Ninth Grade - ELA
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Lord of the Flies
Lesson 1
The Call
The lesson's Skills section explicitly lists the standard: "Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text." Students are asked to read Lord of the Flies and to consider how the island may first seem utopian and what will turn it into a dystopia, and to anticipate elements and themes they might see. Activities ask students to analyze common elements and central struggles across multiple dystopian works and to compare those elements to Lord of the Flies.
Lesson 2
Life on the Island
Students create and maintain STEAL character pages (Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, Looks) and are instructed to add impressions with page numbers as they continue reading, noting how characters change over time. Students are prompted to compare the boys' ordered background with the island's harsh reality and to consider questions about power and leadership that connect to larger ideas in the text. Students receive examples of textual details (quotes, actions, physical changes) to record and are asked to return to their charts to track development across chapters.
Lesson 6
Symbolism, Part 1
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the standard, saying students will "Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text." Activity 1 has students select interpretations for key symbols (Piggy's glasses, the conch, the signal fire, etc.) and "write an explanation supported by the text," requiring students to use textual details to support meanings. A discussion question asks whether the conch's importance changes from the beginning to later chapters, prompting students to consider how a symbol (and related ideas) develops over time. The Wrap-Up encourages students to adjust interpretations as the novel unfolds and prepares them for a final essay, linking ongoing analysis of ideas to later summative work.
Lesson 7
Bowed and Bowed Again
The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly names the standard: students should "Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development...; provide an objective summary." The "Ideas to Think About" and "Questions to Discuss" prompt students to consider thematic issues (fear, group control, society and order). Activities ask students to keep STEAL character pages and to predict and analyze characters' responses, and to identify how Golding's dramatic irony focuses attention on themes.
Lesson 8
Defects of Human Nature
The lesson quotes Golding's statement of the central idea and explicitly asks students to identify the major theme and supporting minor themes. Activity instructions (Options 1 and 2) require students to choose themes that support the major theme and to support those choices by referring to details from the novel and writing 3–4 sentence explanations. The Skills section explicitly lists the standard, and parent notes direct students to review and discuss how minor themes relate to the major theme.
Lesson 9
Symbolism, Part 2
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly lists the CCSS standard about determining a theme/central idea and analyzing its development. Activity 2 (Allegory Analysis) asks students to describe abstract ideas that characters and settings could represent, prompting students to identify possible central ideas. Activity 1 (Recognizing Archetypes) has students label characters (e.g., Ralph=Hero, Piggy=Mentor, Jack=Villain) and cite details that connect those roles to broader social ideas.
Lesson 10
Which Is Better?
The Parent Plan Skills explicitly lists the target standard, and students are asked to compare civilization and savagery throughout the text (e.g., the Developing Civilizations chart and Questions to Discuss). Students analyze specific details tied to theme: the lesson quotes Piggy's question about rules versus hunting and asks students to consider Piggy's murder as symbolic of a descent into chaos. The journal assignment requires students to analyze Jack's leadership and contrast it with Ralph's attempts and the boys' pre-island civilized lives.
Lesson 11
The Film
Students are asked to compare and contrast theme directly in the "Movie vs. Book" chart, with a dedicated Theme category for noting similarities and differences between the novel and the film. The journal question asks students to evaluate whether omitted scenes were too critical to the major theme to be left out, prompting consideration of how scenes support theme. The answer key models thematic analysis by describing how the struggle between Ralph and Jack and the conch's symbolism develop similarly in both versions and by noting which minor themes are lost.
Final Project
Now You Have the Conch
Students are asked to choose and respond to essay prompts that require identifying themes (e.g., leadership, mob mentality) and supporting claims with specific passages from the book. Students are guided to find and record page numbers and quotes on brainstorming and outline pages and to explain how those examples support their thesis. Students complete a unit test section that asks them to name Golding's theme, identify minor themes, and explain the significance of symbols, requiring textual evidence and analysis.
Unit 2: Short Stories
Lesson 1
The Gift of the Magi
Students are asked directly in Question #1 to identify the central theme of "The Gift of the Magi," with model answers listing love, self-sacrifice, and nonmaterial values. Students complete Activity 1 (Short Story Elements) that includes a dedicated Theme section and a Plot section requiring conflict, climax, and resolution. Students annotate the text (marking important words/phrases, key events, character traits, and repetition of thematic opposites) and complete homework researching allusions and explaining how those references contribute to their understanding of the story. Day 2 tasks ask students to record instances of situational and dramatic irony, linking specific textual details to thematic interpretation.
