English 12 A
LA.12.English12ATFv2.Bnet4copy
In this course, students will examine several major works of modern fiction. The course is designed as the first semester of a year long course and is set up in five units that are theme oriented. Each unit contains poetry, short stories, and a major novel that revolve around the theme for the unit. Each unit also contains a major project and some other forms of both formative and summative assessments. There are several essays throughout the course, a journal that is used, and a course portfolio to keep items not contained in the grade book. There is also a major research project contained in the course. The course is set up to foster an open and interactive environment between the student and the instructor. There are several wikis and discussion boards set up throughout the course to ensure that students have the opportunity to ask questions, receive help and discuss important topics in the course.
Enduring Understanding
The student will understand:
- Explain literature and informational texts, and his/her own writing.
- Interpret literature, his/her own writing, informational and fictional texts.
- Apply concepts in literature to own writing and project work.
- Demonstrate a credible perspective on the world and other literature. Can reflect and discuss perspective in own writing.
- Empathize with others, individuals, communities, and cultures. Can express this empathy in speaking and writing.
- Gain self-knowledge through research, reading, and writing. Can express this in project work and in reflection and exposition.
- Understand that language is an important tool for expressing ideas, beliefs, and feelings.
- Understand that language facilitates independent thinking.
- Understand that readers, listeners, and viewers continually develop and apply strategies to construct meaning from increasingly complex and challenging texts.
- Understand that writers and speakers strategically use language to communicate for a variety of purposes.
- Identify that individuals need advanced literacy skills to participate actively and successfully in today’s information-rich society.
- Explain that literature reveals the complexities of the world and human experience.
Essential Questions
- How can we use literature to help us live in the modern world where we are constantly separated by cultural differences, but also united by our common humanity?
- How can we use writing to help us develop critical thinking skills to live in a local, national, and global world?
- How can students use writing to develop critical thinking skills?
- How can students use reading and writing to interpret texts?
- How can we learn to read the ideas of others and listen to the words of others to understand what the author or speaker is trying to convey?
- How can we study history, our own and that of the world, and respond in writing and creating to understand that history?
- How do increasing globalization and accelerating technological changes affect us?
- As readers, writers, speakers, thinkers, and listeners, how do we work together in a mutually satisfying and productive way?
- What is the role of the individual in a community--local and/or global?
- How is language and writing used to express ideas, beliefs, and feelings?
- How are literary devices used to add richness and meaning to writing?
- How is the writing process best used to a writer’s advantage?
- How can the Pennsylvania Domain Scoring Guide assist you in revising your writing?
- Why is proper grammar and continued vocabulary development necessary?
- Why is it important to be able to write well?
Additional Resources Needed
Novels
The following books will be needed in order to complete the course. You will be able to find any of these books at your local library. If your library does not have one of these books, they can all be easily attained through an inter-library loan which can be done at no cost to you either through the school library or your local library. The books you will need are:
1) The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
2) Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger
3) Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
4) 1984 - George Orwell
5) Cry, The Beloved Country - Alan Paton
6) The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
Technology Needs
Adobe Reader
Adobe Flash Player
Adobe Shockwave Player
Quicktime
Java
Media Player
Other Resources
A computer with internet access, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Power Point.
A microphone or headset that enables you to submit audio files and participate in other audio based activities in the course.
Basic school supplies.
A digital camera and/or video camera are not absolutely necessary, but are highly recommended.
Content Topics
Unit 1
Literature of North America
Unit 2
Literature of South America, Latin America, and the Caribbean
Unit 3
Literature of Europe
Unit 4
Literature of Asia, Australia, and Oceana
Unit 5
Literature of Asia and the Middle East
Key Skills
- Make inferences, draw conclusions, and make generalizations based on text
- Identify and explain main ideas and relevant details from text
- Identify, describe, and analyze genre of text
- Make connections between texts
- Understand literary devices in fictional and non-fictional texts
- Understand concepts and organization of nonfictional text
- Demonstrate competence in the writing process in responding to and creating new texts
- Read and respond to a variety of texts
- Recognize the various genres of literature
- Write in a variety of genres
- Demonstrate competence in the writing process to produce well-organized responses to texts, concepts, philosophies, and ideas
- Identify basic literary devices within literature
- Identify the characteristics of major literary genres: mythology, short story, novel, drama, poetry, literary, and informational nonfiction
- Analyze literature for theme and literary elements
- Relate texts to self, world, and other texts
Assessments
- Tests
- Quizzes
- Research Projects
- Writing Projects
- Essays
- Expository
- Persuasive Work
- Multigenre Research
- Journals
- Reader's Response
- Writer's Response
- World Writers Notebook
- Vocabulary Projects
- Expressive Writings
- Memoir
- Poetry
- Power Point Presentations
- Projects
- Research
- Graphic Organizers
- Timelines
Standards Alignment:
National Standards:
(The National Council of Teachers of English)
2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions of human experience.
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their work identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes.