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Language Arts - Secondary Curriculum English Language Arts Grade 9-10
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Reading: Informational Text Standard 1

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • Chaucer's Wife of Bath
    This lesson from EDSITEment introduces students to one of the most admired characterizations in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" the Wife of Bath. Learning Objectives include (1) To analyze Chaucer's portrayal of the Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales; (2) To consider how the story told by the Wife of Bath reflects on both her character and on Chaucer's view of marriage and women; (3) To examine literary sources that contributed to this characterization; (4) To explore the historical context that informs this depiction of the rights of women in marriage.
  • Comic Book Templates: An Entry Point into Nonfiction
    This Teaching Channel video demonstrates how to help your students analyze the structure of informational texts. (8 minutes)
  • Evaluating Eyewitness Reports
    This lesson from EDSITEment offers students experience in making historical meaning from eyewitness accounts that present a range of different perspectives. The lesson asks students to evaluate the reliability of this primary source and to draw up a list of questions they would want to ask and issues they would want to explore before making this eyewitness report part of the historical record. To conclude the lesson, students apply their research skills to present-day eyewitness accounts, gathering published examples or conducting interviews, and produce a report on their value and use as historical evidence.
  • Grade Band 9-10 Sample Performance Assessment
    This sample English Language Arts performance assessment for Grade Band 9-10 covers three texts: 1) Lincoln, Abraham. "Gettysburg Address" 2) Monk, Linda R. Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution and 3) Hand, Learned. "I Am an American Day Address".
  • Holocaust and Resistance
    In this lesson from EDSITEment, students reflect on the Holocaust from the point of view of those who actively resisted Nazi persecution. Students will learn how the Holocaust happened and understand the devastation suffered by its victims; examine the evidence of resistance to the Holocaust that has been preserved in official documents and by oral tradition; reflect on the responsibilities of individuals when confronted with social policies that violate human rights; consider the significance of the Holocaust in society today.
  • Life on the Great Plains
    In this four-part lesson, students examine the concept of geographic region by exploring the history of the Great Plains. Learning objectives include: to explore the concept of region and learn how culture and experience influence the perception of regions; to investigate the relationships between physical geography and human systems of culture and settlement; to trace the history and character of a region as reflected in literature and art; to examine factors that influenced westward expansion in the United States.
  • Live From Antiquity!
    Ancient languages are the deepest root of the humanities, drawing life from that distant time when the study of history, philosophy, literature, and of language itself began. The goals of this lesson plan are to gain an appreciation for Greek drama through study of a play by Sophocles; to explore the cultural and historical context of Greek drama and its role in Greek society; to reconstruct the experience of seeing a Greek drama performed and share that experience in an imaginative report.
  • Mark Twain and American Humor
    In this three-part lesson, students examine structure and characterization in the short story and consider the significance of humor through a study of Mark Twain's "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Students will analyze the use of literary conventions and devices to develop character and point of view in the short story; investigate the purposes and significance of literary humor; and examine Mark Twain's storytelling style in relation to that of other American humorists.
  • 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.
  • Self-Assessment Rubric - Close Reading of Informational Text
    This self-assessment reading rubric will help Grade 9 and 10 students assess their reading of informational text.
  • Shakespeare's Macbeth:Fear and the Motives of Evil
    This resource contains an EDSITEment lesson in which students will study Shakespeare's Macbeth. Students will use an Internet search engine to collect instances in the play of specific key words. Students will then organize and analyze the passages in which these key words appear for what they reveal about Macbeth's state of mind and the motives behind his increasing evil.
  • Using Informational Texts - Section One
    Text Selections based on Text Complexity (Grade Band 9-10)
  • Using Informational Texts - Section Two
    Teacher & Student Editions - Learning Tasks and Cognitive Rigor (Grade Band 9-10)


UEN logo http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Naomi  Watkins and see the Language Arts - Secondary website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.