Victorian Unit 2012
Rieger
Classes 1-3:
- Go to and complete the webquest.
Class 4:
- Read “The Lady of Shalott” by Lord Tennyson.
- Complete the Questions accompanying the poem.
Class 5:
1. Read and Discuss Poems by Robert Browning (924)
“My Last Duchess” (926)
“Poryphyria’s Lover” (929)
Notes: Dramatic Monologue; couplets; attitude; repetition
“My baby’s real good looking and real good at looking around” (bluegrass group)
Jealousy: Is it genetic? Created? Once a problem, always a problem? What effect does jealousy have on relationships?
Should the father consider the duke for a relationship with his daughter?
2. Read Elizabeth Browning’s “Sonnet 43” (934)
Notes: sonnet form; iambic pentameter; figurative language
What does it mean to love someone to “everyday’s most quiet need”?
Assignment: Improving Reading Comprehension
How can I help students pull meaning from a text? How can I make sure that what they read, they comprehend (for
the most part) and when they don’t understand, they know how to ask for help from teachers and peers?
Use the 3+1 Technique
1. Students will read a text (poem, essay, short story, etc.) and on the top of a 3x5 card write the title, author,
and page number (of particular passages).
2. Students will note three (or more) interesting facts, ideas, quotations, etc., that they find in the text.
3. Students will note one or more questions that they have about the text or its relation to the Victorian Age or contemporary society or our lives.
4. The class will participate in a discussion of the text. The teacher begins by asking: What are some
interesting facts (etc.) you found in the text? The teacher will call on five to ten students. Next students
pose their questions to see whether other students can answer them.
5. When class ends, students turn in their cards stapled together as their ticket out the door.
6. Optional: Teachers may wish to allow student to use these cards for selected assessments during the unit.
This practice encourages students to read throughly, take notes, participate in the activity, and note the
opinions expressed by others.
Class 6:
Read A.E. Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young” and “When I Was One-and-Twenty” (1041; 1044)
Read Thomas Hardy’s “Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?” (1044)
Notes: Rhyme Scheme; couplets; quatrains; Inferences
Notes: Effects of death on young/ old lives; What should we take from death?
What should we learn from being 21?
What effect does the last line have? What is the message/ theme?
Think in relationship to those at different stages in life
How will your death be handled? How do you know?
Where do you see yourself?
Lives outlives stories; stories outlive lives
Tone; social context; lines
Classes 7-8:
In Class: Analyze literary elements of dramatic performance.
Utilize Reading Guides and Organizers to assist with Understanding of Novels/ literary elements.
View a Victorian Novel through Contemporary Film: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. View the 2002 Miramax version.
Text:
(optional) Outside Class: Listen to Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
Novel Essay: Optional
Classes 9-10:
Complete discussions and assignments for the two novels.
The Victorian Period
Learning Objectives
The student will be able to…
• Identify the major themes and characteristics of Victorian literature
• Interpret and analyze the works of major Victorian poets
• Interpret and analyze representative novels and plays of the Victorian era
• Connect the works of major Victorian writers to their social and historical
backgrounds
• Analyze and explain representative intellectual currents of the Victorian era
Primary themes, concepts, and learning
goals (from the standards):
• continue to develop strategies to improve
reading comprehension
• identify and respond, both orally and in
writing, to similarities and differences in
style, subject matter, and theme in
Victorian texts as well as texts from other
British literary periods
• analyze author’s use of language
• trace the historical development of poetic
styles and forms through the Victorian
period
• demonstrate comprehension through a
variety of writing formats
• trace the development of the novel
• relate Victorian texts to contemporary
context or historical background
• analyze patterns and effects of diction,
imagery and symbolism characteristic of
Victorian print and non-print texts for
meaning and compose oral and/or
written texts that include similar patterns
• compare and contrast dramatic
elements, characters, structures and
themes of Victorian drama to drama of
earlier British literary periods
• compose expository texts
• employ primary and secondary research
State Standards:
Mood 12.3.3, Tone 12.3.3, Works 12.3.5, Social Context 12.3.5, Literary Period 12.3.7
IN.LIT.3. Literature: Literary Analysis and Criticism of Fiction: Students read and respond to grade-level-appropriate historically or culturally significant works of literature, such as Students read a wide variety of literature, such as classic and contemporary literature, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology, poetry, short stories, dramas, and other genres.