Lesson 2
The Necklace
Students are asked in Activity 1 to identify the main theme of "The Necklace," record it on a theme web, and use their annotations to locate repetitive literary elements (imagery, symbolism, etc.) that support that theme. The Exploring Theme page prompts students to re-read annotated passages, compare contexts where repetitions occur, and answer specific questions: "How is a central theme developed in the story?", "What evidence in the story reflects this theme?", and "How do the characters reflect this theme?" Activity 2 requires students to write a one-paragraph objective summary that states the title/author, setting, major plot points, and the central theme using the narrative present.
Lesson 3
Literary Response
Students are prompted to compare themes and moral lessons (e.g., "How the two stories communicate a moral lesson" and "How the stories deal with the ideas of pride, love, or sacrifice"). Students are directed to find specific examples and quotations from both texts in the brainstorming organizer and to use the APE method to "Answer, Prove, Extend" with textual evidence. The rubric and activities require students to support ideas with evidence and to explain how the evidence supports their points, and the outline asks for thesis statements and focused body paragraphs that synthesize those similarities.
Lesson 4
Characterization
Students complete a Characterization graphic organizer that asks them to record direct and indirect evidence (speech, appearance, thoughts, actions, and how others respond) from "Thank You, Ma'am." Students answer guided questions that ask them to support claims with evidence (e.g., whether Roger changed and what lessons Mrs. Jones was trying to teach), and they are prompted to "think about how the author's characterizations of Mrs. Jones and/or Roger advance the plot or theme." Students are assigned homework to create a character and to "come up with a theme this character could help develop in the story," linking characterization work to thematic thinking.
Lesson 5
Edgar Allan Poe
Students read Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and answer focused questions about motive, point of view, and the narrator's perception of the heartbeat. Students locate 3–4 examples of foreshadowing across the story and explain what each instance refers to. Students complete the "Crazy Like a Fox?" chart by listing textual evidence across the story that supports the narrator's reliability and evidence that supports his irrationality. Students create a 6–8 panel storyboard of a scene, quoting corresponding sections of the story under each panel.
Lesson 6
The Lottery
Students are instructed to locate and record every mention or description of the black wooden box and to note its physical description, townspeople reactions, and connections to the town's history, which requires close reading of specific details across the text. Students are asked to explain how the symbol contributes to the overall plot or theme and to compare thematic elements of The Lottery with another controversial work, prompting analysis of shared themes. Discussion prompts ask students to connect the opening setting and the box to the shocking ending and to explain how villagers' behavior and names reflect larger societal themes.
Lesson 7
Everyday Use
Students analyze symbols and characters' actions in Activity 3 by describing how Mama, Maggie, and Dee's appearance and decisions symbolize their relationship to heritage. Students consider how specific details (the quilts, Dee's name change, characters' actions) relate to themes in the discussion questions and the significance-of-title question. Students rewrite a scene from another character's point of view and reflect on how that change alters meaning, connecting point of view and details to the story's focus on heritage and identity.
Lesson 8
Harrison Bergeron
The lesson asks students to read "Harrison Bergeron" and to complete an activity page that explicitly asks questions about differences in theme and content between the text and the movie. Multiple prompts ask students to list scenes added/altered/deleted and to identify which concepts or themes are emphasized more in the film than in the written version. The "Things to Know" section foregrounds theme decisions by noting filmmakers must decide whether to stay focused on the main theme or emphasize a less prominent one.
Final Project
Writing a Short Story
Students are prompted to generate and choose themes on the "Brainstorming a Story" activity page, which includes a dedicated "Theme(s)" section. The "Writing Tips" checklist explicitly tells students to establish a theme and consider how the ending relates to it. Revision guidance asks students to clarify a vague theme by adding dialogue or symbolism and instructs reviewers to focus on big-picture issues including clarity of theme during reader review.
