Junior English

TOPIC - Revolutionary Writers

by Linda Pont, Kewanee, Illinois

TIME - 13 days (objective test at end of unit)

KEY TOPICS - writing with a purpose: parallel structure, persuasive techniques

GRADING SCALE - 365 possible points

365- 329 =A, 328-292=B, 291-256=C, 255-219=D

C-Layer - must do #1-6, and 7 or 8 and 9 at this level

(record your score for each activity when it is returned)

*everyone must do at all layers

_____1. *Read: Background information pp.88 - 95

from The Autobiography pp.100 -108

"Speech in the Virginia Convention" pp. 116 -119

from The Crisis, Number 1 pp. 122-124

"To His Excellency, General Washington" pp. 129-130

"The Declaration of Independence" pp. 134 -136

"Letter to Her Daughter from the New White House"

pp. 142 - 144

from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of

Olaudah Equiano pp. 153 - 155

2. *Take quizzes on: (10 pts. each)

_____ "The Declaration of Independence"

_____ from The Autobiography

_____3. *vocab worksheets on : (10 pts. ea.)

#1 - "Speech in the Virginia Convention"

#2 - from The Crisis, Number 1

_____4. *Notes on background reading (10 pts.)

_____5. *Background info quiz (this is a group quiz) (30 pts.)

6. *Lectures on: (must take notes on 5) (10 pts. ea.) (if you are

doing B or A layer, do not mark points here)

_____Franklin lecture _____Jefferson lecture

_____Henry lecture _____Adams lecture

_____Paine lecture _____Equiano lecture

_____Wheatley lecture

_____7. *Group project #1 - Broadsheet (20 points)

_____8. *Group project #2 - Aphorisms (20 points)

_____9. *Journal entries: _____JE #1 _____JE#4

_____JE#2 _____JE#5

_____JE#5

(must do 3 ) (10 pts. ea.) (if you are doing B or A layers, do

not mark points here)

B-Layer - must do 1-3 and 4 or 5 and 6-9 at this layer

1. vocab worksheets on: (10 pts.ea.)

_____ #3 - from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah

Equiano

_____ #4 - "Letter to Her Daughter from the New White House"

_____2. "Speech in the Virginia Convention" worksheet (20 pts.)

_____3. from The Crisis, Number 1 worksheet (20 pts.)

_____4. Partner Project #1 Parallel structure (20 pts.)

_____5. Partner Project #2 Persuasive techniques (20 pts.)

_____6. In-class writing assignment (25 pts.)

_____7. Interview (30 pts.)

8. Lectures on: (must take notes on 6) (10 pts. ea.) (if you are

doing A layer, do not mark points here)

_____Franklin lecture _____Jefferson lecture

_____Henry lecture _____Adams lecture

_____Paine lecture _____Equiano lecture

_____Wheatley lecture

9. Journal entries: _____JE #1 _____JE#4

_____JE#2 _____JE#5

_____JE#5

(must do 4 ) (10 pts. ea.) (if you are doing A layer, do

not mark points here)

A-Layer - do 1 or 2 and 3 - 4

_____1. Individual Project #1 Design a House (50 pts.)

_____2. Individual Project #2 Author scrapbook (50 pts.)

3. Lectures on: (must take notes on 7) (10 pts. ea.) (if you are

doing A layer, do not mark points here)

_____Franklin lecture _____Jefferson lecture

_____Henry lecture _____Adams lecture

_____Paine lecture _____Equiano lecture

_____Wheatley lecture

4. Journal entries: _____JE #1 _____JE#4

_____JE#2 _____JE#5

_____JE#5

(must do 5 ) (10 pts. ea.) (if you are doing A layer, do

not mark points here)

Revolutionary writers

option explanations

C-Layer

Read Selections - Since all the other work is based on these readings, it will be rather hard to go very far with the other activities without being familiar with the selections -- so READ! We will listen to "Speech at the Virginia Convention" on Day Two and "To His Excellency , General Washington" on Day Seven.

Take quizzes on from The Autobiography and from "Declaration of Independence" - these quizzes are multiple choice questions. I will give The Autobiography quiz on Day Four and "Declaration of Independence quiz on Day Nine. If you choose not to take the quizzes on those designated days or you are absent, your quiz will be in short answer form.

Notes on background reading - Your book does a good job of introducing the literature in each section by providing some historical background relevant to the time period which can help you understand the literature better. Read this information carefully and take notes on anything you find significant. Not only will you pick up points for doing so, but also you will have your notes for the group quiz. I will check these notes on Day Five.

Background info quiz - This is a group fill-in-the-blank quiz. Your group will have 15 minutes to complete this quiz on Day Five. You may use any notes you took while doing this reading. The last 5 minutes your group will be allowed to use one book. If you are absent on the day of this quiz, you will have to take the quiz on your own.

Lectures - as you can see from the list of lectures, there is much information to pass on in this unit. Most lectures will be very brief. This info in the lectures can help you in a variety of ways in this unit, and you may actually find some of the info interesting!

Group project #1 - broadsheet by the mid 18th century, newspapers and broadsheets were a common sight in America. Broadsheets, in particular, provided a forum for the discussions and concerns of the period. Using an important historical event from the time period, your group should imagine you are a journalists whose responsibility it is to inform, perhaps even to persuade (depending on the event) the public about the event. Include a headline for the event, a paragraph (or two) in journalistic style (which means including the answers to the questions who? what? when? where? when? why?) relating this event to your readers and commenting on it's significance. Then choose one of the following: a political cartoon concerning some aspect of this event (remember a political cartoon is used to ridicule a person, policy, institution, etc) or a ballad about your event.

Group project #2 - aphorisms - review the definition of an aphorism. With your group choose one author and find three memorable aphorisms to display on a piece of extra- large poster paper. Underneath each quote put this quote into "modern language", and underneath that explain briefly why this quote is so memorable.

Journal entries - this assignment gives you a chance to do some creative writing. (It can also help you in your descriptive paper assignment for this quarter.) Choose between the 5 options given on the journal assignment sheet. Remember you are writing these journal entries as your assigned identity! Check the calendar to see when these are due.

B-Layer

Vocabulary worksheets on from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano - you will find these worksheets in the basket. Complete each by following the directions. You will find definitions for the words in the back of your lit book.

"Speech in the Virginia Convention" worksheet - to completely understand the importance of Henry's powerful speech, you may want to take a more in-depth study of the speech by filling out the worksheet found in the basket.

from The Crisis, Number 1 worksheet - to completely understand the importance of Paine's essay, you may want to take a more in-depth study of the speech by filling out the worksheet found in the basket.

Group project #1 - parallel structure - With a partner of your choice, using at least 3 authors of this unit, identify at least one quote from each author that uses parallel structure. On a piece of extra- large poster paper ( or a large poster board) display these quotes neatly. Be sure to identify the author of these quotes on the poster board. Then underneath each quote explain the why parallel structure is so effective in this quote. Although this is not a creative project, anything you can do to make your poster eye-catching to the reader is a good idea. Be sure your quotes and explanations are visible to the readers from a distance. Remember it is a poster!

Group project #2 - persuasive techniques - in this unit you learn that Patrick Henry is the most effective public speaker of the time period. His most effective techniques used in his speech are rhetorical questions, restatements, repetition, parallel structure, allusion, and concession. You and your partner should choose which 3 are the most important to his speech. On an extra-large poster paper ( or large poster board) display these chosen techniques along with a definition of each. Then give an example of each from his speech. Somewhere on the poster your group should provide a brief but thorough explanation of why these 3 techniques are the most important to his speech.

In-class writing assignment - towards the end of this unit we will do an in-class writing assignment. (similar to our PSAE practices) pertaining to one of the topics of this unit. You will have your choice of questions and you will be able to use your notes, but you must finish the assignment in 40 minutes.

Interview - The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents of our country. And yet, as American citizens, we don't often take a look at the power of its' words. Take an interview sheet from the basket. These sheets contain some memorable quotes from the Declaration. You must talk to people from 3 different generations (for example, a friend, parent, grandparent) and ask each person to explain what they think each quote means. You should not share another generation's comments with the person you are interviewing. Let each person come up with their own thoughts without influence from you or anyone else. Record each person's response as accurately as possible in the space provided. At the end of the interviews, give your thoughts and observations about these comments.

For these A-Layer assignments, I am not giving you a "magic number" of items you should have. I want you to demonstrate to me what you think "A" work really is.

A-Layer

Design a house - design a modern house for one of the authors in this unit. Explain the special features you have included for this author and why. Obviously your house should somehow be connected with qualities you have learned about your chosen author. (For example, a library or room for books would be a most likely choice for many of the authors of the period because many were self-educated and interested in learning their entire lives.)

Author scrapbook - Imagine that one of the authors in this unit were alive today. Select photographs and drawings that represent their favorite clothes, houses, foods, movies, etc. and explain your choices. These selections should reflect your knowledge and understanding of this author. (For example, Jefferson would be very interested in modern farm equipment. He was a farmer!)