LIT.3.1. Structural Features of Literature: Evaluate characteristics of subgenres, types of writings such as satire, parody, allegory, and pastoral that are used in poetry, prose, plays, novels, short stories, essays, and other basic genres. [11.3.1/12.3.1]
LIT.3.2. Literary Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Evaluate the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim. [11.3.2/12.3.2]
LIT.3.3. Literary Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Evaluate the ways in which irony, tone, mood, the style, and the 'sound' of language achieve specific rhetorical (persuasive) or aesthetic (artistic) purposes or both. [11.3.3/12.3.3]
LIT.3.4. Literary Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze ways in which poets use imagery, personification, figures of speech, and sounds to evoke readers' emotions. [11.3.4/12.3.4]
LIT.3.5. Literary Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze and evaluate works of literary or cultural significance in American, English, or world history that: reflect a variety of genres in the respective major periods in literature; were written by important authors in each historical periods; reveal contrasts in major themes, styles, and trends in these historical periods; reflect or shed light on the seminal philosophical, religious, social, political, or ethical ideas of their time. [11.3.5/12.3.5]
LIT.3.6. Literary Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Evaluate the way in which authors have used archetypes (original models or patterns, such as best friend, champion, crusader, free spirit, nurturer, outcast, tyrant, and others) drawn from myth and tradition in literature, film, political speeches, and religious writings. [11.3.6/12.3.6]
LIT.3.7. Literary Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze recognized works of world literature from a variety of authors that: contrast the major literary forms, techniques, and characteristics from different major literary periods, such as Homeric Greece, Medieval, Romantic, Neoclassic, or the Modern Period; relate literary works and authors to the major themes and issues of their literary period; examine the influences (philosophical, political, religious, ethical, and social) of the historical period for a given novel that shaped the characters, plot, and setting. [12.3.7]
LIT.3.8. Literary Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Demonstrate knowledge of important writers (American, English, world) of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, such as Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Albert Camus, Miguel Cervantes, James Fenimore Cooper, Joseph Conrad, Stephen Crane, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Victor Hugo, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, and others. [12.3.10]
LIT.3.9. Literary Criticism: Evaluate the clarity and consistency of political assumptions in a selection of literary works or essays on a topic. [11.3.7/12.3.8]
LIT.3.10. Literary Criticism: Evaluate the philosophical arguments presented in literary works or the use of dialogue to reveal character to determine whether the authors' positions have contributed to the quality of each work and the credibility of the characters. [11.3.8/12.3.9]
Individual Classes
Course
12th Grade British Literature and Composition
Instructional Unit
Victorian Literature
The Task
Novel Study: Students will work in groups on activities related to a novel read by the group. These activities include:
-Reader response journal (attached explanation)
-Vocabulary development (Find five new vocabulary words in each section read, write the
sentence from the novel in which it appears, write a plausible definition only using context clues,
and compare your definition to one in a reference work. Quiz will be given on vocabulary generated
by the group.)
-Identification and explanation of significant quotations (Find three quotations that you consider significant
to the meaning of the novel. Write the speaker or narrator and page number as well as an
explanation of the significance of the quotation in terms of the meaning of the passage or novel as a
whole.)
-Graphic organizers used to develop process essay (PDF files)
-Process essay (Essay topics attached)
Circumstances of the Assignment
The teacher will determine a group of 4-8 novels representative of Victorian themes that have been discussed in
class. Students will list, in preferential order, their choice of novel to read. Teachers will place students into groups
according to their choice and the teacher’s assessment of students. The teacher will assign meeting dates and
students will determine number of chapters to be read by each date. The Reader’s Response Journal, Vocabulary
Development, and Quotation activities will be completed by each student prior to the group meeting dates. On group
meeting dates, students will complete graphic organizers for character, ideas/motifs, and theme. These graphic
organizers will be used in the composition of the process essay. Teacher commentary will be provided on drafts of
the essay. Revision, proofing, and editing will be completed on the process essay before submitting for evaluation.
Differentiation
Teachers may employ flexible grouping to organize students by interest or by readiness, either by grouping students
with varied interests, etc., together or by grouping students with similar interests, etc. together. The different
modalities inherent in the project options allow for differentiation by learning style.
Focus Standard(s)
ELABLRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction,
imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events, main ideas, and characteristics) in a
variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial,
biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of the structures and elements of British and
Commonwealth fiction and provides evidence from the text to support understanding; the student:
c. Relates identified elements in fiction to theme or underlying meaning.
d. Analyzes, evaluates, and applies knowledge of the ways authors use techniques and elements in
fiction for rhetorical and aesthetic purposes.
ELABLRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of British and/or
Commonwealth literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding. The student
a. Applies knowledge of the concept that the theme or meaning of a selection represents a universal view or
comment on life or society and provides support from the text for the identified theme.
b. Evaluates the way an author’s choice of words advances the theme or purpose of the work.
c. Applies knowledge of the concept that a text can contain more than one theme.
d. Analyzes and compares texts that express universal themes characteristic of British and/or
Commonwealth literature across time and genre (i.e., classism, imperialism) and provides support
from the texts for the identified themes.
ELA12W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing
process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing. The student
a. Plans and drafts independently and resourcefully.
b. Revises writing to improve the logic and coherence of the organization and controlling perspective.
c. Revises writing for specific audiences, purposes, and formality of the contexts.
d. Revises text to highlight the individual voice and to improve sentence variety and style.
e. Revises writing to enhance subtlety of meaning and tone in ways that are consistent with purpose,
audience, and genre.
f. Edits writing to improve word choice, grammar, punctuation, etc.
Course
12th Grade British Literature
Instructional Unit
Victorian
The Task
Improving Reading Comprehension
How can I help students pull meaning from a text? How can I make sure that what they read, they comprehend (for
the most part) and when they don’t understand, they know how to ask for help from teachers and peers?
Use the 3+1 Technique
1. Students will read a text (poem, essay, short story, etc.) and on the top of a 3x5 card write the title, author,
and page number (of particular passages).
2. Students will note three (or more) interesting facts, ideas, quotations, etc., that they find in the text.
3. Students will note one or more questions that they have about the text.
4. The class will particpate in a discussion of the text. The teacher begins by asking: What are some
interesting facts (etc.) you found in the text? The teacher will call on five to ten students. Next students
pose their questions to see whether other students can answer them.
5. When class ends, students turn in their cards stapled together as their ticket out the door.
6. Optional: Teachers may wish to allow student to use these cards for selected assessments during the unit.
This practice encourages students to read throughly, take notes, participate in the activity, and note the
opinions expressed by others.
Circumstances of the Assignment
Students will work individually for the most part, but the teacher may pair students.
Focus Standard(s)
ELABLRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of
diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events, main ideas, and
characteristics) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose
[short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the
basis for interpretation.
The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of the structures and elements of British and
Commonwealth fiction and provides evidence from the text to support understanding; the student:
b. Identifies and analyzes patterns of imagery or symbolism.
c. Relates identified elements in fiction to theme or underlying meaning.
d. Analyzes, evaluates, and applies knowledge of the ways authors use techniques and elements in fiction for
rhetorical and aesthetic purposes.
The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of the purpose, structure, and elements of nonfiction and/or
informational materials and provides evidence from the text to support understanding; the student:
a. Analyzes and explains the structures and elements of nonfiction works of British literature such as letters,
journals and diaries, speeches, and essays.
c. Analyzes, evaluates, and applies knowledge of the ways authors use language, style, syntax, and rhetorical
strategies for specific purposes in nonfiction works.
The student identifies and analyzes elements of poetry from various periods of British literature and provides
evidence from the text to support understanding; the student:
b. Analyzes and evaluates the effects of diction and imagery (i.e., controlling images, figurative language,
extended metaphor, understatement, hyperbole, irony, paradox, and tone) as they relate to underlying meaning.
The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of the themes, structures, and elements of dramatic British
and Commonwealth literature and provides evidence from the text to support understanding; the student:
d. Identifies and analyzes how dramatic elements support and enhance the interpretation of dramatic literature.
ELABLRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of British and/or
Commonwealth literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding. The student
b. Evaluates the way an author’s choice of words advances the theme or purpose of the work.
c. Applies knowledge of the concept that a text can contain more than one theme.
d. Analyzes and compares texts that express universal themes characteristic of British and/or Commonwealth
literature across time and genre (i.e., classism, imperialism) and provides support from the texts for the
identified themes.
ELABLRC2 The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas. The
student
a. Identifies messages and themes from books in all subject areas.
b. Responds to a variety of texts in multiple modes of discourse.
c. Relates messages and themes from one subject area to those in another area.
d. Evaluates the merits of texts in every subject discipline.
e. Examines the author’s purpose in writing.
f. Recognizes the features of disciplinary texts.