Unit 4: Poetry
Lesson 1
Introduction to Poetry
Students are asked to read and mark poems (Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry" and "Richard Cory") and to identify and analyze specific words and phrases for denotation and connotation. Activities prompt students to interpret speaker/voice (e.g., "Who do you think 'them' refers to?" and "What confession do 'they' want from the poem?") and to explain why particular word choices are effective. The Parent Plan explicitly lists analyzing the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, which students practice in the denotation/connotation exercises.
Lesson 4
Voice and Tone
The Parent Plan Skills explicitly list "Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas." Students are asked to identify tone and record specific words or phrases that convey attitude in the provided Student Activity Pages for several poems. Students compare and contrast the tones of paired poems (e.g., "Those Winter Sundays" and "Yesterday") and analyze line-by-line tone shifts in Frost's "The Pasture," citing sensory images and repeated words as evidence.
Lesson 5
What Does It Mean?
Students are instructed to write a brief summary of the poem in their own words and to summarize each stanza for longer poems, directly addressing the objective-summary requirement. The lesson asks students to identify images, tones, symbols, and to answer "Does the poem seem to have a theme? If so, what is it?," prompting them to determine central ideas. In guided examples ("O Captain! My Captain!" and "Grass") students map specific details (captain, ship, cheering people; images of piled bodies, rolling hills) to symbolic meanings and suggested themes, and homework on "The Fish" asks students to track how the speaker's feelings progress across the poem.
Lesson 7
Analyzing Poetry
Students are directed to annotate poems and write summaries (e.g., "Write a short summary at the end," and the Student Activity Page asks students to "Summarize in your own words" and identify "Theme"). The Poetry Map organizer asks students to record word choice, imagery, symbols/allusions, tone, sound devices, speaker, and a summary, and it explicitly prompts students to note if and where the tone changes. The Parent Plan and activities explicitly instruct students to determine central ideas or themes, analyze development, and summarize key supporting details (e.g., skills bullet: "Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas").
Lesson 8
Types of Poems
Students answer questions that ask them to identify a poem's point (e.g., "What point does Collins keep making?") and to explain how comparisons create humor, which asks them to determine central ideas. Students write short synopses of narrative poems (e.g., The Spellin'-Bee and The Mistletoe Bough), which asks for objective summaries. In sonnet work, students analyze how the octave/sestet or quatrains/couplet develop a problem and response across the poem (Milton example and explanations of Petrarchan/Shakespearean structure).
Lesson 9
The Crossover
Students finish reading The Crossover and are asked in Homework Option 1 to examine how the word "crossover" means different things in specific poems (pages 227-228 and 234-237) and to explain its effectiveness, which asks them to trace a recurring idea across the text. The Skills section explicitly lists analyzing how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into overall structure and contributes to the development of theme, indicating students will practice connecting parts of the text to theme. Discussion prompts ask students to consider Jordan's relationship with Alexis and how it affects Josh, which directs students to consider character interactions that relate to thematic development.
Lesson 10
Poems and Poets
The Skills list explicitly asks students to "determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development...; provide an objective summary of the text." The Poetry Map student activity directs students to paraphrase/"Summarize in your own words" and to identify the poem's "Theme." Activity prompts require students to annotate and analyze word choice, imagery, symbols, tone, sound devices, and speaker, which supports finding evidence that shapes meaning. Activity 4 asks students to write a brief summary and explain how cultural references enrich the poem, linking specific details to interpretation.
Lesson 11
Reciting Poetry
Students are asked to choose a poem "whose theme or subject matter you can relate to personally" and to "consider the poem's meaning" as part of preparing for recitation. They are directed to determine the speaker and tone, mark unfamiliar words, and analyze word choice and imagery (the Housman example) to understand how language creates meaning. The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly lists reading closely to cite textual evidence and analyzing how individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Final Project
Poetry
The lesson's Skills section explicitly lists 'Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.' Choice 5 (Poetry Explication) asks students to produce a close analysis including 'the literal meaning of the poem' and 'the poem's theme' and to demonstrate elements (tone, sound devices, imagery, word choice) on individual slides. The explication directions require students to copy poem sections onto slides and highlight words/phrases that support their analyses, which links specific details to interpretive claims.
Unit 5: Nonfiction
Lesson 1
Types of Nonfiction
Students are asked to "consider what the major theme of this book is" and to "add notes... how you see characters, setting, and plot events contributing to the theme," which prompts them to identify a central idea and link text elements to it. The activity asks students to "write your comparison between the books" and to "compare themes, viewpoints, thoughts about character identity, and evidence about the book's accuracy," requiring students to support thematic claims with specific examples. Homework asks students to read the prologue and chapter 1 and answer detail-oriented comprehension questions, which supplies textual evidence for early thematic discussion.
