Unit Design Project 1

Bryan Kinsman
Unit Design Project!
4/29/2018
ENG 480 - Glerum

The Unfamiliar Genre

Project

Introduction to:
The Southern Gothic
Unit Design Project 2

The Calendar

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week 1 Introduction to Mini-Lesson #1 – Vocabulary/ A Rose for A Rose for
the genre – continued Grammar. Emily Emily
historical introduction to Author bio discussion and discussion and
context the Faulkner, group work group work
genre/historical begin reading first half second half
context A Rose for Finish reading
Emily with
class time
Week 2 Begin Continue Vocabulary/ ‘A Streetcar Author bio of
watching ‘A watching ‘A Grammar. Named Desire’ O’Connor
Streetcar Streetcar Named Finish ‘A Discussion and begin Reading
Named Desire’ Streetcar in class short O’Connor’s A
Desire’ with Named writing Good Man is
movie Desire’ Hard to Find
questions class time
Week 3 A Good Man A Good Man is Vocabulary/ Mini-Lesson Author bio
is Hard to Hard to Find Grammar #2 Poe The Tell-
Find discussion and Quiz on a Tale Heart,
discussion and group work story – A Introduction to The Black Cat,
group work second half Good Man is short writing Annabel Lee
first half Hard to Find assignment in class
Finish reading reading
Week 4 Poe The Tell- Introduce Lit Vocabulary/ Lit circle Computer lab
Tale Heart, Circles/Faulkner’s Grammar meeting writing/
The Black Cat, The Sound and In class In-class time research day
Annabel Lee the Fury reading The for for paper
discussion and Sound and writing/reading
group work the Fury
Week 5 Mini-Lesson Lit circle meeting Vocabulary/ Lit circle Peer editing
#3 Creative In-class time for Grammar meeting for creative
writing poetry writing/reading In class In-class time writing
workshop reading The for projects/rough
Sound and writing/reading drafts due
the Fury
Week 6 Holiday Lit circle meeting Vocabulary/ Lit circle final Creative
(There aren’t In-class time for Grammar meetings/ writing papers
going to be 6 writing/reading nonfiction complete novel due
weeks read-along and final class
uninterrupted!) discussion
Unit Design Project 3

Mini-Lesson #1

Lesson Plan
Teacher: Bryan Kinsman
Topic: An Examination of the Southern Dialect in Southern Gothic Literature
Grade: 9th
Standard: Arizona English Language Arts Standards for Writing - 9-10.RL.4 Determine the
meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
Materials: Paper, writing utensils, thinking caps : )
Objective:
- Students will understand the significance of the Southern vernacular and dialect in culture and
literary form.
- Students will be able to understand writing and speaking in the Southern vernacular by
describing the meaning of passages in their own words.

Opening Google Slide on Southern 6 Minutes

Vernacular language as
portrayed in the literature
of the Southern Gothic

Model Teacher will describe 5 Minutes

examples of writing in the
style of the Southern
Vernacular, beginning from
simple to complex

Practice Students will describe the 4 minutes

meaning of sentences in the
style provided on slides to
best of their ability using
their understanding of
Southern vernacular.

Closing Wrap up! Students will 3 minutes

share their answers in
groups or pairs and discuss
how they arrived at
meaning, and how difficult
Unit Design Project 4

it was to attain.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12-cCh8E2wcrJ2yrV-
Fh78ExNjajmL0WBjwXU4d3Go_A/edit#slide=id.g39be61b48f_0_202
Personal Connection to Topic
I was drawn to the topic of vernacular speech and writing because people all over the world and
even in different parts of the same state as I live in have different ways of writing and speaking.
It would be remiss to pretend, as an English educator, that all people think, speak, and write in
the same way, or worse, that all people DON’T yet that it is proper for all people to do so.
Faulkner, who is heavily discussed here, has a masterful rendering of this style, and is worth
discussing at least once, but probably several times throughout a unit such as this.

Extension Ideas:
This idea could be extended basically by being repeated every week or with every reading. I
think with this genre in particular, and especially with texts like The Sound and the Fury,
students may find much of the language to be rather incomprehensible. Frequent approaches to
teaching this grammar and vernacular, which is broken and disjointed, will help them to garner
an understanding of it, and not leave them either sitting with their hands under their butts or
going to SparkNotes for everything.
Unit Design Project 5

Mini-Lesson #2

Lesson Plan
Teacher: Bryan Kinsman
Topic: Writing Effective Paragraphs
Grade: 9th
Standard: Arizona English Language Arts Standards for Writing - 9-10.W.4 Produce clear and
coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience. (Grade‐ specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards
1–3 above.) 9-10.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a
specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of
Language standards 1–3 up to and including grades 9–10.)
Materials: Laptop (access to Pear Deck, Microsoft Word or applicable program, or school
software/site), paper and writing utensil.
Objective:
- Students will understand the significance of effective paragraph text writing for informational
text creation.
- Students will be able to construct an effective thesis statement.

