English I
Des Moines Public Schools
The Des Moines Public Schools Curriculum guide contains the prioritized standards, required pacing, materials and
resources, and assessment correlates for the school year. This document is intended to be used in conjunction
with the District Level Assessment and classroom assessments to scaffold our students in mastery of the Iowa
Core State Standards.
secondaryliteracy.dmschools.org
2013-2014
Curriculum Guide
Revised: 6/14/2013
English I
Des Moines Public Schools
English III
1 year – 1.0 credit
East, Hoover, Lincoln, North, Roosevelt, Future Pathways, Scavo, and Central Academy
A Portrait of our Des Moines Public School Student
To prepare the students of Des Moines Public Schools for college and career readiness, English I is aligned with the Iowa Core Standards and will provide
students instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language. Students will read works of exceptional craft and thought whose range extends across
genres, cultures, and centuries. Through wide and deep reading of literature and literary nonfiction and thoughtful exposure to visual media of steadily
increasing sophistication, English I will provide literary and cultural knowledge, references, and images; the ability to evaluate intricate arguments; and the
capacity to surmount the challenges posed by complex texts.
When writing in English I, students will take task, purpose, and audience into careful consideration, choosing words, information, structures, and formats
deliberately. They will combine elements of different kinds of writing to produce complex and nuanced writing. They will use technology strategically when
creating, refining, and collaborating on writing and visual media. They will become adept at gathering information, evaluating sources, and citing material
accurately, reporting findings from their research and analysis of sources in a clear and cogent manner. Students will produce high‐quality first draft text under a
tight deadline as well as revisit and make improvements to a piece of writing over multiple drafts when circumstances encourage or require it.
English I students will have opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations—as part of a whole class, in small groups, and with a
partner—built around important content in various domains. They will work to contribute appropriately to these conversations, to make comparisons and
contrasts, and to analyze and synthesize a multitude of ideas in accordance with the standards of evidence appropriate to a particular discipline.
Students will learn conventions of Standard English. In English I, students will be able to choose words, syntax, and punctuation to express themselves and
achieve particular functions and rhetorical effects. Students will work to become skilled in determining or clarifying the meaning of words and phrases they
encounter, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies to aid them.
The content of English I will focus around the guiding questions to be taught in 4 units over the length of the school year. Students will also work on projects, inclass writing, and wide-reading on grade level.
This Course
English I develops basic structures of reading and writing, using a variety of works from diverse authors to increase student interest, awareness, appreciation,
and understanding of a variety of genre as well as opportunities to apply the writing process to promote communication through written expression. Students
will come to understand that personal expression and the way we express ourselves is influenced by society and culture through literary analysis, reflective
writing, persuasive writing and character analysis.
Des Moines Public Schools
English I
How to use this document
The curriculum guide breaks the school year into four units. Units 1 and 2 are to be completed by the end of Semester 1, and Units 3 and 4 are to be completed
by the end of Semester 2. There are two district level assessments; the first to be given after Unit 2, and the second to be given after Unit 4. The standards
should be cycled through as students and teachers advance through the curriculum guide – so a standard taught in Unit 1 may be revisited again in units 2-4.
Appendix A contains the standards that should be embedded year-round into instruction.
Each unit has listed Priority Standards (in gray boxes) which come directly from the Iowa Core and must be taught. The unit also has Supporting Standards (in
white boxes) that come from the Core and are used to assist in the teaching of the Priority Standards. The complete language of the standards is available at
http://www.corestandards.org. These standards have been broken down into more approachable learner objectives or Student Can Statements. Each learner
objective has been assigned a letter so that corresponding test items can be easily identified. The learner objectives are taken directly from the standards and
are a more manageable approach to acquisition of the larger standard. Each unit has essential questions that can be answered through study of the learner
objectives for that unit.
Each learner objective needs to be mastered by the end of the unit. The column Instructional Focus is a list of concepts and vocabulary that should be used
abundantly with students. Potential Material contains both items from the Holt McDougall text (corresponding page number listed in parentheses behind story)
book as well as hyperlinked resources available on the internet. These texts were chosen because they lend themselves in structure and style to the
instructional focus.
The standards listed are the curriculum. The potential materials are resources, vehicles to mastery of the standard. Shaded standards are essential to the next
level of learning, and must be mastered by the end of the school year. Students should engage in one full-length text (novel, play, or non-fiction book) per
semester, either independently, with small groups, or whole class.
Test item refers to question number on the district level assessment that matches the corresponding learner objective. (For example, “2” in the test item
column refers to question number 2 on the assessment which tests students’ ability to analyze the meaning of a text, or learner objective RL.7.1.a)
Priority
Standard
RL 1
Test
Item
2, 3
9
1, 4
5
Learner Objectives – Students can
Instructional Focus
a. Analyze the meaning of a text
b. Generate inferences using prior experience and details from the text
c. Support analysis with explicit details and inferences drawn from a
text
d. Prioritize quality of textual evidence to select strong supporting
examples
Text Analysis
Making inferences
Prioritizing evidence from
text
Providing significant
supporting detail
Potential Material





“Everyday Use” (p.50)
“Little Things are Big” by Jesus Colon
“The Possibility of Evil” (p. 204)
“By the Waters of Babylon” (p.310)
“Where I’m From” (poem) by George
Ella Lyon
All standards listed in this column are standards that students are expected to master and will be assessed over district-wide by district level assessments. They
are listed in full in the appendix, and hyper-linked to the Common Core website.




Any text that is underlined throughout the document is hyperlinked. Click on it and it will lead you to more information.
The two district level assessments can be found on Data Director by entering ID#XXXX for semester 1 and ID#XXXX for semester 2
The on-demand writing assessment is also on Data Director under ID#XXXX
Please visit the secondaryliteracy.dmschools.org for more ideas and lesson plan sharing.
Des Moines Public Schools
English I
Unit 1 Essential Questions: What makes a good story? What are the literary elements? How do they work together in a story to create an effect for the reader? How do
authors' choices impact my reading of a story? How do I write a narrative? How do I tell a compelling story? How do I learn about myself through literature?
Standard
RL 1
Test 1
Item
2, 3
9
1, 4
Learner Objectives – Students can
16
15, 17
18, 23
14, 19
24
22, 25
RL 6
W3
W4
The Gift of the Magi (100)
Pancakes (208)
The Necklace (222)
Rights to the Streets of Memphis
(116)
Eleven, by Sandra Cisneros
Checkouts (32)
Daughter of Invention (84)
The Scarlet Ibis (460)
The Stolen Party
Speak, Anderson
Part-time Indian, Alexie
A Sound of Thunder (36)
The Most Dangerous Game (58)
Sorry, Right Number (154)
The Raven (144)
Incident in Rose Garden (151)
Analyze the meaning of a text
Generate inferences using prior experience and details from the text
Support analysis with explicit details and inferences drawn from a text
Prioritize quality of textual evidence to select strong supporting examples
Text Analysis
Making inferences
Prioritizing evidence from text
Providing significant supporting
detail
a.
b.
c.
d.
Identify complex characters
Analyze the motivations of complex characters
Analyze how the actions of characters advance the plot
Analyze how characters develop and change over the course of a text
Complex characters
Character motivation
First person narrator
Third person narrator
Omniscient narrator
20, 21
RL 5
Potential Material
a.
b.
c.
d.
5
RL 3
Instructional Focus
a. Identify the elements of a story
b. Analyze the structure of a text
c. Analyze how mystery, tension, and surprise were created through the
structure, order of events, and manipulation of time
d. Support my thinking with textual evidence
Plot structure
Point of view
Parallel plots
Pacing, Flashback, and
Foreshadowing
Types of conflict
6, 11
7, 10
8, 12
a. Analyze a specific point of view from a text
b. Understand the different points of view from a variety of world literature
c. Recognize the effects of cultural experience on point of view
Point of view
Cultural experience
World Literature
The Sun (504)
excerpt from The House on Mango
Street (612)
The Open Window (604)
“My Name,” by Sandra Cisneros
“Go Carolina,” by David Sedaris
DMPS
Narrative
Writing
Benchmark
a. Write a narrative that sets out a problem, establishes point of view,
includes narrator/characters
b. Create a smooth progression of experiences/events that includes
narrative technique
c. Convey a vivid picture through precise words and sensory language
d. Provides a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrative
Narrative Structure
Narrative technique
Sensory language
Dialogue and Pacing
Reflective writing
Descriptive writing
Narrator/Narration
Task, Audience, and Purpose
Organization and Style
On-demand writing
A Walk in the Woods (388)
Writing prompt (99), ‘Daughter
of Invention’
Due
Nov 26
Ondemand
narrative
writing
a. Produce clear and coherent writing that is specific to my purpose and
meets the needs of my audience
b. Develop and organize thoughts in a way that is appropriate to the task,
audience, and purpose
Personal Narrative Writing
Workshop (174-183)
English I
L1
Des Moines Public Schools
Through
student
writing
a. Apply conventional grammar and usage in writing and speaking in order
to convey a message that is easily understood by the intended audience
b. Use parallel structure
c. Use a variety of clauses, phrases and structures to convey a message
and add interest to writing
Parallel structure
Phrases: noun, verb, adjectival,
adverbial, participial,
prepositional, and absolute
Clauses: independent and
dependent
Des Moines Public Schools
English I
Unit 2 Essential Questions: What human experiences transcend time and place? What concepts/ideas depend upon time, place, and cultural experience? How
are an author’s cultural experiences reflected in his or her point of view? How do my cultural experiences affect my reading of a text? What can I learn about
myself by studying the stories of others? How can I argue for my beliefs? What are the qualities of a sound and supported argument?
