My first unit plan will be on the style of writing and Edgar Allan Poe.

Students will
examine and analyze the life of Edgar Allan Poe in relation to his works of literature.
They will analyze three of his works (Tell Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, and
The Raven), and provide evidence in their analyses. They will compare and contrast
various mediums of the text to the original and how artistic license was used to create
dramatic effect. Through their analyses, they will determine whether the authors style is
a reflection of his/her own life. Also, does the knowledge of the authors life influence the
audiences interpretation of the text? Students will explore how the authors style of
writing influences the interpretation of the authors writing. There will be formative
assessments which include the following:

The teacher will use the reading logs to assess how each student uses
research to discover more about a topic. The biographies and death

theories will also be an assessment of their research.

Formative performance task: Your goal is to provide a description of a
style. You are a fashion designer. You have been asked to create a style to
reflect the personality of yourself or someone you know. Your audience is
a panel of peers that will evaluate whether your style reflects the true
personality of whomever you have chosen as your subject. You will create
a portfolio of your choice and your performance will be to present your
portfolio to the panel of peers. Your work will be judged by a rubric based
on three criterions (visual elements in your portfolio, presentation, and

effort).
The summary and Venn diagram will be taken up as formative assessment.

The discussion will also be formatively assessed.

Graphic organizers, one pager, discussion

There will also be summative assessments which include the following:

Write as much as you need to effectively answer each question. Use

supporting details from the literature to back up your responses.

Explain how Poes language and diction in The Fall of the House of

Usher reflect romanticism and the gothic style of writing.

How does the style in The Raven differ from the style of writing in The
Fall of the House of Usher? How does this influence the story or the

audiences perception of the story?

Analyze the short story The Tell-Tale Heart. What are some symbols the
reader can determine from the text? What do they mean?

Peer and self-assessments will be used during the formative and summative authentic
performance tasks.
My second unit would be on The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Over
the course of this unit, students will examine the historical time period of the novel, the
religious themes in the novel, characterization, and symbolism. The formative assessment
to be used in this unit will be the following:

Questioning during every lesson

Graphic organizers (Venn Diagram, KWL, etc.)
Discussion
BDA reading strategies
Essays

The summative assessments for this lesson will include the following:

An end of unit test on book knowledge

A essay on the Scarlett Letter (Prompts: theme, symbolism, or characterization)
Performance Task: Your task is to defend your assigned character in a mock trial
for Dimmesdales death using textual evidence. The goal is to create a

presentation of a case to support your character. The challenge is to convince the

judge (teacher) that your character is innocent. You are placed in four
groups(Hester Prynne, pearl, Chillingsworth, and the town as a whole) with each
group member participating in the defense of your character. You have been asked
to present your character and provide textual evidence to back up your main
defense. Your job is to provide evidence that your character did not cause
Dimmesdales death and prove your character to be innocent. Your client is your
assigned character. The target audience and the person you need to convince is the
judge (teacher). The context you find yourself in is a courtroom. You will create a
case in any medium you choose as a presentation to the judge in order to defend
your character. You need to develop evidence from the text so that there is support
for your main points. Your performance needs to be organized, convincing,
conveys main points with evidence, and involve everyone in your group. The
teacher will judge your work. Your product must meet the following standards:
defense must last fifteen minutes, must be organized, must provide clear textual
evidence for each point of defense (at least three), and each person in the group
must contribute to the presentation.
Stand Alone Assessment
Unit: Style of Writing- Edgar Allan Poe
Standards:
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research. [W.11-12.9]
a. Apply Grade 11 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Demonstrate
knowledge of twentieth- and twenty-first-century foundational works of
American literature, including how two or more texts from the same
period treat similar themes or topics"). [W.11-12.9a] (Alabama)

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. [RL.1112.5]
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. [RI.1112.1]
Grade Level: 11
Multiple Choice: Choose the best possible answer for each
question.
1. What year was Edgar Allan Poe born?
a. 1923
b. 1856
c. 1901
d. 1809
2. Where was Edgar Allan Poe born?
a. Birmingham, Alabama
b. Boston, Massachusetts
c. Germany
d. New York, New York
3. What movement of writing was Poe a part of?
a. Romanticism
b. Enlightenment
c. Modernism
d. Renaissance
4. What was the one word the raven said in Poes poem, The Raven?
a. Forevermore
b. Togethermore
c. Evermore
d. Nevermore
5. What is the style that Poe writes in?
a. Narrative
b. Descriptive
c. Expository
d. Persuasive

True/False: Choose whether each statement is True or False.

Write your answer in the space after the number.

6. ____T____ Edgar Allan Poe helped progress the Science Fiction genre of
writing in North America.
7. ____F____ Poe was a happy-go-lucky person, and this attribute was
reflected in his writing.
8. ____F____ Poe died of a heart attack.
9. ____T____ Poes style of writing can be described as gothic and
detective stories.
10.____T____ Poe struggled to have his writing published at the beginning
of his career.

Matching: Match the quote to the correct poem or short story.

Some options will be used more than once.
A. The Fall of the House of Usher
B. The Raven
C. The Tell-Tale Heart

11. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary
B
12. I entered the Gothic archway of the hall. A valet, of stealthy step,
thence conducted me, in silence, through many dark and intricate
passages in my progress to the studio of his master. A
13. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant.
The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say,
louder every moment! C
14. "Nevermore." B
15. From that chamber, and from that mansion, I fled aghast. A
Short Response:
16. In most of Poes short stories, the _______________ is not named.
(narrator)
17. In The Raven, Poe illustrates the decline of the protagonists
____________ most effectively by the fact that the protagonist
continually speaks to a raven. (sanity)
18. ___________ refers not only to the mansion and the family, but also
to the act of crossing a threshold that brings the narrator into the world
of Roderick and Madeline. (Usher)
19. The true cause of Poes death is _______________. (Unknown)
20. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the heart that is heard throughout the
short story belongs to _______________. (the narrator)

Extended Response: Write as much as you need to effectively

answer each question. Use supporting details from the
literature to back up your responses.
21. Explain how Poes language and diction in The Fall of the House of
Usher reflect romanticism and the gothic style of writing.
22. How does the style in The Raven differ from the style of writing in
The Fall of the House of Usher? How does this influence the story or
the audiences perception of the story?
23. Analyze the short story The Tell-Tale Heart. What are some
symbols the reader can determine from the text? What do they mean?
Performance Task Blueprint
You should complete this for each performance task

What understandings will be assessed through this task?

An authors style of writing can influence the audiences

interpretation of a text.
What goals will be assessed through this task?
Write arguments to support claims in an

analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence. [W.11-12.1]
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research. [W.11-12.9]
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. [RL.11-12.5]

Describe the authentic performance task that will be used to assess the
understandings and/or goals listed above:

PERFORMANCE TASK: Defend the sanity/insanity of the narrator.

Your task is to choose a narrator from on of the short stories or poems
that we had read in class. Your goal is to provide the audience with
evidence from the text that supports your argument of if the narrator is
sane or insane. You are the attorney in the case. You have been asked
to defend your client (narrator). Your job is to prove whether they are
sane or insane. Your audience is the class, which will act as the jury for
this trial. You need to convince them that your client is either sane or
insane. The challenge is that you have three minute to provide a
closing argument in your trial. In these three minutes, you must
convince the jury. You will create a visual aid to help you in your closing
argument. Your performance needs to be convincing and contain
evidence from the text. Your work will be judged by the jury (peers)

and the teacher (judge). A successful result will be that you come
within close range to three minutes, your visual aid provides the jury
with further evidence of your argument, and you are convincing and
well prepared.
Tasks may include student products, student performances, or both.
Describe all below:

Describe student products that will be used to provide evidence of

the desired understandings and student proficiency on the stated
criteria:
o
The typed speech with cited evidence will prove that the student
understands that an authors writing style determines how the text will
be interpreted. The cited evidence will be used to support the analysis
that the student provides for the narrator he or she has chosen.
o The visual aid will also be an indication of the students ability to
provide information to support claims.
Describe student performances that will be used to provide evidence
of the desired understandings and student proficiency on the stated
criteria:
o The delivered speech will be used to assess the arguments of the
students as well as the preparation he or she has done to convince the
jury.

Describe the criteria you will use to determine students level of

understanding (these will be stated and/or implied in the standards, goals,
and understandings of the unit):
The student must show an understanding of an authors writing style and the
ability of the author to convey meanings through their style of writing. For
each narrator, the author uses his writing style to convey to the audience that
the narrator is either accurately depicting a scary happening or that the
narrator is insane and suffers from mental illness.
The written and oral speech with the accompanied visual aid will be used to
determine whether the student has an understanding of how to pull evidence
from a text to support analysis and argumentative claims.

Attach a rubric(s) that will be used to evaluate this performance task. Be

sure the rubric(s) address all of the criteria listed above.

Criter
ia
Oral
Speech

Written
Speech

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Student did not

prepare at all,
and it is
noticeable.
There is no
evidence stated
to support
analysis or
arguments.
There is no
visual aid.

Student prepared
a small amount.
There is only one
element of
evidence to
support analysis
and arguments.
A visual aid is
present but is not
used effectively.

Student is
convincing and
well prepared.
There are at
least three
elements of
evidence from
the text to
support analysis
and arguments.
A visual aid is
used effectively
to contribute to
the argument.

Student has
more than ten
grammatical
errors. There is
no evidence
from the text
included.

Student has five

to nine
grammatical
errors. There is
at least one
piece of textual
evidence.

Student seems
to have
prepared a
moderate
amount. There
are at least two
elements of
evidence to
support their
analysis and
argument. A
visual aid is
present and
used, but does
not necessarily
add to the
effectiveness of
the argument.
Student has one
to four
grammatical
errors. There are
at least two
pieces of textual
evidence to
support analysis
and arguments.

( 0-10)

(11-25)

(26-39)

(40-50)

Student has no
major
grammatical
errors. There
are at least
three pieces of
textual evidence
to support
claims.

Performance Task Blueprint- Formative

You should complete this for each performance task

What understandings will be assessed through this task?

Each author has a specific style.

An authors style is similar to a persons style or personality.
An authors style determines how the audience will interpret the text.

What goals will be assessed through this task?

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. [RL.1112.5

Describe the authentic performance task that will be used to assess the
understandings and/or goals listed above:

Formative performance task: Your goal is to provide a description of a

style. You are a fashion designer. You have been asked to create a style
to reflect the personality of yourself or someone you know. Your
audience is a panel of peers that will evaluate whether your style
reflects the true personality of whomever you have chosen as your
subject. You will create a portfolio of your choice and your performance
will be to present your portfolio to the panel of peers. Your work will be
judged by a rubric based on three criterions (visual elements in your
portfolio and presentation).

Tasks may include student products, student performances, or both.

Describe all below:

Describe student products that will be used to provide evidence of

the desired understandings and student proficiency on the stated
criteria:
o
The portfolio will be used to make a real world connection to an
authors style and how that is reflected through personality and
personal style.
Describe student performances that will be used to provide evidence
of the desired understandings and student proficiency on the stated
criteria:
o The student will present their portfolio. They may also dress the part in
which they are describing.

Describe the criteria you will use to determine students level of

understanding (these will be stated and/or implied in the standards, goals,
and understandings of the unit):
The visual elements of the portfolio and the presentation will each be the criteria for
the performance task.

Attach a rubric(s) that will be used to evaluate this performance task. Be

sure the rubric(s) address all of the criteria listed above.

Criteria

Level 1
( 0-10)
.

Level 2
(11-25)

Level 3
(26-39)

Level 4
(40-50)

Portfolio:
Visual
Elements

Presentati
on

Student
provides a
portfolio
that has
little to no
visual
effect.

Student provides
a portfolio that
has minimal
visual effects and
fails to describe
the style.

Student
does not
prepare for
presentatio
n and
shows little
effort.

Student is
moderately
prepared to
present their
portfolio and
shows minimal
effort.

Student
provides a
portfolio that
has several
adequate
examples of
the style in
which they
have chosen.
Student seems
Student goes
to have
above and
prepared an
beyond and is
adequate
overly prepared
amount and
for their
shows adequate presentation as
effort put into the well as shows
presentation.
excitement and
effort.
Student provides
a portfolio that
has a few
adequate
examples of the
style in which
they have
chosen.