Sample Units

English Language Arts A10 Sample Unit:
The Unknown--Hopes and Fears

Language Concepts

The English language arts curriculum is designed to assist students to widen their knowledge and appreciation of the English language. The "nature of language" is best learned contextually, growing out of students' language experiences rather than through isolated drills and exercises that are presented out of context (e.g., workbooks). Students should be actively engaged in using real language processes for their communication purposes. In addition, they should increase their understanding of three broad language concepts:

• Language varies according to audience, purpose, and situation.
• Language has structural patterns and conventions.
• Language develops and changes over time.

As students are engaged in the language processes, teachers are encouraged to diagnose their strengths and needs as they work with the elements of language. A checklist such as the following (adapted from the chart on pp. 25-27) might be used to keep a record of their understandings and needs.

Text

• Different purposes and audiences require different modes of oral and written discourse.
• Audience and purpose influence the language register (formal, informal, conversational).
• Prose (fiction and nonfiction), poetry, and drama have distinctive and various organizational patterns.
• Prose paragraphs might describe, narrate, explain, or persuade.
• Other.

Sentences

• A clear sentence conveys the author's meaning on first hearing or reading.
• The English language has a system of syntax--English sentences are based on basic "kernel" structures that can be expanded, compounded, and transformed.
• Formal written sentences are clear and concise.
• Punctuation and capitalization marks clarify the meaning of written sentences.
• Other.

Words

• The English language has a lexicon.
• An appropriate word suits the audience and purpose.
• A word may have connotative as well as denotative value.
• A word may have symbolic meaning, act as an allusion, or appeal to the senses.
• Other.

Mini-lessons

Some students may require more assistance than others with specific language concepts and processes. Take the time to model the speaking, listening, viewing, writing, and reading processes and, if necessary, to provide mini-lessons before, during, or after students engage in these processes. A mini-lesson is a focused lesson designed to help students learn how to do something (e.g., write an effective descriptive paragraph) or address a language concept needed for a task (e.g., how to write a concise sentence). These lessons can be taught to the whole class, to a small group, or to an individual.

A mini-lesson, on run on and comma splice sentences for example, might include the following information:

• A run on sentence is made up of two or more sentences which have no punctuation between them.
• A comma splice sentence is made up of two or more sentences which are joined together by a comma.
• Every sentence should have just one subject and one verb unless a linking word is used to join a second subject- verb unit to the first one. For example:

I do not need any help I understand the problem.

Notice that there are two subjects (I) and two verbs (need, understand), but there is no linking word to connect them. The same example, written as a comma splice error would look like this:

I do not need any help, I understand the problem.

This time the two subjects and the two verbs are joined by a comma.

There are four ways to correct both the run on and comma splice errors:

• Place a period between the two sentences.

  I do not need any help. I understand the problem.

• Use a semi-colon instead of a comma, if the ideas are closely related.

  I do not need any help; I understand the problem.

• Add a coordinate conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) between the sentences.

  I do not need any help, for I understand the problem.

• Reduce one of the sentences to a phrase or a clause.

  Having understood the problem, I do not need any help. (Phrase)
  I do not need any help, because I understand the problem. (Clause)