Judith J. Katz
There are two things I have discovered about students: they cannot resist a direct question and they are absolutely aware of what they don't do well. In years of exceedingly unscientific polling I have asked my students what they wish they understood better, and without fail the majority of them wish they had a better vocabulary and a better sense of grammar and sentence structure. This unit will help students improve in both areas and that should not be kept a secret from the students. I believe in advertising the benefits and objectives, of the students' work to them throughout the unit.
The purpose of this unit is to give ELA and Creative Writing students a working understanding of some of the literary elements that contribute to recognizing and writing with a unique voice.
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1 Students will use reading to become better writers and writing to become better readers.
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2 Students will use a common vocabulary of literary elements to read, analyze, and synthesize the voices of a variety of great writers.
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3 Students will learn how to use the same common vocabulary of literary elements to analyze, discuss, and guide the writing and revision in their own and the writing of their peers.
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4 Students will begin to understand how master writers create voice and make meaning.
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5 Students will begin to learn how to use a master text as a map that can help lead them to their own authentic voice.
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6 Students will begin to connect the elements, skills, and strategies they are learning across the curriculum including as a means of organizing thoughts and words into essays that meet the CAPT and SAT standards.
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7 Students will be expected to listen with a pen (take notes) during readings and discussions of the master-works studied.
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8 Students will share their prior knowledge with each other and use that knowledge to connect to the new knowledge we hope they'll gain.