Lesson 2
Pakistan
Students are asked to read multiple chapters (Chapters 2–6) and answer comprehension and interpretive questions, including prompts like "What did the magic pencil symbolize for Malala?" and "Why was the chapter about the earthquake titled ‘A Warning from God'?" The lesson's "Ideas to Think About" invites students to consider thematic ideas (e.g., why freedom and equality are worth fighting for, and why conflict is sometimes necessary for justice). Students also use the book's timeline and textual details when completing the Pakistan activity, which requires integrating information from the text with external sources.
Lesson 3
The Taliban
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill 'Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.' Students are instructed to read Chapters 7, 8, and 10 of I Am Malala and to answer questions that require summarizing events and causes (e.g., what happened to the school in Matta; why the Taliban oppose Western culture). Students also practice paraphrasing and write an informational paragraph or create slides that summarize background information about the Taliban, requiring them to synthesize and summarize source details in their own words.
Lesson 4
Dear Diary
The lesson defines summarizing (stating main points in your own words) and repeatedly reviews the differences among quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing. The Parent Plan lists "Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas" as a targeted skill. Students read Chapters 11–13 of I Am Malala and answer comprehension questions that require recalling and explaining events and motivations.
Lesson 5
Displacement
The Parent Plan explicitly lists as a skill: "Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas." The lesson's "Ideas to Think About" section asks students thematic questions (e.g., how those seeking power manipulate others; why education and literacy are important), which invites thematic reflection. Students also read Chapters 16-19 and answer comprehension questions that require recalling key events and details from the text.
Lesson 8
Civil Rights
Students read Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (first half and second half) and answered targeted analysis questions about key ideas (e.g., the "tragic misconception of time," America's destiny tied to the black community). Students identified and explained King's persuasive arguments and listed the four basic steps to a nonviolent campaign. Students used a double-entry diary to analyze King's definition of just and unjust laws and matched historical figures King referenced, showing attention to specific textual details and rhetorical references.
Lesson 9
Civil Disobedience
Students analyze excerpts from Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" and King's speeches by highlighting phrases that express similar ideas and by completing comparison tables labeled Thoreau / Overlapping Ideas / King. Students answer guided questions about Thoreau's beliefs (e.g., why he lacks confidence in government, how to respond to unfair taxes) and explain areas of agreement and disagreement between the two authors. The Parent Plan lists skills that students will practice, including drawing evidence from texts, analyzing seminal U.S. documents, and determining an author's point of view or purpose.
Lesson 10
Learning from the Past
Students are instructed to read and annotate Elie Wiesel's speech, note style and tone, and complete short-answer questions that ask them to find and cite supporting quotes from the text. Students are asked to identify a "universal truth" in the speech and draft a paragraph comparing that statement to views from other authors, using direct quotes as evidence. Activities also prompt students to rewrite key quotes in their own words and to answer focused comprehension questions about specific passages.
Lesson 12
Running from War
Students are asked in homework to decide whether the author's dreams or memories are more traumatic and to use the APE strategy (Answer, Prove, Extend), which requires them to state a claim about an interpretive idea and support it with quotations from the text. Activity 1 teaches methods for integrating quotations and Part II asks students to introduce a key quotation from Chapter 5 in context, giving practice using specific textual details to support an interpretation. The lesson's opening 'Ideas to Think About' lists thematic questions (e.g., 'Is war ever justified?') and multiple chapters are assigned so students read connected passages across the book.
Lesson 13
Child Soldier
Students are asked thematic questions such as "How do those seeking power try to manipulate others?" and "In the end, is revenge productive?", prompting them to consider big ideas. The "Role of Rap" activity asks students to analyze music's role in the development of the story and to consider music as a symbol, and close-reading questions require students to infer motives (e.g., why the lieutenant shows bodies, why commanders repeat claims) using textual details. The "Different Accounts" activity and the parent-plan skills explicitly require students to cite textual evidence and analyze how topics are presented across media.
Lesson 14
Rehabilitation
Students are asked in Activity 2 ("Wiesel's Words") to choose an Elie Wiesel quotation that applies to Beah's memoir and explain how it relates, citing specific examples from the book or video. Option 2 of the war-crimes activity requires students to state a conclusion about the conduct of the two sides and provide examples or quotations from the text to support that conclusion. The homework (Option 2) asks students to select a nightmare from the book, record its page number, and analyze whether the nightmare functions as a form of memory, using textual detail in their explanation.
Lesson 15
A New Life
Students are explicitly taught how to write summaries and are asked to read Chapter 20 and write a 1–2 paragraph summary in their journals, with step-by-step summarizing guidance. The Comparing Memoirs activity and student activity page prompt students to analyze how education is addressed in each memoir and to look at specific scenes (e.g., Malala's shooting vs. Beah's rebel attack) to compare presentation. The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly names determining a central idea and analyzing its development and providing an objective summary.
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
Students are directly asked to "Explain what theme is and identify a theme in one of the short stories you read" (Part IV, question 8). Discussion prompts (Part IV, especially C and E) require students to explain how a chosen work explores complex ideas such as "the defects of human nature" and to use readings to support reflections, which asks for thematic explanation. Short answer and essay items ask students to describe the significance of symbols and to explain why a point of view or irony was effective, which requires students to connect textual details to larger meanings.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Ender's Game
Lesson 3
Science Fiction
Students read Chapters 5–6 of Ender's Game and answer focused comprehension and interpretation questions (e.g., describing Dap, explaining 'Alai was the bridge', and how Ender defeats the giant). Students discuss Graff's pronouncements about human nature and are prompted to react and evaluate those assertions, which asks them to consider authorial perspective and character manipulation. The lesson includes close-reading tasks (quiz prep, identification of elements like anachronism and romanticization) that require students to reference specific details from texts and excerpts.
Lesson 4
Divergence
The Parent Plan lists the skill: "Analyze how complex characters ... advance the plot or develop the theme," which signals student work on character and theme. The "Ideas to Think About" prompts (e.g., "How does competition affect friendship?" and "What is the difference between an authority figure and a leader?") ask students to consider thematic questions. The "Questions to Discuss" ask students to describe Bernard and interpret a passage about anger, which asks students to analyze character behavior and its implications.
Lesson 5
Movement and Time
Students are asked to analyze flashbacks (Activity 2) by locating a flashback in Chapter 5 and answering questions about what insights the flashback gives about Ender and how it increases tension. The Parent Plan lists a skill to "Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise." The "Ideas to Think About" section poses questions (e.g., How does competition affect friendship?) that invite consideration of thematic issues.
Lesson 6
Performance Is Personal
The Parent Plan's Skills section explicitly instructs students to "analyze how complex characters...develop over the course of a text...and develop the theme," which targets analysis of character-driven theme development. The Text Structure activity asks students to review chapter openings, identify foreshadowing and tension created by authority-figure conversations, and explain how the author's arrangement affects reader understanding. The Competing Commanders activity has students evaluate Rose, Bonzo, and Petra on chosen leadership criteria, prompting analysis of character traits and how those traits influence outcomes.
Lesson 7
Leaders Motivate
Students are asked to match famous quotes about leadership to characters and explain why each quote fits (Activity 2), which requires them to connect thematic statements about power and leadership to specific characters. Students write a journal entry linking Peter's choice of the pen names "Locke" and "Demosthenes" to character motivations, asking them to analyze how those ideas relate to the novel. Discussion prompts and "Ideas to Think About" direct students to consider differences between authority and leadership and how competition affects friendship, focusing attention on central ideas about leadership and power.
Lesson 8
Flies and Self-Loathing
The lesson asks students to identify and compare themes directly: Activity 2 prompts students to think about and list "What are the themes of the two novels?" and to complete a graphic organizer contrasting themes, setting, and leadership between Lord of the Flies and Ender's Game. Discussion prompts and review items ask students to evaluate Ender's perception of his own actions and to consider thematic links such as fear, power, and savagery. Wrapping Up and Parent Plan sections reiterate that students considered scenes and portions of Ender's Game that touch on themes found in Lord of the Flies.
