Ninth Grade - ELA
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Lord of the Flies
Lesson 1
The Call
Students are asked in Option 1 to list dystopian novels and movies and then analyze common settings, plot ideas, and central struggles, which requires comparing information across literary and film sources. The lesson links to a TED-Ed video and provides vocabulary activities that pair textual quotations with images and definitions, requiring students to integrate visual and textual formats. Option 2 asks students to create utopia/dystopia lists and then compare them orally with another person, which involves integrating personal, written, and spoken perspectives.
Lesson 5
Not Hunting, But Hunted
Students are directed to read multiple written excerpts from Lord of the Flies (two passage examples and comparative Example A vs. B) and to watch a linked 5-minute video ("Slowing Down Time in Writing and Film") before completing the "Life in Slow Motion" activity. The Student Activity Page explicitly instructs students to watch the video and then use slow-motion narrative pacing to recreate an important moment from their lives, requiring them to apply what they viewed to their writing. The lesson includes side-by-side textual examples and annotated excerpts for students to compare pacing techniques.
Lesson 10
Which Is Better?
Students are asked to draw on what they have learned about early civilizations in history classes and complete a chart comparing the boys' lives with those of early peoples, which requires using prior curricular knowledge alongside the novel text. The lesson provides multiple media for students to consult: an illustrated image of the Colosseum and aqueduct, the novel excerpt about civilization/savagery, and a linked Crash Course video for background on 'civilization.' The student activity page and journal prompt ask students to synthesize these ideas by comparing similarities/differences and writing a character-based analysis of leadership in light of civilized versus savage behaviors.
Lesson 11
The Film
Students are asked to watch the 1963 film adaptation and compare it directly to the novel, completing a "Movie vs. Book" chart that records similarities and differences in characters, setting, theme, and plot. Students answer journal questions about omitted scenes that might be critical to the novel's major theme and give examples of visuals that differed from their mental images. Students are prompted to look for subtext (how actors convey thoughts without narration) and to note specific changes the film makes to scenes and characterization.
Unit 2: Short Stories
Lesson 1
The Gift of the Magi
Students are directed to research the Magi, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon using multiple online sources (BibleGateway passages and a PBS page are provided) and to take notes and write journal sentences about the historical significance and how the references contribute to understanding the story. The lesson provides the short story in multiple formats (online, EPUB, Kindle) and supplies videos on situational and dramatic irony to support understanding in audiovisual format. Students are asked to use these materials to explain how their knowledge of the references contributes to their interpretation of the text.
Lesson 2
The Necklace
Students are asked to read and use their annotations of the short story and to watch a linked "How to Find a Theme" video to gain a better understanding of identifying theme. Students then fill out a theme web and use textual evidence from the story to support their theme identification and to prepare an objective summary and journal responses. These tasks require students to combine information from the written text and the instructional video as they develop and support their ideas.
Lesson 5
Edgar Allan Poe
Students are asked to create a 6–8 panel storyboard that pairs quoted passages from "The Tell-Tale Heart" with visual panels, requiring them to represent the same information in visual and textual formats. The homework "Crazy Like a Fox?" directs students to list textual evidence that supports or undermines the narrator's reliability, prompting them to evaluate the credibility of the narrator as a source. The lesson also refers to foreshadowing examples from other short stories (e.g., "The Necklace," "The Gift of the Magi"), which students are asked to identify and note, encouraging comparison across multiple texts.
Lesson 6
The Lottery
Students are asked in Activity 2 to choose a book or movie (a different medium) and to do a web search on the title plus the word "controversy," which prompts them to gather information from online sources. The Controversy activity page directs students to compare "The Lottery" with the chosen work by answering questions about thematic similarity, how the other work is darker, and whether the work caused controversy. The directions ask students to consider whether people's concerns or complaints about the book/movie were valid, which asks students to form judgments about reactions found in external sources.
Lesson 7
Everyday Use
Students are asked to read Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" and then research Walker's biography using provided web links, recording information on an "Author's Biographical Data Sheet" and noting parallels between the author's life and the story. Students are also directed to browse visual quilt galleries via museum web links and complete a "Quilted Heritage" activity page describing specific quilt panels and how they reflect cultural lives. Several activities require students to combine information from the primary text, online biographical pages, and visual artifact galleries to support answers and classroom discussion.
Lesson 8
Harrison Bergeron
Students read the printed short story "Harrison Bergeron," watch a film adaptation (2081), and view an issue-focused video, taking notes and participating in discussions. They complete a structured activity page that asks them to compare and contrast scenes, characters, and thematic emphasis between the printed text and the movie and to explain why changes were made. Students also write journal responses and discuss which concepts are emphasized more in each medium and whether the director's interpretation "makes sense," which requires synthesizing information from multiple media.
