English Language Arts Grade 11-12 [2011]

• Boxing and Analysis
  In this set of lessons which extend over several days, students read excerpts from "The Death of Benny Paret" by Norman Mailer and "The Fight" by William Hazlitt. Students annotate the text, specifically looking for metaphor and simile, tone, and syntax. Working with a partner, students write three paragraphs, analyzing metaphor or simile, tone, and syntax in "The Death of Benny Paret." Working independently, students write one paragraph, choosing to analyze metaphor or simile, tone, or syntax in "The Fight."
• Toulmin Argument Essay
  This lesson extends over several class periods. Students view a Prezi presentation on Toulmin's argument and complete an assignment based on the presentation. Students then write an argument essay about the power of prevailing passion over reason.

• Kennewick Man: Science and Sacred Rights
  This lesson plan explores the controversy surrounding "Kennewick Man", the name given to a skeleton discovered near Kennewick, Washington, in July 1996. Learning objectives include (1) To learn about the discovery of Kennewick Man and what this ancient skeleton suggests about the earliest inhabitants of North America; (2) To examine the controversy surrounding Native American efforts to rebury Kennewick Man in accordance with their traditions and federal law; (3) To explore the relationship between science and religion as reflected in their shared concern about human origins; (4) To gain experience in the close analysis of argument.
• Perspective on the Slave Narrative
  This lesson plan introduces students to one of the most widely-read genres of 19th-century American literature and an important influence within the African American literary tradition even today. The lesson focuses on the Narrative of William W. Brown, An American Slave (1847), which, along with the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), set the pattern for this genre and its combination of varied literary traditions and devices. To help students recognize the complex nature of the slave narrative, the lesson explores Brown's work from a variety of perspectives.
• Piracy: A Continuing Problem
  This lesson asks students to compare and contrast piracy in its "golden age" with modern piracy. They learn where piracy is practiced today and write three different reports. In these reports, students will pretend they're on an international anti-piracy commission, describe the similarities and differences between modern and historical piracy, and propose some solutions to modern piracy problems. This lesson can be found on the National Geographic website.
• Practical Criticism
  Anthologists and editors prepare the way for poetry readers, selecting works that reward close reading and assisting interpretation through annotation. But on the Internet we can return to poetry in its native state--one set of words among many others competing for appreciation--and read with fresh eyes. The goals of this lesson plan, from EDSITEment, are to analyze the verbal devices through which poems make meaning; to compare one's personal interpretation of a poem with the personal interpretations of others; and to develop standards of literary judgment.
• Woman in Africa: Tradition and Change
  The goals of this lesson plan are: (1) To learn about the role of women in traditional African village life; (2) To understand the contextual nature of artwork within traditional African village life; (3) To become familiar with women writers of postcolonial Africa; (4) To examine how the traditions of village life influence postcolonial literature. could be used as a background lesson for figure sculpture.
• You Kiss by the Book: Romeo & Juliet
  The goals of this lesson plan are: (1) To learn about Shakespeare's use of poetic conventions as a principle of dramatic structure in Romeo and Juliet; (2) To examine the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet as an enactment of figurative language in a context of competing poetic styles; (3) To explore the use of poetic forms to impart perspective in later episodes of the play; (4) To gain experience in close reading and the interpretation of verse structure and imagery.