Lesson 9
Conflict Within and Without
Students complete a "Conflict in Literature" chart listing examples of internal and external conflicts from Ender's Game and are asked to consider how each conflict fits into the story's theme and plot. Students circle the theme they feel is most central and write a journal paragraph describing the development of that conflict over the course of the text. In Activity 2 students write 1–2 paragraphs speculating why Card titled Chapter 11 "Veni, vidi, vici," connecting specific battle episodes and the idea that Ender "conquered" Battle School.
Lesson 10
View from Valentine
Students are asked to note that "Ender equates understanding with love" in the Wrapping Up and to consider whether Valentine's visit and adult manipulation influenced Ender's continuing actions, which nudges them toward identifying a central idea. Students answer comprehension questions about plot and character interactions (e.g., Ender telling Valentine he hates himself; why Valentine visits Ender), which supply specific details they can use when thinking about themes. The Parent Plan lists a related skill: students assess how point of view or purpose shapes content and style, which can support analysis of how narrative choices shape thematic presentation.
Lesson 11
Thud, Whump, Huut
The lesson's "Ideas to Think About" prompts students to consider thematic questions (e.g., why soldiers choose to fight, how to judge authority, difference between authority and leader), inviting thematic reflection. Reading questions and the "Wrapping Up" ask students to explain why authorities lie to Ender and to consider how Ender's understanding will affect him later, which requires students to analyze moral and thematic consequences. The adaptation activities ask students to compare novel scenes with movie/comic versions and to note what details are omitted or emphasized, asking whether the adaptation communicates the original message.
Lesson 12
Campbell's Comparisons
Students record the 12 steps of Campbell's hero's journey and choose six steps to describe explicit parallels to events in Ender's Game, connecting specific plot moments (e.g., Call to Adventure, Trials, Return) to stages of the narrative. Students retake an issues survey and are asked to compare pre- and post-reading responses and provide examples from the novel that influenced changes in their views, prompting them to cite textual details related to themes. Discussion prompts ask students to analyze characters' motives and societal forces (e.g., Dink's claim about fear and control, Mazer's justification), which leads students to discuss thematic ideas such as propaganda, morality, and the costs of leadership.
Lesson 13
The Enemy's Gate Is Down
The Parent Plan explicitly states that Colonel Graff's subplot "reinforces some of the novel's most important themes around leadership and authority," and the skills list includes "Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas." Activity prompts ask students to explain "If the Graff subplot were not included...what are some ideas or themes that would be missing or diminished?" and provide sample theme-related answers (e.g., privacy from government, how authority figures can gain power by stoking fear). The lesson also asks students to compare how the Graff subplot is structured across chapters versus the Peter/Valentine subplot, pointing to where themes emerge in the text (e.g., Graff begins each chapter; Peter/Valentine mainly in Chapters 9 and 14).
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
The Parent Plan Skills explicitly list "Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas," which directs students to identify themes and summarize. In Box 5 (Leadership and Influence) students are asked to write two to three paragraphs comparing and contrasting military and civilian leadership in the novel and to use examples (Peter and Valentine) as support. The unit wrap-up asks students to consider key themes from Ender's Game (leadership, empathy, ethical use of power), prompting reflection on thematic content.
Unit 3: Informational Texts
Lesson 1
What Are Informational Texts?
Students read chapters from Outliers and answer targeted comprehension questions (e.g., explaining how Rosetans migrated and identifying why researchers concluded the community's close-knit nature produced good health), which requires identifying central causes and summarizing key ideas of that passage. Students watch and discuss Malcolm Gladwell's TED talk, answering interpretive questions about his argument (e.g., how his reinterpretation of David and Goliath reframes expected strengths and weaknesses). Students also identify literary versus informational elements in the book and locate specific text features, which gets them to attend to how an author presents supporting details.
Lesson 2
Outliers
Students are asked to re-read the Introduction and identify how Gladwell defines "outlier" (dictionary definitions on p. 3 and a definition at the end of Section 1) and to analyze the Roseto study as an analogy that informs his approach. Activity prompts ask students to explain how specific examples (hockey players' birth months, selection and coaching patterns) illustrate the chapter's idea of accumulating advantages (the "Matthew Effect") and to answer questions linking those details to broader claims about success. The Parent Plan skills and an activity instruct students to analyze how the author unfolds a series of ideas, including the order and connections between points.
