TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS:
CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR: Literature III
Course Description
The ultimate goal of Literature III is to develop a generation of learners who have had a robust
and relevant education, reflecting the knowledge and skills that are necessary for success in an
increasingly interconnected world. To this end, Literature III has been designed to make it more
relevant and useful to students by focusing each literary unit around skills-based enduring
understandings and essential questions. The units have been developed to provide students with
a core education that accesses classic and modern texts. Through these texts, units provide
opportunities for students to practice skills that will help them transition from high school to
college to career. All of the activities in this guide are aligned to an enduring understanding and
practice reading, writing, speaking, and production skills. Five distinct thematic units will offer a
variety of language arts’ experiences’ relevant to the 21st century learner. The literature selected
offers students an opportunity to evaluate full and excerpted texts, indiscriminate of culture and
gender. Special emphasis has been placed on writing comparative analysis between fiction, nonfiction, and multimedia texts.
Pacing Guide
Unit
Unit Name
Monthly
Pacing
Schedule
Approx. #
of Total
Days
The Making of Heroes
15-20
The Artist as Creator and Creation
15-20
Passion for Power
17-25
1
2
3
Consequences of Fate
4
Protecting Individual Rights
5
15-20
15-20
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
Unit 1: The Making of Heroes
Pacing: 15-20 days
Content Area/Course: English Language Arts/Literature III
Stage 1- Desired Results
Common Core State Standards Addressed in this Unit
RL11.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly as well as the inferences drawn
from the text.
RL.11.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including
how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account, to provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.11.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g. where a
story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed.)
RI.11.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and
develop over the course of a text.
RI.11.5 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether
the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
RI.11.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and
content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
W.11.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose,
and audience.
W.11.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W.11.7 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and wellstructured event sequences.
W.11.8 Gaither relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and
integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
SL.11.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grades 11 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.11.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of
presentations.
L.11.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for
meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
Big Idea: The ability to comprehend the particular conventions and characteristics of a
genre is integral to a deeper understanding of an author’s intent.
Essential Questions
● How does the structure of a text and use of
language contribute to understanding literature?
Enduring Understandings
Students will understand that:
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●How do focus and organization contribute to
writing an effective essay?
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●How can different rhetorical effects be achieved
through various storytelling techniques?
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●How can learning the characteristics of the
hero’s journey lead to analysis of textual, thematic
connections?
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The ability to comprehend the particular
conventions and characteristics of a genre is
integral to a deeper understanding of an author’s
intent.
Effective writing involves drafting, refining, and
understanding the various elements of
persuasive, expository, and narrative styles.
Close reading of text allows for more effective
comprehension and analysis.
Collaborative discussions build on other’s ideas
and allow for democratic self-expression.
●How do you determine authorial intent and
style?
What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Content:
Students will know:
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Skills:
Students will be able to:
●Characteristics of the hero’s journey as outlined by Joseph Campbell
●Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,
●Patterns of Organization
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
●Chronological Order
●Comprehend key ideas and details.
● Cause and Effect
●Comprehend craft and structure.
●Problem to Solution Order
●Comprehend integration of knowledge and ideas.
●Compare and Contrast
●Thesis Statement
●Use digital media strategically in presentations to enhance understanding
and add interest.
●Transitions
●Interpret how the text supports key ideas with specific details.
●Protagonist
● Analyze key ideas and details in a text as evidence to support.
●Types of Archetypes
● Reflect on key ideas and details in a text as evidence to support
understanding of the text.
●Direct/Indirect Characterization
●Flat character
●Round character
● Reference evidence from texts and research to support comments and
ideas.
●Static character
●Conduct steps for short as well as sustained research projects to answer a
question.
● Direct quotation
●Recognize strong and thorough textual evidence within the text..
●Annotated Bibliography
●Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital
resources.
●Dynamic character
● MLA format
●Paraphrase
●Summary
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
Stage 2- Assessment
What evidence will show that students understand?
Performance Tasks & Criteria
The Hero’s Journey Picture Book: After reading excerpts from A Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell,
students will create picture or comic books that show all key parts of the structure of a story about a journey.
Picture/Comic books can be shared as an oral presentation or digitally. Each page of the storybook should be clearly
labeled with the structural component of the journey that it represents.
The Organized Essay: Review patterns for organizing analytical essays. Provide students with sample writing samples
organized in various ways. Label each piece with a letter or a number. Students will identify which pattern is
represented in the sample. As an extension, students can select a pattern that best suits a given writing prompt. For
students who have trouble organizing their writing, provide models and resources for sample writing samples:
Transitions and Organizational Patterns or Patterns of Organization.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Students create a visual representation of metaphors, images, words,
milestones, key lessons, and themes of their own personal journeys as a point of reflection and reinforcement of the
characteristics of a journey. For students who have trouble organizing information, allow students to organize
information visually, using tools such as Pinterest, etc.
Be A Storyteller: In their own words, students will tell the story of Beowulf. Their narrative should include a description
of Grendel and give a detailed account of the battle. Their narrative should convey excitement and horror as well as
capturing the audience’s attention.
Dialectical Journal: In a dual-column format, students will create a chart that tracks a protagonist’s characterization
and growth throughout a text. Students should choose passages in which the character exhibits a major change. In the
first column, students should record quotations that exhibit the protagonist’s appearance, thoughts, actions, and what
other characters say or how they feel about the protagonist. In the second column, students should discuss what the
quotation reveals about the character. For students who have trouble organizing information or who have
difficulty with reading comprehension, provide a graphic organizer to chart a character’s growth throughout
the text. Possible categories would be:strengths/ weaknesses, conflicts, etc. Teachers may also model a
timeline of character’s progress.
My Character’s Journey: Students should create a picture of each character as an avatar, cartoon, or drawing. They
should focus on clothing, style, facial expression, and background to convey the three main traits they have selected.
Students should use their creation to develop a story in which the character goes on a journey. As an extension,
students may discuss how their character’s journey fits the structure of a journey described in Joseph Campbell’s text.
Use Voki or GoAnimate to create avatars/characters that talk to enhance the activity. These tools may replace handdrawn sketches or 3D models. Students can post creations to share with classmates. Or, utilize and online sketching
platform to create drawings of original characters. For students who have difficulty expressing their thoughts in
writing, allow students to present ideas orally. The teacher can offer Venn Diagram model to document their
characters vs. Campbell’s text.
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
Performance Tasks & Criteria:
(Align to New Jersey Model Curriculum & Common Core Standards)
Guess That Archetype: Play a clip of a current movie trailer or TV show to see if students can determine the archetypes
involved. (Make sure they understand that it's not the characters' actions that determine their archetype, but the reasoning
behind their actions.) Students can then work in pairs or individually to classify all of the characters in the literature being
studied.
Chew On This: Either individually or in groups, students should pick a theme from the text. Students should create their own
“Chew on This” for the theme they have chosen. These are essentially thesis statements about the theme—arguments to get
people thinking. Students should find three quotations from the text to support their thematic statement. These quotes should
incorporate the setting, characters, and/or conflicts that show how these literary elements contribute to the message.
Students should create a way to spread this message in another form to their friends. They should present their “Chew on
This” Statement and—explain why they think it's a solid argument.
Using audio-recording software, such as PodBeam or Apple’s GarageBand and iTunes, record and publish a two- to threeminute presentation to discuss themes or other topics to add an audio component. Students may also create a Twitter feed for
the novel. Students can “tweet” thematic statements for “Chew On This” activity or use Twitter to have nightly
discussions on the novel. For students who have trouble analyzing, offer a pre-reading activity where
students can trace a theme from a film or piece of literature that they have already viewed/read and come up with a
“chew on this” statement. The teacher can model of actual “chew on this” statement. For students who struggle with
working independently, set up a “thematic forum” online for the class and have students share information. This can
be in the form of a blog or Twitter discussion.
