11th Grade Writing-Essays Unit Plans
By Rigorous Resources for High School English
This 25-page EDITABLE writing curriculum has everything you'll need to help your students write high-quality analytical papers on any literary text. This unit was originally designed for high school English teachers who want to help students improve their analytical writing. But teachers across other disciplines report that it has helped them to deliver clear and informative lessons on how to write high-quality expository essays.
Here are some highlights from this 25-page unit on analytical/expository writing:
• The Writing Process (Handout #1): This handout offers several tips about how to choose a topic for an analytical paper on literature. Encourage your students to use the writing process as an opportunity to deepen their knowledge about the text. (4 pages)
• The Intro Paragraph: Hook & Thesis (Handout #2): In the first page of this handout, students learn to identify and formulate the interpretive questions which they will hope to answer or solve while writing their papers. The challenge of "problem construction" will present most high school students with the opportunity to develop a new and exciting skill — one that will serve them well in college and beyond. In the second and third pages of this handout, students learn to write thesis statements that balance complexity with clarity. They learn to use grammatical subordination in order to generate a main claim that is sufficiently complex to anchor an entire paper. (4 pages)
• Body Paragraphs: Evidence & Analysis (Handout #3): In this handout, students learn about how "evidence" in the humanities differs from evidence in the sciences. Because evidence in the humanities is rarely factual or indisputable, student writers will always need to frame, unpack, and analyze their evidence. This handout offers several suggestions about how, as it were, to "make the evidence speak." It also offers strategies for how to organize evidence into a series of body paragraphs that build upon one another in a logical and compelling manner. (2 pages)
• Topic Sentences / Transitional Sentences (Handout #4): This handout offers advice about how students can use transitional expressions to clarify the logical connections between the claims in each of their topic sentences. It includes a list of different types of transitional expressions along with several examples. (2 pages)
• Precepts for Effective Prose (Handout #5): This handout features about a dozen precepts or "rules of thumb" that students should follow when writing academic papers. The handout contains brief paragraphs on each of the following topics: Avoid plot summary; Always use the present tense; Minimize intensifiers; Alternatives to writing "It says"!! (2 pages)
• Sample Introductory Paragraphs: Look at six introductory paragraphs from articles published by literary scholars in academic journals over the last decade. Invite students to reflect on what they find to be particularly effective — or ineffective —about each introductory paragraph. How does each writer hook the reader's interest? How do they construct an interpretive problem? How do they generate a complex thesis statement? (6 pages)
• Paper Outline Template: Invite students to use this template when generating the outlines for their analytical papers. (3 pages)
• Rubric: Use this rubric to evaluate the analytical papers that your students write in response to any literary text. (1 page)
The entire writing unit will come to you in two different formats: Word doc *and* PDF. Because the Word doc is editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit your teaching style and/or your students' skill levels — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the entire unit as a PDF file, which is easy to navigate and quick to print!
Because I believe that teachers on TeachShare should be able to see what they're getting before they make a purchase, the preview for this resource provides access more than a dozen actual pages from the resource. Click on the green “preview” button to see exactly what you’ll get....
Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!
Happy teaching!
Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.
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Feel free to check out these other resources on writing:
How to Write a College Application Essay
How to Write an Poem Analysis Essay (AP Lit FRQ 1)
How to Frame Quotations or Embed Evidence
Figurative Language Stations
The Tell Tale Heart | PPT Guide | 8 Activities | Fiction Skills
By Blooming Through High School
DEEP DIVE into literature with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart"
Perfect for Horror/Gothic Literature units in English
8 activities focusing on skills for fiction with this masterful text. Students will have the opportunity to practice comprehension, questioning the text, engage in class discussions, and respond.
What's Included:
- Powerpoint Guide for each activity
- Pre-reading activity to activate prior knowledge
- Two Word Documents that allow students to form questions while reading, or make their own annotations (with the abridged text)
- A guide to facilitate class discussions after reading
- Summarizing activity and questions
- Examining Story Elements page with plot diagram
- Analyzing Characters practice
- Inferencing
- Constructed Responses
**All documents are in Word with a PDF - Also translated for Spanish speaking students - Answer Keys included (including sample responses for the constructed response)**
Depth not Breadth
The benefits of 'depth not breadth' are seen in many scholarly journals. When teachers & students spend more time with a text, they have more opportunities to interact and respond to literature.
- Deep Understanding: When students delve deeply into a text, they gain a thorough understanding of its themes, characters, and nuances. This deep engagement allows them to appreciate the complexities of literature, fostering a richer and more meaningful reading experience.
