Rationale
As of 2013, I have taught at Emery Secondary School for two years as a 9 th and 10 th grade English and History Teacher. Emery Secondary School is made up of 218 students. Approximately 64% of the student population scored below proficient in ELA according to California STAR Test data (City-Data 2013). Furthermore, upon analysis of a faculty-based study of student test scores from 2011-2012, it was found that, behind writing, literary analysis would be the school's primary academic objective as it held the lowest degree of proficiency. These statistics shed light upon the lack of student proficiency in interpretation.
As of the 2010-2011 academic school year, the graduation rate for Emery Secondary School was 64% (Advisors 2013). The dropout rate for the same school year was 30% (Advisors 2013). The suspension rate at Emery Secondary School for the past four years has averaged 24.5%, meaning, on average, for every four students, there is one suspension (Advisors 2013). According to confidential student surveys that were given by the Emery Secondary School Wellness Department, approximately 70% of students reported being teased or targeted with prejudicial intent.
Lastly, there are many problems that students face at home that make obligations at school difficult. Students have reported a lack of trust between family members, household drug use, incarceration, and often, violence, abuse, hunger and neglect. This data offers a large degree of insight into the challenges and difficulties faced by teachers of the student population at Emery Secondary School.
Students living and learning in these types of environment often feel a sense of hopelessness, or a longing for the power to change the social and individual circumstances that hinder their ability to learn and find success. My goal with this project is to help students find relevance and establish a personal connection to a large variety of writers who have encouraged social change and action through poetry. It is often stated that students become stronger readers and more effective learners when they are engaged in material that has personal meaning. By examining the methods with which historically significant poets have influenced history, students will not only learn to more effectively interpret poems but also find personal meaning and relevance within these poems.
Teaching students about tone, mood and purpose will encourage students to analyze poetry in a more meaningful way; instead of students examining simply what is being said, students will be encouraged to analyze how and why it is being said. This natural progression of questioning will help students develop a more sophisticated perspective on textual analysis and thus improve their Literary Analysis scores. The curriculum unit below is geared towards less proficient 9 th grade students who struggle with literary analysis and poetry interpretation.
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