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10th Grade  Project 4 weeks

World Words: A Global Text Adventure

Kathleen V
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.9
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.6
RL.9-10.6
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4
+ 5 more
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Purpose

Students investigate the essential question, “How do texts from different regions of the world reveal different values, perspectives, and experiences?” Through collaborative analysis of literature and historical or informational sources, they examine how point of view, cultural context, and political, social, or economic vocabulary shape meaning and tone. They compare findings across sources, identifying where accounts support or contradict one another, and develop evidence-based interpretations. Students use peer and teacher feedback to refine and publicly share a comparative product that communicates their learning with clarity and empathy.

Learning goals

Students will analyze how texts from different world regions reveal distinct values, perspectives, and cultural experiences. They will determine the figurative, connotative, political, social, and economic meanings of words and explain how word choices shape tone, time, and place. Students will compare literary texts with historical, informational, or other sources, citing evidence to identify where accounts support or contradict one another. Through collaborative inquiry, presentations, peer feedback, and reflection, students will communicate empathetically, revise their interpretations, and monitor their progress.

Standards
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social studies.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.9 - Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.6 - Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
  • [New Hampshire] RL.9-10.6 - Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
Competencies
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.

Products

Students will create annotated reading portfolios that track political, social, and economic vocabulary, figurative language, tone, and culturally specific perspectives in texts from several world regions. Teams will build evidence maps comparing literary texts with historical or social-science sources, identifying where ideas support or contradict one another. Each team will produce a multimedia “World Texts Gallery” exhibit that answers, “How do texts from different regions of the world reveal different values, perspectives, and experiences?” Students will present their exhibits, respond to audience questions, and submit individual reflections showing how peer and teacher feedback shaped their analysis.

Launch

Arrange a gallery walk featuring short literary excerpts from several world regions paired with maps, images, or brief historical accounts. In small groups, students annotate unfamiliar political, social, and economic vocabulary, striking word choices, tone, and clues about cultural perspective, then compare each excerpt with its paired source for support or contradiction. Groups share observations and questions before individually responding to: “How do texts from different regions of the world reveal different values, perspectives, and experiences?” Conclude by inviting students to identify a region or perspective they want to investigate during the project.

Exhibition

Host a “World Texts Gallery” where student teams present multimedia exhibits comparing literature and related historical or social-science sources from different regions. Each exhibit should use textual evidence to explain how word choice, figurative language, regional vocabulary, and cultural point of view reveal distinct values, perspectives, and experiences, while noting where sources support or contradict one another. Invite classmates, families, and community members to rotate through the exhibits, ask questions, and leave feedback about the strength and empathy of each comparison. Students share speaking and facilitation roles, then use audience feedback to complete an individual reflection on how their thinking changed.