Ninth Grade - ELA
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Lord of the Flies
Lesson 1
The Call
Students match vocabulary words to specific quotations from Lord of the Flies (e.g., p. 19, p. 38, p. 49, p. 57) to determine word meanings. Students answer directed reading questions about Chapter 1 (for example, identifying the conch shell, who is elected leader, and how Jack gains followers), which require referencing events and details from the text. Option 1 asks students to list dystopian titles and analyze common settings, plot ideas, and central struggles, prompting students to draw on specific works for comparison.
Lesson 2
Life on the Island
Students are asked to maintain STEAL character pages and multiple Student Activity Pages that explicitly prompt them to record textual details with page numbers (each notes column says "Notes (include page number)"). The Parent Plan gives concrete examples of citing a line of dialogue under "Speech" (Ralph's quote) and models making inferences in the "Thoughts" section from characters' words and actions. Students are prompted to return to their charts as they read and to check that the examples they record match characterization elements, which requires referring back to the text.
Lesson 3
Paths in the Jungle
The lesson's Skills list explicitly names citing strong and thorough textual evidence as a learning goal. Students are instructed to annotate the article (underline main points, circle important words, draw stars next to supporting evidence) and to identify the author's thesis and supporting points. The Student Activity organizer asks students to list the "Author's main argument/thesis" and "Key points that support the thesis," and to use the completed organizer to form and justify their own opinion.
Lesson 4
Images from Paradise
Activity 1 asks students to fill a Five Senses chart with sentences from the book, explicitly requiring that students include the quotation and explain how the description serves as imagery and whether it is positive or negative. The activity also requires students to label each example as "paradise" or "dystopia," which asks students to draw interpretive inferences from the quoted text. The Parent Plan reiterates that students will practice finding examples in the novel and explain how imagery creates tone.
Lesson 5
Not Hunting, But Hunted
Students read and examine underlined passages from Lord of the Flies and are asked, "What do you notice about the underlined passages?", prompting close analysis of specific text excerpts. Students compare Example A and Example B and are directed to note how the second example breaks a moment into discrete components to make the reader feel emotions, which requires attending to textual details. The reading comprehension questions about Chapter 6 ask students to identify events and infer reasons for changes in the boys' attitudes, engaging students with explicit and implicit content from the text.
Lesson 6
Symbolism, Part 1
The Student Activity Page directs students to circle an interpretation for each symbol and "write an explanation supported by the text" for their choice. The Parent Plan reiterates that students must "explain their choice and back it up with support from the text." The journal-entry task asks students to record actions and quotes from other main characters, which requires students to include direct textual details as evidence.
Lesson 8
Defects of Human Nature
Students are asked in Activity 1 (Option 1 and Option 2) to choose themes that support Golding's major theme and to "support those choices by referring to details from the novel," including writing 3–4 sentence explanations. The Parent Plan Skills section directs students to "determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development... including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details." The reading questions and answers (e.g., Simon finds the parachute man; Jack's tribe kills Simon; hunters take Piggy's glasses) require students to cite specific plot details from the text.
Lesson 9
Symbolism, Part 2
Students read Chapter 11 and answer text-based comprehension questions that require recall of explicit events (e.g., who remains in Ralph's tribe, how Piggy dies). Students complete STEAL character pages (homework) and the Allegory Analysis and Recognizing Archetypes activity pages, which ask them to identify what characters, groups, and objects could represent and to cite details that support those interpretations (the Parent Plan lists sample details students may cite). The teacher notes and answer key repeatedly model linking character actions and traits to interpretive claims (e.g., Ralph calling meetings, Piggy's glasses symbolizing sight).
Lesson 10
Which Is Better?
Students read and discuss explicit passages from the novel (Ralph's assembly speech and Piggy's quoted question) and view background material about civilization that connects to the text. Students complete guided comprehension questions about Chapter 12 that require locating plot details (e.g., what Samneric tell Ralph, what Ralph encounters while escaping the fire). Students write a one-page journal entry analyzing Jack's leadership and contrasting it with Ralph's leadership and the boys' pre-island civilized lives, which asks them to base analysis on the text and characters.
Lesson 11
The Film
Students are asked to watch the 1963 film and compare it to the novel, using a "Movie vs. Book" chart that prompts them to record similarities and differences in characters, setting, theme, and plot. The activity asks students to answer journal questions that require them to judge whether omitted scenes were critical to the novel's major theme and to explain differences between their imagined visuals and the film. The provided answer key models analysis that links specific novel elements (e.g., littluns' behavior, Ralph's conversation with the officer) to thematic claims about savagery and adult influence.
Final Project
Now You Have the Conch
Students are prompted to return to specific chapters and "note passages" that show character interactions (e.g., the Chapter 7 example directing students to find passages where Ralph and Jack contend and where the group gets "caught up"). Brainstorming and planning pages instruct students to write down key phrases or sentences, include page numbers, and provide brief explanations of each passage's relevance. The Essay Organizer and outline templates require students to include specific examples from the text, including quotes, and to explain how those examples support each point; the rubric's "Support" criterion requires relevant support with explanations. The "You Are the Editor" checklist asks students to check that body paragraphs contain quotes or references from the novel and to evaluate how well evidence supports ideas.
Unit 2: Short Stories
Lesson 1
The Gift of the Magi
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly lists: "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis..." which names the target skill. Students are instructed to annotate texts (underline significant information, write margin notes) and to record story elements, themes, and instances of situational and dramatic irony, all of which require close reading of the text. Homework and journal tasks ask students to research allusions and explain how that knowledge "contributes to your understanding of the short story," prompting students to connect textual references to inferences.
Lesson 2
The Necklace
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill: "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis..." and Introducing the Lesson tells students they will practice using textual evidence and incorporating direct quotes. Activity 1 directs students to reread annotations, identify repetitive elements, and "use textual evidence to show how the author develops this theme," while the Student Activity Page asks "What evidence in the story is there and reflects this theme?". Homework requires students to support ideas with specific examples from the text and lists methods (direct quotations, summaries, paraphrase) and the APE strategy includes a "Prove" step to provide textual evidence.
Lesson 3
Literary Response
Students are prompted in the Brainstorming activity to 'find specific examples or quotations from the texts to back your observations' and to record those quotations in the Evidence columns for each story. The APE homework structure requires students to Answer a question, Prove the answer 'by providing examples or quotations from the text,' and Extend by explaining how the evidence supports their ideas. The rubric and instruction specify citation format and allocate points for 'Support of ideas with evidence from the text' and 'Explanation of how the evidence supports points.'
Lesson 4
Characterization
Students are asked in Question #2 to "Support your answer with evidence from the story," and Question #1 explicitly asks students to state opinions and "provide evidence to support their conclusions." The Characterization activity asks students to record examples of direct and indirect characterization (speech, appearance, thoughts, actions, how others respond) and to highlight those examples, which requires locating textual passages. The Parent Plan supplies model quotations and labels them as direct or indirect, giving students concrete examples of citing text to support analysis.
Lesson 5
Edgar Allan Poe
Students are asked to locate and record specific textual examples in multiple activities: the "Crazy Like a Fox?" homework requires students to list evidence from the story that supports both the narrator's rationality and irrationality. The Foreshadowing activity asks students to find 3–4 examples of foreshadowing in the text and explain what each refers to. The Gothic Fiction activity directs students to provide specific examples from the text for five genre characteristics, and the storyboard task requires students to quote the corresponding section of the story under each panel.
Lesson 6
The Lottery
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis..." and the Things to Know section tells students to provide specific evidence from the text to support their interpretations. Activity 1 directs students to use close reading to record elements of the story that mention or allude to the black box, categorizing physical descriptions, reactions, and connections to town history on the student worksheet. The Answer Key and activity text include direct quoted phrases from the story (e.g., "grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously," "The villagers kept their distance") and ask students to link those textual details to thematic inferences.
Lesson 7
Everyday Use
The Parent Plan lists as a skill: "Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text." Reading questions prompt students to identify point of view and justify answers (e.g., noting first-person "I" and quoting lines about the quilts). Activities (Symbolism, Discussion questions, and Quilted Heritage) ask students to connect textual details to inferences about characters, heritage, and symbols.
Lesson 8
Harrison Bergeron
Students are prompted in Question #1 to support an explanation of society's origin by pointing to George's line — "If I tried to get away with it... we'd be right back to the dark ages again" — demonstrating use of a direct quotation to justify an inference. Students are asked in Question #4 to determine narrative point of view based on what the narrator knows and tells the reader, requiring them to use textual details to support that analysis. In Activity 2 and the Student Activity Page, students must list specific scenes and character changes between the print text and the film and explain why those changes were made, which asks them to cite and reason from specific textual elements.
Lesson 9
Dialogue
The lesson's Skills and Parent Plan list the targeted skill of citing textual evidence. Activity 2 asks students to "refer to specific lines or sections of dialogue to support your points" and provides a sample paragraph that includes a direct quotation from a text to support an analysis. The Parent Plan and journaling task require students to re-read dialogue and use those passages when explaining how dialogue reveals character or affects pacing.
Unit 4: Poetry
Lesson 1
Introduction to Poetry
Students are asked to print and mark a poem (underline important words, insert question marks, star attention-grabbing phrases, and highlight positive/negative connotations) and then answer targeted questions about those markings. In Activity 2, students identify words in "Richard Cory," note line-level choices (e.g., "sole to crown" in line 3), and underline words in an Emily Dickinson poem, then write denotations and connotations for selected words. The Poem Response prompts require students to name who "them" refers to, decide what confession is sought, and explain why chosen words with strong connotations are effective.
Lesson 2
Sound and Rhythm
Students are asked to locate and mark specific instances of sound devices (alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia) in poems such as "Nothing Gold Can Stay," "Counting-Out Rhyme," "The Tyger," and "The Tyger," underlining or circling words and lines as evidence. Students answer directed questions that require identification of rhyme scheme, internal rhyme, and examples of sound devices and then write short journal responses explaining why a repetition or rhyme choice is effective. Students practice scansion and mark stressed and unstressed syllables in lines, using those markings to support claims about a poem's meter and rhythm in written reflections.
Lesson 3
Figurative Language
Students are instructed on the Student Activity Page to read poems and identify examples of figurative language with stanza and line numbers and provide explanations of comparisons, personifications, and symbols. Activity 2 (both options) asks students to identify the figurative device, provide the exact phrase or line that illustrates it, and explain how the poem uses that device. The Parent Plan/Skills section directs students to determine meanings of words and phrases (including figurative meanings) and to analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
Lesson 4
Voice and Tone
Students are asked to identify the speaker of multiple poems and list three things they know about the speaker from the poem, which requires using textual details (Activity 1 and the Student Activity Page). In the writing options, students must "refer to parts of the poem and explain why" they make certain choices, explicitly asking them to support claims with poem parts. The tone activities require students to record specific words or phrases that convey tone and to list sight and sound images or repeated words in Frost's poem, prompting students to point to textual evidence and give examples.
Lesson 5
What Does It Mean?
Students are guided through explicit steps to analyze a poem's literal meaning (title, read aloud, identify speaker, look up words, write a summary) and to dig deeper by identifying images, tone, symbols, and theme. The lesson models connecting background information to inference (the example linking Whitman's biography and Lincoln to interpret "O Captain! My Captain!"). Student Activity Pages ask students to answer questions in writing and record observations about images, symbols, themes, and how allusions affect meaning.
Lesson 7
Analyzing Poetry
Students are instructed to annotate poems by marking important words and phrases and writing thoughts, questions, conclusions, and summaries in the margins (Activity 1). Students practice annotating a model poem (Ozymandias) and are given a student activity to annotate Robert Frost's "October," which asks them to note themes, language, and structure. Students complete a poetry map for "Blackberry-Picking" that requires them to record word choice, imagery, symbols/allusions, tone, sound devices, figurative language, speaker, a summary, and a theme—all activities that have students identify and record specific textual details.
Lesson 8
Types of Poems
Students read multiple poems (sonnets, free verse, narrative poems) and complete targeted analytic tasks such as identifying speaker and tone, summarizing plot, and determining rhyme scheme and meter (e.g., marking rhyme scheme on sonnets and following iambic pentameter). Students complete ekphrasis charts comparing poems to artworks and answer questions about poets' points and use of literary devices (e.g., identifying the apostrophe in Whitman's poem). The parent plan and activity pages explicitly direct students to "draw evidence from literary" texts and to analyze structure and form when answering questions.
Lesson 9
The Crossover
Students are asked to finish reading specific sections of The Crossover and answer comprehension questions that require recalling events (e.g., Josh's punishment, privileges, gifts). The homework Option 1 directs students to look at specific poems/pages (pp. 227-228 and pp. 234-237) and answer what "crossover" means in each poem, prompting analysis of both explicit meaning and shifting connotations. The vocabulary activity asks students to compare the book's word definitions with dictionary definitions and to explain how the author's method aids understanding using one word as an example, which requires students to refer back to the text for supporting examples.
Lesson 11
Reciting Poetry
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly states students will "cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text." Students are asked to read and analyze poems (choose and read multiple poems, determine speaker and tone, consider meaning and imagery) and to note in a journal what makes performances effective. Homework asks students to mark the poem, consider word choices and images, and determine tone and speaker — activities that require close reading and support for interpretations.
Final Project
Poetry
Students are asked to perform a poetry explication in Choice 5 in which they copy and paste or type poem excerpts onto presentation slides and highlight words or passages that demonstrate tone, sound devices, imagery, and meaning. In the Director's Notebook (Choice 1) and lighting/set design tasks, students must use specific lines from Frost's "The Fear" (e.g., line 33, repeated references to the lantern) to justify staging, costume, and lighting choices. Several project prompts (ekphrastic poem, artwork, visual interpretation) require students to refer back to poem details and imagery when creating or explaining their work.
Unit 5: Nonfiction
Lesson 1
Types of Nonfiction
Students are asked to use the "All About a Person" activity to identify whether a book is a biography, autobiography, or memoir and to "Give specific examples" from the catalog record, front matter, and back matter to support that conclusion. The activity also directs students to "Support your comparison with specific examples" when comparing books and to note how characters, setting, and plot events contribute to theme. The answer key and parent notes model using concrete features (map, table of contents, glossary, timeline, photos, the phrase "true story") as evidence to classify the book.
Lesson 6
A Day Like Any Other
The lesson explicitly instructs students to use the APE strategy, where the "Prove" step tells students to "Provide evidence to support your answer. Use specific examples and quotations from the text." The Student Activity Page and example walk students through answering a question, providing a quotation (with a page number) to support the answer, and then extending the explanation. The reading questions and decision-analysis scenarios require students to analyze motives and events from the chapters and back up their answers with textual support.
Lesson 7
Life in England
Students read specific chapters of I Am Malala and answer text-based comprehension questions that require attention to explicit details (Questions 1–4). Students are asked to watch a documentary and "take notes on the following" prompts that directly compare the book and the video, including guided prompts about the father's role and differences in focus. The materials provide specific page references (top of p.75, bottom of p.106, p.184) and a quoted passage to anchor discussion and comparison between the book and the film.
Lesson 8
Civil Rights
Students read both halves of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and answered journal questions asking them to list the four steps of a nonviolent campaign and identify the most persuasive argument King made. Students underlined portions of excerpts, completed a double-entry diary to analyze "just" and "unjust" laws, and matched King's historical references to specific figures, requiring them to connect quotes to referents. Students also read primary texts (Douglass excerpt, Hughes, Angelou) and wrote sentences about how those authors contributed to America's progress.
Lesson 9
Civil Disobedience
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research." Activity 1 directs students to analyze excerpts from Thoreau and King, highlight phrases on both sides that discuss similar ideas, and explain overlapping ideas. Activity 2 and the homework ask students to read quotes/excerpts and explain which author's views they agree with or answer comprehension questions about Thoreau, which requires using the text to support responses.
Lesson 10
Learning from the Past
Students are prompted to locate and quote text directly: Activity 1 and the Student Activity Page ask students to 'Find a quote from the text that supports this.' Activity 3 asks students to 'skim Wiesel's speech and look for a statement that is a universal truth' and instructs them to 'Use a quote from each person you mention to support your argument.' Homework tasks ask students to 'Rewrite this quote in your own words,' requiring engagement with specific textual language and paraphrasing.
Lesson 11
A Boy's Story
Students are directed to read specific pages in the book (the Chronology, pp. 222-224, and specified chapters) to learn who was involved and how events unfolded, requiring them to extract explicit information. The question set includes explicit-detail questions (e.g., initial goal of the RUF, why the boys left town) and inference questions that ask students to explain causes and motivations (e.g., why the RUF continued fighting, why the civil war lasted so long), and one question asks students to use information from an author interview video to support an explanation. The vocabulary activity requires students to locate words in the text, fill in sentences taken from the book, and record dictionary definitions in their own words, which requires close reference to textual wording.
Lesson 12
Running from War
Students are taught specific methods for integrating quotations into their writing (complete sentence + colon, short introductory phrase + comma, or integrating a fragment) and practice these methods in Activity 1, including introducing a quotation from Chapter 5. The homework uses the APE strategy which requires students to "Prove" by using a quotation from the text and to "Extend" by explaining how the quotation supports their answer. The Parent Plan and skills list explicitly state that students will "draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research."
Lesson 13
Child Soldier
The lesson's skills list explicitly names citing strong and thorough textual evidence as a targeted skill. The "Different Accounts" activity directs students to consider what the book says or what they can infer and to "Give examples or quotes from the book to back up your answer." Several reading questions (e.g., identifying why the lieutenant shows bodies, why boys are given pills, and the role of rap) require students to draw inferences from text passages and reference specific page numbers for support.
Lesson 14
Rehabilitation
Students are asked to provide examples or quotations from the text in multiple tasks (Activity 1 Option 1 asks them to record supporting examples/quotations for each alleged war crime; Activity 1 Option 2 requires a written conclusion supported by examples/quotations; the "Wiesel's Words" page asks students to circle a quotation and explain how it relates to the memoir using specific examples or quotations). The student activity pages instruct students to highlight text passages and note page numbers (e.g., referencing p. 142 and other pages) to support their comparisons and conclusions. The Parent Plan explicitly lists 'Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research' as a targeted skill.
Lesson 15
A New Life
The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly includes "Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research," which directs students to use textual evidence. The summarizing instructions teach quoting and paraphrasing, tell students they may include brief quotations (accurate and enclosed in quotation marks), and ask students to annotate or note page/paragraph numbers when taking notes. The Comparing Memoirs activity asks students to look at specific scenes (for example, Malala's shooting and Beah's rebel attack) to compare presentation, which encourages using textual details to support comparisons.
Final Project
Expository Essay
The Skills list explicitly includes "Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research," and the rubric's Support criterion requires facts to be presented as quotes, paraphrases, or summaries with adequate credit to sources. Part 3 asks students to choose among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing for their three key facts and to note sources, while Part 4 gives explicit instructions for in-text parenthetical citations and provides examples. The Works Cited section and use of a citation builder require students to produce proper bibliographic documentation for sources they used.
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
Students practice quoting and paraphrasing in Part V, where they must introduce and correctly quote a Wordsworth excerpt and paraphrase passages. Students answer short-answer and discussion prompts (Parts III and IV) that require analysis of symbols, themes, irony, and authors' purposes from texts they read this semester. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly names citing textual evidence as a target skill.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Ender's Game
Lesson 1
Born to Genius
Students are asked to read Chapters 1–2 and answer specific questions about Ender's relationships and characters' motives (Homework Questions 1–4), which requires using what the text says explicitly and drawing simple inferences (e.g., why Peter is angry). Activity 1 directs students to read the book's introduction (pp. xi–xiii) for background, and Activity 2 asks students to rate and later discuss issues raised by the novel, prompting them to refer to events and ideas in the text during discussion preparation.
Lesson 5
Movement and Time
The Student Activity Page (Activity 2) asks students to find and record a specific flashback from Chapter 5 (p.44), which requires locating and transcribing text. Follow-up questions ask students to state the insights gained about Ender and explain how the flashback increases tension or suspense, prompting analysis tied to that passage. Activity 1 asks for a careful close reading of an action sequence and optional narration of movements using strong descriptive phrases, which encourages attention to textual wording and description.
Lesson 6
Performance Is Personal
The Text Structure activity asks students to review the first few paragraphs of each chapter and to "identify examples of foreshadowing" and to "provide an example from the text," which requires locating textual passages that show foreshadowing. Question 2 explicitly asks students to "Provide an example from the text" when explaining how conversations create tension. The Parent Plan supplies model quotations from the novel (e.g., dialogue from Chapter 4) that students can use as textual 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 those figures and characters Peter and Valentine, which requires textual/biographical comparison. Activity 2 asks students to match famous quotations about leadership to characters from the novel and to "explain why you chose each quote," prompting students to connect text-based character evidence to thematic statements. The Parent Plan skill explicitly names analysis of how an author draws on and transforms source material, implying students consider relationships between texts and the novel's content.
Lesson 8
Flies and Self-Loathing
Students are asked to evaluate Ender's actions and separate his self-perception from objective behavior (discussion prompts and "Things to Review" ask students to assess Ender's reliability). The compare-and-contrast activity asks students to analyze settings, leadership, themes, and consequences across Ender's Game and Lord of the Flies, requiring inference about themes and character motivations. Homework comprehension questions require students to explain characters' actions and motivations (e.g., why Ender watches war videos, why he calls Bean), which involves using details from Chapter 11.
Lesson 9
Conflict Within and Without
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly tells students to "Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text." Student activities require students to identify examples of conflicts from Ender's Game, cut and paste provided text boxes as evidence into a chart, and write paragraphs explaining how conflicts affect relationships, plot, and character development. Activity 2 asks students to write one to two paragraphs speculating about an allusion and its foreshadowing, which invites students to support interpretations with details from the text.
Lesson 11
Thud, Whump, Huut
Students are directed to re-read a scene in Ender's Game and then re-watch the corresponding movie scene, taking notes on what information or dialogue was omitted or changed. The Comic Adaptation activity page explicitly asks students to list narration or dialogue that was omitted or changed and to evaluate whether the comic communicated the omitted words through pictures; sample quoted passages and examples are provided. The activities require students to identify specific textual lines and compare them to adaptation choices.
Lesson 12
Campbell's Comparisons
Students are asked to record the 12 steps of the Hero's Journey and then choose six steps to describe parallels to Ender's Game, using the Student Activity Page to provide examples from the novel for each chosen step. The Parent Plan notes students should compare their survey answers before and after reading Ender's Game and be prepared to discuss changes, providing examples from the novel that influenced their views. The activity prompts students to identify specific events in Ender's Game (e.g., Call to Adventure, Trials, Crisis, Return) and match them to Campbell's framework.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly instructs students to "read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text." Several student tasks ask for text-based analysis or use of passages: Part III of the unit test asks students to provide internal and external conflict examples from Ender's Game, Box 3 asks students to select a passage and rewrite it from Ender's perspective, and Box 5 asks students to compare and contrast military and civilian leadership using examples from the novel.
Unit 3: Informational Texts
Lesson 1
What Are Informational Texts?
Students answer specific comprehension questions about 'The Roseto Mystery' that require them to explain events (how townspeople ended up in Pennsylvania) and state researchers' conclusions about the community's health. Students are asked to infer word meaning from context (the phrase "egalitarian ethos") and to predict author background from textual cues. Activity prompts require students to locate and analyze features and elements in Outliers and to interpret Gladwell's claims in the TED talk.
Lesson 2
Outliers
Students are directed to re-read specific pages and passages (e.g., look on p. 3, bottom of p. 7, and the last two paragraphs on pp. 10–11) and to answer questions about how Gladwell defines "outlier" and how the Roseto study functions as an analogy. Homework questions ask students to explain observations and causes from the chapter (e.g., why the birthday cutoff matters, how the Matthew Effect applies), which requires students to draw inferences from the text. Activity prompts ask students to justify their reasoning when identifying outliers in examples, encouraging text-based explanation.
Lesson 3
The Matthew Effect
The Skills section explicitly lists the standard: "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text." Homework Questions 1–4 ask students to explain ideas from the reading (e.g., explain the 10,000 rule and how the author relates it back to sports examples), which requires comprehension and could be supported by text references. Discussion prompts (e.g., explain whether the author should have used a different chart) ask students to explain and justify positions based on the chapter's content.
Lesson 4
The 10,000 Hour Rule
The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly names citing strong and thorough textual evidence as a targeted skill. In Activity 1 (Looking Closely) students are asked to identify specific words, phrases, or sentences that signal Gladwell's shift in perspective and to summarize and analyze how sections develop ideas, which requires pointing to textual details. In Activity 2 and the homework students mark key opportunities in the book and use those marked passages to create a visual representation tying specific textual details to broader claims.
Lesson 5
Harlan, Kentucky
Students read Chapter 6 (pp. 162-176) including footnotes and answer four designated questions (Q1–Q4) that require them to identify patterns of violence, define a 'culture of honor,' explain a jury's reasoning, and summarize a psychological experiment—tasks that require using what the text says explicitly and making inferences. The homework asks students to read a specific footnote, research local settlers, and write a journal reflection about cultural legacies and stereotypes, which asks students to draw on textual/footnote information and external sources to support their ideas.
Lesson 6
The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes
Students are asked to read specified sections (Activity 2, Day 2, Day 3) and answer pointed questions such as "What details does the author include that provide clues…" and questions about causes, which require using page-specific details and footnotes. Activities 4 and 5 require students to read a critical blog and Gladwell's response and then identify the blog author's main objections, map criticisms to Gladwell's responses, and evaluate effectiveness—tasks that direct students to use textual evidence. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text."
Lesson 7
Rice Paddies and Math Tests
The lesson's Skills section explicitly lists "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text." Students are assigned targeted reading questions (Day 1 and Day 2) and analytic discussion/homework prompts that require using information from the chapters. The homework/mini-project asks students to "condense and clarify the information found in the book" and gives permission to use other sources with credit, implying students should base their infographic on textual content.
Lesson 8
With Malice Toward None
The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes "Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text." Students are asked to read Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and answer inferential questions (e.g., interpreting "no prediction in regard to it is ventured"), which requires using the text to support interpretations. The Student Activity Page and activities require students to identify and copy quotes from the speech and analyze the literary device and its intended effect, which has students locate and use textual passages as evidence.
Lesson 9
Writing about History
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information." Students complete a "Firsthand Accounts" graphic organizer that requires them to match secondary-source claims to supporting primary-source quotes. Students are asked to use facts from the sources to back up points in an editorial and to analyze testimonies (Primary Falsehoods) to determine accuracy and motive, requiring them to draw inferences from text evidence.
Lesson 10
Science Writing
Students are asked in the Skills list to "Cite specific textual evidence (including precise details from the text) to support an analysis of a piece of scientific writing." The Reading and Questions require students to locate and state explicit information from the text (e.g., definitions of equilibrium, centripetal vs. centrifugal force). The Investigating Claims activity asks students to explain how the author supports two specific claims and to identify methods the author uses, which requires referencing specific passages and illustrations. The Parent Plan and discussion prompts explicitly ask students to support their opinions with specific examples from the text.
Lesson 11
Technical Writing
Students are asked to annotate a passage about hydroponics in Activity 1 by marking main topics, underlining terms to highlight, and indicating where lists, headings, or images would help, which requires locating specific information in the text. The activity directs students to copy the source text into a word processor and apply formatting changes based on their annotations, reinforcing close reading to identify textual structure and key terms. Homework and later steps require students to back up the introduction to their how-to guide with information from an outside source, record the source, use quotation marks for quoted material, and include a Works Cited entry (including an MLA example).
Lesson 12
Logical Fallacies
Students are asked to print or read Andrew Jackson's speech and "highlight to practice recognizing arguments based on fallacious reasoning," finding at least three passages and preparing to discuss which fallacies each exemplifies. Students analyze Lou Gehrig's speech and answer questions about how he uses ethos, pathos, and logos, including how he supports his thesis with specific examples. Activities require students to choose examples from a "Fallacy Bank" and match them to fallacy types, and to read short videos/texts and fill in vocabulary and example-based items that point to specific textual instances.
Final Project
Argumentative Research Essay
Students are directed to record quotes or ideas from sources on the "Present the Evidence" activity sheet and to write responses about what each piece of evidence makes them think and how it influences their thinking. The lesson requires students to include quotations, paraphrases, and summaries with corresponding in-text MLA citations and to produce a Works Cited page. The essay rubric explicitly requires three or more authoritative sources to be quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and that all sources be accurately cited using in-text citations according to MLA format.
Unit 4: Drama
Lesson 2
How to Read Drama
Students are asked to read and watch Susan Glaspell's Trifles and then answer text-dependent questions such as naming three clues the women find, explaining the significance of the title, and identifying the motive for murder. Students complete an 'Applying Aristotle's Six Elements of Tragedy' activity that requires them to explain whether the plot is centered on discovery, identify the protagonist, and explain figurative language and symbolism (e.g., the bird as symbol). The lesson directs students to use the video and script to support their answers and includes an answer key that cites specific textual details (broken bird, torn cage, messy sewing, half-wiped table).
Lesson 4
A Raisin in the Sun
Students are asked to locate descriptive words and evidence in the text through the "Characters and Their Dreams" chart, where they record the adjectives Hansberry uses for each character. Reading comprehension questions ask students to describe characters (e.g., "How would you describe Ruth?" and "Describe Walter's frustration with Ruth") and to explain motives and actions (e.g., "Do you think Walter should have given Travis the money? Why or why not?"), requiring students to use the play to support answers. The vocabulary activity requires students to determine word meanings from context excerpts drawn directly from the play, which has students refer back to specific lines and passages.
Lesson 5
Act II
Students are explicitly prompted in the Reader Response Paragraph to "use evidence from the play to support your points" and the APE graphic directs students to "Prove: Provide evidence... Use specific examples and quotations from the text." Students answer targeted comprehension questions about Act II scenes that require referencing explicit details (e.g., what Mama did with her money, what Bobo told Walter). Students also analyze Hansberry excerpts and connect them to characters, which asks them to support their explanations with textual connections.
Lesson 6
Act III
Students identify five similes in Langston Hughes's poem and analyze the poem's imagery (including the final line "Or does it explode?") on the Student Activity Page. Students answer comprehension questions about Act III (e.g., Beneatha's change of career plans) that require interpreting character motivations. Students match quotations to characters on the quiz, showing engagement with specific lines from the texts.
Lesson 8
Shakespeare
Students read a passage from Act 1 Scene 2 and use the "How to Read a Shakespeare Play" activity sheet to identify speakers, interpret hidden meanings, determine actions, and state each speaker's desires. Students visualize the scene, summarize the passage in their own words, and reflect on how the passage relates to the play's theme and impact on the storyline. The lesson questions require students to answer comprehension and inference questions (e.g., why readers struggle, importance of text notes) based on the assigned readings.
Lesson 12
Time and Tension
Students are directed to read Act IV and answer specific text-based questions (e.g., what potion Friar Lawrence will get, Juliet's back-up plan, Nurse's reaction) that require reference to the play. The Time and Tension activity directs students to use an online edition to search for specific time-related words and record counts, analyze Scene 1 line 90 (Friar Lawrence's monologue), examine Capulet's repeated use of "tomorrow," and analyze the Nurse's monologue for foreshadowing and time references. The answer key lists line-level details and examples (e.g., "Wednesday is tomorrow," "two and forty hours," repeated uses of "day"), guiding students to attend to explicit words and implied meaning.
Lesson 13
Tragic Hero
Students read Act V and answer specific comprehension questions that refer to plot events (e.g., what Romeo purchased, why Friar John failed to deliver the letter, the families' reactions), which requires referring to the text. Students complete a Timeline and Character Development chart that asks them to record Actions/Events/Attitudes by Act and Scene and then use those entries to determine whether characters are static or dynamic. Students compare Ovid's Pyramus and Thisbe with Romeo and Juliet using an activity sheet that asks them to note similarities between the two texts, and students prepare and analyze monologues by locating lines and understanding their context.
Lesson 14
Modern Retelling
Students are instructed to take notes on specific differences while watching the Luhrmann film and the Globe Theatre performance using the Two Versions activity page, which directs them to record character portrayals, major changes, use of setting, and use of color. The APE method is presented with a clear "Prove" step that tells students to "provide specific examples from the two productions." The writing checklist requires each paragraph to "contain specific information or examples from both productions," and the Skills list includes "Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis."
Final Project
Drama
Students match specific quotations to speakers on the unit test and answer short-response questions that require them to refer to plot events (e.g., why Romeo was banished; why Friar John could not deliver the message). Students are asked to reread scenes when designing sets and to label panels with act and scene for comic strips, demonstrating they must locate and reference specific parts of the play. The parent/skills list explicitly includes 'Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.'
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
The lesson's Skills list explicitly names citing strong and thorough textual evidence as a targeted skill. Multiple short-answer and discussion prompts ask students to provide specific examples and to "back up" or support their answers with details from Ender's Game, A Raisin in the Sun, Romeo and Juliet, or Outliers (e.g., short-answer questions about static vs. dynamic characters, foreshadowing, and the Roseto example). Several prompts instruct students they may use the text for discussion questions and ask for specific textual details.