2018-2019 English Course Descriptions - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

2018-2019

English Course DescriptionsSlide2

Ninth Grade Options

LA9 or LA9 Honors

Additional

Elective

Options:

Creative Writing

Debate/Forensics

Multimedia Communications

Oral Communications

Theater 1Slide3

LA 9

This language arts course develops reading, writing, listening, speaking and viewing skills. Reading material covers all genres: novel, short story, poetry, drama and non-fiction.

Major texts may include:

I am Legend

(film), portions of

The Odyssey

(poem/film),

Speak

(novel/film) or

Lord of the Flies

(novel/film),

Romeo and Juliet

(novel/film),

West Side Story

, and

To Kill a Mockingbird

(novel/film).

Major writing includes: narrative, literary analysis/close reading, argumentation/persuasion (essay or speech), and research.

Grammar skills include:

p

arts

of

speech, parts

of

sentences, fragments/run-ons, punctuating dialogue, apostrophes, commas, and semi-colons/colons.

Common assessments follow the

The

Odyssey

unit in the fall and the

To Kill a Mockingbird

unit in the spring.Slide4

LA 9 Honors

Teacher: Mrs. Kuslits

Prerequisites: 8

th

Grade Advanced Language Arts and/or passing grade on the placement exam

LA9

Honors students should be HIGHLY motivated, excellent readers and writers, and prepared for up to an hour of homework each night.

Differences between LA9 and LA9 Honors:

Summer work: read

Into Thin Air

,

The Count of Monte Cristo

, and

Jane Eyre

, answer guided questions and take a test at the beginning of the school year

Addition of

We’ve Always Lived in the Castle,

several short stories, independent reading, and nonfiction pieces

Addition of four five-paragraph essays and several shorter writing pieces throughout the year

Focus is on creating more sophisticated written responsesSlide5

Tenth Grade Options

LA10 or LA10 Honors

Additional

Elective

Options:

Creative Writing

Debate/Forensics

Multimedia Communications

Advanced Multimedia Communications (i.e. Talon)

Oral Communications

Theater 1Slide6

LA 10

This language arts course develops reading, writing, listening, speaking and viewing skills. Reading material covers all genres: novel, short story, poetry, drama and non-fiction.

Major texts may include: several non-fiction, historical documents by the Founding Fathers, short stories and poetry with the Romantics Unit, Transcendentalism,

The Crucible

(play/film),

The House on Mango Street

(collection of vignettes),

Of Mice and Men

(novel/film), Harlem Renaissance,

A Raisin in the Sun

(play/film),

The Truman Show

(film) with

Fahrenheit 451

(novel).

Major writing includes: narrative, literary analysis/close reading, argumentation/persuasion (essay or speech), and research with formal outline, works cited, and presentation components.

Grammar skills include: parts of speech review, commas, apostrophes, semi-colons/colons/hyphens, quotation marks, fragments/run-ons, independent/dependent clauses, sentence types, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, and sentence variety.

Common assessments are part of the semester exams. Slide7

LA 10 Honors

Teachers: Mrs. Painter and Mrs. Cusmano

Prerequisite: LA9 Honors OR LA9 Teacher’s signature on your scheduling card.

LA10 Honors students should be HIGHLY motivated, excellent readers and writers, and prepared for up to an hour of homework each night.

Differences between LA10 and LA10 Honors:

Summer Work: read

The

Scarlet Letter

,

The

House on Mango

Street

, and a memoir of your choice

over the

summer.

Students also have a nonfiction reading requirement over the

summer.

Addition of modernism, realism and regionalism, nonfiction pieces, close-reading assignments, and analysis of rhetorical devices and how they are used.

AP

practice and reading and writing to prepare for

coursework in AP Language and/or AP LiteratureSlide8

Literature Courses

British Literature

Exploring Literature (meant for struggling readers)

Introduction to Film/ Screenwriting

Literature of the Strange and Mysterious

Mythology

Poetry

Shakespeare

20

th

Century Literature

Additional Electives

Creative Writing

Debate/Forensics

Multimedia Communications OR Advanced Multimedia Communications

Oral Communications

Theater

1 OR Theater 2

Eleventh Grade Options

AP Language (yearlong), Elements (yearlong), or Applications (semester)

Note: If you take AP Language or Elements, you do not need to select an additional literature

course

; if you select Applications, you will need to rank your top three literature elective choices.Slide9

AP Language and Composition

Teachers: Ms. Burke and Ms. Frisby

Prerequisites:

LA10 Honors (highly

recommended) or your

LA10

Teacher’s signature on your scheduling card.

