Download Sophomore Curriculum Guide

Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Sophomore English (World Literature)
(Regular)
Writing Intensive Course
Curriculum Guide
Gordon Tech High School
Chicago, Illinois
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Instructional Materials
Books
Speak
Winesburg, Ohio
I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings
This Boy’s Life
A Doll’s House
Julius Caesar
R= required, 0= optional
R
O
O
O
O
R can be replaced with
Othello
O
R
R
R
Othello
Inherit the Wind
Things Fall Apart
Night
Please choose 1-2 additional texts!
Agreed-Upon Elements
Writing
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Assessments:
narrative
in-class essays
multi-draft essays
portfolio
reading quizzes
objective tests and quizzes
argument of fact
Grammar Emphases:
 commonly confused words
 comma usage
 tense consistency
 agreement
 punctuation
 colon and semicolon usage
 parallelism
 active voice
 concise writing
Writing
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and Research Emphases:
Plagiarism Prevention
Process writing
Timed writing
Claim/evidence/ warrant
See appendix for research
Listening and Speaking:
 Orally sharing communication in large and small groups
 Effective listening skills
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Thematic Units
Following are the thematic units covered in the sophomore year:
Semester One
1. Individuality and Relationships
2. Power and Responsibility
Semester Two
3. Trust and Betrayal
4. Conflict and Choice
Ongoing Skills Taught Both Semesters
5. Writing
6. Research Skills
7. Vocabulary
8. Grammar
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Student Learning Targets
(Predicated, in part, on the ACT College-Readiness Standards)
Over-arching Reading Target
Students critically read and derive meaning from a variety of texts.
Sub-targets
 Identify the author’s main idea or purpose.
 Locate supporting details in a passage.
 Use appropriate textual evidence to make accurate inferences and conclusions.
 Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words through context.
 Identify cause/effect relationships.
 Identify the sequence of events in a passage.
 Identify how the author uses language to convey meaning.
 Identify examples of literary terms in a passage. (Terms are listed by semester on the
reverse side.)
 Identify how a passage exemplifies literary themes, genres, and rhetorical strategies (e.g.
ethos, logos, pathos).
Over-arching Writing Target
Students write for a variety of purposes and audiences, conveying their intended message and
meaning.
Sub-targets
 Express a clear thesis, point of view, theme, or unifying event. (focus)
 Support writing with context and evidence. (support)
 Unify thesis and evidence with clear analysis (elaboration)
 Structure writing that demonstrates a clear, logical flow of ideas. (organization)
 Use varied sentence structure and vocabulary to express voice. (language facility)
 Use standard written English. (usage)
Research
Sub-targets are shown by semester in parentheses.
 Correct citations per MLA guidelines. (1)
 Based on a hypothetical scenario or thesis statement, select the most credible source to
support a claim. (2)
 Identify bias in a variety of sources. (2)
Literary Terms
 Match literary terms to their definitions. (See list on reverse side.)
Commonly Confused Words
 Differentiate between pairs of commonly confused words in context. (Pairs are listed by
semester on the reverse side.)
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Over-arching Usage/Editing Target
Students edit sentences using Standard English conventions.
Sub-targets—shown by semesters in parentheses:
 Punctuate sentences correctly using commas. (1 & 2). See reverse side for exact
breakdown.
 Maintain tense consistency. (1)
 Maintain indefinite pronoun/verb agreement. (1)
 Maintains agreement between pronoun and antecedent. (1)
 Correct punctuation of possessive words. (1)
 Edit sentences to maintain parallelism. (2)
 Punctuate sentences correctly using colons and semicolons (2).
 Identify active voice as preferable to passive voice. (2)
 Eliminate unnecessary words to maintain concise writing. (parsimony) (2)
Literary Terms
Semester 1
Figurative language
Figure of speech
Foil
Irony (rhetorical, situational,
dramatic)
Mood
Semester 2
Alliteration
Apostrophe
Aside
Blank verse
Both Semesters
Allusion
Connotation
Hyperbole
Image
Couplet
Foot
Free verse
Iambic pentameter
Meter
Monologue
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Rhyme
Rhyme scheme
Soliloquy
Sonnet
Stanza
Symbol
Metaphor
Motif
Personification
Simile
Theme
Tone
Satire*
Parody*
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*31-41 Honors Only
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Commonly Confused Words
Semester 1
Lead/led
Passes/past
Piece/peace
Principal/principle
Are/or/our*
Clothes/clouths*
Semester 2
Moral/morale
Personal/personnel
Through/threw
Weather/whether
Woman/women
Both Semesters
Loose/lose
Quite/quiet
Right/write
Than/then
There/they’re/their
Two/to/too
Were/where
Who’s/whose
You’re/your
Accept/except*
Have/of*
It’s/its*
*re-integrated from freshman
year
Comma Rules
Semester 1
Before for, and, or, but, or, yet, so when they
connect two independent clauses
To separate three or more items in a series.
Semester 2 + review of Semester 1
Around the name of a person spoken to.
Around expressions that interrupt the flow of a
sentence (e.g. however, moreover, therefore, of
course, by the way, on the other hand)
Around additional information that is not
needed in a sentence
After an introductory expression (word, phrase
or dependent clause) or before a comment or
question tagged to the end.
With direct quotations.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
UNITS OF INSTRUCTION
Essential Questions for Semester One
Theme
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1: Individuality and Relationships
How do we determine our self-identity and personality?
Why do we form relationships with others? What is the purpose?
How do we change in the presence of different settings and/or groups of people?
Why do we form cliques with other people?
How do our relationships with our parents and families change as we get older?
How do our relationships with our friends and peers change as we get older?
How does our self-image influence our relationships with others?
Why do we value some relationships over others?
Why do some relationships end?
Theme
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2: Power and Responsibility
What is power? Where does power come from?
What powers do you have over your own life and environment?
What powers do your parents and family have over you?
What powers do your society and government have over you?
Do we all desire power? When do we recognize this desire?
How is it possible to control one’s use of power?
What are some positive and negative consequences of being in charge?
What is responsibility?
For whom are we responsible (other than ourselves)?
Do we have a responsibility to our parents and families?
Do we have a responsibility to those who are less privileged than ourselves?
Why do people in power need to be responsible?
Suggested Readings for Semester One
Genre
Author and Title
Novels:
Drama:
Essay and
Short Fiction:
 Anderson, Speak
 Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio
 Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
 Orwell, Animal Farm
 Orwell, 1984
 Wolff, This Boy’s Life
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 Ibsen, A Doll’s House
 McCullers, Member of the Wedding
 Miller, All My Sons
 Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
All short selections can be found in The Prose Reader 7th Edition unless
otherwise noted by the asterisk.
 Bukowski, Excerpt from Ham on Rye *
 Chan, “You’re Short, Besides!”
 Cisneros, “Only Daughter”
 Ehrenreich, “The Ecstasy of War”
 Krents, “Darkness at Noon”
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
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Poetry:
Films:
Ramirez, “The Barrio”
Sawaquat, “For My Indian Daughter”
Tan, “Mother Tongue”
Wozencraft, “Notes from the Country Club”
Bradbury. “The Veldt” and “There Will Come Soft Rains” *
Jackson, “The Lottery” *
LeGuin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” *
Vonnegut, “Harrison Bergeron” *
Langone, “Group Violence” from previous ed. Prose Reader *
Mathabane, “Passport to Knowledge” from previous ed. Prose Reader
Nilssen, “Sexism in English” from previous ed. Prose Reader *
Roberts, “How to Say Nothing in 500 Words” from previous ed. Prose
Reader *
 Mohr, “The Wrong Lunch Line” from Coming of Age in America *
 Schwartz, “Where is it Written?” from Coming of Age in America *
Selected poetry from Book of Poetry 2 and other resources
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Bowling For Columbine
Dead Poets Society
All My Sons
Animal Farm
A Few Good Men
Do The Right Thing
Good Night, and Good Luck
Lord of the Flies
The Lottery
The Majestic
The Manchurian Candidate
1984
A State of Mind
V for Vendetta
Wall Street
Acceptable Evidence for Semester One
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Graphic Organizers
Journals and reader’s response sheets
Reading quizzes
Objective tests and quizzes
Multi-draft essays
In-class essays
In-class discussions
Organizational tool: binder, notebook, portfolio
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Sample Writing Prompts for Semester One
1. Define what you think a good friendship is. Describe what qualities are necessary in order
to have a good friendship, and use specific examples to illustrate these qualities.
You may use personal examples.
2. Define what you think a good marriage (or family) is. Describe what qualities are necessary
in order to have a good marriage (or family), and use specific examples to illustrate these
qualities. You may use personal examples.
3. To what extent do you derive your identity from your association with a particular group?
How do you alter your behavior when you are with different groups? With whom do you feel
that you are acting the closest to your “true self”? Why?
4. What do you have power over in your environment, and why? What do you not have power
over in your environment, and why? How do you think the power you have will change in
the next five years?
5. Write about a time that you were given a considerable amount of power, and consequently
of responsibility. With what choices were you faced?
6. How much responsibility do you as a sophomore have over your own education? To what
degree are you influenced by your parents, friends, teachers, counselors, extracurricular
involvement, the courses that are (not) available to you, the school district, and your own
goals and beliefs?
7. Write about a time that you were stereotyped by someone else. Why were you stereotyped?
Did the stereotype confer or limit your power? What effect did the stereotype have on you,
as well as on the person using it? How did you respond to being stereotyped? What did you
or the other person learn from the experience?
8. Many people have claimed that people are the “products of their environment.” Support or
refute this claim by analyzing two characters from our reading. To what extent does the
character have or lack control over his/her environment? Over him or herself? What factors
contribute to this control or lack of it? Why do people from similar backgrounds often have
such different levels of responsibility?
9. Choose two characters from our reading who mean to use power responsibly, but do not
succeed in doing so. What factors cause this misuse of power? What are the effects of this
misuse of power? To what extent is the misuse a conscious or unconscious decision?
Discuss whether or not a lack of intentional abuse is grounds for excusing the misuse.
10. Consider how characters in our readings that have been stereotyped. Choose two situations
from our readings and show how stereotypes can confer or limit power. Who is being
stereotyped? Who is doing the stereotyping? What effect does the stereotype have on both
individuals and the larger social group? Does the stereotype confer power or limit power?
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Essential Questions for Semester Two
Theme
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3: Trust and Betrayal
What is trust?
What factors cause us to trust someone?
What factors cause us to stop trusting someone?
Whom do we trust, and why? Whom do we mistrust, and why?
How can someone regain our trust after it has been lost?
What is betrayal?
In what ways can another person betray us?
How do we react to betrayal?
Under what circumstances might betrayal of another person be necessary?
Under what circumstances might betrayal of one’s social community be necessary?
Theme
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4: Conflict and Choice
What is conflict?
What causes conflict?
What types of conflict are common in our lives?
How do we react to conflict in our lives?
Is conflict inevitable in life?
How are the individual and society in conflict?
Is the conflict between individual and society inevitable?
Which is more devastating, internal or external conflict?
What is choice?
What choices do we have control over in our own lives?
What choices do we not have control over in our own lives?
What choices do we have when we experience a conflict?
How do our choices in life affect our families, friends, and communities?
Suggested Reading for Semester Two
Genre
Novels:
Author
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Drama:
 Lawrence and Lee, Inherit the Wind
 Sophocles, Antigone
 Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
 Shakespeare, Othello
All short selections can be found in The Prose Reader 7th Edition unless
otherwise noted by the asterisk.
 Angelou, “New Directions”
 Goodman, “A Working Community”
 Heat-Moon, “Red, White, and Blue Highways”
 Ouchi, “Japanese and American Workers”
 Rodriguez, “Fear of Losing A Culture”
 Staples, “A Brother’s Murder”
 Steinem, “The Politics of Muscle”
Essay and
Short Fiction:
and Title
Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Wiesel, Night
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
 Viorst, “The Truth About Lying”
 Gregory, “Shame” *
 McCourt, Excerpt from ’Tis *
 Salzman, Excerpt from Iron and Silk *
 Staples, “Just Walk on By” *
Selected poetry from Book of Poetry 2 and other resources
Poetry:
Films:
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A Dry White Season
Blackboard Jungle
Bob Roberts
Cleopatra
The Commitments
Hero
Inherit the Wind
Julius Caesar
Manchurian Candidate
Master Harold and the Boys
One Hour Photo
Othello
Parallax View
Swimming Upstream
Acceptable Evidence for Semester Two
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Graphic Organizers
Journals and reader’s response sheets
Reading quizzes
Objective tests and quizzes
Multi-draft essays
In-class essays
In-class discussions
Organizational tool: binder, notebook, portfolio
Sample Writing Prompts for Semester Two
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Describe a personal situation in which issues of loyalty and betrayal were raised. How
did the situation develop? Describe the confrontation. How was it resolved?
Write about a time when loyalty to yourself (beliefs, goals, and so on) came into conflict
with a different loyalty about which you felt strongly (religion, culture, parents, etc.)
What characteristics determine whether or not you will trust someone? Give an example
of someone whom you trust, along with someone whom you do not trust. Consider why
you do or do not trust each person.
Choose three betrayals from our readings and rank the betrayals from least to most
harmful. Consider in your ranking the relationship between the characters involved, the
characters’ motives, and the consequences – intended and unintended – of the betrayal.
If the distortion of language is a form of betrayal, choose characters in two different
works who manipulate others through language. Compare and contrast what is said,
what is implied, and what results from the messages. How is this strategy tailored to the
strengths of the speaker and the vulnerabilities of the victim?
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
6.
Using characters from two or more works, demonstrate how loyalty can be both a
strength and a weakness. For each character, cite two examples: one in which the
loyalty can be interpreted as a strength, and one in which it can be interpreted as a
weakness. Determine the overall value of the character’s loyalty: is the object of loyalty
worthwhile? What is the outcome of this loyalty?
7.
Describe a conflict that you had with school, family, friends, or culture. Why did the
conflict occur? How did it affect you? How did it affect other people? What values were
at stake in the conflict? Which side prevailed, and why?
8.
How does conflict affect personality? For instance, can conflict make you more
compassionate, flexible, and aware – or does it make you bitter, distrustful, and
disillusioned? Choose one incident in which you faced a serious conflict and reflect on
how the experience changed you, positively and/or negatively.
9.
Most people make decisions based on what they think will be a positive outcome. In our
readings, however, some of the characters have made disappointing choices. Choose two
such characters and explain why they made poor choices. What would have helped the
character to make a better choice?
10. According to William Golding, “the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature
of the individual.” First, explain Golding’s quotation. Second, apply Golding’s ideas to
our readings. Consider whether it is possible to be loyal to society without first being
loyal to oneself. Cite at least one instance from each work in which a character’s loyalty
to himself conflicts with his loyalty to society. Explain why this conflict exists and
comment on the way the character chooses to resolve the conflict.
ONGOING UNITS
Lessons on writing, research, vocabulary, and grammar will be taught throughout the
school year on an ongoing basis.
Writing
 Claim/evidence/ warrant
 Process writing using multiple drafts
 Timed writing using in-class essays
 Plagiarism prevention
 · Research skills (see research project below and in appendix)
Research
 The instructor will incorporate a research project into a suitable unit from Themes 1-4.
The research project in the pages that follow applies to Inherit the Wind, though similar
research projects could
be taught with other pieces of literature to fulfill the
sophomore research component.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary: Vocabulary Workshop, Level D or Vocabulary for the College Bound Student (W)
Word within the Word (N)
Vocabulary words chosen from texts studied in class
 Instructors will incorporate the study of vocabulary into classroom instruction through
the school year.
Suggested classroom activities include workbook exercises, as well as
sentence writing, expository writing,
narrative writing, and theater skits that incorporate
vocabulary words into the writing.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Grammar
Grammar:
Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition, Fourth Course, Blue (W)
The Least You Should Know about English (N)
 Instructors will incorporate the study of grammar into classroom instruction throughout
the school year. Suggested classroom activities include workbook exercises, sentence
writing, and essay writing focusing on skills related to grammar and mechanics.
 Areas of Study Sophomore Year:
 Parts of a sentence: independent and subordinate clauses
 Sentence combining techniques
 Sentence variety and style
 Punctuation: commas, semicolons, colons
 Parallelism in a series
 Pronoun issues: pronoun agreement and indefinite pronouns
 Possessives
 Reinforcement of Skills Covered Freshman Year:
 Sentence construction
 Comma splices
 Subject verb agreement
 Tense consistency
 Commonly confused words
 Sentence combining
 Subordination
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT DESCRIPTION
A CRT including multiple choice questions and an essay component will be used for the
summative assessment at the end of both semesters.
Summative assessment must show how students are progressing toward displaying knowledge of
the course learning targets.
LXR print-outs (e.g. item analysis) will be analyzed by teachers and the directors to improve
performance in subsequent years.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Appendices
Units of Instruction - Grammar/Writing/Research
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12
Grammar
Emphasis
Sentence
Construction
*Parts of Sentences
(subject, predicate,
in/dependent
clauses,
phrases/sentences
fragments)
*Comma Splices
(run-on sentences)
*Subject/verb
agreement
*Tense consistency
(present, past,
future)
*Commonly
confused words
(they’re/their/
there, its/it’s, etc.)
*Sentence
combining (to each
parts of speech/
sentences. Prep
phrases too)
*Subordination
Sentence Variety
*Sentence
combining (to
teach colons,
semicolons,
variety, etc.)
*More
sophisticated
subordination
* Pronoun/
antecedent
* Tense
consistency
(present,
past[imperfect,
perfect, pluperfect]
future)
*Parallelism in a
series
* Possessives
* Indefinite
Pronouns
(pronoun/verb
agreement, e.g.
someone is there)
*Discourage
Passive Voice
Economy, Clarify,
ACT
Review
*Stylistic elements
(tone, voice,
syntax, diction)
*Sentence
combining (for
economy and
clarify)
*ACT review
exercises
Refinement and
Senior/ Research
Paper
Writing Emphasis
Note: Assessment
Rubric for
Semester 1
1 ICE per Marking
Period (6 total by
year-end)
By second
semester prompts
without prior class
time devoted to
prep
2 ICE’s Marking
Period
Preparing for the
Future
12 tolal by year
end
Prompts not given
before hand.
-College Essay
Writing
State of Illinois:
Focus
Support/Elaboration,
Organization,
Conventions,
Integration
3 pieces of
Narrative Writing
-creation myth
-character sketch
(god teach)
- narrative (end of
childhood)
Persuasive Writing
-focus on claims &
evidence
- Reading
responses
- single paragraph
1 OCE (out of
class essay per
marking period.
(6 total by yearend)
Prompts can still
be Generated by
14
OPTIONAL 1 OCE
per semester
(Max 2 for the
year)
OCE’s diminish in
importance here
because it’s a big
test year and kids
-Building a
Resume
-Writing a letter
Senior Research
Paper
1 ICE per
marking period
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
or shot essays
the teacher (9.3
agree or disagree
with the following:)
Emphasis on
warrants,
introducing quotes
in context
transitional
phrases.
have a better
handle on
manipulating the
internet.
Recognize and use
of the (hypo) thesis,
its purpose and
placement. Find
date to support and
accepted
generalization given
by the teacher.
Seek data that is
reliable, current
and authoritative.
Recognize bias. Use
internet sources
which are “hard
copy” i.e. NY Times
Generate and
defend a thesis
independently and
based on an
inquiry given by
the teacher
Evaluate date from
opposing
viewpoints.
Evaluate internet
sources.
Generate and
defend a thesis
independent of
teacher prompt.
Reinforcement of
10th grade with
added emphasis on
using data but
researching
opposing
viewpoints and
refuting them.
Search for and use
of primary source
materials.
Skills: (from
Research Manual)
Selecting sources
bibliography quote
cards quotation
basics outlining
MLA parenthetical
citations
Skills: (from
Research Manual)
Citing Quotations
paraphrasing
evaluating Sources
literary Criticism
finding Literary
Criticism/ IRC
Tour
Semester II
Three ICE’s (in
class essays)
-can be reading
responses
-can be fully
prepped; i.e.
outline, notes, book
Research Emphasis
Note terminology:
Claim,
Evidence and
Warrant
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Skills: (from
Research Manual)
Conducting
interviews
formatting a
Research Paper
(i.e. title page, first
page, Works cited
page….)
Use a more
sophisticated
approach to
creating and
supporting an
argumentative
thesis.
Reinforcement of
11th grade with
added emphasis on
more sophisticated
sources: literary
criticism;
university
publications; nonreliance on
pamphlets or
encyclopedias.
Skills: (from
Research Manual)
Alternative to
quote cards (i.e.
Research logs)
finding Literary
Criticism
developing an
original thesis
statement.
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
LITERARY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
Act – The major division of the action in a drama.
Alliteration – A repetition of sounds, usually consonant sounds, but sometimes vowel sounds, at
the beginnings of words in the same line or in successive lines. For example:
“O wild West Wind, thou breth of Autumn’s being”
--Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind”
Allusion – A reference to a presumably familiar person, object, place or event, or to a literary,
historical, artistic, mythological, or biblical passage or work which the writer expects will be
known to his readers.
Antagonist – The character in fiction or drama who stands directly opposed to the protagonist.
Apostrophe – The direct address to a deceased or absent person as if he were present, or to an
animal or thing, or an abstract idea or quality. Apostrophe is sometimes used with personification.
