Unit 1

Evolution: Development of the English Language, British Literature, and the Individual

Essential Questions:

• How are living entities affected by their history and environment, and how do they change over time?  
• How can writers express personal growth and change through their writing? 
• What literary techniques do authors employ to depict evolution and adaptation in characters?

Resources on British Literary Periods: Anglo-Saxon and Middle Ages, Renaissance, Restoration, Romantic, Victorian, and Modern

Resources on Development of English Language: BBC Ages of English Timeline,Living Language video questions, etymology & dictionary entries, Language families chart, Language in Britain timeline,Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms,Anglo-Saxons, Sutton Hoo, Vikings,   Norman Conquest, King John, Magna Carta, The Black Death, Hundred Years' War, Caxton & printing press, British Empire in 1815, expansion of British Empire

Week of 8/03/09

• colors personality test
• simile creation
• summer reading assessment
• Vocabulary Workshop Lesson 1 exercises 1 & 2
• interest survey for classic novel literature circle

Week of 8/10/09  

• "My Name" reading assignment (7 Habits of Effective Readers,organizer,anlaysis questions)
• writing theme statements (notes, format)
• 8/13-14/09 "My Name" theme statements DUE at end of class
• literature circle reading (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, OR Great Expectations)

Week of 8/17/09

• introduction to Cornell Notes (presentation, summary, abbreviations & symbols, template)
• literature circle reading (daily independent assignment; 7 Habits of Effective Readers; online texts of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, OR Great Expectations)
• Vocabulary Workshop Lesson 2 exercises 1 & 2; prefixes (bene-, inter-, intra-, mal-, mis-) 
• lecture and note-taking:  pre-English and the transition to Old English
• 8/21 & 24/09 literature circle initial impressions (assignment instructions) DUE at end of class
• 8/21 & 24/09 literature circle daily independent assignment (4 vocabulary words & 6 effective reading habits) DUE at end of class (7 Habits of Effective Readers)
• vocabulary in action (essay prompt & instructions)

Week of 8/24/09

• 8/25-26/09 vocabulary in action DUE (essay prompt & instructions)
• literature circle reading (daily independent assignment; 7 Habits of Effective Readers; online texts of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, OR Great Expectations)
• Vocabulary Workshop prefixes (ante-, anti-, contra-, post-, pre-)

Week of 8/31/09

• 8/31/09 & 9/01/09 QUIZ: Vocabulary Workshop prefixes and lessons 1 & 2 (QUIA review games)
• literature circle reading (daily independent assignment; 7 Habits of Effective Readers; online texts of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, OR Great Expectations)
• lecture and note-taking:  Old English evolves to Middle English
• 9/04-08/09 literature circle rising action (assignment instructions) DUE at end of class  
• 9/04-08/09 literature circle daily independent assignment (8 vocabulary words & 12 effective reading habits) DUE at end of class (7 Habits of Effective Readers)

Week of 9/07/09

• lecture and note-taking:  Middle English transforms to Modern English
• Vocabulary Workshop Lesson 3 exercises 1 & 2
• 9/09-10/09 summer reading essay revision DUE 
• English as a Living Language video, discussion, and review
• literature circle reading (daily independent assignment; 7 Habits of Effective Readers; online texts of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, OR Great Expectations)
• 9/11 & 14/09 literature circle in-class writing prompt DUE at end of class (notes of setting) 
• 9/11 & 14/09 revisions of vocabulary in action essay and vocabulary quiz DUE (exemplary sample sentences from quiz)

Week of 9/14/09

• etymology group research project (deciphering dictionary entries, assignment instructions, organizer chart RTF, organizer chart PDF)
• 9/17-18/09 personal narrative brainstorming DUE (instructions)
• literature circle reading (daily independent assignment; 7 Habits of Effective Readers; online texts of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, OR Great Expectations) 
• Vocabulary Workshop Lesson 4 exercises 1 & 2

Week of 9/21/09

• 9/21-22/09  TEST: literature circle classic novel
• 9/23-24/09  literature circle daily independent assignment (6 vocabulary words & 9 effective reading habits) DUE at end of class (7 Habits of Effective Readers)
• etymology group research project (deciphering dictionary entries, assignment instructions, organizer chart RTF, organizer chart PDF)
• drafting of personal narrative
• 9/25 & 28/09 vocabulary lessons 3 & 4 dialogue assignment DUE (instructions)

Week of 9/28/09

• explanation of fall break BONUS independent reading assignment of The Importance of Being Earnest (instructions, online text of play, play in PDF format)
• 9/29-30/09  etymology group research class presentations DUE (rubric, self & group assessment)

Week of 10/12/09

• 10/13-14/09 TEST: history of the English language (History of English PowerPoint presentation, etymology vocabulary notes, history of English language Jeopardy, etymology Jeopardy)
• 10/14-15/09 fall break BONUS independent reading assignment of The Importance of Being Earnest DUE (instructions, online text of play, play in PDF format)
• personal narrative drafting
• 10/15-16/09 and vocabulary lessons 3 & 4 syntax activity and dialogue revision DUE