Comparative Literature
Unit description: Students will compare and contrast the same text in various formats (audio, filmed, staged, etc.) to determine the impact and effectiveness of each. Students will look deeply within one text as well as across texts to identify elements of plot, and analyze how they interact with one another. Students will also work on the diction level to analyze the impact that specific words have on the development of the plot, mood, tone, and theme of each story. Students will respond in multiple formats (verbally, written, project, etc.) to convey their learning of the unit.
Note: Each unit plan is generally taught over the course of one quarter of the school year. Lessons will vary in length, depending on the amount of time you have with students, the resources that you choose to accompany the unit, the level of rigor within each learning target, and any other factors that may contribute to the pacing of your learning progressions. It is recommended that you adjust the pace and length of each learning progression(s) accordingly in response to these factors.
These learning progressions were developed using Next Generation Learning Standards and were crosswalked with the Common Core Standards.
Essential Outcomes
Reading
- 8R1: Cite textual evidence to strongly support an analysis of what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences.
- 8R2: Determine one or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; summarize a text.
- 8R5: In literary texts, and informational texts, compare and contrast the structures of two or more texts in order to analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to overall meaning, style, theme or central idea.
- 8R6: In literary texts, analyze how the differences between the point of view, perspectives of the characters, the audience, or reader create effects such as mood and tone. In informational texts, analyze how the author addresses conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
- 8R7: Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different media—text, audio, video, stage, or digital—to present a particular subject or idea and analyze the extent to which a production remains faithful to or departs from the written text.
Language
- 8L3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
- 8L6: Acquire and accurately use general academic and content-specific words and phrases; apply vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Writing
- 8W4: Create a poem, story, play, artwork, or other response to a text, author, theme or personal experience; explain divergences from the original text when appropriate.
- 8W5: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Apply the grade 8 Reading Standards to both literary and informational text, where applicable.
Speaking and Listening
- n/a
All Standards Addressed in this Unit
- R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7
- L3, L4, L5, L6
- W4, W5
- SL1, SL4, SL6
Essential Questions and Big Ideas
- How do elements that are unique to a medium or genre impact a story’s meaning?
- Authors make deliberate choices about the medium and literary devices that they use in their writing, including mood, tone, and diction.
- These choices affect the meaning that is conveyed in a story.
- Why do we compare and evaluate literature within and across mediums?
- Good readers look for trends across genres and mediums to determine which is most effective at conveying a message or purpose.
- Good readers create or use an established criteria to evaluate a text or text set.
- How can I effectively convey new learning?
- There are multiple formats to show new learning, including written and verbal.
- Socratic Seminar is one way to effectively convey your synthesis of knowledge from a unit of study.