The AP course, which could count as a college credit, is a yearlong class open to HIGHLY motivated 11

th

and 12

th

grade students.

Because this course is audited

and approved by the College Board, AP

Language

shares the rigors and requirements of a college freshman

English course.

Students should be prepared for frequent AP practice tests, extensive writing, and up to 1 hour of homework per night or longer amounts of time on larger

projects.

Summer Work: read and annotate

Into the Wild, A Long Way Gone, The Glass Castle,

select 10 important quotations and write detailed explanations for the books, plus write an essay.

The course focuses on nonfiction writing and speaking, in-depth analysis of texts, elements of argumentation, an intensive research paper and presentation, and more.

An

agreement form must be signed by both parents and

students.Slide10

Elements of Composition & Literature

Teachers: Mrs. Cusmano, Mrs. Painter

Elements uses the same curriculum, novels, and lesson objectives as Applications of Composition and Literature, just spread out over a whole academic year.

This class is for 11

th

grade students who need a longer time to process and complete the writing process. Students who struggle with grammar concepts and reading comprehension would also be a great fit for this class. We will be breaking down projects, papers and literature into a step by step process, as well as beginning the year with an in depth look into grammatical elements of writing.

Students will focus on: argumentative

writing,

writing a research paper and a literary analysis, close reading and rhetorical analysisSlide11

Applications of Composition

Students will learn to master the writing process, and will be writing and revising papers constantly while extending and refining their arguments, thinking, and organizational skills.

Major texts may include:

Night

(novel),

Catcher in the Rye

(novel),

Life is Beautiful

(film), and

A Lesson Before Dying

(novel).

Major writing includes: literary analysis/close reading, argumentation/persuasion essay, rhetorical analysis and research project.

Grammar skills include: The most common errors in English grammar and mechanics with a focus on preparation for the SAT Writing and Language Test.

A focus of this course is preparing for the SAT Reading, Writing and Language, and Essay portion of the assessment.

The common assessment is the

f

inal

s

emester

e

xam.Slide12

Literature Electives

If you take Applications of Composition/12

th

Grade Comp., you get to pair it with one of the following elective choices:

British Literature

Exploring Literature

Intro. to Film/Screenwriting

Lit. of the Strange and Mysterious

Mythology

Poetry

Shakespeare

20

th

Century LiteratureSlide13

British Literature

This is a semester Elective for 11

th

and 12

th

graders.

Explore the literature of the British Isles connecting to their history and culture.

Survey of English literature from 449 A.D/C.E. through modern literature connecting history and literature

Includes various types of readings at various difficulty levels- short stories, poetry, nonfiction, drama, novels of students’ choosing

Requires individual and group presentations, in-class and some formal writing, class discussions, group work

Excellent College bound elective for students who have enjoyed history courses.Slide14

Exploring Literature

This is a class for developing readers and writers who want an English class that helps them to get better in reading and allows more choice in novels.

Students will be reading at their own level.

Texts may include

Downriver

by Will Hobbs,

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins, and

Monster

by Walter Dean Myers. Slide15

Introduction to Film/Screenwriting

Teachers: Mr. Guyor, Mr. Kowal

This is an English elective designed to help students appreciate and gain more knowledge about films and screenplay writing. Students

will

learn of the evolution of the motion picture from the early

1800’s

to

present

day.

Students

will do the following:

engage

in group and individual activities

review

and critique films

present

a movie project

take quizzes and tests centered around the history of films and screenplay writing

c

omplete in-class

and take home essays

create

their own 15-20 page

screenplays Slide16

Literature of the Strange

and Mysterious

It explores the characteristics of science-fiction, fantasy, horror, suspense, and mystery and examine the similarities and differences among them.

Students will analyze short stories and novels for author’s purpose and understanding of how the literature fits in the genre.

The course is reading intensive; homework can include up to 30 pages of reading per night.

Students do creative projects to show understanding of the texts.

There is an emphasis on reading strategies and how texts fit into a genre.