Unit 1: Common Assessment
Using teacher selected passage(s) from one of the pieces covered in this unit and teacher selected passage
from Joseph Conrad’s Hero with a Thousand Faces, students will write a multi-paragraph essay that
applies the structural characteristics of the journey to the passage or passages under examination. Specific
textual evidence from at least three other non-fiction resources (print and/or multi-media) are to be used for
support.
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
What other evidence needs to be collected in light of Stage 1 Desired Results?
(e.g., tests, quizzes, prompts, work samples, observations)
Other Evidence:
(Align to New Jersey Model Curriculum & Common Core Standards)
- Essays
- Informational
- I-Search
- Analytical
Writing Forms
- Journalistic
- Narrative
- Poetry
- Expository
- Research
- Reading Response
- Argumentative/Persuasive
- Reflective
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Instructional Activities/Strategies to enable students to achieve desired results:
(Align to New Jersey Model Curriculum & Common Core Standards)
Strategy: Anticipation Guides
Strategy: Before, During and After Interactive Notes
Strategy: Cause-Effect
• Cause-Effect Organizer(s)
• Fishbone Map
Strategy: Column Notes
• T-Chart
• Fact or Opinion?
• Chapters/Selection Chart
• Q-Notes
Strategy: Compare/Contrast
• Compare and Contrast Matrices
• Venn Diagram
• Metaphorical Thinking
Strategy: Concept/Vocabulary Expansion
• Define Conceptual Terms
• Descriptions For Different Purposes
• Possible Sentences
• LINK: List-Inquire-Note-Know
Strategy: Consolidating Thought
• Summarizing
• Synthesizing
• Inferring
• Discussion Web
Strategy: CRAFTS: Context, Role, Audience, Format, Topic, and Strong Verb
Strategy: Credibility Of a Source
Strategy: FQIP: Focus-Question-Image-Predict
Strategy: Inquiry Charts
• I-Charts
• KWLH Inquiry
Strategy: Idea Funnel
Strategy: Journaling
• Dialectical Journal
• Double Entry Journal/Learning Log
• Meta-Cognitive/Reflective Journal
• Synthesis Journal
Strategy: Main Idea
• Main Idea and Supporting Details Graphic
• Spider Map
• Cerebral Chart
Strategy: Marginal Notes
Strategy: Predict-O-Gram Writing
Strategy: Previewing and Generating Text Purposes
• Previewing Texts
• Inform-Entertain-Persuade
• Checking Out the Framework
• SOAPS (Subject-Occasion-Audience-Purpose-Speaker)
Strategy: Quick Write-Free Write
Strategy: Time-Sequence
• Cycle Note-Taking
• Linear Planning
Strategy: Understanding Story
• Writing From the Narrative Frame
• Narrative Organizer: Story Map
• Linear Array Story Organizer
Strategy: Visualizing and Recording Mental Images
Strategy: Write-Pair-Share-Write
Writing-To-Demonstrate Knowledge:
Technique: Writing Guidelines
Technique: Process Writing
Technique: Conferring
Technique: Invention
• Generate Many Ideas: Brainstorming/Cubing
• Nut-Shelling
• Synectics
• SCAMPER
Technique: Principles Of Coherence
Technique: Peer Reviewing
Technique: Structures For Compare and Contrast
Technique: Orchestrating Organization
• Outline/Reverse Outline
• Webbing/Clustering/Mapping
• Chunking
Technique: Thinking Through Writing
• Prompting Higher-Order Thinking
• Thinking Routines
• Thinking On Paper
Technique: Using Rubrics For Backwards Planning
• Traits Of Writing
• ACT
• Rubric For Understanding
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
Accommodations for ELL & Special Education Students:
TEXTBOOKS AND CURRICULUM
Design instruction using audio and visual
Provide summaries of chapters.
Use peer readers.
Use marker to highlight important textbook sections.
Provide two sets of textbooks, one for home and one for school.
Use index cards to assess learning
Provide the student with pre reading questions..
CURRICULUM
Vary assignment lengths according to student need.
Specify and list exactly what the student will need to learn to pass.
Give alternatives to long writing assignments.
Jigsaw activities
Modify expectations based on student needs.
CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
Develop individualized rules for the student.
Evaluate the classroom structure against the student’s needs.
Keep workspace clear of unrelated materials.
Keep the classroom quiet during intense learning times.
Reduce visual distractions in the classroom .
Provide a computer for written work.
Seat the student close to the teacher or a positive role model.
Use a study carrel.
Seat the student away from windows or doorways.
Provide an unobstructed view of material
Keep extra supplies of classroom materials (pencils books) on hand.
Use alternatives to crossword puzzles or word finds.
Maintain adequate space between desks.
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Project based learning based on learning style
Scaffold instruction to support the learning process.
Give directions in small steps and in as few words as possible.
Number and sequence the steps in a task.
Have student repeat the directions for a task.
Provide visual aids.
Show a model of the end product of directions
Stand near the student when instructing
TIME/TRANSITIONS
Alert student before a transition from one activity to another.
Allow extra time to turn in homework without penalty.
Use fill-in questions with space for a brief response.
Provide a print outline with videotapes and filmstrips.
Provide additional time to complete a task.
Use worksheets that require minimal writing.
Provide a photocopy of teacher notes.
Provide a print copy of assignments or directions.
TESTS
Go over directions orally.
Provide a vocabulary list with definitions.
Allow tests to be taken in a room with few distractions
Divide tests into small sections of similar questions or problems.
Allow the student to complete an independent project as an alternative test.
Grade spelling separately from content.
Allow take-home or open-book tests.
Provide the first letter of the missing word.
Teach the student how to take tests
Permit as much time as needed to finish tests.
Read test materials to the student, and allow oral responses.
Use true-false, multiple choice, or matching) instead of essays.
Give progress reports instead of grades.
Provide typed test materials, not tests written in cursive.
Provide possible answers for fill-in-the blank sections.
USE PICTURES OR GRAPHICS
Use Post-it notes to mark assignments in textbooks.
Check progress regularly and provide feedback often.
Place a ruler under sentences being read for better tracking.
Introduce an overview of long-term assignments .
Chunk information with the easiest work first.
Have the student practice presenting in a small groups.
Provide study guides and study questions that directly relate to tests.
BEHAVIOR
Arrange a “check-in” time to organize the day.
Use nonverbal cues to remind the student of rule violations.
Provide positive as well as negative consequences.
Increase the frequency and immediacy of reinforcement.
Pair the student with a student who is a good behavior model.
Amend consequences for rule violations
Develop an individualized behavior intervention plan.
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
Accommodations for ELL & Special Education Students:
• Anchor Activities: Tasks for students to work on independently after completing assigned work when teacher is meeting with other students.
• Bloom's Taxonomy: A model to facilitate higher level thinking skills.
• Centers : Areas in the classroom containing collections of activities and/or materials designed to reinforce, or extend certain skills or concepts, or to
motivate students to explore topics of interest.
• Choice Boards (Product Options): Students select from assignments that are placed in pockets and changed as necessary. Teachers can target student
need and readiness by directing them to select from a certain row.
• Compacting: A three-stage process where teachers assess students prior to teaching a unit or skill to determine what the student does know, does not
know, and what alternate experiences will replace those activities already mastered.
• Cubing (Q-Matrix): An interactive technique for considering a subject from six points of views. Cubing can also help students think at different levels of the
taxonomy. Cubes can also be constructed with tasks in a particular area of the multiple intelligences.
• Flexible Grouping: Temporarily grouping students by interest, achievement level (readiness), learning profile, activity preference, or special needs.
• Graphic Organizers: A thinking tool that allows students to organize information and see their thinking. A visual representation of facts and/or concepts.
• Group Investigations (Interest Groups & Interest Inventory): Students are introduced to topics related to something being studied in class and grouped by
interests, then are guided through the investigation of a topic with teacher support.
