Owen Lipsett Cheongna Dalton School 8th Grade, First Term Unit Plan: Creative Writing and Grammar

The first terms curriculum is intended to help students become comfortable with t heir writing through a combination of creative writing exercises and regular ins truction in grammar. Three classes a week will be devoted to creative writing, with the fourth devoted covering grammar and independent reading. General Objectives: General Objectives Students will hone their writing skills by: Writing responses to a number of prompts of varying lengths both in class and on the class blog Writing a number of creative pieces of varying lengths Creating a personal blog and presenting their best work from the blog to the cla ss Frequent work on grammar Students will hone their critical thinking and listening skills by: Closely reading the assigned texts Frequent group work Students will hone their speaking skills by: Offering daily insightful comments in class of a personal and literary-based nat ure Presenting selected work from their blogs to the class Overview of Assignments and Objectives for Individual Classes: 1. Introduction to the Class a. Written Introduction/Spoken Introduction to a Classmate b. Reflection on differences between them c. My Name exercise d. Sharing of my name exercise e. Teacher introduces class and expectations for the year f. Homework: Letter introducing student to class 2. Letters Workshop (Must bring computer) a. Teacher explains workshop for letters b. Students workshop letters with one another c. Students edit letters and then share letters with another classmate d. Students again edit letters and meet another classmate e. Letters due to teacher at the end of class f. Distributes letters to students who will then rewrite the letter of a th ird person; they may also add personal impressions g. Homework: Write profile of classmate based on letters and bring at leas t 5 questions to ask based on the profile 3. Interviewing and Profiling a Classmate a. Students share profile with classmate to make sure there is no incorrect information b. Students interview classmate c. Students update profile to reflect interview d. Homework: Write profile and bring two copies 4. Introduction to Grammar and Independent Reading a. Teacher Introduces Parts of Speech i. Nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles

b. c. select d. 5. 6. 7. a. 8. a. 9. a. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Students identify parts of speech in the profiles they have written Teacher introduces students to Goodreads and takes students to library to independent reading books Homework: Write two paragraphs about something that interests you Writing About an Unfamiliar Object (Mate Cup) Writing About a Work of Art (I) Writing About a Work of Art (II) Homework: Turn in work of art writing Grammar and Independent Reading 1: Nouns and Pronouns Homework: Write about your first two weeks of school Introduction to Blogging Homework: Turn one of your pieces into a blog post Workshopping and Commenting on Blog Posts In-Class Reflection Grammar and Independent Reading 2: Verbs Writing About Your Home Assignment Given Library Research In-Class Writing Workshop on Home Assignment Grammar and Independent Reading 3: Adjectives and Adverbs Feature Article Assignment Feature Article Research Feature Article Workshop of Drafts Grammar and Independent Reading 4: Prepositions Feature Article Final Drafts Due by End of Class Opportunity to Discuss Blog Selections in Class Opportunity to Discuss Blog Selections in Class Grammar and Independent Read 5: Conjunctions and Articles Blog Presentations Blog Presentations In-Class Reflection/Discussion on Blog Project Grammar Review and Culminating Assessment

8th Grade, Second Term Unit Plan: Poetry and Short Stories The second terms curriculum is intended to help students become comfortable with poetry and short stories. They will build on their work in the previous term by writing an essay on the use of a literary or craft element in a story of their choice. General Objectives: General Objectives Students will hone their writing skills by: Writing responses to a number of prompts of varying lengths both in class and on the class blog Writing an analytical essay exploring a single literary or craft element in a st ory of their choice Students will hone their critical thinking and listening skills by: Closely reading the assigned texts Daily class discussions Frequent group work Students will hone their speaking skills by: Offering daily insightful comments in class of a personal and literary-based nat ure Overview of Assignments and Objectives for Individual Classes: 1. Poems 1: Self-Esteem a. I m Nobody - Emily Dickinson b. Provide, Provide - Robert Frost

