Outline of Course Content
Unit | Title | Length |
Introduction | Course Introduction | 2 hours |
Unit 1 | Language and Culture | 20 hours |
Unit 2 | Persuasive Speech and Advertising Techniques | 20 hours |
Unit 3 | Novel Study: The Great Gatsby | 30 hours |
Unit 4 | Drama: Macbeth | 30 hours |
Unit 5 | Independent Study Project | 5 hours |
| Final Exam | 3 hours |
| Total: | 110 hours |
Unit Overviews
Course Introduction
As an introduction to the course, studentswill review various reading and writing and notetaking strategies that will be usefulto them throughout the length of the course. We will cover MLA format indetail, and students are encouraged to review the course glossary or importantterms prior to commencing the unit lessons.
Unit 1: Language and Culture- Selected Readings
Students will explore several short stories and poetry from various time periods, cultures, and forms. This unit will examine the elements that are found in short stories and poetry, analyze the different forms of plot organization, and apply critical thinking skills through analysis of the different time periods in which the literature was written. This unit will create awareness of how society, culture and circumstance shape voice and literature. An emphasis of this unit will be on arche types, which will serve as a basis for additional texts and analysis in this course. Students will complete various oral and written reflective and analytical assignments in which they will identifythemes, influences, perspective, values and biases in these texts. Students will also articulate comprehension strategies when reading and understanding complex texts. Students will complete an expository essay.
Unit 2: Persuasive Speech and Advertising Techniques- Selected Readings
Students will explore the role of rhetoric and its various strategies (ethos, pathos,and logos) to investigate what makes for good presentation skills. They will consider what makes a presentation convincing to write their own persuasive speeches. This will lay the foundation for investigating various mediastrategies and marketing techniques to become critical consumers of media. Students will complete speeches, create their own advertisements, and reflecton the different oral and visual strategies that function in the art of persuasion.
Unit 3: The Great Gatsby
Students will read and study F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby inthis unit. Students will develop their ability to perform close readings onthis them atically rich literature, while analyzing the author’s perspective on thepost-World War I generation and the new morality of the Jazz Age. Students will explore the themes, motifs and character representations in discussions and written reflections, and engage with enrichment materials from the era such asshort stories and poetry. Students will learn about research methods, including how to evaluate sources and they will complete a research presentation on ahistorical element of the 1920s. Students will watch various film clips of the novel to further their understanding of the text. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text’s major themes through a comparative essay.
Unit 4: Macbeth
In this unit students will read, discuss, analyze, and write about Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth. Students will read the play scene by scene, acting out major plot developments and presenting important speeches. Students will trace important themes, explain significant plot and character development as well as reflect on literary devices such as pathetic fallacy and foreshadowing. Students will discuss questions pertaining to staging and character dynamics, and complete written and oral reflections, making inferences and connections toother texts and life experiences. Drawing on their knowledge of theme, characters and conflict in the play, students will complete a RAFTs evaluationto demonstrate their understanding of the text’s themes.
Unit 5: Independent Study Project: Theme Building and Reflective Portfolio
Students will independently complete anassignment in the format of their choosing, combining course themes andcritical approaches explored throughout the course. Students will use significant quotes, symbols, events and characters to explore the ideas in thetexts. Students will extend their understanding of the text to the real-lifemorals modern readers can take away from these timeless texts. Students will present their findings and insights in a presentation method conducive to their selected task. Students will also complete a final reflective portfolio in which they will consider their learning over the length of the course, their strengths and weaknesses, and what skills they will take with them as they move forward in their academic journeys.