Studies genre and their impact on texts

Novels can include

Kindred, Cat’s Cradle, The Hobbit, Murder on the Orient Express

and various short stories are read.Slide17

Mythology

Students read many myths ranging from classic to contemporary mythologies.

Students will touch on Greek, Roman, Egyptian and other ancient mythologies as well more contemporary myths, such as,

Frankenstein,

the Loch Ness Monster, ghosts, folk lore, and fairy tales.

Students who succeed in this class are ones who engage in class discussions, and who keep up with the reading, homework, papers, and projects.

In addition to the steady and frequent workload, students are asked to study for tests and quizzes.

Slide18

Poetry

This course gives students the opportunity to explore the genre of poetry through both reading and writing in a way that is personally meaningful.

Students are introduced to traditional forms and contemporary innovations in poetry with texts from around the world.

The structure of the course is partially a workshop in which students develop their own voice and authentic style through individual, group and electronic conferencing and revision and self-directed reading of various authors.

Students can also expect to use the book

Literature Craft & Voice

(Volume 2: Poetry) to help them gain an understanding of critically reading and writing about poetry. Students should expect to not only write poems, but to write poetry analysis in essay form as well as study authors and take quizzes and tests on terms.Slide19

In this college-bound elective, students consider the Shakespearean drama in relation to the Elizabethan age and its theater.

Students study selections from the author's comedies and tragedies.

The focus of this class will be on enriching the experience of reading Shakespeare through classroom discussions, lectures, and the viewing of performances.

Shakespeare

Teacher: Mr. KowalSlide20

20

th

Century Literature

This discussion-based elective is for juniors and seniors who like to read, write, and talk about classical literature of the last century. Sitting quietly in your seat won’t do!

Students read at least four novels including

Siddhartha, The Great Gatsby, The Chosen,

and

The Stranger.

Participation

, journals, and tests/projects are

part of the course. Creative

expression is strongly encouraged. Slide21

Literature Electives

British Literature

Exploring Literature (meant for struggling readers)

Introduction to Film/ Screenwriting

Literature of the Strange and Mysterious

Mythology

Poetry

Shakespeare

20

th

Century Literature

Additional Electives

Creative Writing

Debate

Multimedia or Advanced Multimedia Communications

Oral Communications

Theater

1, Theater 2 (for second-year Theater students) or Stagecraft (for third-year Theater students)

Twelfth Grade Options

AP Language (yearlong), AP Literature (yearlong), Composition and Literature (semester), or Composition and Language (semester)

Note: If you take AP Language or AP Literature, you do not need to select an additional literature elective; if you select either of the Composition courses, you will need to rank your top three literature elective choices.Slide22

AP Literature and Composition

Teacher: Mr. Gollon

Prerequisites: AP Language (highly recommended) or your Applications Teacher’s signature on your scheduling card.

The

AP course, which could count as a college credit, is a yearlong class open to HIGHLY motivated

12

th

grade

students who LOVE to read and analyze all forms of challenging literature.

Because this course is audited and approved by the College Board, AP Language shares the rigors and requirements of a college freshman English course.

Students should be prepared for frequent AP practice tests, extensive writing, and up to 1 hour of homework per night or longer amounts of time on larger projects.

Summer

Work:

How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Catch 22, Crime and Punishment, The Bonesetter’s Daughter,

annotations, reader response journals, essay, 10 quotes with

explanations

An agreement form must be signed by both parents and students.Slide23

12

th

Grade Composition & Literature

Students who like to read longer, traditional texts such Shakespeare and Faulkner might enjoy this class. The focus is on becoming a more sophisticated reader, writer, and thinker before heading off to college.

Comp & Lit. covers the same units as Comp & Lang., including:

logic and rhetorical analysis

literary theory & criticism

m

ulti-media group research project

close reading

satire

Students in Comp. & Lit. will analyze/discuss/write the same number of essays (of the same length), but will rely more heavily on traditional literature than nonfiction texts.

Slide24

12

th

Grade Composition and Language

Students will continue to develop the writing process, and will be writing and revising papers constantly while extending and refining their arguments, thinking, and analytical skills with a non-fiction text focus.

Major texts may include:

The Glass Castle

(memoir), and

Star Wars

,

Shrek

, or

The Princess Bride

(films), multiple short stories including Ernest Hemingway’s “Indian Camp,” and multiple argumentative non-fiction texts.