An example of apostrophe without personification is:
“Little Lamb, who made thee?”
--William Blake, “The Lamb”
An example of apostrophe with personification is:
“With how sad steps, O Mooon, thou climb’st the skies
How silently, and with how wan a face!”
--Philip Sidney, “With How Sad Steps, O Moon”
Archetype – A term brought into literary criticism from the depth psychology of Carl Jung, who
holds that behind each individual’s “unconscious” – the blocked-off residue of his past – lies the
“collective unconscious” of the human race – the blocked off memory of our human past, even of
our pre-human experiences. The unconscious memory makes powerfully effective for us a group of
“primordial images” shaped by the repeated experience of our ancestors and is expressed in
myths, religions, dreams, fantasies, and in literature. The literary critic applies the term to an
image, a descriptive detail, a plot pattern, or a character type that occurs frequently in literature,
myth religion, or folklore and is, therefore, believed to evoke profound emotions in the reader
because it awakens a primordial image in the unconscious memory.
Aside – Private words that a character in a play speaks to the audience or to another character
which are not supposed to be overhead by others onstage.
Blank Verse – Unrhymed poetry, in which each line usually has ten syllables. Five of the syllables
are stressed – generally the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth syllables. For examples:
“But, SOFT! What LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS!
It IS the EAST, and JULiet IS the SUN!
A-RISE, fair SUN, and KILL the Envious MOON
Who IS already SICK and PALE with GRIEF
That THOU her MAID art FAR more FAIR than SHE.”
--William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Characterization – The manner in which an author reveals aspects of characters. A writer can
reveal a character in the following ways:
1. Telling the reader directly what the character is like.
2. Describing how the character looks and dresses.
3. Letting the reader “hear” how the character speaks.
4. Revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings.
5. Revealing the character’s effect on other people – showing how other characters feel
or behave toward the character.
6. Showing the character’s actions.
The first method of revealing a character is called direct characterization. The other five methods
of revealing a character are called indirect characterization.
Climax – The point in dramatic structure that designates the turning point in the action, the place
at which rising action reverses and becomes the falling action.
Connotation – An association or suggestion which a word calls to mind in addition to its literal
meaning.
Couplet – Two successive lines, usually rhymed, which form a single unit of verse. For example:
“I was angry with my foe.
I told it not, my wrath did grow.”
--William Blake, “A Poison Tree”
Denotation – The literal or dictionary meaning of meanings of a word.
Dialogue – A conversation of two or more people as reproduced in writing.
Drama – A story that is written to be acted out in front of an audience.
Fiction – Prose writing that includes invented material and that does not claim to be factually
true.
The term fiction most often refers to prose narratives such as novels and short stories. Even
though plays an d poems are also works of the imagination, they are not usually classified as
fiction.
Figurative language – Language that is not meant to be interpreted on a strict literal level because
it is in tended to mean something more than or other than its literal meaning.
Figure of speech – A word or phrase which describes something in a way that is not literally true
but may be meaningful in a deeper sense. The effect of a figure of speech on the reader is
generally stronger than that produced by everyday language.
Foil – A character who is used as a contrast to another character. This contrast emphasizes the
differences between the two characters, bringing out the distinctive qualities in each.
Foot – The unit of rhythm in a verse. A foot usually consists of one stressed or long syllable and
one or more unstressed or short syllables.
Free verse – Poetry that has no regular meter or rhyme scheme. Free verse usually relies instead
on the natural rhythms of ordinary speech.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Hyperbole – Deliberate overstatement, used for effect.
Iambic pentameter – A line of poetry made up of five iambs. An iamb is a metrical foot, or unit of
measure, consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic pentameter is
by far the most common verse line in English poetry. Shakespeare’s poems, for example, are
written primarily in this meter.
Image – A word or phrase which brings a picture to the reader’s mind or appeals to his senses of
sight, hearing, touch, taste or smell. The collective term for images is imagery.
Irony – There are three forms of irony: Verbal (also called Rhetorical), Dramatic and Situational.
Rhetorical Irony occurs when a character says one thing but means another.
Dramatic Irony occurs when we know what is in store for a character, but the character does not
know. This is called dramatic irony because it is so often used in drama (that is, on the stage).
Situational Irony describes an occurrence that is not just surprising; it is the opposite of what we
expected. In an ironic situation, what actually happens is so contrary to our expectations that it
seems to mock human intentions and the confidence with which we plan our futures.
Metaphor – A figure of speech in which one thing is compared indirectly to another dissimilar
thing, without the use of like, as, or than. For example:
“Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun”
--William Shakespeare, “No More Be Grieved”
Metaphors may appear in more than one line of verse only, or they may be extended
through many lines. For example, the first four lines of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73” contain an
extended metaphor in which late middle
age is compared to late autumn:
“That time of year thou may’st in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang.”
Meter – An organized rhythmic pattern created by the repetition of the same foot, or group of
stressed and unstressed syllables, throughout a poem.
Monologue – Any speech or narrative presented wholly by one person.
Mood – The prevailing tone in a piece of literature.
Motif – An idea, subject, or pattern that is regularly repeated and developed in a literature, film,
music, or the visual arts.
Narrator – In the broadest sense, anyone who recounts a narrative, either in writing or orally. In
fiction the term is used in a more technical sense, as the ostensible author or teller of the story.
Onomatopoeia – The use of words which in their pronunciation suggest the sound of a particular
action; for example, “buzz,” “crash,” “sizzle.” However, in poetry it is a much more subtle device
than simply the use of such words, when, in an effort to suit sound to sense, the poet creates
verses which carry their meaning in their sounds.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Oxymoron – A combination of contradictory or incongruous words; eg. Bittersweet
Paradox – A self-contradictory statement or situation which nevertheless reveals some truth. For
example:
“Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage.”
--Richard Lovelace, “To Althea, from Prison”
Personification – A figure of speech in which the writer attributes human qualities to animals,
inanimate objects, or ideas. For example,
“Pale Ocean in unquiet slumber lay,
And the wild Winds flew round, sobbing in their dismay.”
--Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Adonais”
Poetry – A kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery
designed to appeal to our emotions and imaginations.
Point of view – The vantage point from which a writer tells a story. There are three main points of
view:
1. Omniscient or all knowing, in which the person telling the story knows everything that
is going on in the story.
2. First person, in which the narrator is a character in the story. Using the pronoun “I,”
the narrator tells us his or her own experience, but cannot reveal any other character’s
private thoughts.
3. Limited third person, in which the narrator is outside the story, like an omniscient
narrator, but tells the story from the vantage point of only one character.
Prologue – A preface or introduction, most frequently associated with drama.
Prose – In the broadest sense, the term is applied to all forms of written or spoken expression
which do not have a regular rhythmic pattern.
Protagonist – The main character in fiction or drama.
Pun – A play on the multiple meanings of a word, or on two words that sound alike but have
different meanings.
Rhyme – The repetition of two or more words reasonably close to each other in which the last a
vowel sound and the last consonant sound are the same. Example: June – moon; sea – me; sleep –
weep. If the rhyme occurs at the end of the line, it is called an end rhyme. For example:
“He hangs in shades the orange bright,
Like golden lamps in a green night.”
--Andrew Marvell, “Bermudas”
If a rhyme occurs within a line, it is called an internal rhyme. For example:
“The ant and the mole sit both in a hole.”
--Ben Jonson, “The Masque of Queens”
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Rhyme scheme – The pattern in which end rhyme occurs throughout a stanza or an entire poem.
Rhyme schemes are usually denoted by italicized letters of the alphabet. For example, if the first
and third lines of a four-line stanza rhyme, we say that the rhyme scheme is abac (a represents
the rhyming words, while b and c represent the words that do not rhyme). If there are two rhymes
in a four-line stanza, the rhyme scheme is abab, and if all four lines rhyme, it is aaaa.
Scene – In drama, a scene is divisions within the acts.
Setting – The time and place of a story.
Simile – A figure of speech in which the comparison between two unlike things is expressed
directly, usually by means of like or as, or than. Two examples are William Wordsworth’s line, “I
wandered lonely as a cloud,” and Robert Burns’s line, “O, my luve’s like a red, red rose.”
Soliloquy – A long speech in which a character expresses private thoughts or feelings. This
convention generally occurs when the character is alone on stage.
Sonnet – A lyric poem of fourteen lines usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter. Sonnets
usually follow one of two types of rhyme schemes, but the rhymes may vary.
Stanza – A group of lines which constitute a division in a poem. There is space before the last line,
and after the last line in each group. Each stanza in a poem usually contains the same number of
lines.
Suspense – The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next in a story.
Symbol – In a poem, generally a figure of speech in which an object, person , place, event or
quality is chosen to stand for something in addition to itself – something which may not be
directly mentioned in the poem. For example, the road is a symbol of movement through life in
“Sixty- Eighth Birthday” by James Russell Lowell:
“As life runs on , the road grows strange
With faces new, and near the end
The milestones into headstones change,
‘Neath every one a friend.”
Notice that although life is mentioned, the road is not described directly as the road of life(a
metaphor), or
compared to life by means of like, as, or than (a simile). The literal meaning of
a symbol is preserved along
with the additional meaning that it represents.
Theme – The central idea or insight of a work of literature. The theme is not the same as the
subject of a work, and is different from a moral (which is a lesson about how to live).
Tone – The attitude a writer takes toward the reader, subject, or character.
Definitions adapted from:
Elements of Literature (1989) by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
A Handbook to Literature (1960), Thrall, Hibbard and Homan, The Odyssey Press, New York.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
A Book of Poetry – 1
Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1969.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS
By mastering the spelling of these often-confused words, you’ll take care of many of your spelling
problems. Study the words carefully, with their examples, before you try the exercises.
accept, except
Accept is a verb and means “to receive willingly.”
I accept your apology. (receive it willingly)
Except means “excluding” or “but.”
I answered all except the last question. (all but…)
advice, advise
Advise is a verb (pronounce the s like z).
I advise you to go.
Use advice when it’s not a verb.
I need some advice.
affect, effect
Affect is a verb and means “to influence.”
His opinion will affect my decision.
Effect means “result.” If a, an or the is in front of the word, then you’ll know it isn’t a
verb and will
effect.
His words had an effect on my decision.
all ready, already
If you can leave out the all and the sentence still makes sense, then all ready is the
form to use. (In that
form, all is a separate word and can be left out.)
I’m all ready to go. (I’m ready to go makes sense.)
Dinner is all ready. (Dinner is ready makes sense.)
But if you can’t leave out the all and still have the sentence make sense, then use
already (the form in
which the al has to stay in the word).
I’m already late. (I’m ready late doesn’t make sense.)
are, or, our
Are is a verb.
