Unit One: Building Blocks

excerpted from Mr. Malley's syllabus...

Unit One – Building Blocks
Approximate # of Weeks: 3
Text(s)
• Selected poems from X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama as well as copies of other poems to supplement. John Updike's A & P.
• Chapters 15, 16 , 17 from Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama covering connotation, imagery, and figurative language and the “Explicating” sections from Chapters 41 & 42

Big Questions/Big Ideas
How do smaller units of meaning (words, syntax, devices) affect the overall meaning (tone, theme)?

Essential Skills – In this unit, students will review/be introduced to basic skills for literary analysis. As the poem is an accessible, self-contained unit of meaning, it’s a good way to start off looking at how the pieces (language, devices) affect the whole (tone, theme, etc.). We will study these small works and eventually build up to Updike’s short story. Students will practice annotating and will write an explication. Writing mini-lessons will be delivered on effectively integrating quotations and logical structuring of evidence and critical commentary.

Assessment
• Nightly annotations
• analytical essay explicating a poem (500 – 750 words)