Lesson 3
The Matthew Effect
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the standard "Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development...; provide an objective summary" as a targeted skill. Homework questions ask students to explain key ideas (the 10,000-hour rule, "achievement is talent plus preparation") and to relate those ideas back to earlier sports examples (Question 4), requiring students to connect details to the author's claims. The Wrapping Up section and Activity 2 ask students to summarize and reflect on factors contributing to sports success, which prompts synthesis of central ideas.
Lesson 4
The 10,000 Hour Rule
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text." Activity 1 asks students to summarize Sections 1–3 and answer analysis questions about how Gladwell introduces Bill Joy, why Section 2 pauses the narrative, and how Section 3 deepens understanding of the 10,000-hour rule. Activity 2 and the homework require students to mark key opportunities for The Beatles or Bill Gates and create a visual that connects those specific details to the bigger ideas in the chapter.
Lesson 5
Harlan, Kentucky
Students read Chapter 6 and answer targeted comprehension questions that ask them to identify the pattern of violence in nineteenth-century Appalachia and to define and explain the "culture of honor." Students discuss the University of Michigan experiment and the jury example, which require them to cite specific incidents and explanations from the text. Students complete homework and discussion prompts that ask them to consider how early settlers influenced contemporary behaviors and why Gladwell focuses on Harlan as an example of cultural legacies.
Lesson 6
The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes
The Parent Plan lists the exact skill of determining a central idea and analyzing its development as a learning target. Students read Chapter 7 in sequential sections and answer targeted questions about what details foreshadow outcomes, the purpose of specific sections, and connections between sections (Activities 2, Day 2 and Day 3 questions). Homework and journal prompts ask students to predict the chapter's ethnic/cultural issue and explain why Gladwell structured the chapter as he did, and Activity 4 asks students to relate the chapter's examples to Gladwell's broader point about culture shaping outcomes. Activity 5 requires students to summarize and analyze a critical article and Gladwell's response, pushing them to evaluate how evidence shapes and refines the chapter's claims.
Lesson 7
Rice Paddies and Math Tests
The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly names the standard, asking students to "Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text". Students read Sections 1–7 across two days and answer targeted comprehension questions (e.g., differences between rice and wheat farming, counting systems, hours worked) that require attending to specific details. Students are asked to draw evidence from the text, create an infographic summarizing a concept from the chapter, and participate in wrap-up and homework discussion prompts about Gladwell's main argument and the 10,000-hour rule.
Lesson 8
With Malice Toward None
The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly includes "Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text," and the Introducing the Lesson section asks students to read Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and analyze his rhetorical strategies, tone, and organization of ideas. The Questions and Activities require students to identify the speech's cause, interpret key sentences (e.g., statements about the war's status and modesty), and complete a chart identifying literary devices and their effects. The Homework asks students to choose sentences that map to background, main message, and forward-looking statement, which requires attention to how ideas are organized across the speech.
Lesson 9
Writing about History
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill: "Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text." Students answer guided reading questions that ask them to list agreed-upon facts across multiple summaries and to summarize aftermath and organization of a secondary article (listing subtitles and explaining the organization). In the Firsthand Accounts activity, students match secondary-source claims to supporting primary-source details and note differences/consistencies, citing specific testimony excerpts as evidence.
Lesson 12
Logical Fallacies
Students read Lou Gehrig's speech and are asked directly to identify the main point (thesis) and explain how he supports it with specific examples. The Parent Plan and answer key show students determine the speaker's thesis ("luckiest man on the face of the earth") and list the concrete details Gehrig uses (people, honors, family) to support that thesis. Students also read Andrew Jackson's speech and highlight specific passages, identifying fallacies and rhetorical moves across the text.
Unit 4: Drama
Lesson 2
How to Read Drama
Students are asked explicitly about Thought/Unifying Theme on the Applying Aristotle's Six Elements page ("Does the play have a moral or point or does it just portray a slice of life? Explain."). Students answer guided journal questions that probe thematic meaning (e.g., "What is the significance of the title of the play?", "How is Mrs. Wright like the bird?") and complete activities tying symbols and specific clues to the play's meaning. The provided answer key models a thematic reading (identifying a feminist/justice point) and connects theme to concrete details such as the broken bird and household "trifles."