Major writing includes: rhetorical analysis, critical literary theory analysis, and full- hour research presentation with a detailed outline and annotated bibliography.

Grammar skills include: Refining style and voice in writing.

Common assessments include the Final Semester Exam, Rhetorical Analysis Essay, and Research Project.

Students in Comp. &

Lang.

will analyze/discuss/write the same number of essays (of the same length

) as Comp. & Lit.,

but will rely more heavily

on nonfiction texts than

traditional

literature.Slide25

Literature Electives

If you take

Comp./Lit. OR Comp./Lang.,

you get to pair it with one of the following elective choices:

British Literature

Exploring Literature

Intro. to Film/Screenwriting

Lit. of the Strange and Mysterious

Mythology

Poetry

Shakespeare

20

th

Century LiteratureSlide26

Additional Electives

The following courses count as English

electives

or

visual/performing arts credit

only, NOT English credit:

Creative Writing

Debate/Forensics

Multimedia Communications / Advanced Multimedia Communications (with the exception of Seniors taking the course)

Oral Communications

Theater 1, Theater 2, and StagecraftSlide27

Creative Writing

S

tudents explore the elements of creative writing through research, reading and analyzing short stories and poems.

Students periodically present their written pieces to the class

.

Major texts include: a variety of short stories, memoirs, and poetry. Students identify the characteristics of each type of writing.

Major

writing includes: s

everal types of short

stories, memoirs, poetry,

and more.

Grammar

skills include:

Strategies for developing voice in writing, and individual and peer editing and revising.

A focus of this course is preparing

a portfolio of several different types of Creative Writing to be edited, revised, and reflected upon throughout the semester. Slide28

Debate/Forensics

This is a class for students interested in developing their public speaking ability, in addition to working on structuring effective arguments.

This class focuses on the 12 Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association (MIFA) categories, including:

Dramatic Interpretation

Humorous Interpretation

Sales Speaking

Informative Speaking

Storytelling

Impromptu SpeakingSlide29

Multimedia Communications

Multimedia Communications is a 1 semester course that counts for a .5 Visual/Performing Arts credit, is open to 9-12 grade students, and serves as a pre-requisite for Advanced Multimedia Communications (The Talon & Yearbook). The course will cover all aspects of 21

st

Century skills including:

The first amendment for the Internet and Social Media

Writing for print, the Web, video and podcast

Photography and videography

Graphic design for print and the Web

Data visualization for

infographics

Branding using Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc

.)Slide30

Advanced Multimedia Communications

Advanced Communications is a year-long course that counts for 1 Visual/Performing Arts

credit or English credit for Seniors. It

involves being a part of the award-winning

newspaper

at RHS:

The

Talon.

Students will

produce the newspaper, write and develop content for the

Web

(rochestertalon.com), and maintain professional social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and more.

Individuals must be HIGHLY motivated and good at time management, as the course runs as a workshop managed by student editors. Students will need to strictly follow a deadline calendar and understand that they will earn a zero if they miss a deadline.Slide31

Oral Communications

Teachers: Mr. Guyor or Mr. Miesch

This course will empower you with the ability to effectively speak, listen, and improve communication skills in many different settings, and for many different audiences and purposes.

You will learn how to:

Win

arguments

Speak with

confidence

Tell if someone is lying

C

onquer

America’s greatest

fearSlide32

Theater 1

Teacher: Mr. Gollon

This course will empower you with the ability to effectively speak, listen, and improve communication skills in many different settings, and for many different audiences and purposes.

The course will focus on acting, including:

Physical Expression

Concentration

Voice

Improvisation

Character Development

Scene StudySlide33

Theater 2

Teacher: Mr. Gollon

Prerequisite:

Theater

I

This is an advanced course recommended for SERIOUS Theater students in grades 11 & 12. It will cover all aspects of theatrical production.

Ten hours of production work is required

Skills covered include:

Auditioning

Acting

Directing

Set Design

Lighting

Costuming

ProductionSlide34

Stagecraft

Teacher: Mr. Gollon

Prerequisites: Theater I and Theater 2

This course provides an intensive study of technical theater, and is recommended only for SERIOUS Theater students.

Students will receive training in all auditorium systems.

See Mr. Gollon for more information about this opportunity.