STUDENTS MAY RE-ENROLL IN THIS CLASS FOR UP TO 3 YEARS TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING SKILLS WITHOUT REPEATING ASSIGNED READING OR PROJECTS.
Discover meaningful literature, cultivate critical thinking abilities, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and build essential writing skills in this engaging class. Designed to deepen understanding of literary works and refine writing abilities, this class will provide students with a firm foundation and preparation for future college level English classes.
Literature assignments will rotate from year to year, allowing students to re-enroll the course without repeating reading, but will always include several classic and contemporary works of literary significance, at least one work of Christian literature, at least one non-fiction work such as a biography or memoir, and a variety of shorter works with may include essays, short stories, and poetry. Two or more hands-on or interactive projects based on literary selections will also be completed each year.
Writing assignments will vary from year to year but will include several of the following: Persuasive Essay, Narrative Essay, Analytical Essay, Research Paper, Citation and Formatting, Creative Writing, Personal Statement, Technical Writing, an Professional Communication (such as resumes and letter writing)
Literature Objectives
- Recognize, analyze and critically evaluate central themes within a work of literature
- Explore and articulate the relevance of identified themes to contemporary, personal, and cultural values
- Identify and analyze the effectiveness of literary techniques and creative language usage in literary texts
- Understand how rhetorical techniques, point of view, word choice, and tone contribute to the overall meaning of a text
- Make inferences, draw conclusions, and determine the author’s purpose based on evidence in a text
- Evaluate how textual elements such as structure, imagery, suspense, narrative voice, humor, and sequence of events impact meaning and emotional resonance
- Assess character development, setting, and plot over the course of a narrative
- Compare and contrast two works of literature from the same genre, two texts of different genres about the same topic, or two different works from the same author
- Identify genres, conventions, and period-specific discourses and their relevance to broader historical forces
Writing Objectives
- Formulate a clear and concise thesis statement and support it effectively with strong evidence
- Learn to craft informative, narrative, and persuasive essays
- Write analytical responses that draw evidence from literary texts
- Apply strategies for gathering, organizing and evaluating sources for research writing
- Effectively use MLA formatting and citations
- Use the editing process to refine and revise writing
- Strategically apply a variety of writing techniques in both creative writing and formal composition
- Describe personal writing practices with demonstrated self-awareness and apply developmental strategies over time
Homework
- Rigorous - Students will have reading and writing assignments to complete each week and should expect to devote time and energy into developing writing and experiencing and responding to literature.
