Rationale and Overview
Within the unit we will examine poems that relate to three main themes: the reasons men and women go to war, the pain and death many soldiers face, and the effect of war on men and women. My unit is designed for world literature which is taught in Jacksonville in the sophomore year. In Florida sophomore students take the high-stakes Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test that they are required to pass in order to graduate. A great emphasis is placed on reading skills. For this reason the unit will incorporate reading passages from poetry and prose. Nonfiction material is heavily emphasized in the test, together with two or three different selections of narratives or poems for students to compare and contrast. The test requires students to answer multiple choice questions and write short and extended responses. Fifty-six percent of our tenth grade students scored on a level one (the lowest reading level) in 2005. Twenty-five percent scored on level two. This means eighty-one percent failed the test. My unit will incorporate a combination of texts for this reason. Our classes are ninety minutes long and the students take four classes each day.
The main focus of my unit will be poetry, with suggested prose selections that can be added. The unit is a natural for making connections with history classes. If you team teach, the unit could easily be combined with a history of war. History not only repeats itself but teachers, including myself, are constantly amazed at how little students know concerning the major wars involving America and how much we have to "repeat" and teach the subject. With the present political situation students can really see the relevance of debate and discussion on the issue of war.
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