Thematic+Units


 * For each include novel, drama, short story and poetry (Downingtown method)**

//Gilgamesh, Shipwrecked Sailor, Ramayana,// "Lilies"
 * 1. Hero**

//House on Mango Street, Persepolis, Alchemist,// //Kaffir Boy,// "Handful of Dates"
 * 2. Coming of Age**

//Nectar in a Sieve, Harp of Burma, Kaffir Boy (see above), Returning to Haifa, Things Fall Apart//, "Prisoner who Wore Glasses," "Six Ft of the Country"
 * 3. Individual v. Society**

Poetry and magical realism, //Life of Pi//
 * 4. Imagination**


 * Common Core Suggested Curriculum Map for 9th and 10th grade:**

Grade 9
Students who have followed the ELA curriculum maps for grades K-8 will enter ninth grade with a foundation in fiction, drama, poetry, mythology, and literary nonfiction. In addition, they will have begun to analyze literature from various angles, to view literature in historical context, and to observe connections between literature and the arts. The ninth grade course is an overview of excellent literature across the major genres (short story, novel, poetry, drama, epic poetry, and literary nonfiction). Each unit focuses on a genre and a related theme: for instance, drama and fate. In their essays, students might compare the use of symbolism in a short story and painting, or they might examine the role of free will in one of the plays. They begin to read and respond to literary criticism: for instance, they might write about how two works reflect the thesis of William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. In formal seminar discussions, students further investigate philosophical and literary questions that arise in the texts. For example, in the unit on the novel, a seminar question asks whether Boo Radley (of // To Kill A Mockingbird) //is an honorable man. In addition to discussing and writing about works, students memorize poems and excerpts of speeches and learn to deliver them with expression. By the end of ninth grade, students are prepared for focused literary study: world literature in grade 10, American literature in grade 11, and European literature in grade 12.

Grade 9 Units

 *  [|UNIT 1 Literary Elements and The Short Story]
 *  [|UNIT 2 The Novel – Honor]
 *  [|UNIT 3 Poetry – Beauty]
 *  [|UNIT 4 Drama – Fate]
 *  [|UNIT 5 Epic Poetry – Heroism]
 *  [|UNIT 6 Literary Nonfiction – Reflection (The Memoir, The Essay, and The Speech)]

**Grade 10** In tenth grade, students study literature from around the world. There are four twelve-week units (Russian literature, Asian literature, African/Middle Eastern literature, and Latin American literature); schools may select three out of the four. This allows schools some flexibility and gives them the opportunity to make use of their resources. Each unit allows for close study of literary works, as well as consideration of historical and cultural context. The units focus not only on geographical regions, but also on themes and literary forms that pertain to them. Thus students come to grasp the relationship between local concerns and universal questions. In the Russian literature unit, students begin by reading short Russian masterpieces of the nineteenth century (including works by Pushkin, Gogol, and Chekhov), and proceed to read select twentieth-century works in historical context. In the Asian literature unit, students observe and describe literary forms in texts ranging from Confucius’s // Analects //to works by Rabindranath Tagore, and others. In the unit on Africa and the Middle East, students gain cultural insight as they explore prose and poetry from the // Arabian Nights //to Chinua Achebe’s // Things Fall Apart //. When studying the literature of Latin America, students read works by Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Marquez, and others. They become aware of the authors’ views of literature itself—its forms, peculiarities, language, and relationship to reality. Throughout the year, students take part in seminars, write essays, and deliver speeches. Having read literature from a variety of cultures, they now embark on eleventh grade and the study of American literature.

Grade 10 Units

 *  [|UNIT 1 World Literature: Latin and Central America]
 *  [|UNIT 2 World Literature: Asia]
 *  [|UNIT 3 World Literature: Africa and the Middle East]
 *  [|UNIT 4 World Literature: Russia]

Brainstorming: Outsider

Common Beliefs

Self Expression

Recording History Emperor to Citizen, The Name, Kaffir Boy

Human Condition Happy Man

Political Protest Six Feet of Country, Prisoner Who Wore Glasses, Returning to Haifa, Lu Hsun works, Magical Realism works

History and Culture The Name, Harp of Burma, Ramayana, Gilgamesh, Persepolis, Emperor to Citizen, Things Fall Apart, Returning to Haifa, Spring Moon, The Chosen

Mystery and Fantasy Magical Realism, Life of Pi

Prejudice and Injustice Kaffir Boy, Six Ft, Prisoner, Prisoner who Wore Glasses, Persepolis

Family and Relationships Persepolis, Spring Moon, House on Mango Street, The Chosen

Literature to Entertain Metonymy, Magical Realism

Poetry Latin America: Neruda, et al