Curriculum Rationale: Grade 11
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
With Film Adaptation
The English Department has carefully evaluated To Kill a Mockingbird as a whole and deemed it worthy for the 11th grade English curriculum.
I. PLOT SUMMARY
Lee’s novel is narrated by Scout Finch and follows her family as they struggle against the entrenched racism of 1930s Alabama. Scout’s father Atticus is a local public defender, called to confront bigotry and discrimination directly as the attorney for a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom has been falsely accused of rape, and because the narration is provided from the perspective of a child, the crime in question is bewildering on many levels.
II. RATIONALE AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES
To Kill a Mockingbird is vital to any study of literature. The novel, its characters, and Lee herself are frequently alluded to in popular culture and academia. But the value of the novel is not limited to its existence as a touchstone; the framework provided by Lee’s work is ideal for the study of literary elements and story archetypes. Theme, motif, and allusion are particularly evident and easily accessible for students.
The motif of childhood that infuses the first portion of the narrative makes the novel particularly appealing to high school students. Readers naturally sympathize with Scout’s escapades and the accessibility of Lee’s prose makes the complexities of the novel manageable for students.
III.COMMON CORE STANDARDS
Reading Standards for Literature
Key Ideas and Details / Grades 11 - 121. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. / 1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. / 2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. / 3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Craft and Structure / Grades 11 – 12
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. / 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.)
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. / 5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. / 6. Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas / Grades 11 - 12
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. / 7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. / 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.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity / Grades 11 - 12
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. / 10. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
IV. ADDRESSSING SENSITIVE SUBJECTS
Possible sensitive topics contained in To Kill a Mockingbird: profanity or vulgar language, reference to rape, and violence. The student is encouraged to feel comfortable expressing his/her beliefs and views openly within the classroom environment. If the student is uncomfortable at any time, the student should meet with the teacher to discuss his/her concerns.
Bigotry can be a sensitive issue and the undercurrent of violence that pervades the novel can exacerbate this concern. While the racism and injustice that feature in the narrative may seemingly have receded out of the public consciousness, certainly these issues remain relevant for students. Harper Lee has remained steadfastly silent on the book and its influence, but she once noted, “The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think.” To the extent the students will have an opportunity to think about crucial issues and conduct difficult literary analysis, this is the book to read.
Beowulf translation by Seamus Heaney (700 AD)
The English Department has carefully evaluated Beowulf as a whole and deemed it worthy for the 11th grade English curriculum.
I. PLOT SUMMARY
Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, focuses on the eponymous hero as he attempts to destroy the monster terrorizing the Danish town of Heorot. Beowulf is able to defeat the terrible monster, Grendel, but as a consequence he provokes another monster into seeking revenge. The tale recounts the crucial battle to defeat this second monster, and the reward Beowulf earns for ending the terror haunting the kingdom.
II. RATIONALE AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The student will be challenged to evaluate the form and meaning of the poem, delving into the psychological impacts of battle as they accompany Beowulf through his epic battles. Identifying a heroic character is the focus of study as the student will gain an understanding of the hero in fiction and the role heroes play in ancient societies, as well as today.
Students will be asked to identify the key features of the Overcoming the Monster plot in the narrative and analyze the divergences for insight into the thematic qualities. The narrative is demanding, even in translation, as the features of Old English challenge even advanced readers with their symbolic and metaphoric complexities.
III.COMMON CORE STANDARDS
Reading Standards for Literature
Key Ideas and Details / Grades 11 - 121. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. / 1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. / 2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. / 3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Craft and Structure / Grades 11 – 12
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. / 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.)
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. / 5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. / 6. Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas / Grades 11 - 12
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.* / 7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. / 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.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity / Grades 11 - 12
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. / 10. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
IV. ADDRESSSING SENSITIVE SUBJECTS
Possible sensitive topics contained in Beowulf: graphic, violent depictions of battle. The student is encouraged to feel comfortable expressing his/her beliefs and views openly within the classroom environment. If the student is uncomfortable at any time, the student should meet with the teacher to discuss his/her concerns.
While some features of Beowulf are unique to this ancient work, sadly the violence contained within the work is not outside the experience of the modern audience. Seamus Heaney, the translator, says of the work, “Its narrative elements may belong to a previous age but as a work of art it lives in its own continuous present.” Students may be disturbed by the violence, but as an essential commentary on its time, as well as our own, this is a valuable experience.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847)
With Film Adaptation
The English Department has carefully evaluated Jane Eyre as a whole and deemed it worthy for the 11th grade English curriculum.
I. PLOT SUMMARY
Bronte’s novel follows the difficult, but ultimately triumphant, life of Jane Eyre. An orphaned governess, Eyre struggles against the social mores of Victorian England, the limitations of her family connections, and the complicated nature of her affection for her employer Rochester. The novel follows Jane throughout her life: from her childhood deprivations at the hands of her family to her own life as a mother. While Eyre’s life is filled with tragedy and impediments, she ultimately prevails and manages a rather unconventional “happily ever after.”
II. RATIONALE AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Covering the spectrum of a nineteenth century life for women, Brӧnte’s novel is a unique combination of the semi-autobiographical, Victorian, Gothic, and Bildungsroman. As such, the novel presents an opportunity for students to experience a wide range of literary forms within its bounds. The themes of the novel are timeless, and its form is archetypal.
Questions of loyalty, forgiveness, and faith dominate this realistic novel as Jane struggles to navigate the sometimes rigid moral standards of Victorian England. Jane rejects many of the requirements and expectations of women during this period; consequently, the novel is considered by many to be a proto-feminist text. Students naturally respond to Jane’s independence and personal fortitude in the face of oppression. Jane fits the mold of transgressive female narrators students have already encountered, having read To Kill a Mockingbird, and is predictive of the types of narrators students will encounter in the remainder of the course curriculum.