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High School

High School ELA

Grade 9

Ninth Grade

Unit 1 - Divided We Fall

Unit Overview	Unit Title	Divided We Fall Novel Pathway: Of Mice and Men
	Unit Duration	Quarter 1 August 27, 2025-November 4, 2025
	Unit Description / Summary	Deep inside most individuals lurks a desire to belong to a group. The group might be one’s family, a circle of friends, a popular clique, a winning team, or a respected profession. The conflict caused by the desire to fit in and the wish to be an individual is a common theme in literature. Why do we feel the need to belong? Why does it often hurt to feel excluded from the group? What’s wrong with being an outsider? Is there value in the outsider’s perspective? What risks do outsiders take? This unit offers a wide variety of literature for your students to explore these questions while also exploring texts in the unit’s genre focus, fiction. The classic short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, and the short story “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” serve as examples of the genre focus. Selections such as the poem “Sure You Can Ask Me a Personal Question” by Diane Burns, the memoir “The Future in My Arms” by Edwidge Danticat, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech allow students to read across genres.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 2 - The Call to Adventure

Unit Overview	Unit Title	The Call to Adventure
	Unit Duration	Quarter 2-November 5, 2025-January 27, 2026
	Unit Description / Summary	Most of the greatest adventure stories are about a journey. In some cases, the journey is physical. Someone goes out into the world in search of something—a treasure or a truth. In others, the journey is figurative. Someone stays close to home but uses his or her imagination to go on inner journeys and overcome personal obstacles. What will you learn on your journey? How do real and imagined journeys help us investigate the world and understand ourselves? How does reading about journeys help us prepare for adventures of our own? This unit offers a wide variety of literature for your students to explore these questions while also exploring texts in the unit’s genre focus, informational. The autobiography Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters by Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the NASA Kennedy Space Center report, “Apollo 13: Mission Highlights,” and the memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed serve as examples of the genre focus. Selections such as the poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost and “The Journey” by Mary Oliver as well as the short story “Volar” by Judith Ortiz Cofer allow students to read across genres.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 3 - Declaring Your Genius

Unit Overview	Unit Title	Declaring Your Genius
	Unit Duration	Quarter 3
	Unit Description / Summary	This unit offers a wide variety of literature for your students to explore these questions while also exploring selections in the unit’s genre focus, argumentative text. The open letter “An Indian Father’s Plea,” the excerpts from the theoretical texts The Singularity Is Near and Outliers: The Story of Success, the Point and Counterpoint essays in the article “The Origin of Intelligence,” the researched-based article “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids,” and “Convocation Remark at Harvard University,” serve as examples of the genre focus. Other selections, such as the poem “Señora X No More” by Pat Mora, the excerpt from a prose translation of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey, and a graphic novel based on the same excerpt from Homer’s classic text, allow students to read across genres.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 4 - Thematic Pathway: The Art of Disguise
Novel Pathway: Romiette and Julio

Unit Name	Thematic Pathway: The Art of Disguise Novel Pathway: Romiette and Julio
SY25-26 Dates	April 7 - June 12
Total School Days	45
# Lesson Days	32
# Flex Days	9
# Benchmark Days	2 Benchmark; 2 District
Standards Addressed	RL.2, RL.3, RL.4, RL.5, RL.9, RI.3, RI.6, W.2
Essential Questions or Unit focus	How do we perform for different audiences? Genre Focus: Drama
Optional Lessons	Independent and paired readings from the unit (Romiette and Julio, We Wear the Mask, The Pose, A Doll's House, A Story of Vengence, Eulogy for Mahatma Ghandi) Lessons and Blasts from StudySync Library as appropriate Self-Contained, ESL 1-2 classes have the option to utilize lessons from the ELL Resources tab for this unit.
Benchmarks	Mid-Unit Writing; End of Unit Assessment
District Assessments	iReady Diagnostic (EOY)

