or lines. Students complete a denotation/connotation worksheet in which they record dictionary definitions, list connotations, propose similar words, and explain why the original word is more or less effective.
Lesson 2
Sound and Rhythm
Students are asked to identify and mark instances of alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, and meter in poems and to cite line examples (e.g., marking "Nothing Gold Can Stay," "Counting-Out Rhyme," "The Tyger," and "The Tyger"). Students write short responses in journals explaining why a particular repetition is effective and reflect on how rhyme and rhythm affect a poem's meaning and the reader. The lesson provides explicit definitions and examples of sound devices and asks students to use those definitions when labeling and explaining poem lines.
Lesson 3
Figurative Language
Students are instructed to read poems and identify examples of figurative language by noting stanza and line numbers and explaining the comparisons, personifications, and symbol meanings on the Student Activity Page. In Activity 2 (Option 2) students must identify the figurative device, provide the phrase or line that illustrates it, and explain how the poem uses that device. Homework Option 1 asks students to note how a poet uses imagery and to provide examples and explanations from specific stanzas.
Lesson 5
What Does It Mean?
Students are prompted to write brief summaries of poems and to re-read and analyze text aloud, which requires them to produce explanatory writing about literal meaning. Students research background information (for example, Whitman's admiration for Lincoln and the historical context of "O Captain! My Captain!") and look up unfamiliar words, which supplies factual context and definitions to support interpretation. Students answer focused questions about images, tone, symbols, themes, and allusions and complete journal and activity-page responses that require them to record concrete details and observations.
Lesson 6
Fooling with Words
Students watch a one-hour video to choose a poet and are assigned homework to research that poet online. Students use the provided "Poet Profile" worksheet to record specific biographical facts and concrete items: poet name, favorite poem, additional poems, place of origin, age, current activities, publications, and awards. Students are given starting research sites (Poetry Foundation and Poets.org) and prompted to explain in a "Personal Reflection" why they chose the poet.
Lesson 7
Analyzing Poetry
Students are asked to annotate poems by marking words and writing notes in the margins and the Ozymandias example shows students marking specific lines, rhyme, vocabulary, and thematic notes. The Poetry Map and student activity pages require students to paraphrase/summarize the poem, list word choice and imagery, identify symbols/allusions (including looking up Bluebeard), and note sound devices and quotations (sample answers include quoted phrases such as "glutting our cache"). The Poetry Puzzle and other activities have students select and categorize words from a poem and then read the original text to compare and cite the words they marked.
Lesson 9
The Crossover
Students compare the author's in-book vocabulary definitions with dictionary definitions in Option 1, answering guided questions about differences and how the book's method aids understanding. In Option 2, students write a vocabulary poem that defines a chosen word and create three "As in:" sentences using people and events from their own lives as concrete examples. Homework Option 1 asks students to analyze how the meaning of the word "crossover" changes across specified poems/pages and to justify whether the multiple meanings are effective, requiring use of textual examples.
Lesson 10
Poems and Poets
Students gather factual biographical information using the "Poet Biography Boxes" (date of birth/death, known for, influences, biographical details, interesting facts). They prepare a one-page biographical sketch that must include the poet's name, country, language, dates, and at least three interesting facts or cultural factors. Students complete a "Poetry Map" that asks for word choice, imagery, symbols/allusions, tone, sound devices, and a summary, and then write a journal response in Activity 4 explaining how cultural references in the poem enrich meaning based on their research.
Lesson 11
Reciting Poetry
The Skills section instructs students to read closely and to cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking, and the lesson asks students to read at least 10 poems and choose one to analyze and recite. Homework directs students to mark unfamiliar words and look up their meanings and pronunciations, determine speaker and tone, and consider the poem's images and word choices, which requires gathering concrete details and definitions. Activities also ask students to analyze performances and note what makes each recitation effective, prompting use of textual examples to support interpretations.
Final Project
Poetry
Students are asked to create a poetry explication presented digitally where they copy/paste or type poem passages, highlight words, and demonstrate rhyme, meter, sound devices, imagery, figurative language, symbols, literal meaning, and theme. In the director's notebook choice, students analyze the poem and write explanatory paragraphs about set, costume, and lighting choices using concrete details from the poem. The explication directions explicitly require using quotations/examples from the poem on individual slides and to focus on those aspects that most affect the reader's experience.