• Independent Study : Allows students to pursue questions or topics of interest, or develop talent in certain areas with set goals and criteria agreed upon by
both student and teacher.
• Inquiry-based instruction: A student-centered and teacher-guided instructional approach that engages students in investigating real world questions that
they choose within a broad thematic framework
• Jigsaw: A cooperative strategy where students work with peers who study one fact of a topic and then return to a "home-base" group for sharing what they
have learned.
• Literature Circles: A student led discussion format which allows students to read on topics of interest, or select books of choice, and share readings and
ideas with others who read the same materials. Various jobs are assigned to the different group members.
• Menus: A list of learning and/or product options students may choose from.
• Multiple Intelligence Options (checklist included): Activities that allow us to recognize and nurture all of the varied human intelligences and learning
preferences.
• Orbital Studies: This strategy encourages students to raise questions of interest related to the curriculum, figure out how to find answers to their questions,
and devise ways to share their findings with peers.
• Portfolios: Collections of student work to help students set learning goals and evaluate their own growth.
• Problem Based Learning: Students are presented with an unfamiliar, unclear, complex problem for which they must gather additional information, define
the problem, locate and appropriately use resources, make decisions about and communicate a solution, and assess the effectiveness of the solution.
• Socratic Seminar: A discussion format where students share with each other their thoughts on a particular piece from literature, history, current events,
issues, or hypothetical situations.
• Stations : Different spots in the classroom where students work with various tasks simultaneously which are linked by a set of concepts and skills.
• Think, Pair, Share: A Questioning technique where the students are given a prompt or question. The students are asked to think by themselves, pair with
another student, and finally share their ideas with the group.
• Tic-Tac-Toe: A menu or options arranged in a 3 x 3 block grid. Students choose their tasks in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line.
• Tiered Assignments: Changing the depth or complexity of a. lesson to create multiple levels of tasks and assigning students to a level according to their
readiness.
• Web Quests: A teacher designed Internet lesson developed with specific learning goals in mind, some specified and relevant Internet links, and guidelines
that support students in the research or inquiry process.
TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CURRICULUM GUIDE
Unit Resources
Literary Texts:
McDougall Littell: Literature & Language 12
Selections from Beowulf’
And of Clay We Are Created Allende
Selections from The Iliad
The Man in the Water Rosenblatt
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis
Stevenson
Selections from Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy
Excerpts from A Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph
Campbell
Full text available at
www.files.meetup.com/6873932/campbell
The Aeneid Virgil The Internet Classics Archive at MIT
Technology Integration
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Inferno Dante www.gutenburg.org/files/1001/1001-h/1001-h.htm
“The Seafarer”
www.nexuslearning.net/books/elements_of_lit_course6/
“The Wanderer”
www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet?do=get&type=text&id=wdr
Internet Resources:
www.thewritersjourney.com/hero’s_journey.htm#Hero
Jung and Archetypes
www.stjohns-chs..org/english/gothic/works/Carl%20Jung.pdf
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YouTube: www.youtube.com
TeacherTube: www.teachertube.com
Google Docs/Drive: https://drive.google.com/
Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/
Google Map Maker: http://www.google.com/mapmaker
Skype: www.skype.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/
Edmodo: www.edmodo.com/
Blogs: www.blogger.com/
Cicero: http://cicerohistory.com/
Student Surveys: www.polleverywhere.com or
www.socrative.com.
Word Clouds: www.wordle.net or www.tagul.com.
Class Website: www.weebly.com
Online Q & A: www.quizlet.com, www.studyboost.com, or
www.studyblue.com
Podcasts: A multimedia digital file made available on the Internet
for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc.
WebQuests: is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or
all the information that learners work with comes from the web.
These can be created using various programs, including a simple
word processing document that includes links to websites.
Interactive Whiteboards: a large interactive display that
connects to a computer. A projector projects the computer's
desktop onto the board's surface where users control the
computer using a pen, finger, stylus, or other device.
Digital Cameras
Video Camera
Audio Visual Equipment
Microsoft Office
PowerPoint
Publisher
Excel