Grade 9 Study Sync Course Overview

Grade 10

Tenth Grade

Unit 1 - The Power of Communication

Unit Overview	Unit Title	Power Of Communication
	Unit Duration	Quarter 1 August 27, 2025-November 4, 2025
	Unit Description / Summary	In this unit, students will think about the theme and essential question as they focus on the literary periods of modernist and postmodernist literature, analyzing excerpts from Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart. They will also study the genre of fiction while reading stories such as “The Refusal” by Franz Kafka and “She Unnames Them” by Ursula K. Le Guin. Selections such as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Second Virginia Convention” allow students to read across genres and experience seminal argumentative texts that deeply influenced the course of American history.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 2 - Thematic Pathway: Moving Forward

Unit Overview	Unit Title	Moving Forward
	Unit Duration	Quarter 2-November 5, 2025-January 27, 2026
	Unit Description / Summary	In this unit, students will think about the theme and essential question as they focus on the literary period of ancient and classical literature, analyzing excerpts from the Rámáyana and the Republic. They will also study the genre of argumentative texts while reading speeches such as “The Perils of Indifference” and two texts that present opposing views on the topic of motivation. In addition, students will read across genres. The poem “The Gathering Place,” the short story “Civil Peace,” and the excerpt from the memoir "Night" will encourage students to think about how history and culture imprint each new generation.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 3 - The Persistence of Memories

Unit Name	The Persistence of Memories
SY25-26 Dates	January 28 - April 6
Total School Days	45
# Lesson Days	35
# Flex Days	6
# Benchmark Days	2 Benchmark; 2 District
Standards Addressed	RL.3, RL.4, RL.5, RI.2, RI.4, RI.5, W.3
Essential Questions or Unit focus	How does the past impact the future? How does a person’s childhood shape the adult he or she becomes? What can we learn about ourselves by recollecting our memories and childhood dreams? Can we avoid certain mistakes in the future by learning about the past?
Optional Lessons	Independent and paired readings from the unit (By Any Other Name, From Behind a Covered Window, Dream Psychology: Psycoanalysis for Beginngers, The Secret Life of Salvidor Dali, Rock, Ghost, Willow, Deer: A Survival Story, The God of Small Things, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) Lessons and Blasts from StudySync Library as appropriate Self-Contained, ESL 1-2 classes have the option to utilize lessons from the ELL Resources tab for this unit.
Benchmarks	Mid-Unit Writing; End of Unit Assessment
District Assessments	SAT Readiness (EOY) PSAT 10

Unit 4 - Thematic Unit: Chopped, Stirred, and Blended

Unit Name	Thematic Unit: Chopped, Stirred, and Blended Novel Pathway: How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents
SY25-26 Dates	April 7 - June 12
Total School Days	45
# Lesson Days	31
# Flex Days	12
# Benchmark Days	2 Benchmark
Standards Addressed	RL.1, RL.2, RL.4, RL.9, RI.3, RI.4, W.1
Essential Questions or Unit focus	What are the ingredients of culture? Why do people feel strongly about the food they eat? Are we sometimes eating memories of long-ago meals rather than the actual food on the plate in front of us? What can our food choices and preferences tell us about ourselves and our cultures?
Optional Lessons	Independent and paired readings from the unit (Melons, Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerers, Chinese Cooking, Lines Written in Early Spring, Florida's Edible Wild Plants, Ethiopia) Lessons and Blasts from StudySync Library as appropriate Self-Contained, ESL 1-2 classes have the option to utilize lessons from the ELL Resources tab for this unit.
Benchmarks	Mid-Unit Writing; End of Unit Assessment
District Assessments

Grade 10 StudySync Course Overview

Grade 11

Eleventh Grade

Unit 1 - "Thematic Pathway: Breaking Away Novel Pathway: The Crucible "

Unit Overview	Unit Title	Breaking Away
	Unit Duration	Quarter 1 - August 27, 2025 - November 4, 2025
	Unit Description / Summary	Inspired by the “Constitution of the Iroquois Nations,” the founding fathers established the United States on the principles of equality and the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From the first days of the United States though the present day, the American spirit continues to be independent and sovereign. How did independence drive the American spirit throughout history? What moments in history contradict this spirit? How has the scope of independence evolved in American society? This unit offers a wide variety of literature for your students to explore these questions while also exploring texts in the unit’s genre focus, fiction. The historical documents “Constitution of the Iroquois Nations” and the Declaration of Independence lay the foundation on which the United States was founded. Then several literary works of fiction explore the American spirit, such as the classic story “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street,” and the novel The Scarlet Letter. Selections such as The Namesake, “Verses upon the Burning of Our House,” “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” and “Indian Boarding School: The Runaways” allow students to read across genres. Students will begin this unit as readers, and they will finish as writers, as they apply what they have learned about story elements to their own narrative writing projects.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 2 - The Highway

Unit Overview	Unit Title	The Highway
	Unit Duration	November 5- January 29
	Unit Description / Summary	Leaving the comfort and familiarity of our usual surroundings to experience new places can broaden our understanding of the world and our place in it. Whether recounting family road trips or solo travels to other countries, narratives about journeys invite readers along for the ride and offer them an opportunity to witness how a journey can shape, and even change, the way the traveler sees the world. In this unit, students will think about the theme and essential question as they focus on the literary periods of Transcendentalism and Romanticism, analyzing excerpts from Walden and poems by Emily Dickinson. They will also study the genre of fiction while reading excerpts and stories such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” In addition, nonfiction texts, such as Mississippi Solo by Eddy Harris and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, will encourage students to think about life-changing journeys as they read across genres.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 3 - Thematic Pathway: No Strangers Here Novel Pathway: Their Eyes were Watching God

	Unit 3
Unit Name	Thematic Pathway: No Strangers Here Novel Pathway: Their Eyes were Watching God
SY25-26 Dates	January 28 - April 6
Total School Days	45
# Lesson Days	36
# Flex Days	6
# Benchmark Days	2 Benchmark; 2 District
Standards Addressed	RL.4, RL.5, RL.7, RL.9, RI.2, RI.4, RI.8, W.1
Essential Questions or Unit focus	How does place shape the individual? What makes a place so influential? How have these places influenced who we are? How have they shaped how we view the world and ourselves?
Optional Lessons	Independent and paired readings from the unit ("What to the Slave is Fourth of July," "As I Lay Dying," "Flowering Judas," "Their Eyes Were Watching God," "South," "'N'em," "We Contain Muiltitudes," "Bertram's Travels,") Lessons and Blasts from StudySync Library as appropriate Self-Contained, ESL 1-2 classes have the option to utilize lessons from the ELL Resources tab for this unit.
Benchmarks	Mid-Unit Writing; End of Unit Assessment
District Assessments	SAT Readiness (EOY)

Unit 4 - Living the Dream

	Unit 4
Unit Name	Living the Dream
SY25-26 Dates	April 7 - June 12
Total School Days	41
# Lesson Days	30
# Flex Days	8
# Benchmark Days	2 Benchmark
Standards Addressed	RL.2, RL.3, RL.4, RL.5, RL.7, RL.9, RI.2, RI.4, RI.6, RI.8, W.2
Essential Questions or Unit focus	What does home mean to you?What emotional and physical needs must a place satisfy in order to be considered a home? Is home something you need to “own”? What conflicts arise when a home means different things for the people living there?
Optional Lessons	Independent and paired readings from the unit ("The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "The Old Cabin," "Dream House," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "In Our Neighborhood," "Eat, Memory: Orange Crush") Lessons and Blasts from StudySync Library as appropriate Self-Contained, ESL 1-2 classes have the option to utilize lessons from the ELL Resources tab for this unit.
Benchmarks	Mid-Unit Writing; End of Unit Assessment

Grade 11 StudySync Course Overview

Grade 12

Grade 12 ELA

Unit 1 - What’s Next?

Unit Overview	Unit Title	What’s Next?
	Unit Duration	Quarter 1 - August 27, 2025 - November 4, 2025
	Unit Description / Summary	For high school seniors, the future seems closer than ever. In a matter of months, these students will make major decisions about their lives. Will they go to college or get a job? Will they move away or stay close to home? Will they stay close to their friends or will they branch out and meet new people? Every choice they make will affect their future in ways they cannot yet imagine. How can we make sure that we make the right choices? How much does a person’s individual choices affect his or her future? Can we make sure our choices have a positive impact on ourselves and on society? This unit offers a wide variety of literature that will encourage students to consider these questions and more while also exploring texts in the unit’s genre focus, informational text. There is a wide variety of nonfiction selections in this unit, beginning with the newspaper article “Are the New ‘Golden Age’ TV Shows the New Novels?” The speeches “We Choose to Go to the Moon” and “Commencement Address at Wellesley College” as well as personal essays Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, and “How Much Indian Was I?, My Fellow Students Asked” model for students how to use language to express a personal point of view. The informational texts “Community Colleges vs. Technical Schools,” “Overcoming Impostor Syndrome,” and “Booster Staff Investigates” illustrate how to share information from an objective viewpoint. The United States Supreme Court opinions in “Plessy v. Ferguson” offer students strong examples of arguments supported by rhetorical appeals and strong evidence. The excerpt from the classic novella The Metamorphosis allows students to read across genres as well.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 2 - Uncovering Truth

Unit Overview	Unit Title	Uncovering Truth
	Unit Duration	November 5 - January 29
	Unit Description / Summary	Everybody loves a good hero story. From Beowulf to the Avengers, audiences clamor for these tales of good versus evil. It’s exhilarating to follow along as a hero saves the day, and it’s a comfort to know that someone is always there to protect us. In this unit, students will think about the theme and essential question as they focus on the medieval period and English renaissance literature, analyzing excerpts from Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, among others. They will also study the genre of fiction while reading the short story “The Postmaster,” and dramas such as Richard III and Hamlet. In addition, nonfiction texts, such as “A Letter to NFL GMs” by Shaquem Griffin and Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward, will encourage students to think about how real-life individuals deal with challenges, and discover their true selves in the process.
	Curriculum	StudySync

Unit 3 - Thematic Pathway: Fractured Selves(#5) Novel Pathway: 1984

	Unit 3
Unit Name	Thematic Pathway: Fractured Selves(#5) Novel Pathway: 1984
SY25-26 Dates	January 28 - April 6
Total School Days	45
# Lesson Days	40
# Flex Days	3
# Benchmark Days	2 Benchmark
Standards Addressed	RL.2, RL.3, RL.4, RL.5, RL.7, RL.9, RI.2, RI.4, RI.5, RI.6, W.1
Essential Questions or Unit focus	What causes individuals to feel alienated? What does more realistic literature tell us about modern life? How did World War I and World War II change the way people viewed and experienced life? What causes individuals to feel alienated? How does Modernist art and literature explore the theme of alienation?
Optional Lessons	Independent and paired readings from the unit ("The Great Figure," "miss rosie," "The Idler," "A Room of One's Own," "The New Dress," "Hurricane Season," "The Pearl Divers' Daughter," "Killers of the Dream") Lessons and Blasts from StudySync Library as appropriate Self-Contained, ESL 1-2 classes have the option to utilize lessons from the ELL Resources tab for this unit.
Benchmarks	Mid-Unit Writing; End of Unit Assessment

Unit 4 - Thematic Pathway:Times of Transition(#6) Novel Pathway: Kite Runner

	Unit 4
Unit Name	Thematic Pathway:Times of Transition(#6) Novel Pathway: Kite Runner
SY25-26 Dates	April 7 - June 12
Total School Days	45
# Lesson Days	26
# Flex Days	17*
# Benchmark Days	2 Benchmark
Standards Addressed	RL.1, RL.2, RL.3, RL.4, RL.5, RI.1, RI.2, RI.3, RI.4, RI.7, W.1
Essential Questions or Unit focus	How are we shaped by change? What happens when life changes? How can outside forces change who we are inside? What can we learn from reading about how other people respond to significant changes in their own lives?
Optional Lessons	Independent and paired readings from the unit ("Love After Love," "The Museum," "Tryst with Destiny," "A Small Place," "ARK," "Blindspot: The Hidden Bias of Good People," "News Literacy in the Misinformation Age," "Dawn Revisited") Lessons and Blasts from StudySync Library as appropriate Self-Contained, ESL 1-2 classes have the option to utilize lessons from the ELL Resources tab for this unit.
Benchmarks	Mid-Unit Writing; End of Unit Assessment

Grade 12 StudySync Course Overview