Course Information:
Travelling Around the World through Literature
I look upon travel as a means of spiritual testing. What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, we are so far from our country . . . we are seized by an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits. This is the most obvious benefit of travel. At that moment, we are feverish, but also porous, so that the slightest touch makes us quiver to the depth of our being. By exercising our most intimate senses, we understand a culture. It is through travel that we learn about ourselves. (Albert Camus)
Unit 1: Border Crossing and Cultural Clashes
Essential Questions:
- What forces influence individuals to cross borders and cultures?
- How does what we know about the world shape the way we view ourselves?
- What are the benefits and detriments of crossing borders?
- How does the experience of crossing borders and experiencing diverse cultures affect an individual’s identity?
Literary Texts:
- Bless Me, Ultima
- Things Fall Apart
Independent Reading Choices:
Frankenstein, Into Thin Air, Metamorphosis, Life of Oloudah Equiano, Obasan, Annie John, The House on Mango Street, Sold, The Things They Carried, The Joy Luck Club, OR A Long Way Gone
Week of 2 August
- student information
- introduction to voice through art (PPT)
- Vocabulary Workshop Lesson 1
- review of course policies (PPT)
- 8/6/10 summer reading assignment DUE (instructions)
- 8/6/10 self-portrait and expository paragraph DUE
- alliterative adjective introduction & summer reading activity (instructions, personality trait adjectives)
Week of 9 August
Week of 16 August
- 8/16/10 summer reading novels Socratic seminar (essential question)
- independent reading selection
- 8/18/10 Vocabulary Lessons 1 & 2 review: cartoon creation DUE (instructions)
- 8/18/10 TEST: summer reading novels timed-writing essay
- 8/20/10 QUIZ: Vocabulary Workshop Lessons 1 & 2
Week of 23 August
- 8/24/10 Bless Me, Ultima chapters 1-7 analysis and vocabulary DUE (instructions, double-entry journal)
- Vocabulary Workshop Lesson 3
- discussion of Bless Me, Ultima chapters 1-7
Week of 30 August
Week of 6 September
- discussion of returned GHSGWT timed essays
- 9/10/10 Vocabulary Workshop Lessons 3 & 4 review activity DUE (instructions)
- lesson and group activity on planning a persuasive timed essay
Week of 13 September
- 9/14/10 QUIZ: Vocabulary Workshop Lessons 3 & 4
- 9/14/10 Bless Me, Ultima chapters 16-22 analysis and vocabulary DUE (instructions, double-entry journal)
- introduction to Things Fall Apart (portfolio assignment)
- Vocabulary Workshop Lesson 5
- 9/16/10 timed-writing essay: GHSGWT prompt
- independent reading of Things Fall Apart Part One and work on project (portfolio assignment)
Week of 20 September
Week of 27 September
- independent reading of Things Fall Apart Part One and work on project (portfolio assignment)
- 9/28/10 Vocabulary Workshop Lessons 5 & 6 review activity (instructions)
- 9/30/10 independent reading assignment 3 DUE (instructions, double-entry journal)
- 9/30/10 Things Fall Apart Part Two (chapters 14-19) DUE (portfolio assignment)
- discussion of fall break BONUS assignment (instructions)
- 9/30/10 QUIZ: Vocabulary Workshop Lessons 5 & 6
- discussion of fall break BONUS assignment (instructions)
Week of 11 October
- 10/11/10 Things Fall Apart Part Three (chapters 20-25) DUE (portfolio assignment)
- explanation of border-crossing personal narrative assignment
- 10/13/10 fall break BONUS assignment DUE (instructions)
- prewriting of border-crossing personal narrative assignment
Week of 18 October
Useful Links:
Links to Critical-Thinking Games:
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