COURSE SYLLABUS FOR PART 2

COURSE SYLLABUS: PART 2
4x4 Block Schedule
Instructor: Sue Shaw

English A1: 12th John Ehret H.S. (H.L.)

Goals:
§ Encourage a personal appreciation of literature and develop and understanding of the techniques involved in literary criticism
§ Develop the students’ powers of expression, both in oral and written communication, and provide the opportunity of practicing and developing the skills involved in writing and speaking in a variety of styles and situations
§ Introduce students to a range of literary works of different periods, genres, styles and contexts
§ Broaden the students’ perspective through the study of works from other cultures and languages
§ Introduce students to ways of approaching and studying literature, leading to the development of an understanding and appreciation of the relationships between different works
§ Develop the ability to engage in close, detailed analysis of written text
§ Promote in students an enjoyment of, and lifelong interest in, literature


COURSE CONSTRUCTION
Grade 12—one 90-minute class every day

1st Semester: Part 2—Detailed Study

Macbeth
The Taming of the Shrew
Selected Poetry of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson
Running in the Family

During the first half of the semester, student work will encompass an in-depth study of Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew. During the second half, students will also complete an in-depth study of selected verse of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost. There is also a non-fiction prose requirement for IB English; students will be studying Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje in order to fulfill this particular requirement.

Materials:
Students will be required to buy a copy of The Taming of the Shrew and Running in the Family. They will be supplied with a copy of Macbeth as well as a packet of selected poetry of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. Students are required to bring to class daily: pens, highlighters, pencils, loose-leaf paper, their English notebook, and their respective texts. It is suggested that students also have a jump/flash drive.

Assessment Schedule:
There will be major tests on all work studied. In addition to tests on these major works, students will complete essays and practice oral commentaries on works studied for test grades. Practice Oral commentaries will be held in class. They may be taped!! Also, due to the necessity for students to recognize and utilize figurative language in literary analysis, they will be given new and complex literary terms, definitions, and examples of them in lieu of daily edits for bell buster activities. Students will be tested on identifying these terms in literary texts, one test approximately every two weeks.

ORAL COMMENTARY: Each student is required by the IBO to do a ten to fifteen-minute, taped, audio commentary on an unseen passage from the selected works studied in Part Two. Each passage will be selected by the instructor and placed in a sealed envelope. Students will pick an envelope on the day of the commentary, go into a preparation room with a proctor, open the envelope, and prepare notes from memory for twenty minutes prior to the actual commentary taping. Students will then go into a quiet room with the instructor to begin taping. Notes made during the twenty-minute period prior to the presentation will be allowed in the taping room for students’ use. The student will speak for ten to twelve minutes on his/her selected passage. During the last two to three-minutes of taping, the instructor will ask the student guiding questions about the passage, based on IBO requirements. This process allows the student to show knowledge about the work that he/she may not have previously thought of. The tape must run for fifteen minutes. If a student goes past the fifteen-minute mark, the instructor will turn off the tape! These oral commentaries will be internally assessed—the instructor will grade them based on an IBO rubric. A random sampling of these tapings will be sent to IBO along with the instructor’s marks for these samplings.

NOTE: Students must complete the 1000 to 1500-word World Literature Assignment # 2 and turn it in to the instructor at the instructor’s discretion. This written assignment will be submitted for external assessment.