Unit 3: Grammar, Part I
Lesson 3
Pronoun Problems
Students are asked to read information from the lesson and The Only Grammar Book (pp. 90-94) and are given web links for optional additional information, so they may draw on written and online sources. Students choose between creating a poster (visual) or a slideshow and are encouraged to share that product with family (oral presentation), which involves producing and presenting information in diverse formats. The activities instruct students to explain the topic in their own words and provide examples and corrections, encouraging students to use content from multiple media (textbook, lesson text, and optional web pages).
Lesson 4
Commas
Students are directed to use explanations from the textbook (pp. 117–middle of 123), the provided web pages (Purdue OWL and Towson), and optional media (a YouTube video and an NPR article) to find explanations and examples. They are asked to create a comma guide (poster, booklet, or slideshow) that pulls together rules and examples from these different sources. Students also complete activity pages and check answers against provided answer keys, which requires them to consult multiple printed and online resources.
Lesson 6
Colons and Semicolons
Students read prescribed pages from multiple printed texts (e.g., The Only Grammar Book, First Language Lessons) and complete related activity pages that include illustrated worksheets. Students access and complete online exercises (OWL Purdue, GrammarBook) and check answers using provided answer keys, and they prepare and deliver oral opening statements and answers in a courtroom-style oral presentation requiring them to cite evidence for punctuation rules. Students are asked to review evidence and demonstrate rules with example sentences, and to consult answer explanations when they miss online quiz items.
Lesson 7
Spelling
Students are instructed to read book pages (pp. 19-20, pp. 9-15, Appendix A) and to record notes and examples, exposing them to print-based sources. The lesson provides links to a YouTube video on compliment/complement and to online spelling games (Merriam-Webster Spell It and Beyond the Page Spelling Program), exposing students to audio/visual and interactive web resources. Students are directed to use a dictionary and to check their work against an answer key, which encourages consulting multiple reference sources.
Final Project
Wrapping Up
Students are directed to use the book, the lessons of this unit, the Unit Review Sheet (URL provided), and "other resources" or the Online Resources link to find tips for their mini-project visual aid. The mini-project lets students create a digital or physical visual aid (using tools like Canva, Google Drawings, or PowerPoint) or build a quiz that draws on the unit's "Commonly Confused Words" pages and has them assess a quiz-taker's answers. The Skills section also mentions using technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing products and to link to other information.
Unit 4: Poetry
Lesson 1
Introduction to Poetry
Students read and compare multiple texts and formats: they brainstorm a personal definition, read poets' quotations on the "What Is Poetry?" page (visual quote page), and are asked to look up the word "poetry" in a dictionary or online encyclopedia. Students also read poems from different sources (an Emily Dickinson poem on a Student Activity Page, "Richard Cory" from an anthology, and the Billy Collins poem from the Poetry Foundation website) and annotate/compare language across those sources.
Lesson 2
Sound and Rhythm
Students listen to audio recordings (e.g., "Lord Randall," Marlowe) while following along in printed texts and are prompted to note differences between oral and written versions. Students use videos, web links, and an interactive scansion tool and are asked to read, mark up, and compare poems across audio, print, and digital formats (e.g., mark rhyme/meter after listening).
Lesson 4
Voice and Tone
Students listen to an audio/video reading of "Mother to Son" and read multiple poems online (e.g., "Sick," "Richard Cory," "Afternoon on a Hill," "Those Winter Sundays," "Yesterday"), using both auditory and written formats. Students complete charts comparing tone and voice across those poems and use an external "Tone List" website and Robert Frost's written analysis to identify words/phrases that convey tone. Students synthesize information from these diverse media by recording speakers' characteristics, comparing tones between poems, and creating written responses (letters or new stanzas) that draw on multiple texts.
Lesson 5
What Does It Mean?
Students read poems in print and online (links to Poetry Foundation, Poets.org, and other web pages) and are instructed to read aloud, summarize, and look up unfamiliar words. Students use background information provided in the book and a supplied paragraph about Appalachian "Old Christmas" to interpret allusions and symbolism. Students are directed to consult a tone list online and to research allusions using the internet, recording their findings in journals and activity pages.
Lesson 6
Fooling with Words
Students watch a one-hour video of poets performing, receiving information presented orally and visually. Students are directed to read poems (links are provided) and to research their chosen poet online using sites such as Poetry Foundation and Poets.org. Students complete a structured Poet Profile worksheet to record biographical details, other poems, and personal reflections drawn from these sources.