Unit 5: Nonfiction
Lesson 1
Types of Nonfiction
Students are asked to write definitions for biography, autobiography, and memoir in their own words on the Student Activity Page and the Answer Key directs them to produce those definitions. Students must examine a book's catalog record, front matter, and back matter and "Give specific examples" and "Support your comparison with specific examples" when comparing titles. Students also write a short journal response after reading the Guardian article and answer targeted comprehension/homework questions about I Am Malala that require citing details from the text.
Lesson 2
Pakistan
Students read chapters of I Am Malala and answer targeted comprehension questions that require citing concrete facts (e.g., differences between village and city life; Taliban actions; post-earthquake relief). Students complete Activity 1 by using the book's timeline and provided web links to locate factual information about Pakistan (creation date, capital, languages, geography, wars) and fill in the Student Activity Page. The lesson's skills statement asks students to integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, prompting students to combine book details and online sources to find answers.
Lesson 3
The Taliban
Students are asked in Option 1 to research and write an informational paragraph that answers specific factual questions (where Taliban members are located, who makes up the Taliban, their beliefs/goals, and their actions in the late 1990s) and to use their own words, an introductory sentence, transitional phrases, and a concluding sentence. Option 2 asks students to create slides using text and visual aids that communicate the same set of facts and to note image sources. The Parent Plan provides an answer key listing concrete facts and details students should include and instructs students to practice paraphrasing when communicating information from sources.
Lesson 4
Dear Diary
Students are taught definitions and differences between quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing and must cite sources unless information is common knowledge. Students practice paraphrasing with guided tips (use synonyms, change order, check context) and analyze sample paraphrases for accuracy and use of original wording. The Student Activity Page requires students to evaluate two paraphrases and create paraphrases of two original excerpts, and the homework asks students to produce a one-page diary entry.
Lesson 5
Displacement
The Option 1 activity asks students to choose pictures, record the school's name, location, and grade level, and do brief research to "record information about challenges that schoolchildren in that area face and any notable statistics they find." The Student Activity Page directs students to create a photo report and to write three assumptions and a short statement from a student's point of view, which requires using concrete observations and details. The Parent Plan and Skills section explicitly list "Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects" as an expected student task.
Lesson 6
A Day Like Any Other
The lesson requires students to use the APE strategy, and the APE graphic explicitly instructs students to "Prove: Provide evidence to support your answer. Use specific examples and quotations from the text." The Student Activity Page directs students to answer, prove, and extend their responses, and the Parent Plan states that the "prove" section should include quotations with page numbers and that the "extend" section should explain how the example/quotation supports the answer. The activity asks students to choose a decision and back up their analysis with quotations or one or two specific examples from the text.
Lesson 7
Life in England
Students are asked to take notes and compare specific details from the book and an 11-minute documentary, including page references (p. 75, p. 106, p. 184) and a quoted filmmaker remark around 3:10. The activity prompts students to evaluate how the filmmaker's focus differs from Malala's and to consider how media portrayal affects impressions of people (e.g., Malala's mother and father). The homework journal asks students to identify a world issue, imagine how they would make a difference, and begin thinking toward a future research paper.
Lesson 8
Civil Rights
Students read and analyze primary and secondary sources (Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," a Frederick Douglass excerpt, poems by Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou) and answer focused journal questions that require listing factual steps (e.g., the four steps of a nonviolent campaign) and identifying persuasive arguments. Students complete a double-entry diary in which they underline excerpts, note agreement/disagreement, and record their own opinions, and they write short responses on an activity page about each author's contribution to America's progress. Students also complete timeline and pros/cons graphic-organizer activities that require arranging factual details chronologically and weighing evidence for and against children marching.
Lesson 9
Civil Disobedience
Students analyze paired excerpts from Thoreau and King in Activity 1 by highlighting similar phrases and completing a three-column table (Thoreau, Overlapping Ideas, King), which requires them to work directly with quotations and concrete details. In Activity 2, students read opposing quotes on America, the role of government, and voting, then decide which author they agree with and explain how their views align, which prompts students to use textual examples to support their explanations. Homework asks students to read excerpts from "Civil Disobedience" and answer questions about Thoreau's claims, requiring students to draw evidence from the passages in written responses.
Lesson 10
Learning from the Past
Students read and annotate Elie Wiesel's speech and complete vocabulary tasks that ask them to write definitions (extended definitions) and identify quotations and metaphors from the text. In Activity 3 students draft a paragraph that must use a quote from Wiesel and a quote from another thinker (Malala, MLK, or Thoreau) to support their argument. Activity 4 asks students to create a museum wall with images and one- or two-sentence formal explanations that require them to select relevant examples and write formal descriptions of a topic.
Lesson 12
Running from War
Students learn explicit methods for integrating quotations into their writing (introducing a quotation with a complete sentence and colon, using an introductory phrase with commas, and blending small parts of quotations into their sentences). In Activity 1 students practice correct punctuation with quoted material and in Part II they must introduce a specific quotation from Chapter 5 using one of the taught methods. The homework APE task requires students to "Prove" their answer by selecting and integrating a quotation from the text to support their claim.
Lesson 13
Child Soldier
Students are asked to cite strong and thorough textual evidence (Skills section) and to give examples or quotes from the book to back up answers on the "Different Accounts" activity page. The "Child Soldiers" chart directs students to record advantages and disadvantages using information from the book, the video, and their own ideas. The "Role of Rap" and journal activities prompt students to use specific page references and details from the text to support their responses.
Lesson 14
Rehabilitation
Students are asked to support written conclusions with text evidence: Option 2 (war crimes) requires students to state a conclusion and "provide examples or quotations from the text" to support it. The "RUF vs. Government Soldiers" activity page directs students to identify actions, answer Yes/No, and "provide supporting examples or quotations." The "Wiesel's Words" page asks students to circle a quotation and "include specific examples from the book or video that helped you form your opinion."
Lesson 15
A New Life
Students research the Malala Fund or Human Rights Watch websites and create a flyer or a web page that must include background information, how the organization helps others, and what it has accomplished. Students are instructed to write much of the text themselves, use images, and produce an appealing layout, which requires selecting and presenting factual information for an audience. The summarizing activity tells students they may include brief quotations and directs them to paraphrase and express main ideas in their own words.
Final Project
Expository Essay
The rubric's Support criterion requires "Three key facts support the thesis and are backed by carefully researched sources" and specifies presenting facts as quotes, paraphrases, or summaries with credit to sources. Multiple activities direct students to choose the three most relevant pieces of information, use a Quoting/Summarizing/Paraphrasing worksheet to decide how to present each fact, and turn each key fact into a body paragraph using the APE (Answer, Prove, Extend) method. The Audience, Purpose, and Sources activity instructs students to identify credible, timely sources and to write for peers with the same background knowledge, aligning evidence selection to audience needs.
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
Students are asked to introduce and correctly quote a passage and to paraphrase selected sections (Part V), which gives practice using quotations and rephrasing source material. Students must write thorough paragraph answers for two discussion prompts (Part IV) and short-answer responses that require explanation and supporting detail (Part III). The parent-plan skills list explicitly includes producing clear and coherent writing and drawing evidence from texts, which frames expectations for using support in writing.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Ender's Game
Lesson 2
We're People, Not Thirds
The lesson asks students to "research eugenics and record ten facts" as one option in Activity 2, requiring students to gather factual information about the topic. The "Planned Procreation" activity directs students to brainstorm reasons for family planning across four categories (religious, environmental/ethical, personal/financial, governmental/legal) and invites internet research to fill each category. The parent plan supplies sample facts and examples for those categories, showing students where factual details might come from.
Lesson 3
Science Fiction
Students read an introductory passage and an external article about the science fiction genre and then use that information to fill out a graphic organizer titled "Science Fiction." Students answer written prompts (define science fiction, list common themes, name historical eras and authors) and complete a quiz-prep sheet that requires selecting genre types and matching examples to terms like romanticization and anachronism.
