Hello, my name is Brenna Ebling. As far as I can remember, I have always loved writing and

reading. I originally started my college career off pursuing Forensic Science, but I found quickly that I

would never be happy for my whole life with an occupation in that field. After going through a small

crisis, I realized that teaching made me happier than a greaser with a jukebox! I couldn’t imagine doing

anything else with my life! But enough about me, on with education!

“The only thing better than being a professional student is being a professional teacher.” - Me

"How dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished, not to shine in use! As though to breathe

were life."- Lord Alfred Tennyson

Brenna Ebling

Writing Unit Plan

3/31/09

Final Draft

Overview

Unit Name: Paradise Lost and Defended

Grade: 12th

Honors English Literature

Rationale: First of all, Paradise Lost was one of my first read and favorite epic poems. When I

read it for the first time, I was only able to appreciate the story for its language. It is full of ornate

language and imagery that is very difficult to handle at a young age, but is easier with guidance.

Now that I am older and have studied the book more, I see how interesting, in depth, and

insightful it is to English society at the time and to Milton’s own life. I would like to teach this

unit to my students to pass on this information. I know that many students will look at this book

and think that it will be the most boring thing they will ever read. I want to show the students

how interesting it can be with the fighting, the deception, the sex, and the inspiration the story

depicts. Also, this is a critical piece of literature. Paradise Lost was one of the first epic poems

written in English, rather than in Latin, which was considered standard for all great works at

Milton’s time. I believe working through this book will give students an exposure to a text they

would not otherwise read, an understanding of the deeper meaning and social connections the

book has to England at the time and a twist on a fictional character that has a lot of bad rap:

Satan. The paper asking to evaluate Satan as a hero or villain will encourage the students to delve

into the book and to ask themselves how their own views shape the way they read literature and

examine the characters in their books.

Objectives: R1G, R1I, R2A, R2B, R2C, R3A, W1A, W2C, W2D, L1A, L1B, L2A, I1B, I1CM

I1D

Summary: Over the course of 6 weeks, the class will read and evaluate Milton’s book Paradise

Lost. The class will cover 2 books each week for the first 5 weeks and include a grade based on

the book the student presents, their daily question notebook, a cumulative final, and a final paper;

then spend the last week discussing the work as a whole, going over unanswered questions for

the test, playing a review game (in the form of Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit, depending on which I

choose), and working on the final paper.

Each day will begin with the students answering a Daily Question, usually pertaining to

the focus of the day or an element of the text they read, which will be kept in a notebook and

turned in at the end of the unit for a grade. This daily questioning will encourage students to

voice opinions about the reading, connect to previous knowledge about a topic, compare and

contrast what they may already know about a topic in connection with the text, and prepare

students for the court case paper that will be worked on throughout the unit and turned in before

the final test.

Two books will be covered each week by the students, leaving three days for me as a

teacher to cover additional information about Milton and society that impact the writing and the

message of Paradise Lost. The students will be assigned a book, with two to three students per

book, and will be required to present their book to the class as if they were teaching it. Students

will be allowed to use any form of presentation they feel necessary (PowerPoint, a slide show,

handouts, writing on the board, etc.). A grade will be given on the accuracy, clarity, originality,

and development of their presentation. This will give students a better understanding of why the

work is important, revolutionary to the time, and how the students themselves relate to the work.

Students will be given a handout packet that will contain a variety of questions: an outline,

spaces to write new vocabulary words and definitions that may be unfamiliar, short answer, and

fill in the blank questions that will help students keep track of the events and important

information they come across in the book, through the students’ presentations, and my own

lectures.

The final paper will be a recurring writing assignment. Students will be asked to turn in a

draft of the paper to be revised in a group at the end of the 4th

week, then a 2nd

draft will be

turned in at the end of the 5th

week, and the final paper will be turned in at the end of the 6th

week before taking the test. Students will be given time in class to work on the paper, but will be

expected to be working on the paper at home, outside of class. There will be a list of resources

given to the students so they will have an idea of texts to use in their case paper. A handout will

be given with an outline of what is expected on the paper and the rubric with the grading system.

The cumulative final will be fairly self explanatory. There will be a section of multiple

choice, a section of identify the character, a section of short answer, and then an essay (which

they will choose one of two).

Resources Needed:

Access to library and computer lab (3 times)

Copies of Paradise Lost for each student

Handouts for each Book (notes and study guide)

Notebook (for Daily Questioning)

Red pens (for editing)

Final Writing Assignment: For this unit, I would like for the students to synthesize a stance in a

court case for the character of Satan. After reading the 10 books (or 12, which ever book you

read) in Paradise Lost, it is possible to see Satan as either a tragic hero or the villain. It is

possible to see Satan as both since Milton meant him to be as tragic hero to mirror his own role

in the failed English Revolution; however, Satan is seen from a religious view as the villain of

both the Bible and Paradise Lost. The final writing assignment will require the students to

develop a case for Satan, choosing either side to support with evidence from the book and from

the materials that have been presented to them in class concerning social and other religious

views.

The end paper will be a result of the students’ planning, research, and composition of a

court style defense for Satan in either direction. The paper should be about 5 pages long, with

quotes from the book which support Satan’s actions for the defense in the paper. Students should

realize that there is no right or wrong answer to whether Satan is a heroic figure or not, but this

paper is a test of the student’s ability to take information, find a stance, and defend the stance

with textual and conceptual evidence.

CALENDER OF EVENTS

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1. Intro to

Milton, Paradise

Lost

Q: What do you

know about

Paradise Lost or

Milton? What do

you expect about

it?

2. Book I

Discuss “Great

Chain of Being”,

Heavenly

Hierarchy, Social

Connection to

Religion in

England

Q: Do you see

the views of

religion in

England at the

time reflected in

Milton’s work?

3. Book I, cont

Discuss: Satan:

Hero or No?, the

tragic hero in

literature,

antagonists in

literature

Q: Do you view

Satan as a

villain? Yes or

no? Why? Is this

shaped by your

personal views or

past experiences?

Does that make it

right?

4. Book II

Discuss the main

points of Satan’s

speech,

persuasion

through

empowering

speeches

Q: Did you find

Satan’s speech

persuading?

Would you have

followed him at

this point? Why

or why not?

5. Book II, cont

Discuss Satan’s

past, Satan in

other cultures,

Satan in other

religions

Q: Christianity

views Satan as

evil and lesser

than God. Other

religions view

Satan as an equal

to God. Which

does Milton’s

Satan seem

closer to? Why?

6. Satan, Sin,

and Death: The

Unholy Trinity

Q: How do

Satan, Sin, and

Death mirror the

classical

Christian Trinity

of God, Jesus,

and the Holy

Spirit? Why

would Milton

choose to

provide a mirror

by creating this

evil trio?

7. Book III

Discuss God as a

character,

society’s views

on the Fall, “The

Fortunate Fall”

Q: Is it ironic to

see the fall of

Adam and Eve as

fortunate?

Should we see all

failings as

fortunate in a

religious sense?

8. Book III, cont

Discuss the Holy

Trinity, concept

of Free Will, and

an Omniscient

God

Q: Milton’s God

is omniscient.

Does this

override Adam

and Eve’s free

will? If so, does

that mean that

predestination is

true? Did Milton

intend to imply

this?

9. Book IV

Discuss the

creation of Eden,

Idealism of a

perfect

beginning,

historical Eden

Q: What would

Paradise look

like if you

created it?

10. Book IV,

cont

Discuss impact

of angelic

intervention, etc

from yesterday

Q: Why do you

think that Satan

so easily fooled

the other angels?

Was he really

sneaky or did

God and the

angels allow him

to find Paradise?

11. Intro to the

Final Writing

Assignment

12. Book V

Discuss the war

in Heaven vs. the

failed Revolution

in England

Q: Describe the

connections that

you see between

the battle in

Paradise Lost

and England at

the time of

Milton.

13. Book V, cont

Continue

discussion from

previous day

Q: What could

have been

Milton’s

reasoning behind

making God the

character that he

is?

14. Book VI

Discuss the

Battle between

Satan and

Raphael,

Milton’s own

fight and fall

Q: What does

Satan’s

possession of

gunpowder

imply in the

context of this

book? Is this

being referenced

to a real world

situation?

15. Book VI,

cont

Q: As we can

tell, the Son is

Jesus before he

came to Earth.

Do you think, or

does it seem

likely, that this is

the way that the

Son would have

given himself up

for the sins of

mankind? Does

this seem in

character with

the classical

figure of Jesus

that we know

today?

16. Undecided

topic

17. Book VII

Discuss

Creationism in

different cultures

Q: We are told

that God created

the Earth in

classical

creationism, but

Milton sends out

the Son to do the

acts of creation.

Why do you

think that is?

18. Book VII,

cont

Discuss

Creationism

(cont)

Q: How long

would you take

to build your

world and what

would you

make?

19. Book VIII

Discuss social

expectations of

relationships,

based on the

Bible

Q: Why do you

think that

Raphael tells

Adam that the

proportions of

the heavens are

“not for man to

know”?

20. Book VIII,

cont

Work on 1st draft

in groups,

introduce

ratiocination,

develop thesis

and evidence use

21. Undecided

topic

22. Book IX

Discuss the

23. Book IX,

cont

24. Book X

Discuss the end

25. Book X, cont

Work on 2nd

draft

consequences of

Adam and Eve’s

fall, societal

blame on

women, how the

fall affects

women

Q: Based on

what you know,

what would have

happened to

women of the

time after

Milton’s

Paradise Lost

was published?

Would they have

been treated

worse or better?

Why?

Discuss the

aftermath of the

Fall

Q: What are the

differences

between how the

Bible tells Eve

was tempted and

how Milton

portrays Eve’s

temptation?

of Paradise and

the flow into

everything after

Q: Do you think

the visions that

Raphael gave to

Adam

concerning the

future would

have been a

comfort or not?

What would you

do if you knew

the future of your

race? Would you

try and change it

or do better?

in groups, group

ratiocination

26. Catch up

day

Work on final

draft of paper

Computer Lab

Day

27. Catch up

day

Work on final

draft of paper

Computer Lab

Day

28. Class

discussion

Student insight to

book, comments,

concerns, what

worked, what

didn’t, etc.

29. Review Day

for Test

Review Game

(jeopardy, trivial

pursuit, etc)

30. Turn in

Final Paper

Test

Student Rubric for Milton’s Paradise Lost Essay

3 5 8 10 Total

Thesis Thesis is not

clearly stated,

lacks

development

Thesis is

stated, little

development is

present

Thesis is

apparent,

developed

information

adds to the

paper

Strong, clear,

original thesis;

development is

complex and

intricate

/10

Sources 1 source is used

(book), works

are not cited

correctly for

MLA

2 sources are

used, work

cited has some

errors

3 sources are

used, work

cited correctly

for MLA

4+ sources are

used

successfully,

cited correctly

for MLA

/10

Content Resources and

facts presented

are minimal, do

not impact the

effectiveness of

the overall

essay

Some

resources are

present,

minimally used

Use of

resources is

evident, but

not strongly

used to

support the

essay

Multiple facts

and resources

are used to

support the

essay’s stance

and enhance

the paper

/10

Vocabulary Low vocab

used, does not

extensively use

developed

vocabulary

Evidence of a

developed

vocabulary is

present, but not

strong

A developed

vocabulary is

used

Developed

vocabulary

shows a

mastery of the

terms and

names from the

book, lends to

the experience

/10

Grammar Multiple

grammar

mistakes,

sentence

structure weak

Several

grammatical

errors,

sentences are

somewhat

developed

Few

grammatical

errors, minor

issues to the

overall paper,

sentences are

acceptable

Little to no

grammatical

errors, clear

and developed

sentences

/10

Total /50

Milton’s Dilemma

Miss Ebling

Date:_______________________

Name:______________________

Satan: Bad Guy or Misunderstood?

For the final project of Paradise Lost, I want you to evaluate the character with the worst

reputation in all of history: Satan. Does Milton portray the classical, cunning Satan, or does he want his

character to be a sympathized tragic hero? Is Milton making a social commentary about this kind of

literal figure? This is up to you to decide!

You are an attorney. You will be collecting evidence as we go through the book to defend your

stance, which you will present in a sort of “court case” paper. Whether you think Satan is evil or a hero

is based on your findings.

Here is some space to list lines or thoughts on what you have found for your paper (so you can

keep everything in one place). On the back is a Venn-diagram where you can put evidence of Satan’s

heroism or his villainy, or acts that fall in between.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The Final Paper Should:

Include a thesis, stated in the first paragraph. Have strong evidence from Paradise Lost and other outside sources defending Satan’s stance. Include a diverse and interesting vocabulary! Using more words out of the book in your paper is

part of the grade. I want you to know this stuff!

Be at least five pages long, Times New Roman font, 12pt, double spaced with a title page. Be interesting and original! Bring your own thoughts, opinions, and views into this paper.

Include pictures and clipart if you choose (just not as space filler). If you have any questions on what you need to do, look to your rubric!