Lesson 7
Analyzing Poetry
Students interact with a marked-up image of an annotated poem and are asked to annotate printed poems themselves, showing engagement with visual and textual formats. Students are directed to an external web link (Poetry Foundation) to analyze "Blackberry-Picking," and to look up the Bluebeard reference, which requires consulting an outside source. The Poetry Map graphic organizer asks students to collect word choice, imagery, symbols, tone, and sound devices, drawing on prior lessons and multiple representations of poetic elements.
Lesson 8
Types of Poems
Students watch and compare multiple video interpretations of Whitman's poem and answer questions about how each artist interpreted the poem and how the readings differ, requiring them to integrate visual and oral renderings with the text. Students are asked to find a reliable image of Brueghel's painting and synthesize their findings with William Carlos Williams's poem, explicitly combining visual and textual sources. Students listen to audio recordings (e.g., Paul Laurence Dunbar) and read printed poems, then answer comparative questions about tone, dialect, and rhyme, integrating oral and written formats.
Lesson 9
The Crossover
Students are asked to compare the book's vocabulary definitions with dictionary definitions using the Vocabulary activity page and the provided online Resource List, directly comparing two different sources/formats (book vs. dictionary). The lesson also includes links to multimedia (a YouTube song and an author interview) that students may watch to supplement their reading.
Lesson 10
Poems and Poets
Students read poems in print, listen to an audio/visual reading of Robert Burns via the provided YouTube link, and follow multiple web links (Poetry Foundation, Poets.org, poem pages) to gather information. Students use the MyLifeElsewhere site to collect quantitative country statistics and include images and facts in a one-page biographical presentation. Students research cultural references and historical events (e.g., poison milk powder, bombings) to explain how those references enrich a poem in a journal response.
Lesson 11
Reciting Poetry
Students read poems on the Poetry Out Loud site and on pages linked from the lesson (Poetry Foundation, Poets.org) and they watch multiple video recitations (Poetry Out Loud videos, PBS, YouTube). Students are asked to note in a journal what makes each performance effective and to consider how listening or watching a recitation differs from reading the poem. The homework and activities require students to integrate what they read (text) with what they hear/see (video) as they prepare and mark up a poem for recitation.
Final Project
Poetry
Students are asked to read and compare multiple articles and song lyrics in Choice 7 (Provide Your Opinion), including a pro and con article and Dylan's lyrics, and to use those sources when writing their argument. Students viewed three animators' interpretations of a poem in Lesson 8 and are asked in Choice 2 to create a visual interpretation using animation, video, storyboard, or comic panels, combining visual and audio formats. Several project choices require use of digital media (presentations, slideshows, webpages, audio/video recordings) so students must bring together textual, visual, and oral elements when creating and presenting their work.
Unit 5: Nonfiction
Lesson 1
Types of Nonfiction
Students examine catalog records, front matter, and back matter (map, table of contents, glossary, timeline, photos) to decide whether a book is nonfiction and to support that classification with specific examples. Students read an interview with Patricia McCormick and are asked to consider her role in composing I Am Malala and whether that affects the book's classification. Students compare multiple books, citing themes, viewpoints, and evidence about each book's accuracy, and they read a Guardian article and write a response comparing approaches to genre classification.
Lesson 2
Pakistan
Students are instructed to use the book, an included map, the book's timeline, and two web links (Wikipedia and a languages webpage) to answer the Pakistan activity questions, which requires pulling information from text, visual, and web sources. The Student Activity Page explicitly directs students to 'Use information from the book as well as from the web links provided' to find answers. The Parent Plan skills statement names integrating content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively.
Lesson 3
The Taliban
The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes "Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words." Option 1 directs students to consult the provided PBS webpage and "any other sites you'd like to consult" and then summarize that information in their own words. Option 2 requires students to create slides that combine visual aids (images, maps, diagrams) and text and to note the source under each image. The homework asks students to read an online article and record and classify barriers using a symbolic key, which requires synthesizing textual and symbolic/visual information.
Lesson 4
Dear Diary
Students watch a how-to paraphrase video and read text excerpts (I Am Malala chapters and BBC diary excerpts), and they analyze paraphrases of material drawn from named sources (a New Yorker article and a research study). The activity requires students to rewrite and assess the accuracy of paraphrases and reminds them to cite sources and to distinguish common knowledge from sourced material. The lesson includes links to media (YouTube and BBC) and printed excerpts, so students encounter information in multiple formats.
Lesson 5
Displacement
Students are instructed to view and select photographs from The Guardian gallery and to record observations and assumptions about each picture, then conduct brief research about school conditions and notable statistics for that country (Option 1). In Option 2, students combine a picture from the book with an article about how children get to school, selecting four transport types, collecting images, and writing advantages and disadvantages. The Parent Plan section explicitly lists the skill to "Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words."