Standard
Test 1
Item
27
RI 6
36
28-30
26, 31, 32
RI 8
34, 38
37
35, 39
Learner Objectives – Students can
Instructional Focus
Potential Material
a. Determine author’s point of view or purpose in writing
b. Recognize differing rhetorical device in a text
c. Analyze how the author uses these rhetorical devices to further his or
her determined point of view or purpose
Author’s point of view
Author’s purpose
Rhetoric
Rhetorical appeals
Rhetorical features
Delineate
Evaluate
Specific claims
Valid reasoning
Relevant evidence
Fallacious reasoning
False premise
Precise claims/counterclaims
Logical reasoning and relevant
evidence
Clear structure and organization
Formal style
False Premise
Collaborative discussion
Collegial decision- making
Contribution to discussion
Reflecting
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (254)
The Future in My Arms (492)
“Billy Thomas” & “Life is Calling” (694)
Black Like Them, by Malcolm Gladwell
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Trace an argument and claims through a text; include specific details
Evaluate the argument and claims
Assess whether the reasoning of an argument is sound
Assess whether the evidence is relevant and valid
Recognize false statements and fallacious reasoning in an argument or
claim
33
W1
SL 1
L3
a. Identify qualities of an argument
b. Write an argument to support a claim that uses logical reasoning and
relevant evidence
c. Acknowledge and distinguish claim from alternate or opposing claims
d. Write with a formal style
e. Write with a predictable structure
a. Prepare for and participate in collaborative discussion by reading,
researching, investigating, and reflecting
b. Listen attentively and contribute to discussion
c. Set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making
d. Use other’s ideas to build their own opinions
e. Contribute relevant evidence, observations, and ideas
f. Ask questions that connect ideas of several speakers
a. Apply knowledge of language when listen and reading to comprehend
more fully
b. Make choices in their writing to affect meaning and style
c. Understand how language functions in different contexts
d. Conform to MLA style guidelines when formally writing and editing
Meaning and Style
How language functions in
different contexts
MLA
I Have a Dream (660)
Testimony Before the Senate (670)
How Private is Your Private Life? (680)
Ain’t I A Woman?, Sojourner Truth
Perils of Indifference, Elie Wiesel
Primal Screen (698)
Persuasive Essay Writer’s Workshop
(712-720)
Literary Analysis and argument (302)
Speaking and Listening Workshop –
Panel Discussion (312-313)
Des Moines Public Schools
English I
Unit 3 Essential Questions: What qualities must a text have to stand the test of time? How can these stories lend insight into my life? What personal responsibilities
do I have to myself and to people around me? How does literature recycle itself? How can I share my ideas and ensure my voice is heard?
NOTES: This unit should include a selection of poetry texts. Additionally, this unit’s study of Romeo & Juliet must be completed before Spring Break.
Standard
Test 2
Learner Objectives – Students can
Instructional Focus
Potential Material
Item
4, 6
RL 2
7
1
RL 9
28
RI 3
45
40, 36
W6
SL 3
L5
a. Objectively summarize a text
b. Analyze the development of theme or central idea over the
course of a text
c. Analyze the theme of a text at its initial emergence and how
details further the theme along
Objective Summary
Theme/Central Idea
Development of theme through
specific detail
Required (full, abridged or parallel text) Romeo and Juliet (1034)
West Side Story
Sonnets
a. Identify an author’s use of source material in a specific work
b. Analyze the author’s manipulation of the work
Source Material
Manipulation
Literary Allusion
from Metamorphoses-Pyramus and Thisbe
(1158)
a. Analyze the order in which an author crafted a text
b. Analyze the effect of the introduction and development of
events in a text
c. Analyze the connections drawn between points in a text
Sequence and order
Interaction of events and ideas
Cause/effect
Island Morning (558)
Adding Graphics…(626)
Because Mom Said So: Arrange marriage
Love and Marriage in Elizabethan England
a. Use technology/internet to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing
b. Use technology to link to and display information
Media
Produce
Publish
Update
Hyperlinks
Point of view
Reasoning and evidence
Evaluate and understand
rhetoric
Fallacious reasoning
Exaggerated and distorted
evidence
Euphemism
Oxymoron
Nuances in words
Connotation and denotation
Figurative language
Technology Workshops:
 Creating a story trailer (422)
 Creating a podcast (900)
 Writing an online article (996)
 Creating a Wiki (1336)
Participating in a discussion (312)
Debating an Issue (722)
Handbook (R 76)
Listen attentively to a speaker to:
a. Notice and record speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use
of evidence
b. Explain how a speaker uses rhetoric
c. Identify any fallacious reasoning
d. Identify exaggerated or distorted evidence
a. Interpret types of figurative language
b. Understand nuances in word meanings
c. Use the relationship between particular words to better
understand each of the words
d. Distinguish among the connotations of words with similar
denotations
Romeo and Juliet
English I
Des Moines Public Schools
Unit 4 Essential Questions: What are the common themes found in literature? How does an author develop the theme of a story? How can two people have varying
perspectives of the same event or idea? How can I objectively summarize a text? What are the qualities of an informative/explanatory essay? How do integrate
appropriate information into my writing? How can I use digital media in my research, my writing, and my speaking?
Standard
Test 2 Item
Learner Objectives – Students can
Instructional Focus
Potential Material
4, 6
a. Objectively summarize a text
Objective Summary
The Sniper (437)
RL 2
b. Analyze the development of theme or central idea over the course of a text
Theme
Marigolds (440)
7
c. Analyze the theme of a text at its initial emergence and how details further the Central Idea
The Pedestrian (702)
theme along
Analyze in detail
The Seven Ages… (792)
1
Emerges
The Road Not Taken (796)
Shaped
42, 44
a. Objectively summarize a text
Math and After Math
Refined
RI 2
b.
Analyze
the
development
of
a
central
idea
over
the
course
of
a
text
(480)
35
Development
c. Explain how details shape and refine the central idea
Going to Japan (852)
27
Apply
d. Apply these concepts to a variety of informational texts
Angela’s Ashes (924)
30, 37
a. Analyze a text to determine ideas and claims presented by the author
Sentences and paragraphs
Skeletal Sculptures (584)
RI 5
b. Analyze the role of particular sentences, paragraphs or larger pieces of text to Refinement of central idea
Special Report (976)
23, 26, 32
develop or refine ideas or claims
Supporting details
a. Identify qualities of informative/explanatory pieces
Informative/ explanatory
The Lost Boys (590)
W2
b. Examine a topic by selecting, organizing and analyzing relevant content
Complex ideas
Who Killed the Iceman?
c. Write with a predictable structure
Effective selection
(578)
d. Incorporate useful formatting, graphics
Organization
e. Employ facts, definitions, details, quotations, and varied transitions
Formatting
f. Create conclusion that follows from and supports the information/explanation
Graphics
provided
Relevant and sufficient facts
a. Use advanced search types and procedures
Advanced Search
Media Study: News
W8
b. Identify authoritative print and digital sources
Authoritative print
Reports (600)
c. Assess usefulness of sources
and digital sources
Unit 12: Research Paper
d. Integrate information into writing to maintain flow
Integrated
Writing Workshop (1290e. Avoid plagiarism
Plagiarism
1335)
f. Cite sources using MLA
MLA
a. Clarify information in a speech through use of digital media
Multimedia
Producing a Story Trailer
SL 5
b. Strengthen claims and evidence through incorporation of digital media
Visual displays
(422)
c. Add interest to a presentation through integration of multimedia components
Claims
Creating a Podcast (900)
and visual displays
Digital Media
a. Apply conventional grammar and usage in writing and speaking to convey a
Conventions of standard English
L2
message that is easily understood
Capitalization, punctuation, and
b. Include in conventional grammar and usage the use of semicolons to link
spelling
related independent clauses
Conjunctive adverb
c. Introducing lists or quotations with a colon
Independent clause
Semicolon
Des Moines Public Schools
English I
Appendix A: Standards to be address yearlong - Listed here are standards and objectives that should be taught with a high degree of frequency in your
classrooms, embedded into all four units when appropriate.
