HS ELA Guide

●​ “Adolescence and the Teenage Crush” by Dr. Carl Pickhardt (CommonLit) ●​ “Is Your Reality Real?: The Dual Existence of Hobbes in Calvin and Hobbes as an Example of Subjective Realities” by Kira Lyle ●​ “What is a bar mitzvah, and how has the Jewish rite of passage evolved?” by Jonathan D. Sarna (Newsela) ●​ “With proms canceled, this family held a festive prom for two” by Washington Post (Newsela)

Novels ●​ Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury ●​ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ●​ A Long Way Gone by Ishamel Beah ●​ I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez Chapters ●​ “ Eleven” The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Short Stories ●​ “The Scorpion and the Frog” Fable ●​ “First Confession” by Frank O’Connor ●​ “Love” by William Maxwell ●​ “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing ( Mirrors and Windows, p. 29-36) Poetry ●​ Gilgamesh ●​ Beowulf

Theme

Essential Questions

●​ What is justice? ●​ What are the roles and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy? ●​ How does culture affect justice? ●​ Is what is just always fair? ●​ What are some obstacles to justice? ●​ Is freedom of expression an essential component of democracy? ●​ What limitations might a government place on freedom of expression? ●​ What responsibilities, if any, do schools have to teach students how to engage in informed, civic discourse?

Justice and Democracy

Literary Texts

Informational Texts

●​ “Justice and Fairness” by Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez ●​ “Last of the Scottsboro Boys get justice long delayed: pardons” by Los Angeles Times ●​ “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by the United Nations ●​ “Declaration of the Rights of the Child” by the United Nations

Unit 2 in Mirrors and Windows Level V covers non-fiction texts about the Civil Rights Movement Unit 4 in Mirrors and Windows Level V includes Julius Caesar Poetry ●​ “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes ●​ “The Ides of March” by Constantine Cavafy ( Mirrors and Windows p. 600-601) Plays ●​ Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Paired Text Julius Caesar

●​ “Understanding Shakespeare” (Mirrors and Windows p. 524-529) ●​ “Primary Sources: The Assassination of Julius Caesar” by C. Suetonius Tranquillus (Newsela) ●​ “Comparing governments: democracy vs. authoritarianism” by UShistory.org (Newsela) ●​ “Ides of March Marked Murder of Julius Caesar” by Jennifer Vernon ●​ “The Rise of Caesarism” by Steve Bonta ●​ “Brutus on Broadway: Et tu, Denzel? Washington shakes up Shakespeare” by Allison Samuels ( Mirrors and Windows p. 641-642)

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Jun 2, 2025

Last Updated

High School ELA, Page 71