- Critical Thinking: Depth encourages critical thinking. Students learn to analyze, interpret, and evaluate texts, which enhances their ability to think critically about what they read. This skill is crucial not only for academic success but also for making informed decisions in everyday life.
- Skill Development: Engaging deeply with a few texts helps students develop essential literacy skills, such as close reading, analytical writing, and evidence-based argumentation. These skills are foundational for success in higher education and beyond.
- Connection and Retention: Students are more likely to form connections with the material and retain information when they study it in depth. This approach allows them to see the interconnectedness of themes and ideas, making the learning experience more cohesive and memorable.
- Personal Engagement: When students spend more time on a text, they have the opportunity to relate personally to the material, fostering a greater sense of engagement and motivation. Personal connections to literature can inspire a lifelong love of reading.
- Addressing Complexity: Many literary works are complex and require time to unpack fully. By focusing on depth, students can explore these complexities, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of literature's multifaceted nature.
- Application of Concepts: A deep dive into a text allows students to apply literary concepts and theories in a meaningful way. They can practice applying various analytical lenses, which deepens their understanding and prepares them for more advanced literary study.
- Quality Over Quantity: The quality of learning is often more important than the quantity. By focusing on a few key texts, teachers can ensure that students are engaging with high-quality literature and getting the most out of their reading experience.
Writing a Play - Graphic Organizer, Example, and Template
By Sign with me TOD
Writing a play is a perfect project that gives students time to write about an event that happened in their life or an event that they made up. Once they are finished, they can share it with different groups of people and have their friends play each character. This packet includes information to share with your students about what a play is, what steps to follow when writing the beginning, middle and end of a play, why we write a play, who we write a play for, and tips to look for when rereading and editing. This packet also includes an example showing the process that is used to write with a play using a graphic organizer and an example of a play. On the last several pages, two templates are included to help students write the rough draft and final draft of their play that includes space for characters, props, act, scenes, and lines to show what their characters are saying.
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AP Literature FRQ1: AP Lit Poetry Analysis Essay | Assignment, Models, & Rubric
By Rigorous Resources for High School English
This 40-page EDITABLE resource will help your students write high-quality Poem Analysis Essays. Learning how to generate a formalist analysis of a poem will enable your students excel on Free Response Question #1 (FRQ1) from the AP Literature and Composition Exam. Because most students find the genre of the Poem Analysis Essay to be new and unfamiliar, the primary purpose of this resource is to provide students with models or exemplars of well-written essays on a wide range of poems. But the resource is also intended to equip you with enough prompts and templates that you'll be able to give your students ample practice at writing Poem Analysis Essays.
Here's what you'll find in this 40-page AP Lit resource:
• Tips for Success: This two-page handout contains detailed instructions for how to generate a formalist analysis of a poem. How do the formal elements and literary devices in a poem contribute to its meaning? What steps should a student follow when annotating a poem from Free Response Question #1? (2 pages)
• Model Essays (Exemplars): This resource features no fewer than 7 model essays that you can use to show your students how to write a Poem Analysis Essay. The model essays provide students with numerous examples of how to write a hook, thesis, topic sentence, etc. The model essays focus on poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Gwendolyn Brooks, William Stafford, John Updike, Elizabeth Bishop, and Rhina Espaillat. (14 pages)
• Template to Create Your Own Essay Prompt: Use this template to create your own FRQ1 assignment. Just insert any poem that you think is sufficiently complex to warrant a complex written analysis. (5 pages)
• Glossary of Literary Devices: A glossary with definitions and examples of the various types of figurative language, imagery, stanzas, syntactic devices, etc. Many teachers already have a glossary of literary devices, but I'm providing this in case you need one. (2 pages)
• Analysis of Trends on Recent AP Lit Exams: This analysis of poems included on recent AP Lit Exams yields several insights that should inform how you construct your literature curriculum. Should you prioritize older poems or diverse authors? Sonnets or free verse? (2 pages)
• Grading Rubric: The rubric includes columns that will enable you to give feedback on each student's thesis, textual evidence, analysis of literary devices, organization of paragraphs, and mechanics. (1 page)
This poetry unit will come to you in a single 40-page EDITABLE Word document. My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because all of the resources contain rigorous content that will motivate students to generate in cogent and insightful essays.
Because I believe that teachers should be able to see exactly what they'll be getting before they purchase, the preview for this resource allows viewing accesses to over 15 pages. Click on the green “PREVIEW” button to see exactly what you’ll get. . . .
Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!
Happy teaching!
Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.
P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!