BRITISH LITERATURE
(SECONDARY)
SELECTIVE UNIT 5 (S05)
(Novel Study 1)
(July 2014)
Unit Statement: In this unit the student will read, analyze and respond to a major novel of
recognized literary merit. The focus should be on in-depth analysis of the different aspects of
a novel, including plot, setting, characterization, theme, and conflict. Students should be
encouraged to ask questions, make connections, and deepen their analysis of literature.
The teacher is encouraged to select a work of depth and literary merit, however they need not
feel obligated to teach the “big novels” of British literature. There are many contemporary
British texts with a richness and depth that lend themselves to thorough literary analysis.
Teachers are further encouraged to explore the works of traditionally overlooked authors.
For further guidance, see the list of additional resources, below.
Essential Outcomes: (all must be assessed for mastery)
1. The Student Will analyze and evaluate a British novel selected by the teacher and/or
student, applying a variety of reading strategies.
2. TSW analyze, evaluate, and apply literary elements specific to this unit.
3. TSW compare and contrast characters.
4. TSW analyze and evaluate theme(s) of the text.
5. TSW write a novel critique.
Practiced/Ongoing Skills: (development is ongoing)
1. The Student Will initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.
2. TSW determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multi-meaning words and
phrases.
3. TSW demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing and speaking.
4. TSW develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, and
rewriting his or her work.
5. TSW use technology, including the internet, to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback,
including new argument or information. It is suggested, but not required, that
this work be published on a teacher or student blog.
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Key Terms and Concepts:
The key terms and concepts of this unit will be determined by the teacher according to need.
Suggested Professional Materials for Teachers:
Holt McDougal’s British Literature
6+1 Writing Rubric or Common Core Standards Writing Rubric
Other materials and/or rubrics selected by teacher
Suggested Student Materials:
Holt McDougal’s British Literature
Additional Resources:
Note: Teachers should preview these novels, as some contain mature themes which may not
be appropriate for all students/locations.
Note: This list is not exhaustive, and teachers should feel free to explore other options.
Contemporary British Novelists and Suggested
Novels
Adams, Douglas – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Galaxy,
Last Chance to See, So Long and Thanks for All the
Fish
Amis, Kingsley – Lucky Jim, The Green Man, The
Old Devils
Ballard, J.G. – The Kindness of Women, Crash,
Empire of the Sun, The Drowned World
Banks, Iain – The Wasp Factor
Barker, Pat – Regeneration, The Eye in the Door,
The Ghost Road
Byatt, A.S. – Possession, Angels and Insects
Clarke, Susanna – Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell
Donoghue, Emma – Room, Slammerkin, The Sealed
Letter, Landing, Life Mask
Fforde, Jasper – The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good
Book
Gaiman, Neil – Neverwhere, American Gods,
Anansi Boys, Stardust
Haddon, Mark – The Curious Incident of the Dog in
the Night Time
Hornby, Nick – About a Boy, A Long Way Down,
High Fidelity, How to Be Good
Ishiguro, Kazuo – The Remains of the Day, When
We Were Orphans Never Let Me Go
Kureishi, Hanif – The Buddha of Suburbia
McEwan, Ian – Atonement, Enduring Love, Sweet
Tooth, Saturday
QSI BRITISH LITERATURE SEC S05
Copyright © 1988-2014
Classic British Novels
Austen, Jane – Pride and Prejudice, Sense and
Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma
Beckett, Samuel – Waiting for Godot
Bronte, Emily – Wuthering Heights
Conrad, Joseph – Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim
Dickens, Charles – A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak
House, Hard Times, Oliver Twist, Great
Expectations, David Copperfield, Our Mutual
Friend
DuMaurier, Daphne -- Rebecca
Elliot, George – Middlemarch, Mill of the Floss,
Silas Marner
Forster, E.M. – Passage to India, Howard’s End, A
Room with a View
Hardy, Thomas – Return of the Native, The Mayor
of Casterbridge, Tess of d’Urbervilles, Jude the
Obscure
