English 9 - Module 1

Who I Am

English 9.1

Diverse Concepts of Identity and Beauty

In Module 9.1, students dive into complex text with a contemporary short story by acclaimed author Karen Russell. Through collaborative discussion and multiple encounters with the text, students access the richness of Russell’s language, description, and meaning, particularly around the ideas of identity and beauty, which students consider over the course of the module in relation to excerpts from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green, and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In their study of Romeo and Juliet, students have the opportunity to consider representations of the text across artistic mediums, including contemporary film excerpts and fine art. Module 9.1 is comprised of three units: Unit 1: “I'm Home” Text: “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” by Karen Russell Unit 2: “[T]he jewel beyond all price” Text: Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke Text: Black Swan Green by David Mitchell Unit 3: “A pair of star-crossed lovers” Text: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Module 9.1 is comprised of three units:



Unit 2

Lessons

Unit 1 - I'm Home

“St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” by Karen Russell

In this lesson, students read the first section of Karen Russell’s short story, “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.” In this story, feral girls with werewolf parents attend a Jesuit boarding school founded to socialize the girls by teaching them human behaviors. Students read and analyze the title and epigraph, and examine how Russell uses specific word choices to evoke a sense of place.

  • Classwork - read and analyze pages 225–229 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 1: The initial period is one in which everything is new” to “her tranquilizer dart. ‘It can be a little over stimulating’”).
    • Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
    • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: Identify two specific word choices in the title and epigraph and explain how these words evoke a sense of place.
    • Use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist - to help improve your Quick Write and reflective writing responses
  • Homework Be sure to complete your QuickWrite aligns with the Short Response Rubric and Checklist

  • Lesson 2 - In this lesson, students read and analyze pages 229–240 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,” in which the pack moves from Stage 2 to Stage 3 of lycanthropic culture shock under the supervision of the nuns, and readers learn the name of the narrator, Claudette. Students analyze how Claudette’s tone develops over the course of Stages 2 and 3.

  • Classwork - read and analyze pages 229–240 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 2: After a time, your students realize that they must work” to “But you could tell they were pleased”).
    • Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
    • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: Describe Claudette’s tone in her description of Stages 2 and 3 of lycanthropic culture shock. Cite specific evidence to support your response.
    • Use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist - to help improve your Quick Write and reflective writing responses
  • Homework Be sure to complete your QuickWrite aligns with the Short Response Rubric and Checklist

  • Lesson 3 - In this lesson, students read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,” in which the girls attend the Debutante Ball, Mirabella is expelled from St. Lucy’s, and Claudette returns to her family. Students analyze Mirabella’s interactions with the pack using the Character Tracking Tool.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Download and use the Character Tracking Tool to keep track of character development throughout the module. Trace character development in the texts by noting how the author introduces and develops characters. Cite textual evidence to support your work.

    Lesson 4 - In this lesson, students learn annotation skills as they reread the opening pages of the short story, and then work in small groups to analyze how Russell develops the pack as a character in itself.

    • Classwork 4a - Introduction to Annotation: annotation is an important skill for reading and gathering textual evidence. Good readers use shorthand ways of marking text so as not to take time away from their reading.
      • Download and use the Annotation Markings Bookmark to improve your annotation skills.
      • Learn the following standard codes:
        • Box unfamiliar words.
        • Star (*) important or repeating ideas.
        • Put a question mark (?) next to a section you are questioning or confused about, and write your question down.
        • Use an exclamation point (!) for connections between ideas or ideas that strike or surprise you in some way, and provide a brief note explaining the connection.
    • Classwork 4b - Reread pp. 225–227 (from “Stage 1: The initial period is one in which everything is new” to “our parents were sending us away for good. Neither did they.”)
    • Homework Read pages 227–230 (from “That first afternoon, the nuns gave us free rein” to “It all felt like a sly, human taunt”) to preview tomorrow’s reading. Box any unfamiliar words and look up their definitions. Choose the definition that makes the most sense in the context, and write a brief definition above or near the word in the text.

    Unit 2

    Lesson 5 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 6 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 7 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 8 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 9 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 10 - Mid-Unit Assessment - In this lesson, students complete the Mid-Unit Assessment by writing a multi-paragraph response to the following prompt: Choose and explain one epigraph. Analyze the relationship between that epigraph and the girls’ development in that stage. The Mid-Unit Assessment is assessed using the Mid-Unit Text Analysis Rubric.


    Lesson 11 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 12 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 13 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 14 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 15 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
    • Homework Consider the effect created by Russell’s use of epigraphs by analyzing the Stage 1 Epigraph.

    Lesson 16 - In this lesson, students continue to revise the narrative essays. Students review the importance of using precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Students also learn how to adapt their voice, awareness of audience, and use of language to accommodate a variety of cultural contexts. Student learning is assessed via the incorporation of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language and effective adaption of voice to accommodate the intended audience.

    • Classwork - read and analyze pp. 240–246 of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (from “Stage 4: As a more thorough understanding of the host culture” to “‘So,’ I said, telling my first human lie. ‘I’m home’”).
      • Discussion/Study Questions - individual or groups
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Russell develop the characters of Mirabella and Jeanette?
    • Homework Write a brief explanation of the literal and figurative meanings of Sister Maria de la Guardia’s words to Mirabella, “What are you holding on to? Nothing, little one. Nothing” (p. 231).

    Lesson 17 - End-of-Unit Assessment - For the End-of-Unit Assessment, students write a multi-paragraph response to the following prompt, relying on their reading and analysis of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”: Analyze Claudette’s development in relation to the five stages of Lycanthropic Culture Shock..





    Unit 3

    Unit 2 - What is Beauty?

    The Jewel Beyond All Price

    In this unit, students continue to develop the skills, practices, and routines to which they were introduced in 9.1.1. Students continue to practice reading closely and annotating texts as they examine Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet and Mitchell’s Black Swan Green. Students also continue their work with evidence-based writing and collaborative discussion.

    • Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet
      • Letter 1 - used in lessons
      • Complete text of Letters to a Young Poet in pdf or epub
    • David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green

    Introduction - In this optional activity, students read and analyze the poem "Childhood" by Rainer Maria Rilke.

    • Research - Conduct a brief search into the life of Rainer Maria Rilke and come prepared to share two important facts about him.
    • Classwork - "Childhood" - Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word

    Lesson 1 - In this first lesson of this unit, students listen to a masterful reading of “Letter One” of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, in which Rilke responds to a young poet’s search for guidance. Next, students independently reread the first paragraph, in which Rilke explains why he cannot offer advice on the young poet’s work.

    • Classwork 1a - listen to a masterful reading of “Letter One” of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet.
    • Classwork 1b - read and annotate the first paragraph of “Letter One,” from “Paris, February 17, 1903, Dear Sir, Your letter arrived” through “beside our own small, transitory life.”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: What relationship is Rilke establishing between language and art? How does this support his beliefs about the usefulness of criticism? What evidence supports your thinking?
      • Use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist - to help improve your Quick Write and reflective writing responses
    • Homework - Revise and edit your QuickWrite.

    Lesson 2 - In this lesson, students read and analyze paragraph 2 “Letter One” from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet , in which Rilke offers the young poet advice on how to determine whether he has a poetic vocation. Students explore how Rilke uses metaphor to discuss his ideas about art.

    • Classwork - read and annotate the second paragraph of “Letter One,” from “With this note as a preface” through “Nature, to whom his whole life is devoted.”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Rilke use figurative language to develop an important idea in this passage?
    • Homework - Write a paragraph in response to the following prompt: Where, according to Rilke, should the poet find beauty? Also remember to use the Short Response Checklist and Rubric to guide your written responses.

    Lesson 3 - In this lesson, students continue to analyze paragraph3 3-6 of “Letter One” from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, in which Rilke offers the young poet advice on how to determine whether he has a poetic vocation. Students explore how Rilke uses metaphor to discuss his ideas about art.

    • Classwork - read and annotate paragraph3 3-6 of “Letter One,” from “But after this descent into yourself” through “Yours very truly, Rainer Maria Rilke.”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: Determine one of Rilke’s central ideas and analyze its development over the course of “Letter One”.
    • Homework - Review “Letter One” and annotate it by marking passages that create tone in the letter. Review and expand your notes and annotations in preparation for the Mid-Unit Assessment.

    Lesson 4 - Mid-Unit Assessment - In this Mid-Unit Assessment, students use textual evidence from “Letter One” from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke to craft a formal, multi-paragraph essay in response to the following prompt: What is the impact of Rilke’s specific word choices on the meaning and tone of his letter? The Mid-Unit Assessment is assessed using the 9.1.2 Mid-Unit Text Analysis Rubric.


    Lesson 5 - In this lesson, students read an excerpt from the “Hangman” chapter of David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green, pages 24–26, in which Jason Taylor, the narrator, discusses his struggle with stammering. Students investigate the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.

    • Classwork - read and annotate pages 1-2 from “So anyway, Mum dropped me at Malvern Link” to “the speech therapist at Malvern Link clinic. That was five years ago”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: What is the cumulative impact of Mitchell’s specific word choices on meaning and tone in this excerpt?
    • Homework - For homework, respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does the tone in this passage develop Jason’s character?Use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist to guide your written responses.

    Unit 3

    Lesson 6 - In this lesson, students read pages 2-4 from the “Hangman” chapter of David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green, in which Jason explains in depth his relationship with his stammer, which he calls Hangman. Students investigate Mitchell’s use of figurative language and how it develops the relationship between Hangman and Jason.

    • Classwork - read and annotate pages 2-4 from “It must’ve been around then (maybe that same afternoon)” to “let them kill me tomorrow morning. I mean that”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Mitchell’s use of figurative language develop the relationship between Jason and Hangman?
    • Homework - For homework, respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: How does Mitchell develop Jason’s character in the excerpts of Black Swan Green you have read so far? Use this lesson’s vocabulary wherever possible in your written responses. Use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist to guide your written responses.

    Lesson 7 - In this lesson, students begin their study of “Solarium,” a chapter from the novel Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. Students read and discuss pages 142–145 (from “‘OPEN UP! OPEN UP!’ holler door knockers” to “Black Swan Green Parish Magazines by her side. ‘To business’”), in which Jason, the narrator, first meets Madame Crommelynk, the old woman who delivers his poems to be published. In small groups, students analyze how the author develops characters in this excerpt.

    • Classwork - read and annotate pages 1-4 from from “‘OPEN UP! OPEN UP!’ holler door knockers” to “Black Swan Green Parish Magazines by her side. ‘To business’”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Mitchell introduce and develop the character of Madame Crommelynck in the opening of "Solarium"?
    • Homework - For homework, conduct a brief search to answer the following questions that will provide context for references in the following lesson’s reading: What is the Falklands War? Who is T.S. Eliot? Who is Simon Bolivar?

    Lesson 8 - In this lesson, students read pages 4-7 of “Solarium” from Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, in which Madame Crommelynck and Jason discuss two of Jason’s poems and then discuss the source and meaning of beauty. Students analyze how the exchange between Jason and Madame Crommelynck develops the text’s central ideas.

    • Classwork - read and annotate pages 4-7 from “‘A young man needs to learn when a woman’” to “‘My glass is empty.’ The last drops were the thickest”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does Mitchell introduce and develop a central idea in this excerpt?
    • Homework - For homework, complete the Character Interactions Tool to analyze the conversation between Jason and Madame Crommelynck in greater detail.

    Lesson 9 - In this lesson, students read excerpts from two of Jason’s visits to the vicarage in pages 8=16 of “Solarium” from David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green. During these visits, Jason and Madame Crommelynck continue their discussion about beauty, and also discuss why Jason writes under a pseudonym and why “Hangman” is his best poem. Students analyze how Mitchell refines the central idea of the meaning of beauty.

    • Classwork - read and annotate pages 8-16 from “One moment we were watching the twitch of a squirrel’s heart” to “‘So believe me. Comprehensive schools are not so infernal’”
      • Discussion/Study Questions - in pdf or Word
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: How does the interaction between Jason and Madame Crommelynck refine a central idea?
    • Homework - Select a vocabulary word from today’s lesson that you think is important to expressing a key idea in the text. Write a well-developed paragraph in which you explain the word you selected and how it connects to an important idea in the text. Choose from the following words:
      • pseudonym
      • quintessentially
      • versifier
      • derivative
      • a priori

    Lesson 10 - In this lesson, students prepare for the End-of-Unit Assessment by reviewing “Hangman” and “Solarium” from Black Swan Green and “Letter One” from Letters to a Young Poet, tracing the development of central ideas in each text. Students then discuss how the texts address similar central ideas.

    • Classwork - compare how “Hangman” and “Solarium” from Black Swan Green and “Letter One” from Letters to a Young Poet develop central ideas. Use your notes and annotated texts.
      • Central Ideas Tracking Tool - individual or groups
      • QuickWrite - respond briefly in writing to the following question: Based on the evidence you have collected about central ideas in Black Swan Green and Letters to a Young Poet, make a claim about a similar central idea in both texts.
    • Homework - For homework, respond briefly in writing to the following prompt: Analyze how Silko provides a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative. In addition, look over your notes and annotations in preparation for the End-of-Unit Assessment.

    Lesson 11 - End-of-Unit Assessment - In this End-of-Unit Assessment, students craft a formal, multi-paragraph response to the following prompt: Identify similar central ideas in Letters to a Young Poet and Black Swan Green. How do Rilke and Mitchell develop these similar ideas?





    Unit 3

    “A pair of star-crossed lovers”









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