We are working hard.
Or is used between two possibilities, as “tea or coffee.”
Take it or leave it.
Our shows we possess something.
Our class meets at eight.
brake, break
Brake means “to slow or stop motion.” It’s also the name of the device that slows or
stops motion.
You brake to avoid an accident.
You slam on your brakes.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Break means “to shatter” or “to split.” It’s also the name of an interruption, as “a
coffee break.”
You break a dish or an engagement or a record.
You enjoy your Thanksgiving break.
choose, chose
I will choose my course of study right now.
I chose my course of study yesterday.
clothes, cloths
She makes her own clothes.
We used soft cloths to polish the car.
coarse, course
Coarse describes texture, as coarse cloth.
The sofa was upholstered in coarse cloth.
Course is used for all other meanings.
Of course I enjoyed that course.
complement, compliment
The one spelled with an e completes something or brings it to perfection.
A 30’ angle is the complement of a 60’ angle.
His blue tie complements his gray suit.
The one spelled with an i has to do with praise. Remember “I like compliments,” and
you’ll remember
to use the i spelling when you mean praise.
She gave him a compliment.
He complimented her on her well-written paper.
conscious, conscience
Conscious means “aware.”
I was not conscious that it was raining.
The extra n in conscience should remind you of NO, which is what your conscience
often says to you.
My conscience told me not to cut class.
dessert, desert
Dessert is the sweet one, the one you like two helpings of. So give it to helpings of s.
We had chocolate cake for dessert.
The other one, desert, is used for all other meanings.
Don’t desert me.
The camel moved slowly across the desert.
do, due
You do something.
I do the best I can.
But a payment or an assignment is due; it is scheduled for a certain time.
My paper is due tomorrow.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
does, dose
Does is a Verb.
He does his work well.
She doesn’t care about cars.
A dose is an amount of medicine.
That was a bitter dose to swallow.
feel, fill
Feel describes your feelings.
I feel ill.
I feel happy about that B.
Fill is what you do to a container.
Will you fill my glass again?
fourth, forth
The number fourth has four in it. (But note that forth does not. Remember the word
forty-fourth.)
This is our fourth game.
That was our forty-fourth point.
If you don’t mean a number, use forth.
She walked back and forth.
have, of
Have is a verb. When you say could have, the have may sound like of, but it must
not be written that
way. Always write could have, would have, should have, might have.
I should have finished my work sooner. Then I could have gone home.
Use of only in a prepositional phrase.
I often think of him.
hear, here
The last three letters of hear spell “ear.” You hear with your ear.
I can’t hear you. Speak up.
The other spelling here tells “where.” Note that the three words indicating a place or
pointing out
something all have here in them: here, there, where.
Where are you? I’m right here.
it’s, its
It’s is a contraction and means “it is” or “it has.”
It’s too late now. (it is too late now.)
It’s been a long time. (it has been a long time.)
Its is a possessive. (Possessives such as its, yours, hers, ours, theirs, whose
are already possessive and never take an apostrophe.)
Where are you? I’m right here.
knew, new
Knew has to do with knowledge (both start with k).
New means “not old.”
I knew I wanted a new job.
know, no
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Know has to do with knowledge (both start with k).
I know what I am doing.
No means “not any” or the opposite of “yes.”
No, I can’t go.
lead, led
The past form of the verb is led.
She led the parade yesterday.
If you don’t mean past time, use lead, which rhymes with head. (Don’t confuse it
with the metal lead, which rhymes with dead.)
She will lead the parade today.
loose, lose
Loose means “not tight.” Note how l o o s e that word is. It has plenty of room for two
o’s.
My shoestring is loose.
The other one, lose, has room for only one o.
They are going to lose that game.
moral, morale
Pronounce these two words correctly, and you won’t confuse them-moral, morale.
Moral has to do with right and wrong.
It was a moral question.
Morale means “the spirit of the group or an individual.”
The morale of the team was excellent.
passed, past
Passed is a verb.
He passed the house.
Use past when it’s not a verb.
He walked past the house. (It’s the same as He walked by the house, so you
know it isn’t a verb.)
He’s coasting on his past reputation.
In the past he has always passed his exams.
personal, personnel
Pronounce these two correctly, and you won’t confuse them,--personal, personnel.
That was his personal opinion.
Personnel means “a group of employees.”
She was in charge of personnel at the factory.
piece, peace
Remember “piece of pie.” The one meaning “a piece of something” always begins with
pie.
I gave him a piece of my mind.
The other one, peace, is the opposite of war.
They signed a peace treaty.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
quiet, quite
Pronounce these two correctly, and you won’t misspell them. Quiet rhymes with diet.
Be quiet.
Quite rhyme with bite.
I’m quite sure of it.
right, write
Right means “correct” or “proper.”
I got ten answers right.
Write is what you do with a pen.
I’ll write you a long letter soon.
than, then
Than compares two things.
I’d rather have this than that.
Then tells when (then and when rhyme, and both have e in them).
She finished shopping; then she went home.
their, there, they’re
Their is a possessive pronoun.
Their 1965 car is now a classic.
There points out something. (Remember the three words indicating a place or
pointing out something all have here in them: here, there, where.)
There is where I left it.
There were clouds in the sky.
There is a contraction and means “they are.”
They’re happy now. (They are happy now.)
threw, through
Threw means “to throw something” in past time.
He threw the ball
If you don’t mean “to throw something,” use through.
I walked through the door.
She’s through with her work.
two, too, to
Two is a number.
I made two B’s last semester.
Too means “more than enough” or “also.”
The lesson was too difficult and too long. (more than enough.)
I found it boring too. (also)
Use to for all other meanings.
He likes to snorkel.
He’s going to the beach.
weather, whether
Weather refers to atmospheric conditions.
I don’t like cold weather.
Whether means “if.”
I don’t know whether I’ll go.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Whether I’ll go depends on the weather.
were, where
Were is a verb.
We were miles from home.
Where refers to a place.
who’s, whose
Who’s is a contraction and always means “who is” or “who has.”
Who’s there? (Who is there?)
Who’s been eating my pie? (Who has been …?)
Whose is a possessive. (Possessives such as whose, its, yours, hers, ours, theirs are
already possessive
and never taken an apostrophe).
Whose coat is this?
woman, women
Remember that the word is just man or men with wo in front of it.
Wo man … woman … one woman
Wo men … women … two or more women
I’ve seen that woman before.
Those women are helping with the Red Cross drive.
you’re, your
You’re is a contraction that always means “you are.”
You’re very welcome. (You are very welcome.)
Your is a possessive.
Your bike is in the driveway.
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
RESEARCH PROJECT
You and the members of your group will research background materials relevant to Inherit the
Wind, write a 3-5 page formal research paper, and create a 5-7 minute multimedia
presentation to present your classmates, who will take notes in preparation for a cumulative
research quiz. This assignment will make use of your academic talents and social skills, build
your confidence in research and citation, help you to avoid academic dishonesty, and get you
ready for the projects you will do junior and senior years.
The Process
Your teacher will assign you to a group that mixes your talents and strengths with those of your
classmates. Over the course of approximately three weeks, you will work in class, at home, and in
the computer lab to research a variety of sources, cite them responsibly, evaluate bias, and
compile an informative presentation that helps you and your classmates understand the times
and topics relevant to Inherit the Wind.
Recommended Research Topics:
 Biography
 For ONE of the following public figures, research the biography, major achievements,
greatest disappointment, major writings, famous quote, influence on American society,
and how they react to the glare of the spotlight:
 Clarence Darrow
 William Jennings Bryan
 H.L. Mencken
 Viewpoint
 Research the opposing points of view on ONE of the following pairings:
 Evolution vs. Creationism @ the time of the play
 Evolution vs. Creationism in our own time
 Traditionalism vs. Modernism (1920s social mores, behavior, dress, dances,
education, pop culture)
 Cultural Literacy
 Research the competing aspects of ONE of the topics for life in the 1920s:
 Technology and a changing nation in the 1920s
 Small town vs. Big city life
 Press coverage of the event (north, south, cartoon, editorial, headline + sound clips)
 Milestones in law, politics, and education (1920’s)
Grading:
 Individual “Writing” Deadlines = 50 Points (individual grade)
 You will have FIVE individual prep work deadlines for TEN POINTS each
 You will receive FIVE points for having your work ready at the start of class
 You will receive FIVE points for having two copies (one for the teacher, one for the group
binder) at the start of class
 Missing these requirements will earn you a 5/10 or a 0/10
 Individual “Multimedia” Deadlines = 50 points (individual grade)
 Group Final Paper = 50 points (shared grade)
 Group Presentation = 50 points (shared grade)
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Research and Writing Due Dates:
 Groups Assigned by Teacher :
_____________________
 Three Individual Sources:
_____________________
 Group Finalizes Sources:
_____________________
 Individual Works Cited List:
_____________________
 Group Works Cited List:
_____________________
 Individual Annotated Citation:
_____________________
 Group Annotated Citations:
_____________________
 Individual C/E/W Worksheet:
_____________________
 Group Additions/Revised Works Cited:
_____________________
 Group Files, E-Mails Shared Document:
_____________________
 Peer Editing:
_____________________
 Individual Editing in The Point By:
_____________________
 Group Knits Sections Together in Lab:
_____________________
 Group Updates Parentheticals, Citations:
_____________________
 Complete Group Paper to Turnitin.com:
_____________________
 Complete Group Paper Due:
_____________________
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Phases of the Research:
“Find



It” Phase
Intro to assignment, sources, IRC orientation + reserve [in class]
Computer lab time [in class]
Individual student finds three sources [out of class / homework]
 one print source ]
 one electronic source ]-------> print out or photocopy each source
 one visual source ]
 bring TWO copies to class (one for teacher, one for group binder)
 Groups review and finalize sources [in class]
 meet to assimilate, evaluate, and select sources based on individual research
 eliminate repeats and gaps
 all sources + revised group sources go in binder
“Cite It” Phase
 Intro to MLA Works Cited [in class]
 Each student takes home copies of the five group sources and cites them using the
citation worksheets [out of class]
 Groups create preliminary Works Cited page in computer lab [in class]
 Intro to Annotated Bibliographies [in class]
 Group writes two annotated entries together [in class]
 Each student writes the annotated entry for ONE of the remaining five sources [out
of class]
 Groups reconvene to finalize Group Annotated Works Cited page in computer lab [in
class]
“Synthesize It” Phase
 Each student will select one facet of the topic (biography, viewpoint, or cultural
literacy), determine which sources best suit that topic, and complete a C/E/W
worksheet for the topic [out of class]
 Biography:
 Point: How a liberal would see him,
 Counterpoint: how a traditionalist would see him,
 Implications: how the issues he addressed continue to resonate today.
 Viewpoint:
 Point (e.g. evolution in the 1920’s)
 Counterpoint (e.g., creationism in the 1920’s)
 Implications: ideological conflicts in literature and life today
 Cultural Literacy:
 Point: Characteristics and merits (of technology or small-town life and
big-city life, for example)
 Counterpoint: Limitations and drawbacks (of technology or small-town
vs. big-city life, for example)
 Implications: How environment affects an individual’s world view and
interpretation of events
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
 Group meets to review, evaluate, and integrate each student’s individual work with
an eye to making sure the group can “jigsaw” a complete picture of the topic. [in
class]
 At this time, gaps in the research will be remediated by going back to the
computer lab for additional research.
 The group will also make revisions as necessary to the annotated
bibliography.
 Group will begin integrating (and making sure each student has a copy of) their work
as one document [in class, with out-of-class follow-up as necessary]
“Create It” Phase
 In Writing
 Group continues the work from “Synthesize It” phase [in class]
 Group compares paragraphs/sections and fixes gaps as needed [in class, with
individual out-of-class revisions]
 Peer editing [in class, with individual out-of-class revisions]
 Editing in The Point [in class, with individual out-of-class revisions]
 Group meets to knit sections together in computer lab [in class]
 Group works to monitor changes to parentheticals and Works Cited [in class]
 Write complete paper with Title Page, Essay with MLA Parenthetical Citations,
 Works Cited Page and hand in two copies (one to instructor, one to group
binder)
 In PowerPoint
 Outgrowth of Synthesize It phase
 Entirely in class.
 Group creates a presentation containing at least 6 slides detailing their
research findings
“Present It” Phase
 Presentations (5-7 minutes each)
 Note-taking
“Evaluate It” Phase
 Each group writes 2-3 questions on its objective presentation
 Test on final material
 Self-evaluation of writing, presentation
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Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
CREATING AN MLA WORKS CITED PAGE
Step One: Organizing Your Information
Here are five common types of sources: a book, an encyclopedia, a print journal, an online
journal, and a web page. Using the materials available from your teacher and The Point, transfer
this information to the appropriate boxes on the worksheets. This will get you started on creating
an MLA Works Cited page.
Book:
Author: G. Tyler Miller, Jr.
Title: Environmental Science: Working with the Earth
Edition: Eighth
Place of Publication: United States
Publisher: Brooks/Cole
Copyright Date: 2001
Page: 21
Encyclopedia:
Author (if any): Alonford James Robinson, Jr.
Entry: Apartheid
Encyclopedia Title: Africana Encyclopedia
Edition: Online
Publisher: Africana
Copyright Date: 1999
Date of Access: 12 July 2006
URL: http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html
Page: Page numbers unavailable
Quotation from: Third paragraph
Journal (Print Periodical):
Author: Marie-Laure Ryan
Article Title: Narrative in Real Time: Chronicle, Mimesis, and Plot in the Baseball Broadcast
Journal Title: Narrative
Volume: 1
Number: 2
Copyright Date: May 1993
Pages of Article: 138-155
Page of Quotation: 147
Online Periodical (Journal):
Authors: Josh Reynolds, Michael Stewart, Ryan MacDonald, Lacey Sischo
Article Title: Have Adolescents Become Too Ambitious? High School Seniors’ Educational and
Occupational Plans, 1976-2000
Journal Title: Social Problems
Volume: 53
Number: 2
Publication Date: May 2006
Print Pages: 186-206
Online Pages: Not available
31
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
URL: http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/sp.2006.53.2.186;jsessionid=o8-lhWjJZ59rfjNMX
Date of Access: 12 July 2006
Webpage or Report (Non-Periodical Internet Source):
Authors: Kristie N. Nelson, Sacha K. Heath, Tricia Wilson, Ann Greiner,
and W. David Shuford
Page or Report Title: Population Size and Reproductive Success of California Gulls at Mono Lake,
California, in 2005
Site Title: Population Size and Reproductive Success of California Gulls at Mono Lake, California,
with Emphasis on the Negit Isles
Publisher/Copyright Holder: Mono Basin Clearinghouse
Copyright Date: February 2006
Date of Access: 12 July 2006
URL: http://www.monobasinresearch.org/onlinereports/gulls.htm
Quotation from Page Four, “Nest Counts,” first paragraph
Page Numbers: 1-19.
Step Two: Typing Up Your Works Cited Page
Once you and your group are satisfied that you’ve gotten the right information into the right
places, it’s time to head to the computer lab and start typing. Here are a few simple guidelines for
writing your Works Cited page:
 Sources need to be in alphabetical order.
 Use the first word in each entry to do the alphabetizing.
 If you have an author’s last name, use it.
 If you don’t have an author’s name, start with the article title (in quotes).
 Sources should NOT be numbered or bullet-pointed.
 Keep it simple -- no doo-dads!
 The individual entry, listed by author’s name or article title, is enough.
 Spelling and punctuation matter.
 There is never a good excuse for misspelling an author’s name or a title.
 Pay attention to punctuation: the quotation marks, underlining, and periods need to
be in the right place
so your reader knows what information falls into which
categories.
 Put WORKS CITED at the top of your page (centered).
 It’s not a bibliography, because we are not using books (biblio-) alone.
 Skip a couple of lines between the heading and the first entry.
 Double-space your entries; this is standard for MLA and gives your teacher room to
“read between the
lines.”
 After each period, hit the space bar twice. It’s a minor but important detail and is
easier on the reader’s
eyes.
32
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
CREATING AN MLA WORKS CITED PAGE (continued)
Typing Hints:
Please note that when you are typing, the first line of a bibliography always starts on the LEFT
margin, but the other
lines for each entry always start with a TAB so that the margin is
indented. (Sometimes you will need to
ENTER + TAB)
Please do NOT stop typing partway across
the line like this. It looks silly and shows
you have not followed directions!
Step Three: Adding Annotations
To annotate means “to add notes to.” An annotated bibliography, then, is a Works Cited page that
includes notes on what you have learned from each source. There are many ways to take notes
from your sources, but most students find it easier and more convenient to write an annotated
bibliography instead of trying to keep track of a pile of note cards.
So what does an “annotated works cited” list look like? Here are a few examples:
Sample Annotations
Abbey, Susannah. “Hero’s Hero: Clarence Darrow.” The My Hero Project: Clarence Darrow. Online:
NetTrekker, DA: 21 April 2004. (http://www.myhero.com/hero.asp?hero=c_darrow)
This source features more than just the life of Darrow; it talks about reasons he is still famous
after all these years and why people look up to him so much. We will be able to use this source to
prove his courage and responsible use of power.
“Clarence Seward Darrow.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd edition. Detroit: Gale Research,
1998.
 Only a brief overview.
 Presents the facts of Darrow’s life.
 Best for naming his major court cases and the controversy they inspired.
Templeton, Alan R. “Evolution.” World Book Online Reference Center. 2004. DA: 22
April 2004.
This source is okay, but it pretty much repeats the facts of Darrow’s life that we have already
found elsewhere. It gives a good definition of evolution, but it does not discuss Darrow’s power or
influence on others. Our group will have to replace it with a better source.
 Notice that annotations can be in paragraph or list format.
 Also notice that the annotation is indented TWICE on the first line and only ONCE on the
following lines.
33
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
GRADING RUBRIC — GROUP RESEARCH PAPER
Completion of All Required Elements
(Title Page + 3-5 Pages + Parenthetical Citations + Works Cited Page)
5
4
All elements
included
One missing
Element
5
4
One error
Two errors
3
2
1
Two missing
Three missing
Four missing
elements
elements
elements
Conventions of Writing
(Complete sentences; no run-ons or fragments; correct punctuation included commas, periods,
semicolons, and title punctuation; verbs (active instead of passive, correct and consistent use of verb
tense), and variety of sentence structure.
3
2
1
Three errors
Four errors
Conventions of Citation
(Both in-text parenthetical and end-of-text Works Cited)
5
4
One error or
omission
3
Five errors
2
Two errors or
Three errors or
Four errors or
omissions
omissions
omissions
Quality of Central Argument (Thesis and Claims)
1
Five errors or
omissions
5
4
3
2
1
Clear,
comprehensive,
arguable, and
original
thesis that
answers the
question and
integrates
your secondary
source
with ITW; claims
clearly
support thesis
Clear,
comprehensive,
and arguable
thesis
that answers the
questions and
integrates your
secondary sources
with
ITW; claims clearly
support the thesis
Clear and
comprehensive
thesis
that answers the
question and
integrates
the secondary
sources
with ITW; claims
generally support
the
thesis
Unclear or
insubstantial
thesis that fails to
answer the
question
and/or only
partially
integrates the
secondary sources
with
ITW; claims do not
adequately support
the
thesis
Unclear and
insubstantial
thesis;
claims missing or
off-topic
Appropriate Selection and Incorporation of Sources (Evidence)
5
4
3
2
1
Paper incorporates
five
clearly reputable
sources from a
wide
variety of formats
(print,
electronic, and
visual)
Paper incorporates
four
reputable sources
from
a good variety of
formats
Paper incorporates
three fairly
reputable
sources from an
adequate variety of
formats
Paper incorporates
two
somewhat
reputable
sources from a
minimum of
formats
Paper incorporates
one
source or only one
format
34
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Depth of Analysis (Warrants)
5
4
3
2
1
Paper presents
original
and thoughtful
commentary that
connects all
sources
within the
paragraph to
the claim AND
connects each
paragraph to the
overall
thesis
Paper presents
original
and thoughtful
commentary that
connects all
sources
within the
paragraph to
the claim
Paper presents
thoughtful
commentary
that connects all
sources within the
paragraph to the
claim
Paper presents
limited
commentary that
connects some
sources
within the
paragraph
Paper presents
inadequate
commentary
and/or
does not connect
sources within the
paragraph to the
claim
GRADING RUBRIC — GROUP PRESENTATION
Completion of All Required Elements
(Printout of all slides w/detailed notes + Photocopies of original sources + Works Cited Page)
5
4
All elements
included
One missing
Element
5
4
One error
Two errors
3
2
1
Two missing
Three missing
Four missing
elements
elements
elements
Conventions of Writing
(Complete sentences; no run-ons or fragments; correct punctuation included commas, periods,
semicolons, and title punctuation; verbs (active instead of passive, correct and consistent use of verb
tense), and variety of sentence structure.
3
2
Three errors
Four errors
Conventions of Citation
(Both in-text parenthetical and end-of-text Works Cited)
3
2
1
Five errors
5
4
One error or
omission
Two errors or
omissions
5
4
3
2
1
Detailed
presentation
which includes a
wide
variety of relevant
visual references
as
well as a detailed
explanation of
their
connection to the
issues dealt with in
Detailed
presentation
which includes a
variety
of relevant visual
references as well
as
an explanation of
their
connection to the
issues dealt with in
the
Detailed
presentation
which includes
relevant
visual references
as
well as an
explanation
of their connection
to
the issues dealt
with in
Unclear or
insubstantial
presentation which
does not include a
variety of relevant
visual references
and
omits an
explanation of
their connection to
the
issues dealt with in
Unclear and
insubstantial
presentation.