Lesson 7
Life in England
Students read Chapters 33–34 of I Am Malala and watch an 11-minute documentary segment ("The Making of Malala"), then take notes comparing the two accounts. The activity prompts ask students to compare specific elements across media (the father's role, the filmmaker's focus, impressions of Malala's mother, and the effectiveness of film versus book), which requires integrating print and visual/oral sources. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill to "Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats," tying the tasks to the standard.
Lesson 8
Civil Rights
Students watch multiple videos (Freedom Riders chapters and Birmingham/Children's March clips), read timelines and primary texts (excerpts from Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail"), and work with visual/tabular timeline activity pages that they cut, sort, and paste into chronological order. Students also read poems and biographies (Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou), match authors to descriptions, and record answers and reflections in journals, synthesizing information from these varied media. The People of the Past activity asks students to identify historical figures referenced in King's letter and (in one option) conduct brief research to supply information, linking textual references to external information sources.
Lesson 9
Civil Disobedience
Students read and analyze multiple written sources by Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr., using side-by-side passages (Passages Set A, B, C) and a comparison table to identify overlapping ideas. Activities ask students to mark phrases that discuss similar ideas, explain areas of agreement and disagreement, and choose which author's view they align with on topics such as America, the role of government, and voting. Homework has students read additional excerpts from "Civil Disobedience" and answer comprehension and analysis questions.
Lesson 10
Learning from the Past
Students read Elie Wiesel's speech and the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and they watch videos of Wiesel (bearing witness video link) and King to compare reading versus hearing a speech. Students are asked to integrate quotes from Wiesel and one or two other advocates (Malala, MLK, or Thoreau) in a written paragraph, explicitly combining textual and video sources. Students create a model museum wall that requires combining images and written explanations, demonstrating synthesis of visual and written materials.
Lesson 11
A Boy's Story
The Parent Plan lists as a skill: "Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words." Students are instructed to read the book chronology (pp. 222-224), watch an author interview via the provided video link, and answer comprehension questions that draw on both the chronology and the interview. Students are also asked to locate Sierra Leone on a map and to compare the memoir's style to Malala's, which requires synthesizing information across textual and visual/oral formats.
Lesson 12
Running from War
Students read chapters and chapter summaries (text) and are asked to use quotations from the book in written responses, practice three methods for integrating quoted text, and watch a short video titled "Blending Quotations" to support that skill. In Activity 2, students record or draw a memory and then share it with a parent, grandparent, or older sibling to judge the accuracy of their recollection, discussing differences between sources. The homework APE task requires students to ‘‘Prove'' an answer by quoting the text and to use one of the quotation-integration methods they practiced.
Lesson 13
Child Soldier
Students complete Activity 2 "Different Accounts," filling in separate "Book" and "Video" columns before and after watching a six-minute interview and then discuss differences. Students respond to Activity 1 "The Truth about Memoirs," writing a journal entry that weighs reporters' challenges to Beah's timeline and the publisher's denial, directly addressing questions of accuracy. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly directs students to "analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums" and to "integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats."
Lesson 14
Rehabilitation
Students are asked to read chapters of the memoir and cite specific examples or quotations (e.g., pages 123, 134, 142) to support conclusions about whether the government army committed war crimes. Students re-watch a 1-minute author video and complete the "Wiesel's Words" page, explaining which quotation best applies to the memoir and citing information from the book and video. Students use a visual Student Activity Page (RUF vs. Government Soldiers) to compare actions attributed to each side, highlighting and recording evidence from the text.
Lesson 15
A New Life
Students read and compare two memoirs (A Long Way Gone and I Am Malala) and answer guided questions on a "Comparing Memoirs" activity page that asks them to synthesize themes, style, and details from both texts. Students are instructed to review external websites (Malala Fund and Human Rights Watch links provided) and to use information and images from those sites to create a flyer or a webpage. Students summarize chapters and use chapter summaries in the unit as source material, requiring them to draw information from multiple written sources within the unit.
Final Project
Expository Essay
Students are instructed to gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources and to synthesize those sources into a researched expository essay. Guidance tells students to prefer .edu/.gov and reputable news sites, warns against using Wikipedia (except for its references), and asks students to consider when sources were written (timeliness). Activities require students to record at least three sources, choose quoting/paraphrasing/summarizing techniques for each fact, include in-text citations, and produce a Works Cited page, demonstrating integration of multiple sources into their written product.
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
Students are prompted to analyze the controversy over the accuracy of A Long Way Gone and to explain how the book's genre (memoir) factors into that debate (Part IV, Discussion B). Students must compare nonfiction authors and explain relationships among their works (e.g., how Thoreau influenced Martin Luther King, Jr.; how Malala Yousafzai and Ishmael Beah used experiences to improve others' lives) when reviewing the Nonfiction unit. Students practice integrating source language by correctly quoting and paraphrasing a Wordsworth excerpt (Part V), and they are asked to draw evidence from texts in short-answer and essay tasks throughout the exam.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Ender's Game
Lesson 1
Born to Genius
Students are asked to read the author's introduction (text) and use Internet search tools to complete the "About the Author" activity, which requires combining information from the printed introduction and online sources. Students complete the "Your Views on the Issues" page using a 1–10 quantitative scale (a visual/quantitative representation) and are asked to be prepared to discuss their answers orally. Homework asks students to read chapters and answer comprehension questions, combining printed text reading with class discussion.
Lesson 2
We're People, Not Thirds
Students are asked in Option 1 to create a collage using text, magazine clippings, photographs, quotes, drawings or other materials, which requires assembling information presented in diverse visual media. In Option 2 students are instructed to research eugenics and record ten facts and the Planned Procreation page directs students to brainstorm using multiple perspectives and to browse the Internet for ideas. The Student Activity Pages present information in visual and quantitative forms (e.g., the vocabulary magic square uses numbered definitions in a numeric puzzle) that students must work with.
Lesson 3
Science Fiction
Students are instructed to "use the article as well as the above introduction to fill out the graphic organizer," which requires combining information from the lesson text and the linked web article. Students read the Supersummary article and complete Student Activity Pages (definition, themes, historical eras, author lists) that draw on both the introduction and the web link. In the discussion prompts, students are asked to identify where Graff gives misinformation and to respond to his pronouncements, which asks students to judge the accuracy of claims within the text.
Lesson 5
Movement and Time
Students are prompted to consider credibility when the lesson asks, "How can you determine whether the things authority figures tell you are true?" and the discussion questions ask learners to evaluate claims by Dink and Graff about the bugger threat. The Flashbacks activity asks students to provide an example of a flashback from another book or film, which asks them to draw on another text or media. The pipe-cleaner activity and included images require students to work with visual/kinesthetic representations and to optionally narrate movements orally, bringing in diverse formats.
Lesson 6
Performance Is Personal
Students use a quantitative format in Activity 1 (Competing Commanders) by choosing three criteria, awarding each commander scores from 0–10, totaling the scores, and ranking them on a leaderboard. Students analyze written conversations between authority figures in Activity 2 (Text Structure), identifying foreshadowing, tension, and roles from the chapter openings. The lesson asks students to "keep this history in mind" regarding the real Warsaw Pact when reading Chapter 9, connecting the novel to a nonfiction historical source.
Lesson 7
Leaders Motivate
Students are directed to read multiple web sources about John Locke and Demosthenes (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, HISTORY.com, Ancient History Encyclopedia) and to watch a short presentation on Demosthenes, then reflect and write a journal entry linking those sources to characters. Students also work with a set of famous quotations (textual sources) and match and apply them to novel characters, synthesizing meaning across authors and media. These activities require students to gather information from both written and video formats and to combine those perspectives in written responses.
Lesson 8
Flies and Self-Loathing
Students compare Ender's Game with Lord of the Flies using a graphic organizer that requires them to pull information about setting, leadership, themes, fears, responsibilities, and consequences from both novels. Students are asked to research the symbolism or significance of animals in cultures around the world when designing an army logo and to choose colors and visual elements for that design. The lesson provides visual materials (student activity pages and an example image) that students use to represent and organize information from the texts and their research.
Lesson 11
Thud, Whump, Huut
Students are asked to compare the novel to a movie or comic adaptation by re-reading a scene and re-watching/re-reading the adapted scene, taking notes on differences, and considering what information or dialogue was omitted or changed. The Comic Adaptation activity directs students to list narration or dialogue that was omitted or changed and to decide whether the comic communicated the omitted words through pictures and whether the omission compromised the original. The Parent Plan skill statement and Activities explicitly frame this work as analyzing representation of a subject or scene in two different artistic mediums.
Lesson 12
Campbell's Comparisons
Students watch a video that summarizes the 12 steps of the Hero's Journey and record those steps in their journals. They then choose six steps from that video and describe parallels between those steps and Ender's Game using a graphic organizer. Students are also assigned a Forbes article to read for homework, creating an additional (textual) source connected to the unit.
Lesson 13
The Enemy's Gate Is Down
Students read a Forbes article for homework and are asked to "refer to the article to complete the 'Leadership Lessons: Forbes Four' activity sheet," which requires summarizing and applying ideas from that separate source. Students complete the "Discovering Subplots" table that asks them to compare Graff/I.F., Ender, and Peter/Valentine columns, listing unanswered questions and moments of mystery across those narrative strands. Discussion prompts ask students to consider whether Ender should believe the I.F. about the bugger threat and how to determine whether authority figures tell the truth, prompting evaluation of source claims.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students synthesize information from different media when they use a video's hero's-journey steps and draw parallels to Ender's Game to create a storyboard (Box 6). Students conduct online or text research about NATO and the Warsaw Pact, color/map countries, and write two similarities and two differences between the historical pact and the fictional Second Warsaw Pact (Box 8). Students combine visual and textual media when they design a science-fiction book cover (Box 1) or produce a graphic-novel style illustration (Box 7), and the Think-Tac-Toe structure explicitly asks students to select activities across these different formats.
Unit 2: Grammar, Part II
Lesson 2
Capitalization and Numbers
Students are directed to read the textbook material and complete multiple student activity pages (printed worksheets and images) that record rules and examples. The lesson provides web links (OWL Purdue, Grammarbook.com, and an online quiz) and instructs students to use those websites for reference when completing the capitalization activity. Students are also instructed to record rules and preferred styles on the "Writing Numbers" page, which requires consulting written guidance and style examples.
Lesson 5
Hyphens and Apostrophes
Students read and take notes from textbook pages on hyphens and apostrophes and complete illustrated Student Activity Pages that present punctuation rules in text and images. Students are directed to complete an online multiple-choice quiz (GrammarBook.com) and to check their activity-page answers against an Answer Key in the Parent Section. Students are prompted to consult outside reference tools such as dictionaries and the character-map/keyboard instructions for producing en dashes.
Lesson 8
Parallelism
Students are directed to read an online webpage (Towson University Self Teaching Unit: Parallel Structure) and information from the book and to use both sources to complete the Parallelism activity page. Students take notes on the activity sheet that explicitly instructs them to use information from the webpage and the book to fill sections about coordinating conjunctions, lists/series, comparisons, correlative conjunctions, and other parallelism issues. Students are also asked to try linked online exercises if time allows, which provides practice across print and web formats.
Unit 3: Informational Texts
Lesson 2
Outliers
Students are asked to use dictionaries and thesauruses (a linked online resource is provided) to find synonyms and test them in sentence context, which requires consulting reference texts alongside the primary reading. Students work with a visual/quantitative prompt (number line and scenarios about test scores and wingspans) to decide whether particular values are outliers. An alternate Bible translation is offered as a different textual source for understanding the chapter opener, which invites comparison with Gladwell's cited translation.
Lesson 3
The Matthew Effect
Students are asked to take the chapter's charts (pp. 20-21) and represent the birth-month data in a different visual form (bar chart, pie chart, pictograph) and to ensure their chart is accurate, labeled, and titled. Students are asked in Option 2 to translate textual descriptions (e.g., the TIMSS paragraph on p. 28 and the play-by-play on pp. 23-24) into a sketch or diagram that would convey the same study findings visually. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill of translating quantitative information expressed in words into visual form and translating visual/mathematical information into words.
Lesson 5
Harlan, Kentucky
Students read Chapter 6 of Outliers (print) including footnotes and mark unfamiliar words as they read. Students are directed to use the Collins Dictionary website (digital audio) or search engine pronunciation tools to hear word pronunciations and look up meanings. Students are assigned homework to do brief Internet research about the original settlers of their area and to take notes and share findings with family, requiring consultation of online sources.
Lesson 6
The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes
Students read Chapter 7 of Outliers and related footnotes and cockpit transcript excerpts (Activities 1–3 and Day 2), read a Korean-American blog criticizing Gladwell (Activity 4), and read Gladwell's written response (Activity 5 Option 2). Students complete a chart noting each criticism, how Gladwell responds, and evaluate the effectiveness of those responses, and in Option 1 prepare an oral summary and answer questions about whether they trust the blog author's information. The lesson also asks students to analyze a quantitative table of Hofstede scores (visual/quantitative) and to consider the credibility of sources (e.g., anonymous blog author, a Korean military officer's rebuttal).
Lesson 7
Rice Paddies and Math Tests
Students read Sections 1–7 of the chapter in Outliers (print/text) and are directed to watch at least two videos ('Counting to 100 in Chinese' and 'Learn Numbers 1-10') and an audio file on tones (audio/visual). Students are asked to take notes, present findings to a parent, and create an infographic or diagram that may embed audio files, images, or other online materials, requiring them to translate textual and quantitative information into visual form. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes consulting reference materials and making strategic use of digital media in presentations.
Lesson 9
Writing about History
Students read three web summaries and answered a question asking them to list two facts that all three sources agree upon, requiring synthesis across multiple sources. Students completed a graphic organizer that matched specific secondary-source claims to supporting primary-source excerpts, explicitly connecting and integrating different source types. Students analyzed Colonel Chivington's testimony in a "Primary Falsehoods" activity and identified quotes and possible inaccuracies, and students compared pro-Chivington editorials with other accounts when creating split-perspective covers or writing persuasive editorials. The homework and readings ask students to consider aerial photographs, maps, and artifacts as types of evidence, prompting consideration of different formats and origin dates.
Lesson 10
Science Writing
Students read an online science booklet (Section 1: Forces and Circular Motion pages) and answer targeted questions about equilibrium, centrifugal and centripetal force. Students complete an "Investigating Claims in Science Writing" activity that asks them to explain how the author supports specific claims and to identify the methods the author uses to explain technical terms. For homework, students watch a short video on centrifugal force and are asked to compare the written explanation and the visual one, explaining which made the concept more understandable and why.
Lesson 11
Technical Writing
Students are asked to back up the introduction to their how-to guide with information from an outside source and to record where they got the information (Homework Day 1). The Guide Checklist requires that the benefit be supported by an outside source and that a "Works Cited" section be included, and Activity 6 directs students to add and format citations in MLA. Activities also require students to incorporate diverse media (infographics, diagrams, photos) and provide web links for source text and diagram resources (Activity 1 and Activity 5).
Lesson 12
Logical Fallacies
Students watch four short videos (visual/oral) and complete related Part I and Part II activities that apply video-taught concepts to written examples. Students read primary-source speeches (Andrew Jackson, Lou Gehrig) and highlight or answer questions about weak arguments and rhetorical appeals. Students are asked to look up definitions of additional fallacies online and then apply those definitions to political statements, and Parent Plan skills explicitly require evaluating a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence.
Final Project
Argumentative Research Essay
Students are directed to locate at least five high-quality sources, beginning with library research databases, and to take notes linking facts and statistics to specific sources. Part 5 ("Credibility and Content") tells students to evaluate author credentials, publisher, purpose, bias, accuracy, relevance, and currency of web sources, and homework asks them to check statistics and spot misleading graphs. Students are required to integrate quantitative data and visual aids into their slideshow and oral presentation, and to use in-text MLA citations plus a Works Cited page to document and credit sources.
Unit 4: Drama
Lesson 1
What Is Drama?
Students watch multiple video clips (e.g., The Lion King, Hamlet, Waiting for Godot, Big River) and record their genre guesses, linking visual/oral media to textual genre definitions. Students examine stage diagrams and then view clips to identify the type of stage used, integrating diagrammatic (visual) information with live/filmed examples. Students also write a reflective paragraph comparing live plays and films, using different media experiences to support their descriptions.
Lesson 2
How to Read Drama
Students are asked to watch a recorded performance of Trifles (video link) and to read the play script (Project Gutenberg link) and a linked article on reading drama. The directions explicitly tell students to use the video and script to complete the "Applying Aristotle's Six Elements of Tragedy" activity page and to answer journal questions. The lesson materials present information in multiple media formats (visual/aural performance, written script, and an instructional article) that students must consult to analyze the play.
Lesson 3
Life and Times
Students are asked to read multiple texts (the introduction by Nemiroff, cast and setting pages, and the full text of the Civil Rights Act) and to view linked images of 1940s/1950s tenement buildings. Students are instructed to watch a History Channel video about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and to take notes and be ready to answer questions about the video. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill to "Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally."
Lesson 4
A Raisin in the Sun
Students read the play text and complete vocabulary and character-analysis activities (print/text). They listen to five dialect audio samples from the Speech Accent Archive and take notes comparing dialect features (audio) and view an infographic about earnings by education level (visual/quantitative). Students watch two short videos about college-success stories (video) and are asked to reflect in journals and discuss how these sources relate to themes in the play.
Lesson 5
Act II
Students listen to multiple songs (Johnny Cash, Billie Holiday, Neil Diamond, Rihanna, etc.) and record what each song says about the American Dream, integrating oral/audio sources with written journal responses. Students compare Lorraine Hansberry excerpts with the play text and answer analytical questions, integrating two textual sources. Students view a visual slideshow of Aso-Oke cloth patterns and produce a drawing, integrating visual media with the play's cultural context. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes integrating and evaluating information presented in diverse media and formats.
