Carol Ashey

ENGL 481
Dr. Hartman
October 24, 2014
Rationale Draft 2
The term beauty is a tough word to define. There are multiple definitions in the dictionary, but
the most common one that comes to the minds of most people is the one that relates to a persons
physical features, or something material; in short, superficial. Concern with superficial beauty appears
most rampant in the high school setting. Both male and female students are all about who is wearing
what, and who is wearing it best. Female students attempt to tweak their own looks to those of the
models in fashion magazines and the actors of Hollywood. Beauty, to them, has a standard, and if it is
not met in all the right ways, the result is being socially ostracized. To a teenager, the beautiful people
wear the latest designs in fashion, own the newest cars, have the savviest technology, are rolling in
money, and have social prestige, sometimes all at once. Since students care so much about this topic, it
should be used as a tool in the classroom.
Students are clearly capable of defining what is and is not beautiful in the physical and
material sense. This is easy, as it revolves around personal opinion. It is easy to point out in a
magazine what is beautiful, but not so in a book with just words. It is also harder to peg why a person
is beautiful in terms of personality, and who they are on the inside. Teachers should strive to teach
students about inner beauty, because it will expand their knowledge of what beauty is, and lead to a
more well-rounded person.
I plan to teach my unit on the over arching theme of beauty in literature as a means of focusing
on inner beauty rather than the superficial; to engage students in a deeper understanding of what
beauty is. I plan to introduce this through the literary movement of Romanticism. This movement is

Ashey

known for its beautiful works such as Thoreaus Walden and numerous poems by various authors. In
one way, beauty is about expression; students know how to express a part of themselves, whether its
through the way they dress, the technology they use, or who they hang out with. I will cover more than
just the Romantic literature and poetry; I will also be covering Romantic music such as the classical
composers of Beethoven because his music is an expression of the beautiful.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1.C
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate current discussion to broader
themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others in the discussion and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas
and conclusions.
-

I do this in the discussions about music and language and through the opinionairre and through
class discussions

The current discussion is music and beauty

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.3
Apply knowledge of language and understand how language functions in different contexts to make
effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
-

Grammar in songs (incorrect)

Song analysis

Text rendering activity

Music with lyrics vs. instrumental

Word choice and meaning

Rubric

Ashey
As a whole the class will learn to define what makes literature beautiful through an extended definition
essay, which is, according to Smag, an in depth comparison/contrast essay. The textual examples are
from the Romantic era of literature, as it often is used to represent beautiful literature.
I have decided that there will be rubrics for each sectionmusic, poetry, and literatureand that each
section will have a small compare/contrast essay which will then be squished together to make the
extended definition essay.
Extended Definition Essay What Makes a Work Beautiful? (examples of music, poetry, and literature)
For this lesson/section I need a rubric for the Music Section What makes Music Beautiful?
In the Dionysian myth, music is conceived as internal sound breaking forth from the human breast; in
the Apollonian view music is exact, serene, mathematical, associated with transcendental visions of
Utopia and the Harmony of the SpheresIn the Dionysian view music is irrational and subjective. It
employs expressive devices: tempo fluctuations, dynamic shadings, tonal coloringsabove all, it is the
musical expression of the romantic artist(97-98).
Schafer, R. Murray. "The Soundscape." The Sound Studies Reader. By Jonathan Sterne. New York:
Routledge, 2012. 97-98. Print.
Some of the questions for the music compare/contrast essay an come from opinionairre, song analysis,
and class discussions/student answers on beauty and what makes a song beautiful (daybook entry).
Rubric example in ranking, judging, evaluating article (strong/ok/weak in areas on content, language,
mechanics, revision, and overall).

Ashey
Category
Content, Insights,
Thinking, Grappling
with Topic
Genuine Revision,
Substantive Changes,
Not Just Editing
Language: Sentences,
Wording, Syntax, Voice
Mechanics: Spelling,
Grammar, Punctuation,
Proofreading
Overall

4
Strong

OK

Weak

The above rubric would be able to be graded if each bullet point was a mile marker in the process; if
each part was a grade (in points for example), by themselves they would not be many points, but added
together they would be. This would be a repetitive process since I would be doing this for each section.

Opinionairre
What is your favorite music style? Why?

What is your least favorite music style? Why?

Do you have any favorite artists? Who and Why?

Do you have any least favorite artists? Who and Why?

Have you ever listened to Classical music? Why/Why Not?

Can you name any Classical composers?

Can you name a Classical music piece?

Does language change over time? Why/Why not?

Why do you think music popularity changes?

What do you think causes music to be consistently popular?