Mission and Philosophy:
We
will be creating a literary community through reading, writing, and blogging;
discovering classic literature from the past and present through voices from
around the world. I want you to learn
how literature makes us know that we are not alone; we are spiritually connected
and can feel safe.
How will we do this?
Freshmen
English has traditionally been a preparatory course, culminating in an exam to
be taken in the spring for college credit. However, to those of us who teach
language arts, this course is more about teaching students to read and write
with greater insight, as well as a chance to help students develop a genuine
sense of empathy through literature.
This
course hopes to re-examine the entire idea of “rigor” by implementing global
citizenship into every aspect of the curriculum, making it a richer experience
and creating a model for curriculum at Andover High School. Each section of the unit will have three
components:
1)
Global Citizenship
2)
Well-chosen literary selections which connect to the former and an element of
fiction
3)
Experiences where students find connections in literature to themselves and the
world.
The
framework of the course will consist of a series of existential questions from
Dr. William Gaudelli’s research. Each
question, piece of literature, and overall learning experience will build on
the next. Toward the end of term two, students will be having experiences where
they combine all these elements and have direct contact with students from
another country, students from an adjoining city, and share their work in a
public forum.
In
addition, I hope to rethink “grading” this year. I will reimaging my grading
system focusing on the big picture, the student’s personal growth, enthusiasm,
participation, authenticity, and passion for the ideas we discuss.
I
hope you enjoy the course, and I look forward to sharing in this journey with
all of you.
Beginnings: The Art of Fiction
· Allegory of a Cave by Plato
· Anthem by Ayn Rand
· “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins
· “First Hour” by Sharon Olds
· “Poetry” by Marianne Moore
· “The Danger of the Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie
· Selections from Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
· “Acting” by Suzanne Cleary
· Oedipus the King by Sophocles
· The Minority
Report (2002)
· “Mid-term Break” by Seamus Heaney
· Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
· “Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, Ask Me Where I’m Local” by Taiye
Selasi
· “Death of a Moth” by Virginia
Woolf
· “Animals” by Miller Williams
· “God Says Yes to Me”
by Kaylin Haught
· “The Cord” by Leanne O’Sullivan
· “It’s a Woman’s World”
by Eavan Boland
· “Barbie’s Ferrari” by Lynne McMahon
· “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold
· “My Life” by Joe Wenderoth
· “Where is She” by Peter Cherches
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human
·
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
· “The Panic Bird” by Robert Phillips
· “I Finally Managed to
Speak to Her” by Hal Sirowitz
·
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
·
“Selections
from Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom
· “Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare
· "Sonnet 292" from the Canzoniere by Francesco
Petrarch, translated by Anthony Mortimer
·
“Holy Sonnet
X: Death be not proud” by John Donne
·
“Holy Sonnet
V: If poisonous minerals” by John Donne
·
“Unholy Sonnets”
by Mark Jarman
·
Selections
from: Henry V, Titus Andronicus, and Twelfth Night by William
Shakespeare
· “I Finally Managed to Speak to Her” by Hal Sirowitz
·
“Sonnet 147:
My love is as a fever” by William Shakespeare
·
“After Us” by Connie Wanek
·
“Beyond
Recall” by Sharon Bryan
·
“What I Would Do” by Marc Pattersen
·
“The Meadow”
by Kate Knapp Johnson
·
“Only One of
My Deaths” by Dean Young
·
“May” by
Bruce Weigel
·
“The Dead” by Susan Mitchell
Revolution
as Humanism: Empathy for all Living
Beings
· Animal Farm by George Orwell
· “The Bet” by Anton Chekov
· “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin.
· “Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, Ask me Where I’m Local?” by Taiye
Selasi
· Won’t You Be My
Neighbor (2018)
· Selections from Les
Miserables by Victor Hugo (novel and musical)
· “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
· “Happy Marriage” by Taslima Nasrin
· Unity (2015)
· “Killing the Animals” by Weslet McNair
· “The Space Heater” by Sharon Olds
· “No Return” by William Matthews
· “A Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur
· “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins
· 13th (2016)
· “Fifth Grade Autobiography” by Rita Dove
· “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison
Major
Projects
· Creating a musical of Romeo
and Juliet
· Writing a screenplay and performing scenes from Animal Farm
· Writing mythological vignettes in the style of Big Fish
· Developing and sketching a graphic novel version of Oedipus the King
· Writing and performing Spoken Word/Hip Hop version of
classic poems/sonnets
· Writing and performing an original science fiction play
about a revolution
Assessments:
Class Participation, Blogs, and Homework
70%:
Every night you will read a selection from the works above and compose a
blog response. If you are absent, please view the blog and respond when you are
able. Criteria and rubrics for the above will be made available.
Writing & Major Assignments 30%:
This category includes all major writing assignments, in-class essays, and
final projects. Criteria and rubrics for
the above will be made available.
Aspen: Grades and progress
reports will be consistently posted on Aspen.
It is your responsibility to track your progress.
Classroom
Behavior:
Students must adhere to the rules of
conduct outlined in the Andover High School Student Handbook 2018-2019
edition. If you act like an authentic
adult, you will be treated in kind.
