AP Language
Knudson
Choice Unit Requirements
This project will involve reading and discussion that culminates into a researchbased essay on a topic of your choice. Please read the requirements for each topic
area before you make your final decision.
Students will have a WIKI posting requirement as well. If you have not given me
your email (or if you haven’t received an invitation email), please do so ASAP.
To begin, we will be utilizing this wiki format to facilitate both the assigned readings for
the unit as well as the gathering of information about the group themes. Each student will
be required to add the following elements, with commentary, to their group's page.
Because 2nd and 3rd hour students will both be working on the page, this will offer an
excellent resource for you to deepen your reading and understanding in the area.
Each student should represent each of the following content categories:
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A link to a quality article (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New
Yorker, Atlantic, etc.), with a one paragraph summary of its content, intended audience,
and interest-level;
An image (painting, photograph, etc.) that represents the theme, with a one paragraph
summary of what it represents and how it might be used to further understand an aspect
of the theme (be sure to include the source of the image);
A link to a video/scene (song, clip from a movie, clip from a tv show, etc.) that speaks to
the category, with a one paragraph explanation of the content of the video (the 'what') as
well as how it contributes to a deeper understanding of the theme (the 'how'); and
A link/image of a graph that includes some kind of data about your theme.
Unit of Study Options
Politics
Central Focus Question: What is the nature of the relationship between the citizen and
the state?
REQUIRED READING FROM LANGUAGE OF COMPOSITION TEXT:
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"On Seeing England for the First Time" (Kincaid, p. 904)
"A Modest Proposal" (Swift, p. 914)
from "The Destruction of Culture" (Hedges, p. 922)
"On the Rainy River" FICTION (O'Brien, p. 961)
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"Conversation With an American Writer" POETRY (Yevtushenko, p. 974)
All three of the following VISUAL TEXTS: "Guernica" (Picasso, p. 975);
Cover from The New Yorker (p. 976); and Cover from Harper's (p. 976)
Each hour's group must choose to read TWO of the following (this will be
negotiated democratically by a group vote): "National Prejudices"
(Goldsmith, p. 932); "Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid" (Woolf, p. 935);
"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" (Thoreau, p. 939); and "Every
Dictator's Nightmare" (Soyinka, p. 957)
ASSESSMENT
Students will be assessed for this unit in the following ways:
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Speaking/Listening in Group Discussion (2 days each week/rubric to follow)
Completion of WIKI additions (see main page for specific criteria -paragraphs will be assessed using the shorter rubric for writing received at
the beginning of the year)
A student-chosen major research-based essay within the umbrella of the
theme. Similar to the education essay, this essay will explore a specific area
and make some type of argument. The essay should be 5-7 pages (minimum),
not including the Works Cited page and be in MLA format (see Purdue
Owl). The essay will go through the writing process (there will be several
drafts) and include at least one teacher conference. Specific schedule to
follow.
Popular Culture
Central Focus Question: To what extent does pop culture reflect our society's values?
REQUIRED READING FROM LANGUAGE OF COMPOSITION TEXT:
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"High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies" (Denby, p. 709)
"Corn-Pone Opinions" (Twain, p. 717)
"Godzilla vs. the Giant Scissors: Cutting the Antiwar Heart Out of a Classic "
(Staples, p. 723)
"Culture in the Aftermath of September 11 is a Chorus without a Hook: A Movie
without an Ending" (Wiltz, p. 751)
"Emily Dickinson and Elvis Presley in Heaven" POETRY (Ostrom, p. 760)
The following VISUAL TEXT: "The Innocent Eye Test" PAINTING (Tansey, p.
764)
Each hour's group must choose to read TWO of the following (this will be
negotiated democratically by a group vote): "We Talk, You LIsten" (Deloria, p.
727); "Dreaming America" (Smith, p. 734); "Show and Tell" (McCloud, p. 737);
"Sanctuary" (Giovanni, p. 760).
ASSESSMENT
Students will be assessed for this unit in the following ways:



Speaking/Listening in Group Discussion (2 days each week/rubric to follow)
Completion of WIKI additions (see main page for specific criteria -- paragraphs will
be assessed using the shorter rubric for writing received at the beginning of the
year)
A student-chosen major research-based essay within the umbrella of the theme.
Similar to the education essay, this essay will explore a specific area and make some
type of argument. The essay should be 5-7 pages (minimum), not including the
Works Cited page and be in MLA format (see Purdue Owl). The essay will go
through the writing process (there will be several drafts) and include at least one
teacher conference. Specific schedule to follow.
Science and Technology
Central Focus Question: How are the advances in science and technology affecting the
way we define our humanity?
REQUIRED READING FROM LANGUAGE OF COMPOSITION TEXT:
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"The Bird and the Machine" (Eiseley, p. 601)
"The Method of Scientific Investigation" (Huxley, p. 609)
"The Reach of Imagination" (Bronowski, p. 616)
"Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" FICTION (Aldiss, p. 665)
BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING POEMS: "Sonnet -- To Science" (Poe, p. 663);
"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" (Whitman, p. 664)
BOTH of the following VISUAL TEXTS: "The Cosmic Calendar" (Sagan, p. 671);
"Food Fight" (Wilson, p. 675)
Each hour's group must choose to read TWO of the following (this will be
negotiated democratically by a group vote): "The Future of Happiness"
(Csikszentmihalyi, p. 623); "The Blank Slate" (Pinker, p. 630); "Into the Electronic
Millenium" (Birkerts, p. 647); and "Transsexual Frogs" (Royle, p. 655).
ASSESSMENT
Students will be assessed for this unit in the following ways:



Speaking/Listening in Group Discussion (2 days each week/rubric to follow)
Completion of WIKI additions (see main page for specific criteria -- paragraphs will
be assessed using the shorter rubric for writing received at the beginning of the
year)
A student-chosen major research-based essay within the umbrella of the theme.
Similar to the education essay, this essay will explore a specific area and make some
type of argument. The essay should be 5-7 pages (minimum), not including the
Works Cited page and be in MLA format (see Purdue Owl). The essay will go
through the writing process (there will be several drafts) and include at least one
teacher conference. Specific schedule to follow.
Sports and Fitness
Central Focus Question: How do the values of sports affect the way we see ourselves?
REQUIRED READING FROM LANGUAGE OF COMPOSITION TEXT:
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"The Silent Season of a Hero" (Talese, p. 431)
"The Proper Place for Sports" (Roosevelt, p. 449)
"Kill 'Em, Crush 'Em, Eat 'Em Raw!"" (McMurtry, p. 453)
"A Spectator's Notebook" (Vervaecke, p. 461)
BOTH of the following poems: "Ex-Basketball Player" (Updike, p. 478) and
"Prothalamion" (Kumin, p. 479)
The following VISUAL TEXT: "Untitled" (Koren, p. 480)
Each hour's group must choose to read TWO of the following (this will be
negotiated democratically by a group vote): from "How I Learned to Ride the
Bicycle" (Willard, p. 459); "The Real New York Giants" (Reilly, p. 471); and "For
Fasting and Football, a Dedicated Game Plan" (Freedman, p. 473).
ASSESSMENT
Students will be assessed for this unit in the following ways:



Speaking/Listening in Group Discussion (2 days each week/rubric to follow)
Completion of WIKI additions (see main page for specific criteria -- paragraphs will
be assessed using the shorter rubric for writing received at the beginning of the
year)
A student-chosen major research-based essay within the umbrella of the theme.
Similar to the education essay, this essay will explore a specific area and make some
type of argument. The essay should be 5-7 pages (minimum), not including the
Works Cited page and be in MLA format (see Purdue Owl). The essay will go
through the writing process (there will be several drafts) and include at least one
teacher conference. Specific schedule to follow.