Students begin Unit 3 comparing A Long Walk to Water to the audiobook version of the text, exploring how authors and readers develop tone, mood, and expression. Students draw on this exploration as they start the second half of the unit, planning and then writing a narrative children’s book about a Lost Boy or Girl of Sudan. Through mini lessons and independent planning work, students focus on developing characters, settings, plot points, and narrative techniques such as pacing, description, and dialogue. Once students complete a draft of their narrative, they convert it into an ebook and publish it by sharing it with others, especially elementary school children.

For homework, students continue to read chapters of A Long Walk to Water in preparation for reading and discussing them in class. When they are not reading the anchor text, they should continue their independent research reading for at least 20 minutes and responding to a prompt. Additionally, students should continue independent research reading over the weekends.

Learn how to build a book presentation with Google Slides. Time to complete: 45-90 minutes

Summarize and communicate information visually by creating an infographic in Google Drawings. Time to complete: 45-90 minutes

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

People often say that mankind should learn from history. Charles Dickens, whose books are considered classics, set his novel A Tale of Two Cities in the past. He wanted his readers to learn from the bloody French Revolution and from the widespread brutality in London. Both cities (Paris and London) offer the reader a glimpse into dark and dangerous times. As students read about Dickens's Victorian setting and learn his view of the French Revolution, they will think about what makes a just world. Students will have a chance to think about their own experiences, and, using techniques they have learned from Charles Dickens, they will do some writing that sends a message about your own world.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

To complete the unit accomplishments, students will:

Read the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities.
Read several short pieces, including a biography of Dickens and excerpts from other literature, to help them understand Dickens’s world and the world of the novel.
Explore new vocabulary to build their ability to write and speak using academic language.
Practice close reading and participate in several role plays and dramatic readings to help them experience the dramatic writing style of Charles Dickens.
Write a vignette and a short narrative piece, and practice using descriptive detail and precise language.
Write a reflection about the meaning of Dickens’s novel.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

How does good storytelling affect the reader, and how can a good story promote change in the world?
What was the Victorian view of gender roles?
How can power be abused?
What is loyalty ? What are the limits of loyalty?

In this lesson, you will focus on filling your writing with vivid detail. You will complete a brainstorming exercise and work on your writing assignment.In this lesson, students will focus on filling their writing with vivid detail. They will complete a brainstorming exercise and work on their writing assignment.

This lesson explains how to identify plot advancement (actions or events that move the plot forward) in fiction writing. [5:44]

Students trace an unnamed African American narrator's "Hero's Journey" from innocence to self-discovery in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, examining the novel's harsh critique of American society.

Explore the difference between tone and mood in this animated video [2:28] from WNET through definitions and examples from poetry and prose. Discussion questions below help students to further apply their understanding before analyzing a text.

This site analyzes Kandinsky's abstract painting "Improvisation 31." Discusses colors, shapes, line, and mood. Has a short matching exercise involving simple geometric shapes.

In this No Nonsense Grammar Collection, students explore a range of commonly taught grammar principles for elementary and middle schoolers with these short, fun videos and activities. From the difference between dependent and independent clauses to the correct usage of semicolons, let these resources guide you through the intricacies (and perils!) of everyday grammar.

Students read the renowned novel The Scarlet Letter, exploring and analyzing the themes of sin, compassion, and hypocrisy as they played out in seventeenth-century Puritan New England.

Within the first 10 minutes of this 2008 Masterpiece adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, we learn much about the plot, characters, and meaning of the novel. After the death of Henry Dashwood, his widow and their three daughters-Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret-are forced to see their grand home, Norland Park, taken over by Henry's son by a former marriage, John, and his wife, Fanny. As family members share an elegant dinner, the dialogue helps to establish not only each character's distinct personality, but also the mood, tone, and trajectory of the story. [2:13] Teacher materials are included.

Students read multiple genres of fiction, including the absurdist The Metamorphosis and the ancient Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, with the aim of exploring the question: "What does it mean to be human?"

Great explanation of the subjunctive mood used to express desire and contrasted to contradictory applications in the indicative. Ample examples illustrate the difference between these two moods.A useful list of expressions that indicate desire is provided. A quiz at the end of the lesson tests the student's comprehension of the present subjunctive utilized to demonstrate desire.

Students read Chinua Achebe's widely acclaimed Things Fall Apart as they examine themes of identity, culture, and colonialism, analyzing the author's careful choice of words and symbolism.

This video lesson focuses on verb moods; there are three verb moods: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. It explains each individually, discusses the verb types, articulates the tenses used for each mood, and provides examples of each mood in context. The subjunctive mood is explained the most thoroughly among all presented. [7:10]