Opening Instructor will have 10 minutes

students open
document/share document
and view notes on effective
paragraph writing, paying
particular attention to thesis
writing component.

Model Teacher will briefly explain 3 Minutes

and demonstrate activity to
students, asking students to
construct a thesis from most
recently read text A Good
Man is Hard to Find

Practice Students will get into 15 Minutes

groups and discuss essential
Unit Design Project 6

aspects of the text to

determine how they would
go about creating a thesis
that describes the text they
read and have discussed,
writing it down and then
sharing it with the class.
Instructor will write each
one on the class and class
will ask class/other groups
to evaluate each thesis based
on presentation guidelines
and notes.

Closing Students will take notes on 5 minutes

the evaluations of instructor
and classmates in order to
improve their
understanding of writing
and incorporate their
learning into their writing
practice.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BhjIfXu0tbKEZjHsXDE0QRWTf1OonKd4msf6F
qG25Cg/edit#slide=id.g39bf6a6ea0_0_437
Personal Connection to Topic
I wanted to incorporate thesis writing into this project because it’s a huge portion of any English
class and going about it in this way seemed highly effective because it attacks the problem head
on. I rarely had opportunities to just sit down and talk about only the thesis in any of my High
School classes and I would have likely benefitted from having done so.

Extension Ideas:
This idea could be extended into a series of writing assignments where students submit one
paragraph essays that are limited to certain word counts, between 200 and 300. This might really
get students to focus on the small aspects of writing before they worry about the bigger struggles
of writing papers which are so common in High School and undergraduate studies. If they’re
only writing one paragraph but are asked to put the same amount of effort as they would a
regular essay, they will have to write very tightly and consider every sentence and every word
with great care, which will help them become very skill and learn to think about what they put
down on the page.
Unit Design Project 7

Mini-Lesson #3

Lesson Plan
Teacher: Bryan Kinsman
Topic: Creative poetry writing
Grade: 9th
Standard: Arizona English Language Arts Standards for Writing - Write narratives to develop
real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well‐chosen details, and well‐
structured event sequences. a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or
observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events. b. Use narrative techniques,
such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences,
events, and/or characters. c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on
one another to create a coherent whole. d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive
details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or
characters.
Materials: Markers, paper, writing utensil.
Objective:
- Students will create original poems by evaluating words’ syntactical arrangement and
eliminating them in order to create new arrangements, and thus new meanings.

Opening Teacher will describe 10 minutes

fundamental aspects of
poetry writing and
techniques of sentence
crafting, explaining
methodology that can be
used to create both formal
and non-formal aesthetic.

Model Teacher will model blackout 2 minutes

method. Super easy

Practice In groups, students will 8 minutes

spend 8 minutes going over
a sheet of written paper
(story) with a marker,
Unit Design Project 8

blacking out portions of the

writing to make their own
poem with the remaining
words.

Closing Students will share their 5 minutes

poems with their groups
and discuss their thoughts
about the creative
approaches each one used to
make sentences and ideas.

Personal Connection to Topic

Poetry is a great way to get students to practice creative writing, even if they are not well versed
in it or don’t feel proficient in it. I think it is a good differentiation from the type of
Unit Design Project 9

Short Assignment

Creative Writing: Delving into the world of the Macabre

80 Points
You will write a creative short story which employs at least two of the themes and ideas found in
the literature we have discussed and analyzed over the course of the past few weeks. The idea is
not to necessarily create a story that copies a story you’ve read or create a story in the style of the
Southern Gothic, but rather to employ concepts which are prevalent within it, such as themes like
Isolation, individuality, violence, empathy, courage, destruction, the past, and so forth; in other
words, write your own gothic! The essay you write will be required to be a minimum of four
pages long and it will be due on the Friday at the end of the Unit the day after the Literature
Circle readings of Falkner’s The Sound and the Fury are completed.
In your writing, you will be asked to create interesting characters and use dialogue to get points
across as well as through narration.
Furthermore, and above all, be
expressive! This is an opportunity to
have fun and utilize the skills you’ve
built upon in the writing and
workshopping you’ve done throughout
this course. Remember that you are not
limited to using any dialects and that
you are encouraged to utilize good
diction or take interesting approaches
towards conversation and language
within the vernacular and tone of your
paper. If you have any further
questions, you can speak to me during
class, at lunch, or send me an email.
Unit Design Project 10

Reflection