Lesson 5
Movement and Time
Students are asked to define a flashback and name its functions, which provides an extended definition and explanation. The flashbacks activity asks students to find a specific example in Chapter 5 and record it, prompting them to locate and cite a textual quotation and provide concrete details. The pipe-cleaner narration and optional follow-up ask students to practice narrating motions using strong descriptive phrases, which practices supplying descriptive evidence.
Lesson 7
Leaders Motivate
Students read background material on John Locke and Demosthenes and are asked to "reflect" and "write a journal entry describing the links between the two sets of personalities," which requires using source information. Students complete a "Complete the Thought" activity that has them match and apply historical quotations to novel characters and then explain in a chart why each quote fits a chosen character. The lesson text includes explicit definitions and contrasts of power, authority, and leadership that students can cite in their writing.
Lesson 9
Conflict Within and Without
Students identify and sort specific examples of internal and external conflict from Ender's Game using a cut-and-paste chart and provided text boxes that point to concrete moments in the text (e.g., Ender's struggles with identity, conflicts with Stilson, Bonzo, and changing gravity). Students write a paragraph in their journals addressing how a given conflict affects relationships, plot development, and character change, and they are asked to explain how conflicts develop over the course of the text. The Parent Plan skills explicitly include citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking, and homework questions require students to recall concrete details from Chapter 12.
Lesson 11
Thud, Whump, Huut
Students are asked to re-read a book scene and re-watch a film scene, then take notes on differences, omitted information, and changed dialogue. The Comic Adaptation activity directs students to list narration or dialogue that was omitted or changed and to quote passages from the novel and judge whether Marvel communicated the omitted meaning through pictures. Answer-key samples show students citing specific quoted passages and summarizing which narrative details or character thoughts were left out in the adaptation.
Lesson 12
Campbell's Comparisons
Students record the 12 steps of Campbell's Hero's Journey and are instructed to choose six steps and describe parallels to Ender's Game on the Hero's Journey activity page, requiring them to provide examples from the novel for each selected step. The parent-plan answers model specific novel details (e.g., Graff recruiting Ender as the Call to Adventure, Ender's trials in Battle School, discovery that the game was real) that students are expected to cite. In Activity 2 students retake an issues survey and are asked, if their views changed, to discuss reasons and may be asked to provide examples from the novel that influenced them.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked in Box 8 (Historical References) to look up NATO and the Warsaw Pact, color and sort countries, and list two key similarities and two key differences, requiring them to find and use factual information. In Box 5 (Leadership and Influence) students must write two to three paragraphs comparing and contrasting military and civilian leadership, which asks for examples and concrete details from the novel. Box 4 requires students to choose historical quotes and insert them into a rewritten conversation, explicitly asking students to use quotations as supporting material; Box 2 asks students to write a one- to three-paragraph flashback that supplies background detail and insight into character thinking.
Unit 2: Grammar, Part II
Lesson 6
Word Choice
Students are asked to revise a college-admissions paragraph to make it clearer and more specific, with instructions to "choose words and details with strong, vivid descriptions," use active voice, and simplify confusing sentences (College Essay Editor, Part 3). The lesson explicitly states that strong writing "uses clear, precise language and concrete details" and directs students to translate clichéd or vague phrases into plainer language on several activities. Multiple activities require students to replace wordy expressions and eliminate redundancy, which trains them to select more precise and relevant words and details for an audience.
Lesson 7
Verb Voice and Mood
Students are asked to create a creative explanation of the subjunctive mood aimed at a younger audience and to "explain briefly what mood is" and mention familiar moods, which requires tailoring content to audience knowledge. The project rubric requires that students "clearly shows what the subjunctive mood is using definitions, examples, and/or context" and "provides useful strategies/techniques to show a firm understanding of the topic," which directs students to include definitions, examples, and explanatory details. The lesson provides example sentences and web links students can use as sources for definitions and examples.
Final Project
Wrapping Up
Students are asked to create explanatory mini-projects that must "clearly define any terms and provide examples" (Slideshow) and to make an Explanatory Guide that uses their own descriptions and examples aimed at a specified audience. The Elementary Poster choice requires students to explain a concept simply and appropriately for an elementary audience, and the Song/Rap/Skit choice requires a chorus that provides a basic definition plus verses that provide examples or explanations. The project rubric assesses whether "Each mini-project clearly explains the topic," whether "Information is appropriate for the target audience," and whether the "Work demonstrates that the student understands the topic."
