First Quarter, Ninth Grade
Essential Questions: What connects us to family, friends, pets, and community?
How do writers develop characters in fictional narratives?
All students are required to complete the following summative assignments from the Florida
Collections textbook:
No VLT requirement for quarter one; complete Performance Task: Write a Fictional Narrative, Florida
Collections, p. 153.
All students are required to complete the following assignments from the Florida Collections textbook:
Read, “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” p. 103; then complete Analyzing the Text, p. 120 and the
Performance Task- Writing Activity: Letters, p. 120
Read, “with Friends Like These…,” p. 141; then complete Analyzing the Text, p. 144 and the
Performance Task- Speaking Activity: Discussion, p. 144
Read, “At Dusk,” p. 147; complete Interpretive Figurative Language, p. 149, then the Performance
Task- Speaking Activity: Poetry Reading, p. 150
View, “Count on Us” (video using hyperlink on p. 151 in Collections ebook); then complete Analyzing
the Media, p. 152 and the Performance Task- Media Activity: Public Service Announcement, p. 152.
Teacher will assign one or more Collection 3, Close Reader selections, based on student need.
Supplemental English and Language Arts Instruction:
Students assigned to the orange level Keystone books will complete units one and two this quarter.
Students assigned to the purple level Keystone books will complete units one and two this quarter.
Students assigned to the red level Keystone books will complete units one and two this quarter.
Second Quarter, Ninth Grade
Essential Questions: How have people expressed their desire for freedom?
How do writers use textual evidence to explain their viewpoints in an essay?
All students are required to complete the following summative assignments from the Florida
Collections textbook:
VLT: Informative Essay, Performance Assessment booklet, p. 111, and Performance Task: Write an
Argument Essay, Florida Collections, p. 97
All students are required to complete the following assignments from the Florida Collections textbook:
Performance Assessment booklet-- Unit 2: Informative Essay, pp. 31-64 (Teacher will choose activities
based on students’ needs.)
Read “I Have a Dream,” p. 48; Analyze Seminal U.S. Documents, p. 52 and Analyzing the Text, p. 53.
Read “from Reading Lolita in Tehran,” p. 81 and “from Persepolis 2,” p. 84; Compare Text and Media
p. 85
Teacher will assign one or more Close Reader selections, Collection 2, based on student need.
Supplemental English and Language Arts Instruction:
Students assigned to the orange level Keystone books will complete units three and four this quarter.
Students assigned to the purple level Keystone books will complete units three and four this quarter.
Students assigned to the red level Keystone books will complete units three and four this quarter.
Third Quarter, Ninth Grade
Essential Questions: How do humans endure in the face of adversity?
How are texts used as evidence in argument writing and discussion?
All students are required to complete the following summative assignments from the Florida
Collections textbook:
VLT: Argumentative Essay, Performance Assessment booklet, p. 99 and, Performance Task:
Participate in a Panel Discussion, Florida Collection, p. 359
All students are required to complete the following assignments from the Florida Collections textbook:
Performance Assessment booklet-- Unit 1: Argumentative Essay, pp. 1-30 (Teacher will choose
activities based on students’ needs.)
Read “from Night,” p. 307, complete Analyzing the Text, p. 314 and the Performance Task Writing
Activity: Analysis, p. 314
Read Delineate and Evaluate an Argument, p. 321 “Is Survival Selfish?” p. 317 and “The End and the
Beginning,” p. 351’ complete Analyzing the Text, p. 322 and the Performance Task Speaking Activity:
Debate, p. 322.
Read “The End and the Beginning,” p. 351, also complete Analyzing the Text p. 354 and the
Performance Task, Writing Activity:
Novel Study: (Grade Level/PLC Choice)
• Animal Farm
• The Life of Pi
• A Separate Peace
Teacher will assign one or more Collection 5, Close Reader selections, based on student need.
Supplemental English and Language Arts Instruction:
Students assigned to the orange level Keystone books will complete unit five this quarter.
Students assigned to the purple level Keystone books will complete unit five this quarter.
Students assigned to the red level Keystone books will complete units five and six this quarter.
Fourth Quarter, Ninth Grade
Essential Questions: How do we experience love and the conflicts surrounding it?
How do successful writers compare and contrast poems in a literary analysis?
All students are required to complete the following summative assignments from the Florida
Collections textbook:
VLT: Literary Analysis, Performance Assessment booklet, p. 121, and Performance Task: Write an
Analytical Essay, Florida Collections p. 301.
All students are required to complete the following assignments from the Florida Collections textbook:
Performance Assessment booklet-- Unit 3: Literary Analysis, pp. 65-96 (Choose activities based on
student needs.)
Read “from Love’s Vocabulary,” p. 163; complete the Performance Task- Speaking Activity:
Discussion, p. 170
View, “My Shakespeare” (video using hyperlink on p. 173 in Collections ebook); complete Analyzing
Text and Video, p. 176
Read, “My Shakespeare,” p. 173
Read, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, p. 181. Activities will vary according to student’s needs.
Teacher will assign one or more Collection 4, Close Reader selections, based on student need.
Supplemental English and Language Arts Instruction:
Students assigned to the orange level Keystone books will complete unit six this quarter.
Students assigned to the purple level Keystone books will complete unit six this quarter.
Students assigned to the red level Keystone books will complete units seven and eight this quarter.