If you need any help with notes or when events happened during the book, use your study guide I have

given you, or use www.paradiselost.org for an alternative study guide and outline of events.

Unit /Topic / Lesson Title: Paradise Lost- 1

st Draft Session

Subject / Course: English/ British Literature Grade Level: 12 Show Me Process & Content Standards:

CA 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

A+ Tracked Competencies (high school) C#

Career Cluster(s): none

Depth of Knowledge Level X Level 1 (Recall) Level 3 (Strategic Thinking)

X Level 2 (Skill/Concept) Level 4 (Extended Thinking

Instructional Objectives / GLEs*:

R1D, R1E, R1G, R1H, R1I, R2C, R3A, R3C, W1A, W2B, W2C, W2D, W2E, W2F, W3C, W3D, W3E, L1A, L1B, L2A, L2B, I1A, I1B, I1C, I1D, I2A

Materials/ Resources required:

1st draft of “Satan” paper, three different colored pens/pencils/markers/crayons, rubric for guidance, Ratiocination handout/guidelines, grammar handbook, and an area to spread out and work in small groups (2-3 students per group)

Description of Lesson: Include what students do, perform, or produce and how objectives are assessed. (Assessment items must

be attached.

Pre-class- Students will have completed a 1st rough draft of their “Satan” case paper and have printed off four copies to bring to class (3 for group revising, one copy for the teacher). Students will need to bring three different colored pens, or other marking devices, to use in the ratiocination.

During class- 50 minutes Students will get into groups and follow the ratiocination guidelines. Students will evaluate different parts of the paper (grammar, consistency, word usage, citation issues, thesis strength, relevance of sources to thesis, etc). The ratiocination handout will cover every topic that should be addressed on the first draft of the paper. Using the three different colors, the students will mark the appropriate subject or make the appropriate comments on the paper per the ratiocination guidelines. Students will continue to work in their groups until each paper has been revised by the each person in the group. Time may be an issue, so a second day may be needed to dedicate to this ratiocination. Papers may be taken home as well to be evaluated over a weekend, but only in necessary cases.

Post-class- Students should continue to revise the final paper based on feedback from peers and teacher. Information and suggestions gained should help the student progress their paper to an elevated level. Student will revise paper for a second draft evaluation workshop the following week.

Unit /Topic / Lesson Title: Paradise Lost- Book Presentation Subject / Course: English/British Literature Grade Level: 12 Show Me Process & Content Standards:

CA 1, 2, 4, 5, 6

A+ Tracked Competencies (high school) C#

Career Cluster(s): none

Depth of Knowledge Level x Level 1 (Recall) Level 3 (Strategic Thinking)

x Level 2 (Skill/Concept) x Level 4 (Extended Thinking

Instructional Objectives / GLEs*:

R1H, R1I, R2C, R3A, L1A, L1B, L2A

Materials/ Resources required:

Access to a computer or blackboard (depending on the format of presentation the student has chosen), Paradise Lost study guide, pens, pencils, the ability to take notes!

Description of Lesson: Include what students do, perform, or produce and how objectives are assessed. (Assessment items must

be attached.

Pre-Class- Students will have read the appropriate book of Paradise Lost that will be covered that day. Students who are presenting are required to have read the text, have a knowledgeable understanding of the texts and the events, and have formulated some form of presentation to present the book to the class. Preferably, the students should have a handout for the class to follow their presentation, but the students will be able to follow along to the key points and take notes in the handout the teacher will provide them with.

During class- 50 minutes Students who are presenting will be presenting will first hand out any papers (if they have them), then proceed with their presentation of their assigned book. The presentation can be any format the students choose. If it is a PowerPoint presentation, then the students will need to ensure that the computer is ready before class starts to make sure that no class time is wasted. If the presentation requires no other type of technology, then they may proceed whenever they feel good. Presentations should last no longer than 20 minutes. These presentations should include a brief overview of the events, characters, and issues in the book at the beginning of the presentation, to ensure that all the students are prepared for what they will be covering in class. After going into the presentation, the students will cover all the pertinent material. After the presentation is over, the students will need to be able to answer any questions that their peers may have about the content or if the material presented was unclear and they have questions about the content. Grades will be based on the clarity, effectiveness, and class understanding of the presentation. The teacher’s comments will be added after the presentation is completed and will follow into the rest of the class session.

Post-class- Students should reflect on what has been presented to them by their peers. Also, students who have not presented their assigned book should take pointers from the previous groups on what will work well on their own presentation. The next book should be read by the next class and the next