12th Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading.

The materials meet the criteria as many of the anchor texts are previously published and widely read works of literature. Students are presented with multiple texts, including selections from the Common Core Exemplars, that are worthy of reading, discussion, and analysis.

Examples of publishable and worthy texts include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, students read from Book II of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People: “The Story of Caedmon” by Saint Bede. This text has a moderate reading level at 1290L and has complex and sophisticated vocabulary. The text discusses thought-provoking issues.

• In Unit 2, students read from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill. This frame tale is of challenging length with complex vocabulary.

• In Unit 3, students read “Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet 10) by John Donne. This text has a moderate reading level with complex vocabulary in terms of archaic terminology.

• In Unit 4, students read The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. This is a challenging text with complex vocabulary and syntax.

• In Unit 5, students read “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. This text is a satirical essay expressing sympathy for the plight of the oppressed Irish peasants and anger at the English ruling class. It has complex sentences, formal language, and satire.

• In Unit 6, students read “The Tyger” by William Blake. This text is deep in allegorical meaning.

• In Unit 7, students read “The Lagoon” by Joseph Conrad. This text has complex sentence structure.

• In Unit 8, students read from “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf. This essay is written at a moderate reading level with complex sentence structure and a conversational tone.

• In Unit 9, students read “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell. This essay has a moderate reading level with challenging vocabulary and simple sentence structure.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis.

The majority of texts are at the appropriate quantitative level. Within the series, quantitative texts levels range from 600L-1710L, with some texts above and below the current grade level Lexile and stretch bands. Texts that are above or below grade level quantitative bands have qualitative features and/or tasks that bring them to the appropriate grade level. Along with Lexiles, each text is labeled as moderate, easy, or advanced. Texts are scaffolded in Units 1-5 as Guided, Directed, and Independent Reading, and Unit 6 is centered on Independent Reading. Supports are provided in the additional resource materials, particularly the Meeting the Standards Resource Guide that has guided reading activities with graphic organizers, vocabulary development, and practice quizzes. The Program Planning Guide contains lesson plans that provide student tasks and multiple reading strategies to support student learning.

Examples of texts that have the appropriate level of complexity for Grade 12 include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, students read "Meditation 17" from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Lexile 1120.This short text includes vivid language and strong vocabulary. In Unit 8, students read Primary Source Connection: “The War Letters of Wilfred Owen.” This essay has difficulty considerations such as length and the fact that background knowledge is required before reading; the ease factor is the inclusion of vivid description. Essentially this text addresses the letters that were sent to family members as Owen participated in World War I; most letters were sent to his mother.

• In Unit 9, students read “Games at Twilight” by Anita Desai, Lexile 1130. While it contains some difficult vocabulary, the text provides a list of the vocabulary for preview. The subject matter of the text is familiar to students, and the Teacher’s Edition provides an entry point with a suggested student discussion. It also suggests that students maintain a chart to keep track of the settings in the selection. The difficulty consideration for this text is vocabulary; the ease factor is the author’s use of familiar subject matter.

Examples of texts that are above the quantitative measure, but are at the appropriate level for Grade 12 based on qualitative analysis and associated tasks include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8, students read Primary Source Connection: “Needed: An Irish National Theater” by Lady Augusta Gregory and William Butler Yeats, Lexile 1710. While above Lexile level, this text has factors that put students at ease, such as its straightforward language and length. The difficulty considerations consist of vocabulary and formal style. This letter essentially “ask[s] for funds to start...a theatre,” which allowed the authors to raise the necessary funds between 1898 and 1899.

Example of text that are below the quantitative measure, but are at the appropriate level for Grade 12 based on qualitative analysis and associated tasks include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, students read “Of Studies” by Francis Bacon, Lexile 700. while below grade level lexile, is challenging considering the vocabulary used and the long complex sentences throughout.

• In Unit 9, students read “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, Lexile 1060. The ease factor is simple sentence structure while the difficulty consideration is vocabulary. “The author is called on to respond and finds he must choose between doing what he feels is right and doing what he believes the narratives expect of him as a representative of the power of the British crown.”

• In Unit 8, students read “Araby” by James Joyce, Lexile 940. While it is below grade level in terms of Lexile, “Araby” is part of the literary canon and Joyce is a renowned author. The difficulty consideration for this text is that the “ending is inconclusive.” There are many ease factors for this text: sympathetic main character, simple plot, young person’s point of view, and students relate to the main character. The story focuses on the notions of unexpected love.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ literacy skills (understanding and comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade level skills (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels).

