S+Thomas+John

** E-mail: ** jthomas122@yahoo.com
 * Teacher:** Mr. Thomas
 * Office:** Room 122
 * Office Phone:** 766-9880
 * Office Hours:** 2:30pm-4pm

=Summary of Unit:= In this unit we will explore Nathaniel Hawthorne's Mastery of the short story. We will be taking an in-depth look at a selection of his stories and focusing on Hawthorne's extensive use of metahphor and imagery, as well as the stories' settings and tones. We will also research Hawthorne's life in 19th century Salem, Massachusetts. Using knowledge of the society he was a part of and the experiences he had, we will then formulate ides on how these aspects of his life effected his writing. Particular emphasis will be placed on creating and developing thesis statements about the short stories, then proving the statements in essays and using excerpts from the text for evidence. We will also take a brief look at some examples of short stories by Edgar Allen Poe and compare his style to that of Hawthorne.

=Establish Goals= Maine Learning Results: English Language Arts A. Reading A2. Literary Texts Grades 9-Diploma: Nathaniel Hawthorne Short Stories Students read text, within a grade appropriate span of complexity, and present analyses of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry using excerpts from the text to defend their assertions. = = =Students will understand that= •Literary devices in the texts set the style and tone of the stories. •Themes in different short stories vary and are essential elements in the texts. •The Characters' thoughts and actions offer insight to the meaning of the texts overall.

= = =Essential Questions= •How do elements such as tone, setting, imagery, style and plot impact the texts' overall meanings? •How do the characters' thoughts and actions offer insight into the meaning of the texts? •Why does the author use so many metaphors? Why are these images so central to the style, tone and meaning of his short stories?

= = =Students will know= •Vocabulary: Imagery, Allegory, Metaphor, Irony, Paradox, Theme, Tone. •Critical Details: How to identify small details in the text and analyze their importance to the text as a whole. •Definitions: How to recognize common literary devices and provide definitions for them.

= = =Students will be able to= • determine the effects of common literary devices on the style and tone of a text. • make sense of imagery and tell how it relates to the text, both as a whole and within the passage. • answer essay questions using knowledge of the author's use of literary devices. • analyze examples of literary images and formulate theses about their significance. • consider the author's motives for using certain literary devices. • recognize the use of literary devices in other texts and realize their uses.

**Performance Task Overview**: You are a struggling graphic novel fanatic who has made your life's work reading and analyzing the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. You want to write and illustrate a graphic novel representation of a short story by Hawthorne. You will be presenting a brief modernized re-imagining of the story you chose to the CEO of Dark Horse Comics, as well as a panel of Dark Horse executives for review. You will be judged on how well you have stayed true to the actual meanings and scenes in the short story, yet since it is a modern retelling, you have some flexibility with the characters, setting, style and tone. You must put in as much effort as possible, because there are countless other artists jumping at the chance to make this story the next big cult graphic novel. If you have truly made a graphic representation that does Hawthorne justice, Dark Horse will grant you the rights to develop the entire story into a graphic novel. You need to make sure that you rise above the rest, but above all be creative, try some new ideas, and have fun!

=Expectations= Please make the effort to come to class on time. If for some reason or other you know that you will generally be late by a few minutes because of a prior class or some other commitment, please let me know and we will arrive at a solution.

Have all your materials and be prepared when class begins. This includes having completed all the previous day's assigned readings and being prepared with both questions on the reading and something to add to the class discussion.

If you must be absent, please do your best to notify me beforehand and check what work is due on the day that you will be missing via the class blog.

=Benchmarks:=

All Benchmark requirements are based out of 600 points (300 for each quarter of the semester).
Classroom attendance/participation (200pts): I expect you to both come prepared for class on time and in an alert state of mind. You will be expected to contribute something to the class each day, and if you insist on showing less than adequate interest, you //will// be called on for your input.

Graphic Short Story project (100pts) One of the last units we will be covering will concern Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories. It is required that you show your understanding by creating a product on ComicLife. This is a comprehensive project that exhibits a large amount of the skills that you have learned throughout most of the semester. The project makes up a great deal of your grade, and it will be judged and weighted accordingly.

Essays (100pts) Numerous essays will be given throughout the class. You will be expected to answer the essay questions based on the knowledge that you accumulate in the semester. All of your work must be kept in a portfolio, and at the end of the semester there will be a short assignment in which you examine all examples of your essays and self-evaluate for your improvments.

Class Blog (50pts) This class relies heavily on blogging. Some assignments require that you update a blog page that has been created solely for the entire class. Your contributions to the lessons covered on this blog will be continually assessed for effort and enthusiasm, as well as overall content.

Webquest (100pts) The webquests that you will be using during this class will be worth a total of 100 points at the end of the semester. You are expected to complete all of the webquests and deliver the results of your product either to me or to the class in presentation form.

Blog (50pts) It is mandatory that you maintain a separate blog for this class. This online webpage will be where you place the majority of your answers to reading assignment questions. At the end of each quarter your blog will be reviewed and graded according to your level of effort, content, and professionalism.

=Grading Scale= A (93 -100), A- (90 - 92), B+ (87 - 89), B (83 - 86), B- (80 - 82), C+(77 - 79), C (73-76), C- (70 - 72), D+(67 - 69), D (63 - 66), D- (60 - 62), F (0 - 59).