2008-2009                                                                                                                Syllabus

English IX:  New Worlds, New Eyes:

Building an Interpretation

As you embark upon the first year of English in the Upper School, you will continue to practice many of the skills you learned in the Middle School.  But this is also the beginning of a new journey, one in which your own experience as a traveler and adventurer will be mirrored in our readings.  Drawing from a wide variety of literary forms and time periods, this class will both use your preexisting skills as well as introduce you to new ones.  Through reading, writing, discussions, and critical thinking, you will learn how to discover and build an original interpretation of a complex literary text.

Because learning can exceed the boundaries of one class, you will have many opportunities to think about a topic from multiple perspectives.  Through the year we will explore the essential questions, How do we see?  How do we interpret and understand what we perceive?  While there will be some specific units planned to explore ideas and questions that connect art, biology, history, drama, and English, we invite you to discover your own connections to all your classes as well as to your life outside of school.

The purpose of this class is to increase your skills in

1. •thinking critically, carefully, creatively
   

2. •writing and speaking effectively about what you know and what you are trying to understand
   

3. •reading actively and for a variety of purposes
   

4. •taking an active part in class discussion as a member of the learning community
   

5. •developing a sense of voice and confidence to express what you believe
   

6. •asking productive and effective questions and learning how to begin to answer them
   

7. •making interdisciplinary connections
   

8. •cultivating delight in language and learning
   

9. •using laptop technology (word processing, email, web research, multimedia programs) to assist learning
   

10. •using video making and editing as a way to investigate ideas, work collaboratively, create art, and see parallels to how you write
    

11. •using a portfolio and other self-assessment to reflect on your processes and progress in the areas above
    

As writers, you will

1. •discover topics that are personally meaningful
   

2. •write essays which allow you to discover and articulate your interpretation of a work of literature
   

3. •revise based on individual and class goals for insight, focus, evidence, structure, clarity, and attention to your readers
   

4. •edit for correctness
   

5. •use writing to learn
   

6. •experiment with different forms including analytical and creative writing
   

7. •help your peers and also use them as resources for brainstorming, finding a topic, planning, drafting, revising, editing, and polishing
   

As readers, you will

1. •read widely from classic and modern literature
   

2. •build and defend an original interpretation
   

3. •annotate a text and read actively
   

4. •use written responses to understand the readings
   

5. •take thoughtful notes both on reading and class discussion
   

6. •look for and value more than one interpretation of the same story
   

7. •choose books for outside reading
   

8. •find connective threads within and between works
   

9. •make connections between reading, other classes, and experience
   

10. •understand that you can actively read visual texts (painting, video, film) just as you read literary texts
    

You will be assessed in the following ways

1. •Frequent oral and written comments on your work.
   

2. •Grades based on the quality of your formal essays and creative work as well as your informal writing (the amount, whether it is thoughtful, complete, and handed in on time).  Your final course grade will be influenced by demonstrated learning, responsibility, and class participation.
   

3. •Self-assessment in terms of frequent written reflections and a portfolio.  At the end of the first quarter, you will pause to reflect on your accomplishments and to set goals for the year.  Do not hesitate to seek your teacher for help any time you have a question.
   

Essential Questions, Texts, and Activities

How do we see and re-see? How do we interpret and understand what we perceive?

First Quarter

What is your vision of yourself?

First Day Questionnaire & Photo (begin year-long portfolio self-assessment)

Summer reading: Secret Life of Bees by; Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (book reviews, annotation, response writing to learn)

Analytical Essays (writing process: explore, draft, peer response, revise)

Genesis (excerpts)

Lord of the Flies by William Golding OR Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (harkness discussion, annotation, response writing; essay process; revision vs. editing; vocabulary)

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (novel and play)

Writing by Joyce Carol Oates, our visiting author

Poetry 180 edited by Billy Collins (reading and writing poetry)

Ecosystem project

Second Quarter

What happens when your vision of yourself is in conflict with the community around you?

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver (continue processes of reading, analytical and creative writing, vocabulary, discussion)

Antigone in The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles (reading, writing, discussion)

Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock (reading film as text and writing)

Outside Reading Project

Portfolio goals; midyear evaluation

Third Quarter

What happens when your eyes are opened?

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (text, film, class performance)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (continue processes of reading, analytical and creative writing, vocabulary, discussion)

An Inconvenient Truth: Interdisciplinary film in conjunction with science, history, math, language, art

Fundance Film Festival (world cultures)

Portfolio goals

Fourth Quarter

How do you integrate what you’ve seen and learned?

Pride and Prejudice (continued)

Play (TBA)

Poetry 180—analytical responses, timed essay, creative writing, poetry anthology, class publication

Poetry video project

Final Portfolio reflecting on the year