The instructional materials increase in rigor and complexity from month to month to the end of the year, growing students’ literacy skills. Units cover a range of reading skills, such as compare and contrast, drawing conclusions, clarifying information, asking questions, cause and effect, main idea, predicting, author’s purpose, sequencing, summarizing, and organizing text. For each text, students are presented with at least two skills that are refined throughout the reading. Units include differentiated instruction and reading skills for developing readers. The Program Planning Guide provides opportunities for students to practice reading skills and strategies in order to become College and Career Ready. As students use the skill of inferring throughout these units, the reading selections range from easy to challenging, with text complexity increasing students knowledge, and understanding of what they are reading becomes critical. Within the Annotated Teacher’s Edition, instructors are presented with a variety of questions to pose to students as reading is taking place. Questions are typically formatted as discussions, so that students are required to refer to the text, analyze, and discuss the various concepts that are studied throughout. Texts contain a broad range of Lexile levels.

In the beginning of the year, the students are establishing routines for reading the selections in each unit. They are guided through the process of building background knowledge about a text, setting a purpose for reading, and taking note of reading skills that will benefit them when they start reading the text. They are also guided through the process of using reading strategies and making connections while reading. Lastly, they are guided through the process of remembering details about the text and interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating the text after they have read it. In the middle of the year, students are more practiced at before, during, and after reading strategies. Their ability to access and interact with the text is increasing, and student answers to questions and classroom discussions are likely increasing in depth. By the end of the year students are able to read, comprehend, and examine texts independently through established routines for thinking about the text before reading it, asking self- generated questions of the text while reading it, and answering provided questions that ask them to refer to the text and reason with the text after reading it. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, students read excerpts from Beowulf, verse translation by Burton Raffel. In this selection students are asked to Make Inferences: “In canto 6, Wulfgar tells Beowulf and his men to leave their weapons at the door and go in to see Hrothgar, but Beowulf orders a few of his men to stay with their weapons. Ask students to discuss what this incident says about the culture and customs of the time and about Beowulf himself.”

• In Unit 4, students read “The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act lll,” A drama by William Shakespeare. In this selection students are asked to Make Inferences: “Ask students to infer why Macbeth asks Banquo if Fleance will go with Banquo on his errand. Ask students to infer the answer to the following questions: Why does Macbeth want Fleance killed along with Banquo? Why doesn't Macbeth order the murderers to carry out their deed at some distance from the palace?”

• In Unit 5, students read “To Althea from Prison,” and “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars,” lyric poems by Richard Lovelace. In this selection students are asked to Make Inferences: “Judging from the poem as a whole, ask students what the speaker's emotional mood seems to be. Is he really happy, or is his claim to liberty merely wish-fulfillment? Infer how Lucasta will respond and what the speaker will say to her to make her feel better.”

• In Unit 9, students read the anchor text, “B. Wordsworth,” a short story by V.S. Naipaul. In this selection students are asked to Make Inferences: “Have students infer why B. Wordsworth does not want the narrator to tell anyone about him and the mango tree and a coconut tree and the plum tree. Infer why B. Wordsworth initially tells the story. Why does B. Wordsworth eventually tell the narrator of the story is untrue?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.

The texts that are present are quantitatively supported by Lexile level and qualitatively supported by purpose and rationale; this is provided for every unit and found within The Scope and Sequence Guide located in the Annotated Teacher Edition. Each selection in the Teacher’s Edition also has a Preview the Model or Selection section that has notes on text complexity, difficulty considerations, and ease factor. In every Before Reading section, teachers are presented with objectives that students should master by the end of the text selection, and a Launch the Lesson section that gears students toward questions that reflect the theme(s) and issues present within the text selection. All of the texts chosen are connected and appropriate for Grade 12, while allowing for differentiation and flexibility for students and teachers.

Examples of instructional and text notes found in Grade 12 materials include the following:

In Unit 1, students read Beowulf, a heroic epic written by an anonymous author, translated by Burton Raffel. The word count for this text is 6,728. The Literary Focus is on Alliteration and Motif. The Preview the Selection, Text Complexity, Reading Level section identifies this text as Challenging, a Lexile level is not available. Difficulty Considerations are selection length, and long, complex sentences. Ease Factors are action-packed narrative. Instructors are presented with lesson objectives that after students studying this lesson, they will be able to do the following: "read, interpret, analyze and evaluate a heroic epic, understand and analyze Alliteration and Motif."