Unit 3: Informational Texts
Lesson 2
Outliers
Students are asked to locate and explain the author's definitions of "outlier" (dictionary entry on p. 3 and definition on p. 7) and to reread the final paragraphs relating the Roseto study to Gladwell's approach, which requires using an extended example/analogy to explain a concept. Activity 1 asks students to identify outliers in number sets and real-world scenarios and justify their reasoning, prompting use of concrete details and examples. Homework questions require students to explain causal mechanisms (e.g., birth-month cutoff, Matthew Effect) using specific facts from the chapter.
Lesson 3
The Matthew Effect
Students extract and count birth-month data from a table and create a new chart (Option 1), showing they identify and represent relevant quantitative facts. In Option 2, students read a paragraph about the TIMSS study and sketch a graphic that communicates those study findings, demonstrating they translate and select concrete details to communicate information. In the homework and journal tasks, students explain concepts (the 10,000-hour rule) and brainstorm specific factors that contribute to athletic success, using textual details and examples from biographies or the reading.
Lesson 4
The 10,000 Hour Rule
Students are asked to summarize and analyze Sections 1–3 with specific prompts that require citing how Gladwell develops his points (e.g., questions about how Bill Joy is introduced, why he is omitted in Section 2, and how Section 3 adds understanding of the 10,000-hour rule). Activity 2 directs students to mark key opportunities for The Beatles or Bill Gates as they read and to record those key facts and examples in their journals. The homework requires students to take those marked opportunities and communicate them in a visual form (flowchart, infographic, diagram) that conveys how the specific example ties to the chapter's larger ideas, which asks students to select and organize relevant facts and examples for presentation.
Lesson 5
Harlan, Kentucky
Students are asked to do brief online research about who originally settled their area, take notes on those settlers and local stereotypes, and write an informal journal reflection sharing their findings with family. The homework prompt directs students to note what group(s) settled the area and any influence those groups had, and the Student Activity Page requires students to look up and record precise definitions and pronunciations for challenging vocabulary words.
Lesson 6
The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes
Students read specified sections of Chapter 7 and answer targeted comprehension questions that require identifying details and clues about causes of the crashes (e.g., questions asking what details provide clues about outcomes and what factors contributed). Students analyze authorial choices by predicting structure and discussing why Gladwell delays revealing the cultural issue, and they write journal responses that require supporting their speculations with chapter details. Students evaluate an external article and Gladwell's response by identifying the blog author's criticisms, locating corresponding passages, and completing an analysis chart that asks them to note criticisms, Gladwell's responses, and the effectiveness of those responses.
Lesson 7
Rice Paddies and Math Tests
Students read specified sections of Outliers and answer targeted comprehension questions that require citing specific facts (e.g., differences in farming, counting systems, hours worked). In Activity 1 students take notes on how the Chinese counting system works and present findings to a parent with examples of irregularities in English number words. The homework/miniproject requires students to create a diagram or infographic that condenses and clarifies a chosen concept from the chapter, allows inclusion of additional factual information or media (audio, pictures), and asks students to give credit to outside sources. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly directs students to draw evidence from texts, cite strong textual evidence, and translate quantitative information into visual form.
Lesson 8
With Malice Toward None
Students identify and analyze direct quotations from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address on the Student Activity Page, labeling the literary device and explaining its intended effect. The homework asks students to choose three sentences from the speech that fit a background–main message–forward-looking structure, requiring selection of lines that serve as examples. The Parent Plan lists citing strong textual evidence as a skill and the activities repeatedly require students to use quotations as support for analysis.
Lesson 9
Writing about History
Students read multiple secondary summaries and primary-source testimonies and answer guided questions that require identifying agreed-upon facts (e.g., Q1 asks for two facts all three sources agree upon). Students complete a "Firsthand Accounts" graphic organizer that asks them to match specific secondary-source claims to supporting primary-source quotations and note differences/consistencies. Students analyze testimony for inaccuracies in the "Primary Falsehoods" activity and are asked to use facts from sources to support their perspective when composing an editorial or a journal paragraph planning a site visit.
