Unit+1+The+New+World

Unit 1: The New World


 * __OVERVIEW__**

This unit focuses primarily on nonfiction prose—including sermons and diaries—and some poetry in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Students examine the works of some of the earliest settlers in various parts of the “new world.” They consider the significance of the intersection of Native American, European, and African cultures. They explore whether conflicts were inevitable and how language and religion served as barriers and as bridges. Students look for emerging themes in American literature, such as "The American Dream."


 * __FOCUS STANDARDS__**


 * These Focus Standards have been selected for the unit from the Common Core State Standards.


 * -RL.11–12.4:** Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
 * -RL.11–12.9:** Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
 * -RI.11–12.6:** Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
 * -W.11–12.2:** Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
 * -SL.11–12.1:** Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
 * -L.11–12.3:** Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.


 * __SUGGESTED STUDENT OBJECTIVES__**

-Identify emerging themes in early American literature. -Explain the First Great Awakening and how it affected religious belief in Colonial America. -Identify and explain elements of Puritan literature. -Compare and contrast the experiences of America’s earliest settlers, as revealed through the reading material -Explain the role of religion in early American life.


 * SUGGESTED TEXTS:**

Drama:

//-The Crucible// (Arthur Miller)

Poetry:

-“An Hymn to the Evening” (Phillis Wheatley) -“On Being Brought from Africa to America” (Phillis Wheatley) -“The Day of Doom” (Michael Wigglesworth) -“The Sot-Weed Factor” (Ebenezer Cook) -“To His Excellency General Washington” (Phillis Wheatley) -“To My Dear and Loving Husband” (Anne Bradstreet) -“Upon the Burning of Our House” (Anne Bradstreet) -“Huswifery” – (Edward Taylor)

Nonfiction:

-//A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson// (Mary Rowlandson) -//A Key into the Language of America// (Roger Williams) (excerpts) -The Mayflower Compact -Of Plymouth Plantation (William Bradford) (excerpts) -"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (Langston Hughes) (OOP) (EA) -//The Selling of Joseph: A Memorial// (Samuel Sewall) (OOP) -"The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America’s First Black Poet and Encounters with the Founding Fathers" (Henry Louis Gates, Jr.) (excerpts) -“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (July 8, 1741) (Jonathan Edwards)

Art:

-Charles Willson Peale, Mrs. James Smith & Grandson (1776) -John Singleton Copley, Mrs. George Watson (1765) -John Valentine Haidt, Young Moravian Girl (ca. 1755-1760) -Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby), Portrait of a Woman (1770)


 * __ASSESSMENTS:__**


 * Note: After reading and discussing a work or pairing of works as a class, students prepare for seminars and essays by reflecting individually, in pairs, and/or in small groups on a given seminar or essay question. In this way, students generate ideas. (Seminar and essay assignments may include more than one question. Teachers may choose one or all of the questions to explore in the course of the seminar; students should choose one question for the essay.) Seminars should be held before students write essays so that they may explore their ideas thoroughly and refine their thinking before writing. Textual evidence should be used to support all arguments advanced in seminars and in all essays. Page and word counts for essays are not provided here, but teachers should consider the suggestions regarding the use of evidence, for example, to determine the likely length of effective essays.


 * Language Usage:**

Examine one of the texts studied in this unit for usage (e.g., words or conventions) that differs from contemporary usage. Discuss with classmates online or in class whether and/or how the meanings of words and/or sentence structure has changed since that time. "Translate” instances of antiquated syntax into contemporary sentences; determine whether and/or how the meaning of the sentence is affected by the translation. (L.11-12.1a)


 * Seminar Preparation:**

Reflect on seminar questions, take notes on your responses in your journal, and note the page numbers of the textual evidence you will refer to in your seminar and/or essay answers. Share your notes with a partner for feedback and guidance. Have you interpreted the text correctly? Is your evidence convincing? (RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.10, SL.11-12.1)


 * Seminar Question/Essay Preparation:**


 * 1) Could some contemporary American approaches to religion be traced to Puritan origins? Why or why not?
 * 2) In a tragedy, the hero is usually destroyed by a fatal flaw or weakness within himself or herself. Is this the case with John Proctor, or is his destruction the result of contextual forces and circumstances? In answering this question, think about: the role of puritanical religious beliefs, fate, pride, sexism, culture, setting, and human personality.


 * Essay:**

Could some contemporary American approaches to religion be traced to Puritan origins? Why or why not? Write an argumentative essay in which you use at least three pieces of textual evidence to support your position. . (RI.11-12.4, RI.11-12.9, W.11-12.2)


 * Essay # 1: ** Could some contemporary American approaches to religion be traced to Puritan origins? Why or why not? Write an argumentative essay in which you use at least three pieces of textual evidence to support your position. (RI.11-12.4, RI.11-12.9, W.11-12.2)


 * Essay #2 **

In a tragedy, the hero is usually destroyed by a fatal flaw or weakness within himself or herself. Is this the case with John Proctor, or is his destruction the result of contextual forces and circumstances? In answering this question, think about: the role of puritanical religious beliefs, fate, pride, sexism, culture, setting, and human personality. (RI.11-12.4, RI.11-12.9, W.11-12.2)


 * Further Opportunities for Mastery:**

Art, Speaking, and Listening:

Examine the artworks listed. What does each image show about "Young America”? Examine the Copley painting in comparison to the Haidt. What can you learn about each of these women and their lives in America? How are the women different? Carefully examine the iconography present in each image. Compare the Peale, Copley, and Wright paintings. What can we learn about the new nation from the way these painters worked? Do you detect a European influence? What stylistic aspects or materials might American artists be borrowing from England, judging by the similarities between the Wright (English) and Copley or Peale (American) portraits? (SL.11-12.2, SL.11-12.3)

Film, Reading Literature, and Creating Original Media:

View a staged or film version of //The Crucible//. Then discuss this question: Is John Proctor a tragic figure? Why or why not? Compare him to other tragic figures studied in ninth grade, such as Oedipus Rex. Create an original documentary in which you use at least three pieces of visual evidence to support your position. Your teacher may give you the opportunity to share your initial thoughts on the classroom blog in order to get feedback from your classmates. (RL.11-12.3, RL.11-12.7)