In Unit 3, students read Queen Elizabeth I’s speech, “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury.” The identified Lexile level for this speech is 1310L. The difficulty considerations for this text are vocabulary and style, while the ease factors are selection strength. Within the Annotated Teacher’s Edition, instructors are presented with lesson objectives that after students studying this lesson, they will be able to do the following: “read, interpret, analyze, and evaluate a speech given by Queen Elizabeth I before an impending battle; describe the historical context of the speech; analyze and understand purpose and parallelism; read an encyclopedia article to learn more about Elizabeth I; and develop writing and other language arts skills as specified in the Unit 3 Scope & Sequence Planning Guide." The rationale for reading Queen Elizabeth I’s speech is furthered in the Before Reading section: Historical Context, Meet the Author, Analyze Literature, and Set Purpose.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.

The materials are organized into nine chronological units based on time periods. Texts are not organized by Guided Reading, Directed Reading, and Independent Reading; instead, the Grade 12 textbook--aside from the differentiated textbook--releases all responsibility to students. The units are broken up into two to three subsections, further dividing the time period covered by the unit. Each unit begins with a timeline and an introduction to the time period, and each subsection contains relevant period selections, some including Before and After reading activities to support students in their understanding and comprehension. Anchor texts include extra reading support and are spread out over the course of the unit. Each unit subsection culminates in at least one Independent Reading selection with activities such as questions about the text and writing options. Within each unit, text types vary widely in genre, content, and length.

• In Unit 1, Anglo-Saxon Period (449-1066), students read multiple texts, each with a suggested pacing of one to four days. Text types include historical nonfiction, heroic epic, graphic novel, novel, elegy, and riddles. The selections vary in genre, length, and content. The unit begins with the anchor text, “The Conversion of King Edwin,” a piece of historical nonfiction by Saint Bede the Venerable, followed by a variety of other selections, including the Independent Reading selection, “Anglo-Saxon Riddles,” which is the last text of the unit.

• Unit 5 focuses on the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (1625-1798) and is divided into two parts. Part 1: Ideas Old and New has “Why so Pale and Wan,” a lyric poem by Sir John Suckling as its anchor text. Additional texts in Part 2 include lyric poems, sonnets, an epic poem from “Paradise Lost” by John Milton, a Bible story from Genesis 1-3, an allegory from The Pilgrim’s Progress, a haiku, a selection from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, a selection from Candide by Voltaire, two poems, an essay, and a selection from the novel, Oroonoko by Aphra Behn. Part 2: Life and Times has two anchor texts; one is “from the The Diary of Samuel Pepys” by Samuel Pepys, and the other is “from the Journal of a Plague Year” by Daniel Defoe. This section has a fictional journal, newspaper article, diary entry, how-to document, dictionary selection, a letter, a biography, an elegy, and a sonnet. The pacing for reading texts in this unit ranges from one to three days.

• Unit 7 focuses on the Victorian Era (1832-1901) and is divided into two parts. In Part 1, A Realistic Approach, students are presented with two anchor text readings: a dramatic poem, “My Last Duchess,” and a narrative poem, “Porphyria’s Lover,” both by Robert Browning. Part 2 focuses on Faith and Doubt and includes two anchor texts, both poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Overall, students experience fourteen poems--including sonnets--an online article, an elegy, and three short stories. The pacing for each text ranges between one and three days. Each selection varies in genre, length, and content. Examples of the various texts include Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet, “How Do I Love Thee?”, Charlotte Bronté’s novel, Jane Eyre, Rudyard Kipling’s short story, “The Mark of the Beast,” and Karen Asp’s article, “Cardiac Arrest in Healthy, Young, Athletes.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols to engage students in speaking and listening activities and discussions (small group, peer-to-peer, whole class) which encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

The materials provide opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions. There are opportunities for classroom discussion throughout the materials.The Program Planning Guide provides several evaluation forms for communication, such as: Communicating in a Pair Group (Self-Evaluation), Communicating in a Pair Group (Peer-Evaluation), Communicating in a Small Group, and Communicating in a Large Group. The Exceeding the Standards resource for speaking and listening includes rubrics for individual presentations. The Speaking & Listening rubric found in the Workshops gives explicit instruction on how students should share thoughts.

The EMC Passport Share feature gives students access to a digital tool that allows collaborative video discussions. Also in Passport, the Perform section allows for more formal video presentation opportunities. Using the Mirrors & Windows discussion prompts or the prompts in Extend the Text activities and projects makes for an engaging and efficient way for students to collaborate and analyze.