Lesson 10
Science Writing
Students read specified pages from a middle-school science booklet and answer guided questions that ask them to identify definitions (e.g., equilibrium, centripetal vs. centrifugal force) and why a term is called 'fictitious.' The lesson introduction explicitly lists methods for developing and clarifying terms (example, explanation, highlighting, synonym/antonym, analogy, illustration), and the Investigating Claims activity asks students to explain how the author supports claims and to identify which explanatory methods are used. The parent plan and skills list require students to cite specific textual evidence and determine how an author explains or clarifies a scientific phenomenon.
Lesson 11
Technical Writing
Students are instructed to write an introduction that must be backed up with information from an outside source and may include a quotation, and the homework and rubric require a "Works Cited" entry. The Guide Checklist requires background information, required materials, clearly ordered steps, tips, and a glossary of specialized terms (extended definitions) for a general audience. Activities direct students to draft and revise their guide so that another person with little or no knowledge can complete the task, and to highlight glossary terms and add definitions where needed.
Lesson 12
Logical Fallacies
Students identify logos as an appeal to reason that uses facts, examples, and statistics (homework section) and analyze how Lou Gehrig supports his thesis with specific examples and honors (Gehrig activity). In the "Your Own Speech" option students must write a short speech and note where they appealed to ethos, logos, and pathos, with a sample that includes a concrete statistic ("three serious accidents"). Students also research definitions of fallacies and cite examples from historical speeches, which requires locating and citing illustrative quotations or examples.
Final Project
Argumentative Research Essay
Students are instructed to find at least five high-quality sources (preferably from library databases), collect facts, statistics, and specific examples, and record quotes/ideas on the 'Present the Evidence' activity sheet. The lesson requires students to support claims in the Confirmation paragraphs with evidence, to use in-text MLA citations and produce a Works Cited page, and the essay rubric explicitly evaluates Content Development and Use of Sources (including quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing three or more authoritative sources). The curriculum also directs students to assess source credibility, convert statistics into visual aids, and adapt evidence for oral audiences.
Unit 4: Drama
Lesson 1
What Is Drama?
Students read explicit definitions and concrete details about genres (tragedy, comedy, melodrama, musical, spectacle) and stage terminology (script, acts, scenes, stage directions, blocking, set pieces, props). Students watch a set of video clips in Activity 1 and record genre identifications in their journals, using the provided examples and answer key as models. Students are prompted in the homework to write a paragraph recalling a play and to address specific prompts (type of drama, setting, characters, differences between live and filmed performance, emotional impact).
Lesson 2
How to Read Drama
Students answer targeted journal questions that require citing concrete details from Trifles (e.g., "How is Mrs. Wright like the bird?" and "Name 3 clues the women find that explain what happened"). The Applying Aristotle's Six Elements activity asks students to explain plot unity, identify the protagonist, describe character traits and flaws, and explain the play's thought/theme, prompting use of facts and examples from the play. The diction/language prompts ask students to identify figurative language, dialect, and how language evokes feeling, which requires locating and explaining relevant quotations or textual details.
Lesson 4
A Raisin in the Sun
Students identify and record strong adjectives and each character's stated or implied dreams on a "Characters and Their Dreams" organizer, requiring them to pull concrete details from Act I. Students determine word meanings from context and match vocabulary to definitions on the "Act I Vocabulary" page, practicing use of definitions and contextual evidence. Students write a one-paragraph summary of Act I and respond in journals to questions about videos and infographics, which asks them to cite causes, character qualities, and real-world examples related to college access.
Lesson 5
Act II
Students are asked to write a reader-response paragraph using the APE method and specifically told to "Prove" by providing specific examples and quotations from the text. Students complete a character analysis and then write a six-sentence monologue that requires them to produce concrete biographical, physical, and psychological details about a character. Students analyze excerpts from Hansberry's To Be Young, Gifted and Black and answer questions that require integrating quotations and contextual explanation. Students determine word meanings from context and then look up and revise definitions in a dictionary, practicing extended definitions of vocabulary.
Lesson 6
Act III
Students define the term "defer" and explain the concept of a "dream deferred," which asks for an extended definition. Students identify five similes in Hughes's poem and analyze imagery, including the final line "Or does it explode?", using concrete details from the text. Students are prompted to choose a play character and explain how that character's dream has been deferred, selecting which poetic comparison best describes the outcome and relating poem images to the character.
Lesson 7
Fences
Students are asked to write comparative responses using a structured chart that prompts them to address theme, characters (goals, attitude, obstacles), plot, and setting, and to write at least two sentences about similarities and differences. Students must write a paragraph with at least three insights after watching an interview with the actors, and they must write a journal paragraph reflecting on what they learned from the play and movie. The parent plan includes model answers that supply facts and concrete details students could use when filling out the comparison chart.
Lesson 8
Shakespeare
Students are asked to use the book, a video, and web resources to create a timeline of Shakespeare's life, including specific facts such as birthdate, marriage, children's births and deaths, theater dates, and troupe formation. The timeline task requires students to determine the proper order of events and annotate or place provided event boxes, which has students select and organize factual details. The activity sheet also asks students to summarize a passage in their own words and to identify speaker, meaning, actions, and desires, which has students restate and clarify content from source material.
Lesson 10
Figurative Language
Students identify and explain figurative-language terms using provided definitions and Shakespearean examples (oxymoron, pun, idiom, euphemism) and are asked to circle and explain oxymorons and underline paradoxes in quoted lines. Students cut out and unscramble sonnet lines, mark rhyme scheme, and write an explanation of the major conflict the sonnet summarizes. Students complete worksheet items that require explaining idioms and euphemisms, producing or finding puns, and answering comprehension and journal prompts about scenes from Romeo and Juliet.
Lesson 11
Nuanced Meaning
Students are asked to write journal summaries identifying the most important event in each of several scenes from Act 3, which requires them to recount and condense plot details. Students must rewrite a six-line exchange as modern text messages and compare it to the original scene, demonstrating understanding of character relationships, plot, and emotions. Students analyze bolded words in excerpts from Romeo and Juliet using a provided word box and then find synonyms with positive and negative connotations and use them in sentences, engaging with definitions, contextual quotations, and example usages.
Lesson 13
Tragic Hero
Students fill a timeline that requires them to record specific actions/events from named acts and scenes and then use those facts to decide whether characters are static or dynamic and to justify their conclusions. Students read excerpts of Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" alongside Romeo and Juliet and are asked to note similarities using concrete details from the texts. Students answer journal prompts requiring them to explain how Romeo meets each tragic-hero criterion and to summarize the most important event in Act V, which prompts use of textual events as support.
Lesson 14
Modern Retelling
Students are instructed to use the APE method, which explicitly tells them to 'Answer,' 'Prove' by providing specific examples from the two productions, and 'Extend' by explaining significance. The homework checklist requires each paragraph to contain "specific information or examples from both productions" and to end with an explanation of the significance or effect of those differences. The student activity page directs students to take focused notes on concrete aspects (character portrayals, major changes, use of setting, use of color) to support their comparison.
Final Project
Drama
Students research and record factual details for projects such as Costume (research Renaissance clothing and write a paragraph describing color, material, act/scene usage) and Set Design (read scenes, answer where/when/mood, and write a paragraph explaining design choices). The News project requires students to write four article leads that include who, what, when, and where and to include images with captions, demonstrating use of concrete facts and summarizing information. The lesson requires citation of outside sources and a Works Cited page and the rubric includes a "Sources" category, prompting students to gather and reference evidence.
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
Students are asked to write 1–3 paragraph responses to discussion prompts (Part IV) that require specific details, examples, and explanations (e.g., adapt A Raisin in the Sun to a modern setting; evaluate source credibility; identify a social message and explain how the work conveys it). Short-answer items require students to define terms and provide examples or reasons (e.g., primary vs. secondary sources, foreshadowing examples, Outliers examples) and instruct that students should be able to "back up their answers." The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes "Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research" and "Produce clear and coherent writing... appropriate to task, purpose, and audience."