The teaching implemented in this unit reflects the Common Core State Standards for Reading Fictional and Informational texts, Writing, Speaking and Listening, the College Board requirements for the AP English Literature and Composition course, and the Language Arts Curriculum for the New Haven Public District – our Language Arts Curriculum adheres to the CCSS standards. Specifically, this unit will teach students to analyze complex ideas and sequences of events in informational texts (biography), explain how specific events or ideas interact and develop, and read and analyze complex thematic ideas, structures, and other literary techniques in fictional texts. It will also focus on the analysis of multiple interpretations of the stylistic choices made by the author and its effects on the thematic idea(s), the overall meaning of the text, as well as its aesthetic impact. The unit will also focus on argumentative writing supported by valid reasons and relevant and sufficient evidence (final assessment for AP students), and informative/explanatory writing (personal statement or college essay for College students). Both the argumentative and the informative/explanatory writings will be sufficiently supported with evidence from literary and/or informative texts. Throughout the entire unit students will initiate or present and discuss in one–on–one and in groups. The application of differentiated instruction with flexible groups and modified strategies facilitates the achievement of the above mentioned standards.