Lesson 3
Life and Times
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly lists determining a central idea and analyzing its development as a targeted skill for the lesson. Students read the Introduction by Robert Nemiroff and the cast/setting information and answer factual questions about setting and time period, which provide context relevant to theme. Students also watch a Civil Rights Act of 1964 video and answer guided questions, connecting historical details to the play's social context.
Lesson 4
A Raisin in the Sun
Students are asked to consider the central question of the play—"What happens to a dream deferred?"—and to think about "What dreams do the characters hope to achieve?" The "Characters and Their Dreams" graphic organizer directs students to record each character's adjectives and their dreams, linking those dreams to the play's major theme. Students write a one-paragraph objective summary of Act I describing setting, main characters, and plot, and the materials explicitly connect Beneatha's desire to go to college to the play's theme of achieving a dream.
Lesson 5
Act II
Students are prompted to write a Reader Response paragraph using the APE method (Answer, Prove, Extend) and to "Provide evidence to support your answer. Use specific examples and quotations from the text," which requires citing textual details to support an interpretation. Students respond to Hansberry quotes and connect those excerpts to characters in the play, asking them to explain which characters or themes the quotations describe. Students also investigate the "American Dream" through a homework task that asks them to analyze what songs say about the American Dream and to relate that idea to the Youngers.
Lesson 6
Act III
Students finish reading Act III and answer targeted comprehension questions about characters' motivations and decisions (e.g., Beneatha's choice about becoming a doctor, Walter's plan regarding Lindner). Students analyze Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem" through the "A Dream Deferred" activity by identifying similes and imagery and explicitly relating those images to a play character's deferred dream. The Parent Plan lists skills that students address, including analyzing how individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text and analyzing how an author draws on and transforms source material.
Lesson 7
Fences
The lesson directs students to compare themes in Fences and A Raisin in the Sun (Activity 2) and provides a Student Activity Page with a dedicated "Theme" section and prompts to write similarities and differences. The provided answer key and parent plan explicitly state thematic statements (e.g., racism, deferred dreams; fatherhood vs. manhood) and note differences in how Fences "covers several years" and shows character change, which points to theme development over time. Students are also asked to write a paragraph about insights gained from an interview and a journal paragraph about what they learned from the play and movie, which can include thematic observations.
Lesson 8
Shakespeare
The Student Activity Page directs students to "Summarize: Rewrite the passage in your own words" and includes a reflection prompt to "Consider how the passage relates to the play's theme and its impact on the storyline." The activity asks students to analyze a sample passage (Act 1 Scene 2) by identifying speaker, meaning, actions, and desires, which requires attention to character motivations and details. A discussion prompt asks "How does Shakespeare remain relevant?" and notes that he "deals with common human themes like hate, love, jealousy."
Lesson 12
Time and Tension
Students read Act IV and are directed to "explore how Shakespeare creates tension in the act by manipulating time," asking them to track time-related words and count their occurrences. Students analyze specific passages (Friar Lawrence's monologue, Capulet's repetition of "tomorrow," Scene 3 waiting, Nurse's monologue) and answer questions about how time references and foreshadowing create tension. Students are asked to write in their journal a summary of the most important event in the scene.
Lesson 13
Tragic Hero
Students read Act V and write a journal summary of the most important event in the scene, providing a brief objective summary of that part of the text. Students create timelines for two characters, filling in actions across acts and explaining whether the characters are static or dynamic and round or flat, which requires citing specific events and details. Students compare Romeo and Juliet to Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" and answer guided questions about tragic-hero criteria, explaining how Romeo's actions and flaws match those criteria.
Final Project
Drama
The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly names the standard, indicating students are expected to "determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development...; provide an objective summary." Several student tasks require summarizing or explaining parts of the play (comic/storyboard panels require a brief summary under each panel; the News project asks students to write four- to five-sentence article leads that give the who/what/when/where/gist). The Song and Podcast options ask students to retell or reinterpret scenes or major events, which requires students to identify important events and convey them in objective summary form.
Semester Exam
Semester Exam
Students are asked to identify social messages or themes in Ender's Game or A Raisin in the Sun and to explain how the work effectively conveys that message (Part IV, discussion C). Multiple-choice and short-answer items ask about themes in A Raisin in the Sun and require examples from texts (several Student Activity Page questions and Part III short answer prompts). Discussion prompts ask students to compare thematic elements and character perspectives across works, which asks for textual support and explanation.