Interpreting Texts, Making Meaning: Starting Small

Appendix

Standards

The Oklahoma State Department of Education has adopted the Common Core State Standards, which my district follows. This unit meets the following Reading Literature Standards: 11.RL.1 (through the four-square journal assignment and the digital storytelling project, both of which require students to reference the text for support while developing their comprehension of and ability to interpret literature), 11.RL.2 (through the focus on development of the theme of the nature of evil over the course of the text), 11.RL.4 (by incorporating vocabulary study throughout the unit), and 11.RL.7 (by viewing Apocalypse Now and asking students to make connections between the film and the novella). The unit meets the following Speaking and Listening Standards: 11.SL.1 (through the guided graded discussion activity, which requires students to participate in a collaborative discussion expressing their own ideas and building on the ideas of their classmates), and 11.SL.5 (through the digital storytelling project, which requires students to use digital media in a presentation to enhance understanding). Finally, the unit meets Writing Standard 11.W.9 (through the four square journal assignment, which requires students to connect specific evidence from the text to their written analysis), as follows:

Four-Square Response Journal - Heart of Darkness

For Heart of Darkness, you will be completing a series of 6 four-square response journals to help you focus on the theme of the nature of evil and how it is developed throughout the novella.

Divide a blank sheet of paper into four squares. As you read, look for passages that are connected to the theme of the nature of evil. This theme may be revealed through foreshadowing, through the descriptions of Kurtz by other characters or through the words and actions of Kurtz himself after he appears in part III.

In the top left quadrant, record the passage and the page number. In the top right quadrant, create a visual that represents the passage to you (it could be a drawing, a collage, a symbol, etc.). In the lower left quadrant, write out the aspect of the text that you will be focusing on (ex: theme of the nature of evil as revealed through foreshadowing). In the lower right hand quadrant, write a response of at least one paragraph in which you comment on how the theme is developed in the selection (connect the device to the passage). Work to make your responses specific and relevant. (Each journal is worth 10 points.)