This English IV syllabus aligns with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grade 12, focusing on British literature, advanced composition, rhetorical analysis, and independent research across six distinct thematic units.

Unit 1: Foundations and the Hero’s Journey

• Focus: Anglo-Saxon and Medieval literature, epic poetry, and the evolution of the English language.
• Core Texts: Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales (excerpts), and foundational historical texts.
• Key TEKS:
  • 12.1(A-D): Engage in meaningful and respectful discourse.
  • 12.4(A-I): Reading comprehension using multiple genres.
  • 12.5(E): Interact with sources in meaningful ways (note-taking, annotating).
  • 12.7(A-E): Write an analytical essay focusing on archetypes and cultural values.

Unit 2: Renaissance, Rebirth, and Rhetoric

• Focus: English Renaissance, Elizabethan drama, sonnet structures, and persuasive rhetoric.

• Core Texts: Shakespearean drama (e.g., Macbeth or Hamlet), selected sonnets by Shakespeare and Donne.
• Key TEKS:
  • 12.4(F): Respond to an interpretive text and make connections.
  • 12.6(A-I): Analyze the author's craft, style, and figurative language.
  • 12.8(A-E): Write a persuasive or argumentative essay with strong thesis development.

Unit 3: Reason, Satire, and Social Critique

• Focus: The Enlightenment and Restoration periods, satirical essays, and structural analysis of prose.
• Core Texts: Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal," works by Alexander Pope or Daniel Defoe.
• Key TEKS:
  • 12.4(C): Make and correct inferences using text evidence.
  • 12.6(D): Evaluate how point of view and rhetorical purpose shape content.
  • 12.8(B): Structure an argument with a clear rebuttal and logical evidence.

Unit 4: Romanticism and Individual Expression Focus: Romantic poetry, the sublime in nature, Gothic literature, and personal narrative writing.

• Core Texts: Selected poetry by Wordsworth, Keats, Blake, and Shelley; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
• Key TEKS:
  • 12.4(D): Synthesize information to create new understanding.
  • 12.6(C): Analyze the use of meter, form, and symbolism in poetry.
  • 12.9(A-C): Write a literary response or creative-analytical hybrid piece.

Unit 5: Empire, Alienation, and Modernism

• Focus: Victorian era, industrialization, Modernist fragmentation, and post-colonial perspectives.
• Core Texts: Poetry and prose from the Victorian and 20th-century eras (e.g., George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, or W.B. Yeats).
• Key TEKS:
  • 12.4(B): Analyze how themes connect to historical and social contexts.
  • 12.6(G): Evaluate the author's use of structure and stream-of-consciousness.
  • 12.10(A-E): Conduct focused inquiry and produce a multi-source research synthesis.

Unit 6: Contemporary Voices and Capstone Presentation

• Focus: Postmodern and contemporary global British/Anglophone literature, synthesis of senior learning, and multimedia presentation.
• Core Texts: Contemporary short stories, essays, and modern media texts.
• Key TEKS:
  • 12.4(H): Monitor understanding and make adjustments during reading.
  • 12.11(A-E): Present complex ideas formally using multimodal delivery.
  • 12.10(E): Refine and polish a final publication-grade portfolio.