Standard
RL 4
RI 4
L4
RL 10
RI 10
W5
W 10
Learner Objective - Students Can
Context clues
Textual support of analysis
Figurative language
Connotative language
Tone of a text
Analogies and allusions
Context clues
Textual support of analysis
Figurative language
Connotative language
Tone of a text
Analogies and allusions
Genres
Self-monitoring techniques for
comprehension: questioning,
summarizing, note-taking, etc.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Literary non-fiction
Self-monitoring techniques for
comprehension: questioning,
summarizing, note-taking, etc.
a.
b.
c.
Make meaning from appropriately complex stories, dramas, and poems
Engage with and appreciate appropriately complex texts
Utilize techniques for making meaning from difficult stories and poetry
Utilize techniques for engaging with and appreciating difficult texts
Utilize techniques for selecting texts that are interesting, motivating, and appropriate for
who they are as readers
Make meaning from appropriately complex literary nonfiction
Engage with and appreciate appropriately complex texts
Utilize techniques for making meaning from appropriately difficult informational text
Utilize techniques for engaging with and appreciating difficult texts
Utilize techniques for selecting texts that are interesting, motivating, and appropriate for
who they are as readers.
Use planning, revision, edition, rewriting, or a new approach to strengthen writing
Explain techniques used to make writing appropriate for purpose and audience
Produce writing that is well-developed and strong
a.
b.
c.
d.
Complete various pieces of writing over varying lengths of time
Organize clear and coherent pieces of writing for a variety of reasons in a variety of settings
Utilize techniques for writing in short and/or extended time frames
Utilize techniques for creating writing appropriate for specific audience and purposes
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Suggested Materials
Instructional Focus
a. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases based on how they are used in a
text
b. Identify and explain figurative and connotative language with textual support
c. Analyze an author’s use of word choice to create meaning
d. Determine formal or informal tone based on the author’s word choice
e. Determine relative time and place based upon author’s word choice
a. Determine meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases based on how they are used in a text
b. Identify and explain figurative and connotative language with textual support
c. Analyze an author’s use of word choice to create meaning
d. Determine tone based upon the author’s word choice
e. Decipher the impact of language in different context (e.g., how the language of a court
opinion differs from that of a newspaper.)
a. Determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases by drawing upon context clues
b. Identify patters of word changes to indicate meanings or parts of speech
c. Use reference materials in print and digital formats to ascertain or verify a word’s
pronunciation, precise meaning, etymology, or part of speech
Planning, revising, editing,
rewriting
Peer-editing techniques
Focused Correction Areas (FCA’s)
Addressing audience
Multitude of time and purpose for
writing in class
Clear and coherent for
purpose/task
Context clues
Greek and Latin roots
Prefixes and suffixes
.
English I
Des Moines Public Schools
Appendix B - Pacing and Assessment Calendar
English I (9th Grade)
August
22
26
September
2
20
October
25
28
November
26
27-29
December
23-31
January
1
10, 13-15
16
17
17
20
March
14-21
31
April
2
22
May
16
26
27-30
30
30
First Day of School
Begin Unit 1
Labor Day – No School
District-Wide Fall Scholastic Reading Inventory Due [SRI]
Staff Development – No School
Begin Unit 2 (Approximate – There is no required duration for Units 1 or 2)
District-Wide Narrative Writing Benchmark Due [DataDirector]
Thanksgiving Holiday
Winter Holiday
Winter Holiday
Semester 1 Final Exams
Begin Unit 3 -- First Day of 2nd Semester
District-wide Comprehensive Standards Benchmark 1 Due [DataDirector]
District-Wide Winter Scholastic Reading Inventory Due [SRI] - Optional
MLK Day – No School
Spring Recess - Romeo and Juliet instruction must be completed by this time
Begin Unit 4 (Approximate – There is no required duration for Units 3 of 4)
Iowa Assessments Administered
ACT Administered – No school for Freshmen
District-Wide Spring Scholastic Reading Inventory Due [SRI]
Memorial Day – No School
Semester 2 Final Exams
Last Day of School
District-wide Comprehensive Standards Benchmark 2 Due [DataDirector]