Visual
references are
unrelated to the
subject
matter.
Three errors or
Four errors or
omissions
omissions
Quality of Presentation
35
1
Five errors or
omissions
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
the
text.
text.
the text.
the
text.
Appropriate Selection and Incorporation of Sources (Evidence)
5
4
3
2
1
Presentation
incorporates six
detailed slides
which
highlight the
group’s
thesis as well as
supporting
evidence
from a variety of
sources.
Presentation
incorporates five
detailed slides
which
highlight the
group’s
thesis as well as
supporting
evidence
from a variety of
sources.
Presentation
incorporates four
slides
which highlight the
groups’ thesis as
well
as some
supporting
evidence.
Presentation
incorporates three
slides which
highlight
the groups’ thesis
as
well as some
supporting.
Presentation is
incomplete, does
not
include an
adequate
discussion of the
group’s thesis or
findings.
Depth of Analysis (Captions and Commentary)
5
4
3
2
1
Slides and
narration
present original
and
thoughtful
commentary
that explains the
full
significance of the
group’s findings as
well
as their connection
to
the larger issue in
the
text.
Slides and
narration
present
commentary
that explains the
full
significance of the
group’s findings as
well
as their connection
to
the larger issue in
the
text.
Slides and
narration
present
commentary
that explains some
of
the significance of
the
group’s findings as
well
as their connection
to
the larger issue in
the
text
Slides and
narration
present limited
commentary that
explains some of
the
significance of the
group’s findings
but
fails to discuss
their
connection to the
larger
issue in the text
Slides and
narration
present inadequate
commentary that
fails to
explain the full
significance of the
group’s findings
and
their connection to
the
larger issue in the
text
36
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
WRITING AND TAKING THE TEST
In your groups:
As part of the preparation for your group presentation and paper, each member of your group
should write 2-3 multiple-choice questions about your individual section
A good multiple-choice question provides a good “stem” (the backbone of the question) and fourto-five possible answers. Try to make the answers the same length, try to make their wording as
parallel as possible, and make at least three of the five answers look like really good answers even
though only one of them is right.
Once each member of the group has written his or her individual questions, share them with your
group and make the others take “your” test while you try to answer their questions. You will
quickly discover problems that need to be fixed, wording that needs to be clarified, and missing
information that needs to be covered.
Make your individual revisions, then meet as a group to finalize your five best questions.
You will submit these questions, along with an answer key, to your instructor.
The test itself:
Your teacher will compile the questions submitted by all the groups and use them to create a
comprehensive multiple-choice exam on the information that you and your classmates have
presented.
And, because this IS an English class, your teacher will write a series of short-answer questions to
cover the types of open-ended, issues-based questions that multiple choice answers cannot
adequately assess. You will not see these questions in advance, but you will likely have the option
of choosing one or more of the short-answer questions to answer.
37
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY CONTRACT
I, by signing my name below, acknowledge that the success of the group assignment depends
partly on the quality and
punctuality of the individual work that we do. In addition, the strength of the group project
depends upon our ability as
individuals to collaborate with and support one another. Therefore, if I have a problem completing
my portion of the
assignment and do not notify my partners or seek their assistance, I must know that the group
grade as well as my own will suffer, and this is unfair to my partners. At the same time, I realize
that one person cannot and should not be responsible for the entirety of the project. the work is to
be distributed evenly. I will receive an individual grade for meeting each of the “preparation”
deadlines on time and for the quality of the preparation that I do. I will also receive a group grade
on the final product; that grade will be the same for everyone in the group. By signing below, I
indicate that I understand and will comply with these conditions.
Signed:
Date:
Student:
________________________________________
Student:
________________________________________
Student:
________________________________________
______________________
38
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
BIAS IN POLITICAL CARTOONS — HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Sophomore English
Using what you learned in class today about bias, please evaluate each of the following cartoons
in terms of the artist’s use of visual exaggeration, symbolic coding, and distortion. Identify these
elements and explain how they work to advance each cartoon’s agenda.
First, a bit of historical background so that you understand the context of these cartoons:
Cartoonists vs. the King: Cartoons on the Congo
By Jim Zwick
In 1904, a trans-Atlantic movement was begun to protest the brutality of King Leopold's rule of
the Congo
Free State. The Belgian king gained control of the Congo in 1885 by promising to end slavery
there, act as the protector of the native population, and guarantee free trade. Before the next
decade was over, missionary reports of slave labor, rape, mutilations and other forms of torture
used by Leopold's agents to increase rubber and ivory collection in the Congo were beginning to
accumulate. Leopold was an early master of modern public relations, however, and used the
media very effectively to counter such reports and to maintain his own image as a benevolent
ruler. Leopold's almost saintly reputation, developed through the earliest reports of his work in
the Congo in the 1880s, made it difficult for most people to believe the reports of atrocities. The
reported atrocities were so horrible that it seemed impossible that they could be happening under
the rule of the man whose benevolent and self-sacrificing goals the world had endorsed such a
short time before. In its efforts to end King Leopold's rule, the Congo Reform
Association had to document the extent of the atrocities committed under Leopold's rule and
undermine that reputation that kept the public from believing their reports. Photographs were
used to document atrocities. Cartoons could not match their influence in presenting what most
people of the time considered to be photographic proof," but by condensing the information that
was becoming available about atrocities into caricatures of Leopold and others involved in the
Congo they could be just as effective in undermining Leopold's reputation.
(http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/pc_intro.html)
Why do these cartoons matter? If you have seen Hotel Rwanda, many of the problems shown in
that film are a direct result (nearly a hundred years later) of the imperialist exploitation that is
illustrated in these cartoons.
Cartoon #1:
http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/cartoons/congo050107.html
Hail, Leopold!
Kladderadatsch (Berlin), rpt. Literary Digest 30 (Jan. 7, 1905).
Political cartoon about King Leopold's rule of the Congo Free State
Hail, monarch, good and grand, Ruling the Congo land! Hail, Leopold!
39
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Political cartoon about King Leopold's rule of the Congo Free State
Tusks we must bring to thee, Rubber from every tree,
Political cartoon about King Leopold's rule of the Congo Free State
Or our poor heads shall be cut off and sold!
Cartoon #2:
http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/cartoons/congo060818.html
He Came to Bless and Remained to Prey
By David Wilson
London Daily Chronicle, rpt. Literary Digest 33 (Aug. 18, 1906).
Political cartoon about King Leopold's rule of the Congo Free State
He Came to Bless -And Remained to Prey.
Cartoon #3:
http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/cartoons/congo070100a.html
"Free" Congo in the Rubber Coils
By Linley Sambourne
Punch, rpt. American Review of Reviews 35 (Jan. 1907).
Cartoon #4:
http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/cartoons/congo080404.html
The (Red) Rubber King
By David Wilson
40
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
London Daily Chronicle, rpt. Literary Digest 36 (April 4, 1908).
Cartoon #5:
http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/cartoons/congo051126.html
Effect of the Kodak
By David Wilson
London Daily Chronicle, rpt. New York World Sunday Magazine (Nov. 26, 1905).
Political cartoon about King Leopold's rule of the Congo Free State
King Leopold is confronted with a report of "Harrowing Tales of Torture from the Congo" and
exclaims, "Lies! My dear sir!"
The report of
Association
Political cartoon about King Leopold's rule of the Congo Free State
Photographs now clutter the ground, and the camera asks, "Who said lies?"
"Harrowing Tales" is now rolled up and reads, "Reform
41
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
SOPH BIAS LESSON — PROSE MATERIALS
A quick Google search on “global warming” highlighted these two sources. What is the bias of each
source? How can you tell? What words have particular emotional impact? What evidence proves
more convincing?
WEBSITE #1
http://www.globalwarming.org/
This site is a project of the Cooler Heads Coalition
Updates by the Competitive Enterprise Institute
NEWS:
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has produced two 60-second television spots focusing on
the alleged global warming crisis and the calls by some environmental groups and politicians for
reduced energy use. The ads are airing in 14 U.S. cities from May 18 to May 28, 2006.
WEBSITE #1’S LINK TAKES US TO THIS ARTICLE
http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2005/12/22/proving-sciencebias/
December 22, 2005
Proving Science Bias
Filed under: Climate Politics —
Two recent events underscore how predictable is the distortion of global warming by those who
gain from exaggeration. The events were the Montreal “Conference of the Parties” which had
signed the United Nations’ Kyoto Protocol on global warming, and the fall meeting of the American
Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. Both took place in early December.
The sheer volume of hype was impressive. Following are the headlines, along with the sources,
generated on the afternoon of December 7, first from the Montreal UN conference. (University
news sources are those that were eventually picked up in other stories). These were obtained from
Google’s news search page.
Sophomore Bias Lesson (Prose) -- Page 1
•Global warming to halt ocean circulation (University of Illinois)
•Warming trend adds to hazard of Arctic trek (Salem OR News)
•Pacific islanders move to escape global warming (Reuters)
•Tuvalu: That sinking feeling (PBS)
•World weather disasters spell record losses in 2005 (Malaysia Star)
42
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
•Arctic peoples urge UN aid to protect cultures (Reuters)
•Threatened by warming, Arctic people file suit against US (AFP)
Next, from San Francisco:
•Ozone layer may take a decade longer to recover (New York Times)
•Earth is all out of new farmland (London Guardian)
•Forests could worsen global warming (UPI)
•Warming could free far more carbon from high arctic soil than earlier thought
(University of Washington)
•Rain will take greater toll on reindeer, climate change model shows
(University of Washington)
•Methane’s impacts on climate change may be twice previous estimates (NASA)
•Average temperatures climbing faster than thought in North America (Oregon
State University)
How can things be so bad?
Each one of these stories carries an “it’s worse than we thought” subtext. There was a single
additional story to the contrary, carried by AP, which indicated that plants may store more carbon
dioxide than was previously thought, which would help to limit warming.
That gives us a score of “it’s worse than we thought” winning by 14-1. What’s the chance that this
is really true?
Start with a prediction about climate change. For example, perhaps some computer model
predicts that the next 50 years will see about three-quarters of
Sophomore Bias Lesson (Prose) -- Page 2
a degree (Celsius) of warming (which is actually the most likely value). Now, given new
information, what’s the chance that this forecast will be raised rather than lowered, i.e. that “it’s
worse than we thought” rather than “it’s not as bad as we thought it was.”