James, Henry – The Portrait of a Lady, Turn of the
Screw, Daisy Miller
Joyce, James – Finnegan’s Wake, Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners, Ulysses
Lawrence, D. H. – Songs and Lovers, Women in
Love
Marlowe, Christopher – Doctor Fausus
Maugham, Somerset – The Moon and Sixpence, Of
Human Bondage, The Razor’s Edge
Milton, John – Paradise Lost
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Mantel, Hilary – Wolf Hall, Bringing Up the Bones
Mitchell, David – Cloud Atlas
Moore, Alan and Lloyd, David – V for Vendetta
Rushdie, Salman – Fury, The Moor’s Last Sigh,
Satanic Verses
Smith, Zadie – The Autograph Man, White Teeth
Swift, Graham – Waterland, Wish You Were Here,
Last Orders
Tolkien, J. R. R. – The Fellowship of the Ring, The
Hobbit, The Return of the King, The Two Towers
Welsh, Irvin -- Trainspotting
Winterson, Jeanette – Stone Gods, Oranges Are Not
the Only Fruit, The Passion, The Daylight Gate,
Written on the Body, The Gate
Moore, Sir Thomas – Utopia
Nordhoff, Charles – Mutiny on the Bounty
Scott, Sir Walter – Ivanhoe, The Antiquary
Stevenson, Robert Louis – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Swift, Jonathan – Gulliver’s Travels
Waugh, Evelyn – Brideshead Revisited, Decline and
Fall
Wells, H.G. – The Time Machine, Invisible Man,
War of the Worlds
Wilde, Oscar – The Picture of Dorian Gray
Wolf, Virginia – To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway,
The Waves
Technology Links:
Destiny Webpath Express (found in school library)
MLA Formatting and Style Guide, Purdue Online Writing Lab
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/>
British Council: Literature
<http://literature.britishcouncil.org>
Suggested Assessment Tools and Strategies:
1. Attached rubric or teacher-generated rubric that assesses all essential outcomes (TSWs);
2.
Teacher-generated tests specific to the text;
3.
Shared inquiry or Socratic discussion monitored by the teacher in which students use
student or teacher-generated questions as a basis to ask questions raised while reading
the text. Teachers are especially encouraged to have students address the guiding
question using textual evidence to support their answers;
4.
Student debate or speech in which students take sides about an issue raised in the text;
5.
Teacher observation and student participation in classroom activities;
6.
Research a topic related to the texts studied or author(s) covered and design a creative
presentation (power point, museum tour, TV talk show, film, art project, etc.) for the
class; and
7.
Reading response notebook for the text(s) studied.
RUBRIC FOUND ON FOLLOWING PAGE PAGE………………………………..
QSI BRITISH LITERATURE SEC S05
Copyright © 1988-2014
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Suggested Unit Evaluation Rubric – BRITISH LITERATURE - S05
Student name:___________________________________ Date: ___________________


To receive a ‘B’ in the unit a student must demonstrate ‘B’ level mastery of all
TSWs.
To receive an ‘A’ in the unit a student must demonstrate ‘A’ level mastery on at
least 3 of the 4 ‘A’ level mastery identified TSWs.
Note: Teachers may choose to use their own rubrics, however all TSWs and tasks must be
assessed.
TSW
1. analyze and
evaluate selections
from a novel.
2. analyze, evaluate,
and apply literary
elements specific to
this unit.
3. compare and
contrast characters.
4. analyze and
evaluate theme(s) of
the text
5. write a novel
critique.
‘A’ level mastery
‘B’ level mastery
Analysis/evaluation
reflects
comprehension of the
reading on both literal
and figurative level.
Comprehension from
the reading is on the
literal level with
simple analysis or
evaluation.
Application of literary
elements and
terminology is
accurate.
Explanation ofExplanation
the
Explanation of the
differences and
differences and
similarities between
similarities between
characters is insightful characters is textually
and perceptive and
accurate.
uses accurate textual
evidence and makes
valid connections.
Analysis explores
Analysis is text-based
multiple, pertinent
and explores themes
themes in a
accurately.
sophisticated,
insightful manner.
Critique evaluates the Critique includes an
main literary features, adequate evaluation of
connects individual
the main literary
parts of the text to the features.
novel as a whole, and
builds a convincing
argument based on
textual evidence.
QSI BRITISH LITERATURE SEC S05
Copyright © 1988-2014
46
Notes