In Unit 1, Collaborative Learning: Compare Cultures students work in small groups to analyze the boasts made by human characters in Beowulf. Then compare and contrast the Anglo-Saxon idea of a boast to that of modern culture. How has the concept changed? Who in modern culture is known for boasting? Why? In a class discussion, compare your group’s ideas with those of other groups.

In Unit 5, students, " Communicate in a New Way: Milton expressed his ideas about self-evaluation and goal setting in traditional sonnets. Analyze how his expression of these ideas reflects the cultural and social views of the seventeenth century. Then choose a new way to communicate his ideas by writing a contemporary media piece, such as a rap song, an infomercial, a newspaper editorial, or a magazine article. Share your work with a small group. Then discuss what is and is not effective about how each piece communicates its message. Analyze whether Milton’s ideas have a modern application and how successfully each media piece reflects the cultural and social views of the twenty-first century."

In Unit 6, students read an excerpt from A Vindication on the Rights of Woman, an essay by Mary Wollstonecraft. One of the extension activities for the text asks students to debate gender equality: “Do social norms, including attitudes and behaviors, still favor the development of men’s abilities over those of women? Do men still have more opportunities than women? Hold a class debate on these issues. Choose an equal number of men and women from among your classmates to represent each debate team. Your teacher can act as moderator.”

In Unit 8, students study the definition and elements of an essay. A Student Activity in the Teacher Edition asks students to “hold a panel discussion on ways in which an essayist can reveal his or her personality to the audience: for example, with the use of first-person point of view, autobiographical anecdotes, quotations, allusions, or colloquialisms.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. grade-appropriate revision and editing) and short, focused projects.

The materials provide ample opportunities for students to practice a mix of both on-demand and process writing. At the end of every reading selection, students are presented with an After Reading section that includes an Extended Text section. Within this section, students are presented with two on-demand writing options. At the close of every unit, students are presented with a Writing Workshop opportunity, which is a process writing where students prewrite, draft, and revise over time. Students are given both examples and steps to follow to ensure success. There are focused projects that incorporate digital resources where appropriate, as explained in the Introduction to Media Text and Visual Media resource.

Examples of on-demand and process writing that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Unit 1 Writing Workshop, Narrative Writing section, students are given a process writing opportunity with the following prompts:

1. “Many of the stories you read, the movies you watch, and even the video games you play focus on the classic struggle between good and evil. In Old English storytelling, this type of tale often was told in a narrative poem, or one that tells a story. A traditional form of narrative is the epic, a long story often told in verse that features heroes and foes and provides a portrait of a culture.”

2. “How might you apply this traditional form to a modern-day story? Contemporary heroes may not face foes such as monsters and dragons, but they encounter a variety of challenges within the culture in which they live. In this assignment, you will write a narrative poem about a contemporary hero facing a contemporary foe.”

• In Unit 2, in the Annotated Teacher's Edition, students read “Robin Hood and Allen a Dale” an anonymous ballad. In the Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students are given an on-demand informative writing prompt: “Robin Hood seemed to have had charisma, the ability to attract followers. In a one-paragraph character analysis, identify the qualities that made him so appealing to so many people.”

• In Unit 5, students compose a satire through process argumentative writing. The writing prompt states: “For this assignment, you will write a satire on a current social behavior or institution you feel needs to be changed.” The assignment goes on to state the purpose and audience: “Purpose: To challenge the ideas of your audience; Audience: Someone who is unaware of your topic as a problem, disagrees with your point of view, or is undecided about your topic.” This a multi-step process that takes them through the entire process of prewriting, writing, and revising.

• In Unit 6, students the poem, “Casabianca,” by Felicia Dorothea Hemans. Once students complete the reading, they are presented with two writing options: "1. Choose an important historical or personal event that you are familiar with, and write a ballad about it. Identify or invent a person to be the focus of the ballad, and describe the heroic role he or she plays in the event. 2. Based on the information provided in the poem, write a character analysis for the boy. What can you infer about his values and beliefs? What can you infer about his relationship with his father?"

• At the beginning of Unit 7, students read an introduction to the time period, including information about “The Late Nineteenth Century,” “Growth of the British Empire,” and “Victorian Thought.” The Teacher Edition includes on-demand writing options to go along with this introduction: “1. Assume you are an avid reader living in Great Britain in Victorian times. On your bookshelf are works by Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and John Stuart Mill. What are your reactions to the theories of one of these thinkers? 2. Discuss England’s role in world affairs - economic, political, and cultural - during the Victorian Era. Was England too involved, or was England’s involvement simply expected or necessary? What were the short-term and long-term results of England’s involvement?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. (Writing opportunities incorporate digital resources/multimodal literacy materials where appropriate. Opportunities may include blended writing styles that reflect the distribution required by the standards.)

