The+History+of+English

Essential Questions:

 * How producer-text-receiver relationship is affected by the author's intention, the language used, and the contexts in which the text is created and received?
 * How does the relationship between language and culture affect our interpretation of a text's message?
 * How do cultural interactions influence the evolution of language? Will this evolution continue inevitably?

Learning Outcomes:

 * Analyse how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of the texts.
 * Analyse the impact of language changes.
 * Demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning are shaped by culture and context.

Lesson 1: Language Life Map (01/10/2012)
This unit, we will be studying the evolution of the English language. As an introduction, you will be creating a life map for a language using glogster. Your groups' glog will need to use text and images to convey the information you discover. It will also need MLA citations. You will post your glogs to the projects page for this wiki. Each group member will also need to complete a 2-3 paragraph reflection explaining what he/she learned about your assigned language and about language evolution in general. This reflection must be posted on the discussion page for this unit. **Your glogs and reflections are due Wednesday, January 11.**

Topics you must address:
 * Origin of the language
 * Evolution of the language (How did the language change and grow over time?)
 * Connections with other languages
 * Demographic of language users (Who speaks this language? Why?)
 * Any other interesting facts you can find!

Groups/Assigned languages: Turkish: Sharon, Ji In, Nemo, Daniel Finish: Seo Jung, Catherine, Dong Joo, Sang Hyun Italian: Tiffany, Chantelle, Peter Mandarin: Patrick, Ye Sol, Andrew

Lesson 2: The Birth of a Language (01/11/2012)
Today you will watch the first episode of //The Adventures of English.// While you are watching, take careful notes. You may not use your computer for note-taking. These notes will be collected at the beginning of the next class. media type="youtube" key="oaWOsFRUUy8" height="315" width="560"

HWK: Read The Prologue to Beowulf and the Modern Translation of the Prologue. If you are still confused, read the Easy Adapted Version. You can also listen to the prologue below. (Simply reading the modern translation and the easy adapted version will not help you write the reflection for this episode.) Write a reflection on the following: What does the text of Beowulf reveal about Old English and English cultural at the time it was written? How does it reflect what you learned in the documentary? Your reflection should be 3-5 paragraphs long and include specific details from the documentary and the text(s) as support. Post your reflection on the discussions page for this unit.

Further Information: media type="youtube" key="mX--9m-OvoI" height="123" width="305" media type="youtube" key="Y13cES7MMd8" height="123" width="168" Who Are the Characters in Beowulf?

Lesson 3: English Goes Underground (01/13/2011)
Today you will watch the second episode of //The Adventures of English.//While you are watching, take careful notes. You may not use your computer for note-taking. These notes will be collected at the beginning of the next class. media type="youtube" key="RwkbgKrm8Jw" height="315" width="560"

HWK: Read The Prologue to Canterbury Tales and the the Prologue to the Knight's Tale in Middle English and the translations of the Prologue and the Prologue to The Knight's Tale. How does these reflect what you learned in the documentary? Your reflection should be 3-5 paragraphs long and include specific details from the documentary and the text(s) as support. Post your reflection on the discussions page for this unit.

For Further information: Spark Notes: Canterbury Tales media type="youtube" key="M61_L5PT-9A" height="155" width="210"media type="youtube" key="QE0MtENfOMU" height="155" width="210"

Lesson 4:
The Lord's Prayer in Old English media type="youtube" key="zoMpcrZgMK8" height="154" width="280" media type="youtube" key="rBkUz5YktDs" height="218" width="294"

Lesson 5: The Battle for the Language of the Bible (01/18/2012) Today you will watch the third episode of //The Adventures of English.// While you are watching, take careful notes. You may not use your computer for note-taking. These notes will be collected at the beginning of the next class. media type="youtube" key="HntA_99DFcU" height="315" width="560"

The Great Vowel Shift: The Great Vowel Shift- Harvard University The Great Vowel Shift- Furman University The Great Vowel Shift

HWK: Write a rap describing/explaining the Great Vowel Shift. Use the websites above. Be prepared to perform your rap next class.

Lesson 6: This Earth, This Realm, This England (01/19/2012) Today you will watch the fourth episode of //The Adventures of English.// While you are watching, take careful notes. You may not use your computer for note-taking. These notes will be collected at the beginning of the next class. media type="youtube" key="sBIf8djxWmE" height="315" width="560"

HWK: Read The Balcony Scene from Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet's Soliloquy and Sonnet II by Sir Philip Sidney and Sonnet 19 by William Shakespeare. Write a reflection on the following: What does the texts by Shakespeare and Sidney reveal about Elizabethan English and English cultural at the time it was written? How does these reflect what you learned in the documentary? Your reflection should be 3-5 paragraphs long and include specific details from the documentary and the text(s) as support. Post your reflection on the discussions page for this unit. For Further Information: media type="youtube" key="XLWPg3SCYH4" height="115" width="160"

Lesson 7: English in America (01/30/2012) Today you will watch the fifth episode of //The Adventures of English.// While you are watching, take careful notes. You may not use your computer for note-taking. These notes will be collected at the beginning of the next class. media type="youtube" key="Qq9B9RzSrgQ" height="315" width="560"

HWK: Read "I Hear America Singing", "Mending Wall" and "The Declaration of Independence". Write a reflection on the following: What does the texts reveal about American English and American cultural at the time it was written? How does these reflect what you learned in the documentary? Your reflection should be 3-5 paragraphs long and include specific details from the documentary and the text(s) as support. Post your reflection on the discussions page for this unit.

Lesson 8: About English in America (02/02/2012) We will work together to analyze American literature for changes to the language.

Lesson 9: Speaking Proper (02/03/2012) media type="youtube" key="RwclNPnqJ2U" height="315" width="560" HWK: Write a reflection on the following questions. Post your answers on the discussion page of this unit. What did you learn about English in this episode? How did the language change?

Lesson 10: The Language of Empire (02/07/2012)
I will be absent from class today due to Senior oral exams. You will watch episode 7 in class. Be sure to take careful notes using the graphic organizer provided.

HWK: Write a reflection on the following questions. Post your answers on the discussion page of this unit. What did you learn about English in this episode? How did the language change? media type="custom" key="24895596" width="200" height="200"