Unit 1: Authors as Mentors
In this unit, readers will determine the themes of literary texts and analyze how they are developed by plot and character as well as how they are impacted by words and phrases, citing evidence to support their analysis. They will also provide a summary of texts distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
Writers will craft narratives, drawing from literary mentor texts, to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Unit 2: Becoming Critical Consumers
In this unit, readers will determine the central ideas of literary nonfiction texts and analyze how they are conveyed through particular details. Readers will also analyze how key aspects of texts are both shaped and elaborated upon.
Writers will engage in research, assessing the credibility of sources, in order to write informative/ explanatory texts which examine a topic, convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
Unit 3: The Power of Argument
In this unit, readers will analyze literary nonfiction, considering authors’ points of view, purposes, arguments, claims, reasoning and evidence. They will also consider the contributions of smaller parts of a text to the overall structure and development of ideas.
Writers will draw evidence from nonfiction texts in order to support analysis, reflection, and research and will write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Unit 4: Analyzing Author’s Craft
In this unit, readers will analyze how structure contributes to the development of theme, setting or plot in literary texts and how authors develop the point of view of narrators or speakers.
Writers will craft narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Unit 5: Examining Different Approaches
In this unit, readers will compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text. They will also compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.
Writers will draw evidence from literary texts in order to craft informative/ explanatory texts that examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
Unit 6: Inquiry Into Arguments/Integrating Media
In this unit, readers will integrate information presented in different media or formats as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue. They will also compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another.
Writers will conduct research, gathering relevant information from a variety of sources, in order to write and present arguments incorporating multimedia components in support of their claims.