Appendix
Standards -- Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts -- 11th grade. These standards can be easily cross-referenced to other standards.
11.1.R.3 Students will engage in collaborative discussions about appropriate topics and texts, expressing their own ideas by contributing to, building on, and questioning the ideas of others in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings
Throughout the many activities in this unit, one goal for my students is to master the art of group discussion and to show that through discussion we can give voice to our thoughts about America, while actively listening to other perspectives. It’s through discussion that we start forming our own thoughts and opinions.
11.1.W.2 Students will work effectively and respectfully within diverse groups, demonstrate willingness to make necessary compromises to accomplish a goal, share responsibility for collaborative work, and value individual contributions made by each group member.
This standard will be emphasized when students work in groups to analyze poems and then present to classmates. The goal is to have students take ownership and be invested in their group’s analysis.
11.3.R.1 Students will evaluate the extent to which historical, cultural, and/or global perspectives affect authors’ stylistic and organizational choices in grade‐level literary and informational genres.
To really examine visions and versions of America, it is so important that my students look at many different perspectives as they are creating and understanding their version of America.
11.3.R.4 Students will evaluate literary devices to support interpretations of texts, including comparisons across texts: ❏ imagery ❏ tone ❏ symbolism ❏ irony
Through annotation and class discussion, students will always ask themselves how do these literary devices further author’s purpose.
11.3.R.7 Students will make connections (e.g., thematic links, literary analysis, authors’ style) between and across multiple texts and provide textual evidence to support their inferences.
This standard will be focused on when students are comparing and contrasting Whitman in style and subject matter to Guthrie, Dylan, and Ginsberg. Throughout the year, class discussions and activities will allow students to analyze different visions and versions of America and make connections among the various poems and literary works we read. This is truly the main focus of the unit.
11.7.W.2 Students will construct engaging visual and/or multimedia presentations using a variety of media forms to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence for diverse audiences.
The culminating project will allow students to create a multimedia presentation to convey the meaning and tone of the poem they write.
Comments: