High School Curriculum: Literature & Language Arts
Literature Through Graphic Novels 1
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Core textbooks:
Graphic Classics Graphic Novel Series
Spectrum Writing
Bookshare
Electronic texts (multiple)
Note: This course alternates with Literature Through Graphic Novels 2 on a yearly basis. This course will be offered during the 2012-2013 school year.
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Core textbooks:
Graphic Classics Graphic Novel Series
Spectrum Writing
Bookshare
Electronic texts (multiple)
Note: This course alternates with Literature Through Graphic Novels 2 on a yearly basis. This course will be offered during the 2012-2013 school year.
Literature Through Graphic Novels 2
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Core textbooks: Assorted graphic novels and informational texts.
Course Overview:
Our course of study in this class is both reading and writing. Students will access a wide variety of subjects and genres through graphic novels, including fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and memoir. Students will also read informative, expository texts as part of the Life Skills component of this course. This class is appropriate for students who are reading and writing below grade-level; students in this class receive extra help and individualized instructional plans depending on their needs.
Course Goals:
Reading Goals:
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Core textbooks: Assorted graphic novels and informational texts.
Course Overview:
Our course of study in this class is both reading and writing. Students will access a wide variety of subjects and genres through graphic novels, including fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and memoir. Students will also read informative, expository texts as part of the Life Skills component of this course. This class is appropriate for students who are reading and writing below grade-level; students in this class receive extra help and individualized instructional plans depending on their needs.
Course Goals:
Reading Goals:
- Encourage, challenge, and validate reluctant and struggling readers!
- Identify character, setting, plot, and theme in fiction
- Identify W5s and a H in informational texts
- Answer active reading questions (prediction, summary, character, etc.)
- Answer basic reader-response questions (critical thinking questions)
- Learn vocabulary building skills and Latin roots
- Use assistive technology (speech-to-text or text-to-speech) as needed
- Use proper sentence-level grammatical constructions
- Write paragraphs containing a topic sentence, supporting details, and original ideas (conclusive sentences).
- Write creative short, narrative stories following an original plot diagram
- Write responses to literature to demonstrate understanding of a text
- Use appropriate punctuation and spell-check
- Producing a working resume
- Filling out employment applications
- Developing job search skills
- Developing interview skills
- Learning or accessing vital personal information
- Identifying career and job options
Freshman Literature
Teacher: Gordon Matassa
Core textbook: Prentice Hall Literature: 9th Grade. Kinsella, Kate, et al. Boston: Pearson, 2007.
Course Overview:
The Freshman Literature course provides students with a detailed understanding of different literary genres including fiction, nonfiction, short story, novel, drama, poetry and more. Students learn grammar and pre-writing skills necessary for the various types of writing assignments they will be completing throughout the year. The vocabulary requirement focuses on literary terms and Latin root words related to the reading and writing assignments.
Course Goals:
Identify and comprehend literary terms in literature.
Understand how texts relate to the students and to the world around them.
Produce narrative and descriptive writing based on personal experiences in and outside of literature.
Identify, define and understand vocabulary in the context of literature.
Read literature from the context of when and for what reason a piece was written.
Build schema by connecting literature to their understanding and demonstrating their skills for making connections on their own.
Demonstrate active listening.
Communicate thoughts clearly by staying on topic.
Teacher: Gordon Matassa
Core textbook: Prentice Hall Literature: 9th Grade. Kinsella, Kate, et al. Boston: Pearson, 2007.
Course Overview:
The Freshman Literature course provides students with a detailed understanding of different literary genres including fiction, nonfiction, short story, novel, drama, poetry and more. Students learn grammar and pre-writing skills necessary for the various types of writing assignments they will be completing throughout the year. The vocabulary requirement focuses on literary terms and Latin root words related to the reading and writing assignments.
Course Goals:
Identify and comprehend literary terms in literature.
Understand how texts relate to the students and to the world around them.
Produce narrative and descriptive writing based on personal experiences in and outside of literature.
Identify, define and understand vocabulary in the context of literature.
Read literature from the context of when and for what reason a piece was written.
Build schema by connecting literature to their understanding and demonstrating their skills for making connections on their own.
Demonstrate active listening.
Communicate thoughts clearly by staying on topic.
Sophomore Literature
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Resources: American Literature, Pearson, 2007
Course Overview:
Our course of study in this class will focus on reading and writing as well as Independent Living Skills. Students will read a wide variety of literature including short selections from the American Literature textbook as well as short readings, graphic novels, and poetry. This class is designed for students who may be reading and/or writing below grade-level. Students in this course will work on paragraphing and short essay-writing skills, depending on their writing ability.
Course Goals:
Reading Goals:
Identify literary terms (simile, idiom, metaphor, etc.)
Answer active reading questions (prediction, summary, character, etc.)
Answer reader-response questions (critical thinking questions)
Learn vocabulary building skills
Use Cornell note-taking
Use assistive technology (speech-to-text or text-to-speech)
Writing Goals:
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Resources: American Literature, Pearson, 2007
Course Overview:
Our course of study in this class will focus on reading and writing as well as Independent Living Skills. Students will read a wide variety of literature including short selections from the American Literature textbook as well as short readings, graphic novels, and poetry. This class is designed for students who may be reading and/or writing below grade-level. Students in this course will work on paragraphing and short essay-writing skills, depending on their writing ability.
Course Goals:
Reading Goals:
Identify literary terms (simile, idiom, metaphor, etc.)
Answer active reading questions (prediction, summary, character, etc.)
Answer reader-response questions (critical thinking questions)
Learn vocabulary building skills
Use Cornell note-taking
Use assistive technology (speech-to-text or text-to-speech)
Writing Goals:
- Identify and write a basic thesis statement for short essays
- Write standard paragraphs containing a topic sentence, supporting details, and conclusive ideas
- Write a resume
- Write creative, narrative, and academic essays
- Elaborate upon ideas and draw connections between their texts and their worlds
- Use appropriate grammar construction and punctuation
American Literature
Teacher: Gordon Matassa
Core textbooks:
American Literature (hardback and e-text), Prentice Hall
American Literature Reading Kit, Prentice Hall
Course Overview:
In this course, students will explore and interpret canonical and non-canonical American literature beginning with the Early Period, progressing through the Modern Age, and ending with the Contemporary Era. Students will read poetry, plays, speeches, short stories, a novella, and several full-length texts (including four outside reading books throughout the year). Students will continue to refine the writing process for the production of paragraphs and essays in response to their readings and class work.
Course Goals:
Teacher: Gordon Matassa
Core textbooks:
American Literature (hardback and e-text), Prentice Hall
American Literature Reading Kit, Prentice Hall
Course Overview:
In this course, students will explore and interpret canonical and non-canonical American literature beginning with the Early Period, progressing through the Modern Age, and ending with the Contemporary Era. Students will read poetry, plays, speeches, short stories, a novella, and several full-length texts (including four outside reading books throughout the year). Students will continue to refine the writing process for the production of paragraphs and essays in response to their readings and class work.
Course Goals:
- Identify literary techniques and analyze how and why they are used in class readings.
- Show an understanding of character and literary concepts in relations to themselves and the larger world through essays and reading comprehension exercises.
- Produce a thesis statement, three body paragraphs, with details, and basic critical analysis in a standard essay of 1,500 words.
- Identify and understand vocabulary in the context of their readings – use this vocabulary correctly in their own writing.
- Effectively predict plot, analyze characters, and draw logical conclusions from their readings.
British Literature
Teacher: Gordon Matassa
Core textbook: Prentice Hall Literature: The British Tradition. Kinsella, Kate, et al. Boston: Pearson, 2007.
Course Overview:
The British Literature course provides students with an overview of historical British literary trends starting with the epic story of Beowulf. The class reading assignments include different pieces of fiction and nonfiction, such as full-length novels, short stories, poetry, essays, and plays. Students learn the grammar and pre-writing skills necessary for writing four essays throughout the year and build a writing portfolio of their work. The vocabulary requirement focuses on literary terms and Latin root words related to the reading and writing assignments.
Course Goals:
Teacher: Gordon Matassa
Core textbook: Prentice Hall Literature: The British Tradition. Kinsella, Kate, et al. Boston: Pearson, 2007.
Course Overview:
The British Literature course provides students with an overview of historical British literary trends starting with the epic story of Beowulf. The class reading assignments include different pieces of fiction and nonfiction, such as full-length novels, short stories, poetry, essays, and plays. Students learn the grammar and pre-writing skills necessary for writing four essays throughout the year and build a writing portfolio of their work. The vocabulary requirement focuses on literary terms and Latin root words related to the reading and writing assignments.
Course Goals:
- Communicate thoughts, concepts, and ideas clearly in writing, speaking and discussion, both formally (presentation) and informally (class discussion).
- Identify, comprehend, and apply literary techniques in written work.
- Understand how texts relate to their historical context as well as to the students’ lives.
- Produce expository and creative writing with introductions, conclusions, theses with basic research.
- Identify and understand vocabulary from reading assignments, with a focus on Greek, Latin and Anglo-Saxon roots.
- Demonstrate active reading by making predictions, schema building, characterizations, historical connections.
- Draw logical conclusions to demonstrate understanding in writing and speaking.
- Identify and avoid logical fallacies in personal writing.
World Literature and College Prep Composition
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Core textbooks:
World Literature (hardback and e-text), Prentice Hall
World Literature Reading Kit, Prentice Hall
Course Overview:
Students will engage in an overview of canonical and non-canonical World literature moving from the Ancient World, to the Age of Realism, to the Contemporary Era. This course is intended to act as an introduction to the type of developmental and college-level literature and composition courses they will be required to complete in their post-secondary education, should they choose to take this route. Students will read and analyze epic poetry, plays, short stories, essays, and full-length books (including four outside reading books throughout the year). Essays are expository in nature and require extensive research with both primary and secondary outside sources.
Course Goals:
Teacher: Melissa Myers
Core textbooks:
World Literature (hardback and e-text), Prentice Hall
World Literature Reading Kit, Prentice Hall
Course Overview:
Students will engage in an overview of canonical and non-canonical World literature moving from the Ancient World, to the Age of Realism, to the Contemporary Era. This course is intended to act as an introduction to the type of developmental and college-level literature and composition courses they will be required to complete in their post-secondary education, should they choose to take this route. Students will read and analyze epic poetry, plays, short stories, essays, and full-length books (including four outside reading books throughout the year). Essays are expository in nature and require extensive research with both primary and secondary outside sources.
Course Goals:
- Identify and analyze literary techniques in a text and apply these to their own writing.
- Show an understanding of cultural concepts in the larger world through essays and reading comprehension exercises.
- Produce a 3–5 page essay with complex thesis statement, paragraphs with details and support from texts, introductions, conclusion, MLA format, and advanced critical analysis.
- Identify and understand vocabulary in the context of their readings. Use this vocabulary correctly in their own writing.
- Synthesize a variety of texts, in essay writing, identifying problems and solutions, development of prior knowledge and integrated into essays and class discussions.