The materials provide students ample opportunities to engage in writing activities over the course of the year in a variety of modes, including argumentative, informative, narrative, and descriptive writing as well as research writing and writing to sources. Within these general categories, there is also a wide variety of specific writing tasks. Each of the reading selections is followed by two writing activities in two different modes, and the writing workshop at the end of each unit gives an in-depth exploration and practice of a specific mode. Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports). Each lesson offers a purpose for the writing, a teaching and modeling section, examples to help guide students, and independent writing time.

• In Unit 1, Annotated Teacher Edition students read from Beowulf, verse translation by Burton Raffel, interlinear translation by Robin Lamb. In the After Reading, Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students practice informative writing with the prompt: “Draft an essay that analyzes how the modern Grendel, by John Gardner, relates to the ancient Beowulf. You might consider how the themes of each work relate to the Germanic Society of its time; you might compare the portrayals of Grendel; or you might choose another topic to explore.”

• In Unit 2, Annotated Teacher Edition students read “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury,” a speech by Queen Elizabeth I. In the After Reading, Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students practice argumentative writing with the prompt: “Think of a cause you want to promote in your school, such as academic credit for volunteer work. Write a short persuasive speech, and present your argument at a student council meeting. During your presentation, maintain good eye contact, and appropriate speaking rate in volume, and clear enunciation. Use appropriate language conventions and gestures as well.”

• In Unit 5, students read an elegy written by Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” Once students complete their reading of Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” students are presented with two writing options in the Extend the Text section within After Reading: 1. Creative Writing: “An epitaph is a brief inscription or verse to be used as a written commemoration of someone who has died. Write an epitaph for a friend or loved one who has died or somebody still living for whom the epitaph could be used later. Write a couple of stanzas that capture something of the person’s spirit, values, or life.” 2. Informative Writing: “Write a reflective essay on death or on the way of life of unknown people that Gray celebrates in ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.’ In your essay, consider how the topic you chose relates to your life and to humanity at large. Use two or three concrete examples to illustrate your ideas.”

• In Unit 6, students read the following poems by William Blake: “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” and “London.” Once students read all three poems by Blake, students are presented with two writing options in the Extend the Text section within After Reading. 1.Creative Writing: “Write an allegorical poem about an animal. Consider what that animal might symbolize for you. Then use details that will appeal to your reader’s senses of touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing to describe the animal and develop the symbolic association.” 2. Informative Writing: “Imagine you are a nineteenth century social reformer who has observed the conditions portrayed by Blake in ‘London.’ Write an exposé (a formal statement of facts) for a newspaper, pointing out these conditions and offering a proposal for correcting them.”

• In Unit 7, after reading the sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, students complete a text extension activity where they compose a piece of creative writing: “Imagine someone has just written a poem for you. Write a journal entry describing what the poem says and how you react.”

• In Unit 8, after reading “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats, students complete a text extension activity where they compose a piece of descriptive writing: “Think of a place you would like to live - a locality you know or one you imagine. Write a descriptive paragraph, using imagery with sensory details to help your readers visualize themselves in this setting. Then exchange papers with a partner and ask each other questions about the place you each have portrayed.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support sophisticated analysis, argumentation, and synthesis.

The materials provide opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply research-based and evidence-based writing to support analyses, arguments, and synthesis. At the end of every reading selection, in the After Reading/Extend the Text section, students are presented with two on-demand writing options that prompt students to complete short, research-based writing using the texts read within the section. The writing prompts that require students to interact with the text explicitly state that the students need to cite evidence. Students experience research-based and evidence-based writing within every Writing Workshop section that occurs at the close of each unit. Many writing opportunities are focused around each student’s analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources.

• In Unit 1, students read from Beowulf, verse translation by Burton Raffel, interlinear translation by Robin Lamb. In the After Reading, Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students practice creative writing in response to the following prompt: “Write a script for a brief scene in an adventure movie about Beowulf. Decide how to update the dialogue and action to appeal to a contemporary audience.”