Fifty-fifty. Unless the world is a very strange place, each new piece of information that causes us
to change an estimate of some future quantity has an equal probability of raising or lowering that
forecast.
That’s the same probability one gets in a coin flip. The odds of two successive “heads” is one in
four. So what’s the chance of only one “head” in 15 successive coin tosses? One in 2,000.
The most casual observer would have to remark on this prima facie evidence for rampant bias in
climate science, but the most casual social scientist might find it quite predictable.
43
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
Scientists compete with each other for finite resources, just like bankers and corporations. In this
case, successful competitors are those who are rewarded by their universities or institutions. In
all science, this means publishing research articles in the refereed scientific literature. That
research costs tremendous amounts of money and there really is only one provider: Uncle Sam
(i.e. you and me).
No one gets much of this pie by claiming that his or her issue may, in fact, be no big deal. Instead,
any issue – take global warming, acid rain, and obesity as examples, must be portrayed in the
starkest of terms. Everything is a crisis, and all the crises are competing with each other.
Similar logic applies in the policy arena. Remember that the job of policymakers is precisely that:
to make policy, which does not get made unless whatever policy there might be is “absolutely
necessary” to avoid certain doom.
Then, finally, what gets played on TV and in the papers? More crises. Near-death experiences sell
newspapers and attract viewers. Those who question this need only look at ratings for The
Weather Channel. Some people may remember that it used to be the station where you turned to
for round-the-clock national and local weather. The ratings were in the tank.
Now, in prime time, you are more likely to see the twentieth re-run of how this tornado went over
that house and how everyone almost died, usually with some pretty snappy home video. Or, just
to get your attention for sure, a re-enactment of the sinking of an oil rig in a howling cyclone — reenacted because everyone on board drowned. Ratings have boomed.
Sophomore Bias Lesson (Prose) -- Page 3
Perhaps it is dismaying that science has become as blatantly biased in the direction of tragedy as
television. But, given the way we fund and reward science and scientists, it was inevitable, and
global warming is only one of many of science’s predictable distortions.
WEBSITE #1 ALSO TAKES US TO THIS ARTICLE
http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2006/01/18/not-as-bad-aswethought/
January 18, 2006
Not As Bad As We Thought!
Filed under: Glaciers/Sea Ice, Sea Level Rise —
A couple of weeks ago we wrote a cute little piece titled “Proving Science Bias” that looked into the
deluge of news stories on global warming and its impacts that were released on a single day last
December when both the COP-11 meeting was going on in Montreal and the fall meeting of
American Geophysical Union
(AGU) was taking place in San Francisco. Of the 15 different findings that were released and
covered by the press on December 7, 2005 about global warming, 14 of them were reporting that
things were “worse than we thought” and only one of them concluded that things weren’t going to
be as bad as originally forecast. Given an unbiased prediction, there should be a 50-50 chance
that things turned out either worse or better than expected. Under such a scenario, there is only a
1-in-2,000 chance that 14 things out of 15 would be worse. But that’s what happened. So, either
the original forecasts were not unbiased, a rare event did indeed occur, or, more likely, the
interpretation and reporting went a bit over the top—that is, the press (and to some degree the
researchers themselves) only like to hype the more extreme results.
44
Sophomore English (Regular) Curriculum Guide
A report in the January 19th issue of Nature magazine will help test this theory. Researchers
Sarah Raper and Roger Braithwaite have published a paper titled “Low sea level rise projections
from mountain glaciers and icecaps under global warming.” Using a more realistic glacier
shrinkage model than the one used by the IPCC in its 2001 Third Assessment Report (TAR)—one
that allows glaciers to reach a new mass balance state under warming conditions rather than
having to completely melt away—Raper and Braithwaite find that the contribution from sea level
rise from the melting of glaciers and icecaps is only going to be about half as much as originally
projected in the IPCC TAR under one of their mid-range warming scenarios (SRES A1B).
Admittedly, the additional input of water from shrinking icecaps and glaciers is not a major
contributor to the total sea level rise—together they contribute about 27% (or
4.2 in.) to the overall total of 15.2 in. projected by the IPCC to accompany scenario A1B.
Nevertheless, the new result lowers the overall sea level rise under this scenario by about 2 inches
or about 13%.
Sophomore Bias Lesson (Prose) -- Page 4
Clearly, the Raper and Braithwaite results fall under the category of sea level rise is “NOT going to
be as bad as we thought” and adds to a growing number of model simulations and observations
that suggest that future sea level rise will prove to be far less than the extremists advertise (see
here and here for example). We guarantee that had they reported that sea level rise was going to
be 13% “worse than we thought,” headlines would have been made around the world.
So kudos to Raper and Braithwaite for writing up their results and to Nature for actually
publishing them. Now let’s sit back and see how the press handles it.
Reference:
Raper, S.C.B., and R.J. Braithwaite, 2006. Low sea level rise projections from mountain glaciers
and icecaps under global warming. Nature, 439, 311-313.
WEBSITE #2 TAKES US TO THIS ARTICLE
http://www.oriononline.org/pages/om/05-1om/deMenocal.html
AFTER TOMORROW:
Ignoring global warming doesn’t change the science; it just leaves us unprepared for the
consequences
By Peter DeMenocal
Orion Magazine, January/February 2005
AS A GROUP, CLIMATE SCIENTISTS are reluctant to claim even the soundest projections as
incontrovertible facts. The climate system is by definition exceedingly complex, and theories must
always be open to revision as new observations become available. When I was a graduate student
we learned that the warming that defined the end of an ice age occurred very gradually, over the
course of many thousands of years. This view of sluggish climate changes was shattered about ten
years ago when scientists discovered that the main warming events that ended the last ice age
took place within less than a decade. In Greenland, air temperatures warmed by about fifteen
degrees centigrade within the time it takes to complete a college degree.
Sophomore Bias Lesson (Prose) -- Page 5
Still, most climate scientists today agree that Earth's climate is warming and changing as a result
of human activity, and that the projected changes in coming decades will affect nearly all parts of
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the globe. This combination of exceptional risk and uncertainty has led to a lack of clear
consensus among policy makers on how to address the global warming crisis. National-level
planning and preparation for current and future climate change remain mired in dysfunction and
polarized along a scientific/political divide. There are those who are convinced that there is a big
problem and those who would make the case that there is no problem at all. A path of least
resistance has led to a cul-de-sac of inaction.
The divide between science and policy is marked by the fundamentally different motivations,
accountability, and time frames that characterize the players. Scientists are generally motivated
by intellectual curiosity and achievement; they are accountable mainly to their profession; and
they have open time frames in which to produce results.
Politicians, on the other hand, are generally motivated by the need for conflict resolution and
political viability. They are accountable to their constituents and have very restricted time frames
in which to produce results. Global warming is of far larger scope than any single administration
can address, and effective policy demands a decades-long, committed, political response.
To complicate matters, political solutions to global warming call for critical decisions based on
imperfect observations and seemingly nebulous risks, in contrast to problems like world hunger or
AIDS, for which the evidence and consequences are all too apparent. Consequently, few American
politicians have had the courage to take on the issue. Given the short-term economic costs and
the perceived lifestyle changes required, addressing the problem of global warming is a platform
perfectly ill-suited to election or re-election.
WITH THE START of the Industrial Revolution, humankind began a vast global climate
experiment of which we are only now realizing the effects. Combustion of fossil fuels, burning, and
land-use changes have led to a nearly 34 percent increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2),
reaching the highest levels in four hundred thousand years, and a nearly 150 percent increase in
methane, both greenhouse gases that warm the planet.
Sidebar: Global Trends?
 A study released last August by the National Academy of Sciences projects that Los
Angeles summertime temperatures could increase by as much as 15 degrees in coming
decades, putting its climate on par with that of Death Valley.
 The same study projected reductions in the Sierra Nevada snow pack of 73 to 90 percent,
"resulting in disrupted water supplies... to the Central Valley," with devastating consequences
for wine production, milk production, and agriculture in the region.
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 China's industrial output -- and its contribution to global warming -- has doubled in the
past five years due in large part to the American appetite for inexpensive, disposable goods.
 Europe, Japan, and North America, with 15 percent of the world's population, account for 66
percent of all carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The United States alone
contributes 24 percent.
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 The World Health Organization estimates that global warming causes 150,000 deaths each
year.
 In the past six years, as many as 3,000 farmers in the Anantapur region of India have
committed suicide as their wells dried up due to drought and they fell behind in debt
payments.
 At the December, 2004 U.N. summit on the Kyoto Protocol in Buenos Aires, the U.S.
delegation spent its capital trying to convince delegates to change the phrase "global
warming" to "climate variability" in all official documents.
Over the last 150 years the Earth's surface temperatures have risen by about 0.8 degrees
centigrade, with the majority of the rise taking place in just the last fifty years. A true though
seemingly improbable statistic is that all of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since
1990.
The warming we've experienced so far may not seem like much, but it is just the beginning of a
steadily upward trend that is expected to reach between 1.4°C and 5.8°C by the end of this
century when CO2 levels wi ll have more than doubled. The Earth hasn't seen such high CO2
levels for over 25 million years, and it was then a very different place: London had groves of palm
trees, and crocodiles nested in the swamps of a warm and humid Canadian arctic.
Current projections indicate that if nothing is done to slow greenhouse gas emissions, rising
global temperatures will produce a wide range of climate impacts. Large-scale changes in rainfall
patterns and growing seasons are predicted, as are more intense and frequent storms, typhoons,
and hurricanes. Higher frequencies of extreme weather events may also occur, with record
temperatures and high heat index days, like the August 2003 heat wave across Europe that
claimed thousands of lives. Sea levels are predicted to continue to rise (perhaps by as much as
one meter by 2100), an especially pernicious risk since roughly half of the world's population lives
within sixty miles of an ocean. In addition to causing the loss of productive land in highly
populated coastal regions such as Bangladesh, rising seas would force the relocation of tens or
hundreds of millions of people and lead to a refugee crisis of unprecedented scope.
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges to society, however, and one often overlooked, is the
likelihood of drought events more severe than any we have experienced. The continental interiors,
home to the breadbaskets of North America and Eurasia, are projected to become markedly drier
in future decades, leading to a greater frequency of protracted regional drought. How a modern,
urbanized society of today might respond to a period of pervasive, extended drought is yet to be
seen, but
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climate history may offer some lessons in at least understanding the effects of this aspect of our
climatically uncertain future.
FOR ALL ITS DEVASTATION, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s -- one of the most well documented
agricultural, economic, and social disasters in the history of the United States -- was the result of
a merely "above average" drought. But in a rare display of unanimity the scientific community has
determined that this is not the type of drought we need to prepare for today. Cardinal among the
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climate risks presented, under numerous scenarios, by global warming, is the higher probability
of "megadroughts." A megadrought is a very different beast in that it persists for many decades,
not just a few years, and affects broad sectors of whole continents. Though we have no modern
instrumental records of past megadroughts, there is very good scientific evidence that vast regions
of North America witnessed several such periods during the last millennium, with devastating
cultural consequences.
Paleoclimatology, the branch of science to which I belong, involves the reconstruction of ancient
climatic conditions using evidence such as tree rings, lake and ocean sediment records, and ice
cores. Our particular corner of science affords us a different view of climate change than that
available to scientists who, for example, examine historical (recorded) climate changes. Such
records extend back only a century or two. But by comparing paleoclimate evidence of climate
changes to archeological records of cultural changes, we have been able to learn a great deal
about the broader social impacts of exceptionally large changes in climate.
The history of the Maya culture in Central America provides possibly the best example of how an
extended drought can impact a highly developed, technologically advanced urban society. The
Maya had thrived for nearly two thousand years and their cultural achievements were comparable
in many ways to those of any modern G-8 nation.
They were accomplished astronomers, mathematicians, and urban planners. They built large,
well-engineered cities and had established trade networks. Their society was stratified, closely
governed, and populous, with an estimated eight to fifteen million people in cities and rural
villages across Central America and the Yucatán Peninsula.
This thriving civilization collapsed at the peak of its cultural and scientific development, between
750 and 950 a.d., and the decline coincided precisely with a 150-year drought that gripped the
region. A paleoclimate record consisting of annually laminated sediments revealed that the three
regional waves of societal collapse (occurring around 810, 860, and 910 a.d.) corresponded with
three decade-long extreme droughts that hit the region during this already dry period. Many
archeologists recognize the importance of social conditions in contributing to the collapse, but the
extended drought appears to have been a primary factor in gradually reducing the carrying
capacity of the land, which already suffered from overpopulation and overexploitation of
resources.
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THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY is now very confident that much of the warming over the past
century is attributable to human activities. Global temperatures have changed for many natural
reasons, of course, but when scientists try to account for the full record of global temperature
changes over the past several hundred years, it is impossible to obtain a close match to the
observed temperature curve without including the effects of very recent increases in greenhouse
gas concentrations.
With global warming comes greater probabilities of "climate surprises" – unexpected climate
changes such as megadroughts, which would seriously challenge our ability to adapt. Wally
Broecker, a National Medal of Science awardee for his paleoclimate research and my colleague at
Columbia University, likens the climate system to an angry beast that we're poking with a stick -provoking something we know to be extremely sensitive and immeasurably powerful.
Of perhaps still greater concern than megadrought, though even more difficult to predict, is the
possibility that continued global warming may lead to changes in ocean circulation -- the giant
flywheel of global climate, and also its Achilles heel. Modern ocean observations provide some very
early indications that the initial phases of circulation change are already underway. A team of
oceanographers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have observed that all Nordic seas
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have freshened tremendously over the last forty years, and that the salinity of the deep ocean is
now lowering as well. These changes may be signaling a shift or disruption in ocean circulation,
and if that happens, we're in for all sorts of surprises. Atmospheric circulation is often likened to a
nimble mouse scurrying through the forest – it responds quickly to imposed changes. Ocean
circulation, on the other hand, is more like a giant lumbering elephant -- reluctant to alter its
course but suddenly clearing the forest when it does.
The kinds of climate change that could result from a shift in ocean circulation would be as
devastating to contemporary culture as the decimating drought was to the Maya. The scenario
that current climate models show goes like this: Today, as northward flowing warm, salty North
Atlantic Drift water is stripped of its heat by the atmosphere each winter, it brings surface warmth
to the North Atlantic, and is partly responsible for the mild climate of northwestern Europe. In the
Nordic seas chilled surface waters sink and massive volumes of cold, salty deep water flow
southward toward the Antarctic, where they resurface, forming a giant ocean conveyor. In some
climate model simulations of our future, after a gradual, decades-long warming and freshening
trend in the North Atlantic due to increased Arctic warming, ice melting, and river runoff, this
ocean conveyor slows down abruptly -- within several decades.
The stability of the ocean conveyor has been likened to a light switch that flips suddenly from the
"on" to "off" position given a steady application of finger pressure.
The resulting changes in ocean temperatures would likely lead to equally abrupt, very large, and
lasting changes in land temperature and rainfall patterns globally. A shift in the ocean conveyor,
once initiated, is essentially irreversible over a time period of many decades to centuries, and
would permanently alter the climatic norms for some
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of the most densely populated and highly developed regions of the world, multiplying the risks -and magnifying the effects -- of major climatic disruptions from global warming.
While most climate models indicate the conveyor is responsive to global warming, few models
project a complete conveyor shutdown within the next century. However, we do know that this
scenario has happened several times before, and scientists have a very good idea of how large and
how far-reaching the impacts can be. When the Earth was thawing out of the last ice age about
14,500 years ago due to gradual, periodic changes in the Earth's orbit, the melting of large ice
sheets on the continents funneled large volumes of fresh water into the North Atlantic. Analyses of
ice cores, deep-sea sediment cores, and other geologic evidence have shown that the surge of river
runoff did in fact form a freshwater lid over the North Atlantic, which subsequently shut down
formation of deep water currents for about a millennium between 12,800 and 11,700 years ago.
Known as the Younger Dryas event, this period marked a sudden reversal in the warming trend,
and regional temperatures plummeted. Greenland and northern European temperatures dropped
by as much as ten to fifteen degrees centigrade within a decade. Arctic conditions were
established in the United Kingdom and Europe; icebergs reached as far south as Portugal; Africa
and parts of Asia became much drier. The event has been detected in paleoclimate records from
nearly all regions of the globe. It took nearly a thousand years for ocean salinities to gradually
increase until the conveyor switched on again. An equally rapid warming, completed in less than a
decade, marked the end of the Younger Dryas event and the beginning of the current warm
period, the Holocene, bringing with it the birth of agriculture and the subsequent rise of complex
urban societies.
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IN LEARNING HOW and why past shifts in climate have occurred and what their effects have
been, paleoclimatology has made remarkable progress in defining just how large and abrupt
natural climate swings can be and what these may mean for our global-warming future. In his
statement to a U.S. Senate committee in 2003, Richard Alley, a leading paleoclimatologist from
Pennsylvania State University, presented a consensus view of past and present climate change
that was recently summarized in the National Academy of Sciences report Abrupt Climate Change:
Inevitable Surprises. The main points were that climate is very sensitive to even weak forcing; that
climate changes, when they occur, tend to happen very quickly (on timescales of years to
decades); and that the present and projected greenhouse-gas climate forcing greatly exceeds the
relatively weak forcing that caused, for example, the Dust
Bowl, or even past mega droughts.
"Many current policies and practices are likely to be inadequate in a world of rapid and
unforeseen climatic changes," said Alley. "Identifying ways to improve these policies will be
beneficial even if abrupt climate change turns out to fit a best-case, rather than
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a worst-case, scenario. Societies will have no regrets about the new policies, because they will be
good policies regardless of the magnitude of environmental change."
The "no-regrets" and "good policy" political solutions are still distant dreams, however, as the U.S.
government has been reluctant to face the political dimension of the problem. In 2001, the Bush
administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, the first legally binding international treaty for
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The administration deemed it unfair (developing nations such
as China and India were exempted in the short term) and viewed it as too costly to the U.S.
economy. Yet the cost of doing nothing may be far greater. In the state of Florida alone, the
projected cost of a one-meter rise in sea level has been estimated to exceed $300 billion (in 1991
dollars), not including future development losses for the nearly fourteen thousand square miles of
inundated real estate.
A recent European Union economic assessment concluded that Kyoto compliance will cost the EU
only about 0.1 percent of its gross domestic product by 2010. And with less than 5 percent of the
world's population here in this country responsible for nearly 25 percent of global fuel
consumption and emissions, there can be little question that the U.S. has a huge historical
carbon debt. The current gas-guzzling culture only deepens the international community's
growing disappointment with the lack of American leadership on the issue.
Even in the U.S. there is a growing recognition that the magnitude of the changes that could
ensue from global warming would very likely challenge political stability worldwide. A report
commissioned in 2002 by the Pentagon entitled Imagining the Unthinkable explored a scenario in
which continued global warming leads to the eventual shutdown of the conveyor after 2010. The
resulting changes in climate bring about protracted mega droughts in Europe, China, and North
America. Food, water, and energy shortages create border conflicts that are exacerbated by mass
migrations. Citing historical precedent, the authors note, "Every time there is a choice between
starving or raiding, humans raid." Widespread famine and political chaos eventually lead to a
"world of warring states." Many scientists dismissed the report as overly alarmist. "Exaggerated
scenarios serve only to intensify the existing polarization over global warming," said Wally
Broecker. "What is needed is not more words but rather a means to shut down CO2 emissions to
the atmosphere."
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IT MAY BE TOO LATE to reverse changes that have already begun, but there is still much that
can be done to minimize future increases of greenhouse gases and to mitigate and prepare for the
effects of large climate change. Policy makers must begin serious discussion on immediate
implementation of political solutions to reduce emissions and increase adaptive capacity. While
some of the coping strategies learned from previous shorter droughts will no doubt prove useful,
the sheer duration and intensity of a megadrought pose an entirely new set of
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technological hurdles. One of the world's leading freshwater resource experts, Dr. Peter Gleick of
the Pacific Institute, recommends that "water managers should begin a systematic reexamination
of engineering design, operating rules, contingency plans, and water allocation policies under a
wider range of climatic conditions and extremes than has been traditionally used. For example,
the standard engineering practice of designing for the worst case in the historical observational
record may no longer be adequate."
Presciently, some industries are already incorporating future global warming into their business
plans. Perhaps most revealing are the concerns of the reinsurance industry -- those who insure
the insurers -- which has been paying out an escalating number of claims in recent years as a
result of vastly increased storm-related property damage. Between 1989 and 1994, insurers paid
out more than $67 billion in storm damage claims -- $20 billion more than was paid out during
the previous five years. Natural disaster claims in 2003 were up 36 percent from 2002, and claims
from the
August hurricanes of 2004 exceeded $20 billion in Florida alone. Facing potentially crippling
future claims, the industry has been lobbying on Capitol Hill to jump-start discussions on
climate-change mitigation. In a richly significant statement, H. R. Kaufmann, general manager of
Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurer, dryly announced, "In light of the magnitude of
these losses, it would be prudent for the property/casualty industry to act as if that theory [global
warming] is correct. Failure to act would leave the industry and its policyholders vulnerable to
truly disastrous consequences."
PETER B. DEMENOCAL is an associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at
Columbia University, where he conducts research at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. He
serves on scientific steering committees for the National Science Foundation, American
Geophysical Union, and the National Academy of Sciences.
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