Lesson 6
Act III
Students read Act III of the play and read the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes, including background on Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance. Students complete the "A Dream Deferred" activity page that directs them to analyze similes, imagery, and the poem's relationship to characters and themes in the play. Students answer questions that require them to relate the poem's comparisons to specific characters' deferred dreams, explicitly integrating the poem and the play as sources.
Lesson 7
Fences
Students watch the 2016 movie Fences (a visual/film source) and read/compare it with A Raisin in the Sun (a dramatic text), and they complete a comparison chart addressing theme, characters, plot, and setting. Students also watch a 16-minute interview with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis (an oral/video source) and write a paragraph describing insights gained about characters. The activities require students to integrate observations from the film, the play, and the interview when composing comparisons and journal responses.
Lesson 8
Shakespeare
Students are asked to use multiple sources — the Folger Romeo and Juliet book, a YouTube mini-biography video, and suggested web sites — to create a timeline of Shakespeare's life. The lesson requires students to combine information from the book, the video, and Internet resources and to place events on a visual timeline activity page. The Student Activity Pages include visual/graphic organizers (a vertical timeline and a Globe Theatre diagram) that require students to synthesize information across formats.
Lesson 9
Romeo and Juliet
Students read Act I of Romeo and Juliet (text) and summarize key events in a journal, use a character map image to identify relationships (visual), watch a Globe Theatre performance video and a virtual tour (video/virtual media), and read an online article about Renaissance weddings and dowries (web text). Students are asked to note specific features while watching (costume colors, staging, movement) and to answer guided questions that require synthesizing information from the play and historical resources.
Lesson 10
Figurative Language
Students read multiple formats of Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Scenes 1–6) and complete written activity pages that use the play text (oxymoron/paradox, sonnet unscrambling, puns/idioms/euphemisms). Students also watch a recorded performance of Act II (video) for homework and note features while viewing. Students complete and compare two survey sources (Student and Parent "Spouse Survey") to identify similarities and differences between responses.
Lesson 11
Nuanced Meaning
Students read Act III of Romeo and Juliet (print text) and are assigned video viewings of the same scenes, providing information in both written and visual formats. Students rewrite a scene as modern text messages and are asked (in the parent plan) to show the original scene and compare it to their modern version, which has them work across formats. Vocabulary and activity pages ask students to interpret word meanings in context, connecting historical/print usage to contemporary meaning.
Lesson 12
Time and Tension
Students are directed to read Act IV of Romeo and Juliet and to use an online version of the play (MIT link) to search for and count time-related words, which provides a textual and quantitative task. The lesson also assigns students to watch Act IV (homework video timestamps), giving students a performance-based (oral/visual) source to review. Students analyze specific scenes and monologues for mentions of time and for how tension is created, which requires examining content across those materials.
Lesson 13
Tragic Hero
Students watch a TedEd video about types of heroes and then apply the video's criteria to Romeo and Juliet, answering questions that require using the video's definitions alongside the play. Students read Act V of Romeo and Juliet (text) and also read excerpts of Ovid's Pyramus and Thisbe, then complete a comparison activity noting similarities between the poem and the play. Students view a video production of Act 5 for homework and use that performance alongside the text and videos when selecting and preparing monologues and completing character timelines.
Lesson 14
Modern Retelling
Students watch two different media versions of Romeo and Juliet (Luhrmann's 1996 film and a 2009 Globe Theatre production) and complete a "Two Versions" comparison chart that asks them to note differences in character portrayals, major changes from the original play, use of setting, and use of color. Students take notes while viewing, pause as needed, and are directed to use specific examples from both productions when composing an informal three-paragraph analysis. The assignment requires students to choose three specific areas of difference and provide examples from both productions to support their claims.
Final Project
Drama
Students are instructed to use information, images, quotations, and facts from outside sources and to include parenthetical references and a Works Cited page for any sources used. The unit offers multiple project options in diverse media (podcast, commercial video, news webpage with images, playlist, set and costume designs) and provides web links and resource suggestions for research. The Drama Project Rubric includes a "Sources" category that asks about use of resources, citing, and research.
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
Students are asked to evaluate source credibility in a discussion prompt (Part IV, question B) and the answer key lists specific evaluation criteria (domain like .edu/.gov, author qualifications, sponsor/publisher, purpose, and bias). The exam includes a question asking the difference between primary and secondary historical sources and to give examples, which requires students to distinguish types of sources. Another discussion prompt (Part IV, question F) asks students to analyze Outliers' features (endnotes, charts, table of contents) and rhetorical methods, calling attention to different formats and evidentiary features within a text.