• In Unit 2, students read “The Prologue from The Canterbury Tales,” a frame tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill. In the After the Reading, Writing Options, Extend the Text, Informative Writing section, students respond to the following prompt: “Write a one-paragraph character analysis of one of the pilgrims introduced in ‘The Prologue.’ Reread a description of this character then imagine meeting him or her. How might he or she behave, say, at a baseball game, rock concert, or other modern- day event? Base your judgement on the details provided in ‘The Prologue.’”

• In Unit 2, students read “Robin Hood and Allen a Dale,” an anonymous ballad. In the Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students practice creative writing in response to the following prompt: “Shows like Saturday Night Live (SNL) have perfected the art of comedic parody. With a small group, write and perform a parody of ‘Robin Hood and Allen a Dale,’ focusing on the theme of the original work and how the characters relate to the economic ideas of their time. Keep in mind that humor of a parody comes from closely imitating the original work while exaggerating certain elements.

• In Unit 3, students choose a famous inspirational speech and compare and contrast it to Queen Elizabeth’s “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury.” In addition, they do the following: "Lifelong Learning - As a class, conduct research about the Elizabethan Era; Creative Writing - Write a journal entry as if you were Queen Elizabeth going to Tilbury."

• In Unit 4, in the Annotated Teacher’s Edition, students are given the following tasks: "1. For each of the following scenarios, write a short paragraph that incorporates at least four sensory details. Appeal to at least three different senses with the details you choose. 2. As students read MacBeth by William Shakespeare, have them complete a cause and effect chart to record the wide range of effects of MacBeth’s murder of Duncan."

• In Unit 5, students read two poems by Richard Lovelace: “To Althea, from Prison,” and “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars.” Once students read both poems, they are presented with two writing options at the end of the text selection in After Reading within Extend the Text. The second writing option requires students to analyze both poems through evidence-based writing to support their claims within a comparison-and-contrast essay: "Informative Writing: What does the word freedom mean in these two poems? Write a comparison-and-contrast essay examining how Lovelace’s poems ‘To Lucasta’ and ‘To Althea’ treat this topic. Organize your essay by analyzing one poem first and then the other.”

• In Unit 5, students read an excerpt from The Diary of Fanny Burney by Fanny Burney. Students also read Ruth Folit’s article, “Ten Steps to Keeping an On-Going Journal.” Once students complete both readings, they are presented with two writing options at the end of the text selection in After Reading within Extend the Text. Both writing options require students to reference evidence from the text to make responses evidence-based to support claims, analysis, and the evaluation of information:

  • Creative Writing: “Write a dialogue between a character and someone that character admires. Focus on the diction of each speaker. What degree of formality would the speaker naturally use in his or her words? What tone would each person take with the other? Keep these things in mind as you write the dialogue. Aim to have each person reveal something of himself or herself through the dialogue.”

  • Informative Writing: “Write an essay that evaluates the structure of ‘Ten Steps to Keeping an On-Going Journal.’ In particular, evaluate the format, subheads, and other structural elements for clarity (clearness) and organizational coherence (logical connections). Also evaluate how graphic representations, such as diagrams or charts, might have been used effectively.”

• In Unit 6, students read “The Lorelei” translated by Aaron Kramer. At the close of the text selection, students are presented with two writing options. The second writing option is heavy in research-based writing: “The Lorelei Rock has been a popular tourist site for years. Conduct some basic research about St. Goarshausen, Germany, and the Lorelei Rock. Then write a travel brochure for U.S. tourists describing the area attractions and explaining the legend of the Lorelei Rock.”

• In Unit 7, after reading an excerpt from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, students complete a text extension activity which requires them to use evidence from the text: “This excerpt reveals that Jane is a governess for a wealthy businessman she meets unknowingly one day. Write an essay analyzing the character of Jane. Cite evidence of her character from the excerpt.”

• In Unit 8, after reading an excerpt from A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, students complete a Text Extension activity which requires them to use evidence from the text: “In the paragraph that begins on page 1002 and extends to page 1003, Woolf seems to say that it would have been both impossible and possible for a woman in Shakespeare’s day to have had Shakespeare’s genius. Write a brief essay in which you explain the effect this sort of ambiguity has on the reader. Use textual evidence to support your inferences and conclusions.”

• In Unit 9, after reading “The Horses,” by Ted Hughes, students complete a Text Extension activity which requires them to use evidence from the text: “In the last two stanzas, the speaker imagines himself in the future. Based on details from the poem, write a brief character analysis describing the speaker as an older man. Consider how his views of nature might relate to the concepts of aging and the cycle of life.”