Course: Composition 9 / 9 Honors
Unit of Study: Parts of Speech
Length of Unit: September / October / November
Overarching Enduring Understanding(s)
Students will engage with various articles and other pieces of literature, attempting to identify and understand the contents of sentences by
identifying words therein grammatically as various parts of speech. Using this information, students will be better able to understand
various kinds of writing by breaking sentences down into their component parts. These skills will be demonstrated by performance on
classwork, quizzes, and tests and in clear and coherent writing.
All literature and speech is composed of and can be broken down into the same parts.
Content Specific Enduring Understanding(s)
 Closely read sentences and understand them by breaking them down into their component portions.
 Understand that the same words can be used in various different ways and as various different parts of speech by various different
authors in various different circumstances.
Essential Questions (overarching)
How do writers and speakers utilize words differently in different contexts?
Essential Questions (content specific)
How do the parts of speech play a role in forming structurally-sound sentences?
Topic 1: Parts of Speech
a) Essential to know:
 How to read a sentence and break it down into its component parts: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition,
conjunction, interjection.
 Definitions of parts of speech.
 How each part of speech consists of many subsets of parts of speech.
o I.e., Personal, Reflexive, Demonstrative Pronouns.
 Interjections should not be used in formal writing.
 That grammar and content are not separate, but mutually dependent.
 MLA Format for take-home assignments.
b) Worth being familiar with:
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That the parts of speech are intertwined by linguistic necessity.
That changing a word’s part of speech can change the focus of a sentence.
That eliminating words by focusing on the essential parts of a sentence (Subject and Verb) can often lead to clearer writing.
That attempting to eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases and modifiers can clarify writing.
That working to properly place prepositional phrases and modifiers can clarify writing.
That shortening sentences by eliminating some conjunctions can clarify writing.
That language is fluid, and one word can migrate from one part of speech to another through popular usage.
c) Teaching Strategies/Learning Activities:
 Pre-teaching
o For each part of speech, have students complete KWL charts to diagnose prior understanding.
o For each part of speech, have students complete diagnostic exercises from textbook.
 PowerPoint presentations
o Parts of speech separated
 Guided exercises with teacher
o Exercises in textbook, online, in PDFs, and on worksheets
 Independently completed exercises (classwork)
o Exercises in textbook, online, in PDFs, and on worksheets
d) Materials:
 Prentice Hall’s Writing and Grammar: Communication in Action (Gold Level)
 The Holy Bible (New International Version)
 Bernard Evslin’s Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths
e) Formative Assessments:
 Content quizzes (Pronouns, Adjectives, Prepositions, Conjunctions)
 Classwork assignments
 Short essay
o One-paragraph essay comparing the sin and punishment of Arachne to the sin and punishment of the serpent in the
Garden of Eden.
 Students asked to label certain parts of speech.
 Content exams (Nouns, Verbs, Adverbs)
f) Summative Assessment:
 Examination concerning all parts of speech.
o Students provided an article excerpt with certain words highlighted. They are asked to label each highlighted word
according to its part of speech.
 Focus on words that may be different parts of speech in different contexts.
g) Standards Addressed:
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well
as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes
a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the
grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify
the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and
information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.1a Use parallel structure.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2c Spell correctly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.3 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.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.3a Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook,
Turabian’s Manual for Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing type.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.4b Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of
speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).