c. The Silken Tent - Robert Frost d. Among School Children - William Butler Yeats 2. Poems 1: Day 2 3. Poems 2: Fragility of Life a. Out, Out - Robert Frost b. Not Waving But Drowning - Stevie Smith c. Ozymandias - Percy Bysse Shelley d. If I Should Learn - Edna St. Vincent Millay 4. Poems 2: Day 2 5. Poems 3: Fragility of the Planet a. Fire and Ice - Robert Frost b. Inversnaid Gerard Manley Hopkins c. For Whom the Bell Tolls John Donne 6. Poems 4: Still Life a. This Is Just to Say - William Carlos Williams b. Home Thoughts, from Abroad - Robert Browning c. This Englishwoman Is So Refined - Stevie Smith d. maggie and milly and molly and may - e.e. cummings e. Disillusionment of Ten O Clock - Wallace Stevens 7. Poems 4: Day 2 8. Found Poems Short Stories 9. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Ambrose Bierce plot) 10. The Catbird Seat (James Thurber Character) 11. The Masque of the Red Death (Poe Setting) 12. A Telephone Call (Dorothy Parker Point of View) 13. The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry Irony) 14. Maud Martha and New York/ the Japanese Quince (Symbol) 15. The Last Lesson (Alphonse Daudet) (Theme) 16. Quiz on Stories/ All Summer in a Day (Ray Bradbury) 17. Marigolds by Eugenia Collier 18. The Ministers Black Veil by Hawthorne 19. Through The Tunnel by Doris Lessing 20. To Build a Fire by Jack London 21. A Summers Reading by Bernard Malamud 22. The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant 23. The Crop by Flannery OConnor 24. The Open Window by Saki/ Intro to essays 25. Workshop 1 (Thesis)/(Introduction) 26. Workshop 2 (Body paragraphs) 27. Workshop 3/Conclusion 28. Last Day 8th Grade, Third Term Unit Plan: To Kill A Mockingbird This term is intended to introduce students to reading fiction and also to the c oncept of empathy. As a class, students will study some of the issues raised by the text. Students will then be assigned a character from the novel for whom t hey will write and perform a monologue. General Objectives: General Objectives Students will hone their writing skills by: Writing responses to a number of prompts of varying lengths both in class and on the class blog Writing and performing a monologue from a character in the books perspective. Students will hone their critical thinking and listening skills by:

Closely reading the assigned texts Daily class discussions Frequent group work Students will hone their speaking skills by: Offering daily insightful comments in class of a personal and literary-based nat ure Overview of Assignments and Objectives for Individual Classes: 1. Introduction to Harper Lee and the World of the South 2. Chapters 1-3 3. Chapters 4-6 4. Chapters 7-9 5. Chapters 10-11 6. Vocabulary/Reading Quiz a. Discussion of the first half of the book 7. Chapters 12-14 8. Chapters 15-17 9. Chapters 18-20 10. Chapters 20-23 11. Chapters 24-26 12. Chapters 27-29 13. Chapters 30-31 14. Discussion of the Book as a Whole 15. Trial Day 1 16. Trial Day 2 17. Mockingbird Monologues 18. Mockingbird Monologues 19. Mockingbird Monologues 20. Mockingbird Monologue Performances 21. Mockingbird Monologue Performance 8th Grade, Fourth Term Unit Plan: Romeo and Juliet The third terms curriculum is intended to introduce students to drama generally a nd Shakespearean drama in particular. They will also complete a final project p resenting a scene from the play to the class. General Objectives: General Objectives Students will hone their writing skills by: Writing responses to a number of prompts of varying lengths both in class and on the class blog Performing a scene from the play as part of a group Students will hone their critical thinking and listening skills by: Closely reading the assigned texts Daily class discussions Frequent group work Students will hone their speaking skills by: Offering daily insightful comments in class of a personal and literary-based nat ure Performing a scene from the play Overview of Assignments and Objectives for Individual Classes: 1. Introduction and Act 1 Prologue 2. Acting Act 1, Scene 1(Day 1) 3. Acting Act 1, Scene 1 (Day 2) 4. Viewpoints on Love and Marriage (Act 1, Scenes 2-3) 5. Queen Mab Speech (Act 1, Scene 4)

6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Elizabethan Dance and Act 1, Scene 5 Act 1, Scene 5 (Performance) Act 2 Prologue Act 2 Prologue Promptbooks (Act 2, Scene 1-2) Promptbooks (Act 2, Scene 1-2) The Balcony Scene (Act 2, Scene 2) Language Tricks (Act 2, Scene 3) Language Tricks (Act 2, scenes 4-6) Tableaux Vivants (Act 3, Scene 1) Word Study of Act 3, Scene 2 Cutting the Script Subtext, Stress, and Inflection 1 (Act 4, Scenes 1-2) Subtext, Stress, and Inflection 1 (Act 4, Scenes 1-2) Imagery in Act 4, Scene 3 Looking for Multiple Causes (Act 4, Scenes 4-5) The Fate Debate (Act 5, Scenes 1-3) Romeos Last Speech (Act 5, Scene 3) Culminating Lesson Acting Companies 1 Acting Companies 2 Acting Companies 3 Acting Companies 4

9th Grade, Fifth Term Unit Plan: Greek Mythology The fifth terms curriculum is intended to introduce students to Greek mythology. As an ongoing assignment, students will create a Facebook page for their Greek god and will make a presentation on that god to the class involving both researc h and reflections on the Facebook page. 1. 2. What Is Mythology?

General Objectives: General Objectives Students will hone their writing skills by: Writing responses to a number of prompts of varying lengths both in class and on the class blog Writing an analytical essay exploring the use of Biblical references, themes, or imagery in a work of art of their choice. Students will hone their critical thinking and listening skills by: Closely reading the assigned texts Daily class discussions Frequent group work Students will hone their speaking skills by: Offering daily insightful comments in class of a personal and literary-based nat ure Overview of Assignments and Objectives for Individual Classes: