Please
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The information
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to better understand
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Copyright Wooster School 2005
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English/Literacy|History|Foreign Language|Math|Science
Religion | Art | Music | Library Skills | Information
Technology
The English department strives to develop the students' confidence and competence in using language in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The study of literature, including an annual study of a Shakespearean play, is central to the English curriculum. Writing provides the major, but not exclusive, arena for student performance and learning. The department not only emphasizes the development of analytical and critical intelligence, but also nurtures imaginative and intuitive modes of thought. Required summer reading and continued attention to study skills are important parts of the program.
English 9
Ninth graders concentrate on world literature in many forms including novels, short stories, poetry, drama, and mythology drawn from Roman, Greek, Hebrew, and Judeo-Christian sources. Students focus on character motivations, plot devices, and literary terms. Students analyze the relevance of the classics to our lives today, and work to refine their own writing styles with attention to clarity within sentences, paragraphs, and essays.
English 10
Beginning with the summer reading, tenth grade students engage in a survey of multicultural literature. Students examine both the literary craft and style of these works as well as the themes they generate. Critical thinking is stimulated by student consideration of tone, mood, and style. Students frame their responses to the literature into coherent oral and written presentations. Accordingly, students continue to develop their writing skills by studying vocabulary, grammar, diction, detail, and structure. Moreover, students employ a variety of techniques to develop control over essay forms. Students receive training and experience using electronic and printed sources for research.
English 11
The primary purpose of this course is to provide knowledge
of and promote appreciation for American literature and culture. Another goal is to help students to develop
the skills involved in literary interpretation and analysis. The course will include a chronological
survey of American novels, poetry, stories, and essays. Students examine the development and changes
in
English 12
Senior English develops analytical and critical skills, fosters competent expository and persuasive writing, nurtures critical and constructive intelligence, and stimulates moral reflection. Response to literature constitutes the primary but not exclusive work required. The course is thematically organized and based on the reading of various forms of literature from several historical periods.
Advanced Placement (AP) English
Students enrolled in AP English must commit to taking the AP examination in May and accept full responsibility for a larger and more demanding workload than is entailed in a regular English course. Some Saturday classes may be required. The grade 11 course is based on the 11th grade English curriculum and prepares the students to take the Language and Composition AP examination; the grade 12 course is based on the 12th grade English curriculum and prepares the students to take the Literature and Composition AP examination.
ELECTIVES AVAILABLE TO 10TH-12TH
GRADERS:
SHAKESPEARE ELECTIVE
This course will look at the life, times, and literature of
Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, Troilus and Cressida, and Selected Sonnets
Language devices:
Oxymorons, Types of Irony, Genre study, Scansion
Writing :
Sonnets
Some research on the Elizabethan Period
Expository writing to include
Comparisons
Character study
Plot analysis
Project on relevancy of Shakespeare to our times.
POETRY ELECTIVE
The design of poetry has changed over the centuries more radically than any other written genre. This course will examine the roots of these designs in the past as well as their sundry manifestations in the present. Students will be asked to complete a selection of independent projects including the presentation to the class of a contemporary writer, the production of their own poetry, and the explication of an established poet's works.
Reading:
Introduction to poetry
The Top 500 poems
Poetry 180
Poetic devices:
Sound and image devices
Rhythmic devices
Shape
Rhyme scheme
Scansion
Writing:
Poetry
Expository essays
Comparative analysis
Two major projects and one public presentation
Study of an established poet
Study of an unestablished poet
Presentation of our own works
CREATIVE WRITING ELECTIVE
In this semester-long workshop, primarily devoted to student writing, participants will produce, read, discuss, and revise stories and poems. Students will strive for high productivity as well as explore various points-of-view, structures and elements of style. Instruction in creative writing will be augmented by readings of essays on the craft of writing, short stories, and poems by modern and contemporary authors.
Reading:
Selected essays
Selected short stories
Selected poems
Writing:
Students write everyday.
The semester culminates with two short fiction works (include one realistic fiction piece) and assorted poems. Final written work must meet publication standards for submission into a Wooster School publication.
THE LITERATURE OF WAR
War, as old as humankind, calls forth some of our greatest virtues - courage, loyalty, mercy, humility. It also reveals our capacity for cruelty, vindictiveness, and brutality. Since the beginnings of western literature, war has been richly represented. After reading selected classical and modern literature, each student will use both print and electronic resources to research and plan an individual course of reading and viewing that will reflect her/his particular historical and literary interests. Class work will consist of student presentations based on individual reading/viewing and discussions led by students. Throughout the course, attention will be paid to the representations, verbal and visual, of the wars, large and small, currently destroying the peace of the world.
LITERATURE OF THE SPIRIT
Frederick Buechner has said that "The word spirit has come to mean something pale and shapeless like an unmade bed.” James Baldwin wrote, "It is one of the greatest impulses of mankind to arrive at something higher than a natural state." Perhaps spirit is in T. S. Eliot's "still point in the turning world" or in the formula spirit = breath = life. This course will explore the representation of spirit within the Western tradition with an emphasis on modern and contemporary literature and film. It will test the idea that spirit rightly understood is "a release from the isolation of egotism, a passion for justice and an invincible conviction that hope and joy can be at home in this universe," and it will examine the oxymoron "evil spirit.”
The Upper School History curriculum provides students with knowledge of and background in American, European, African, and Asian cultures. Although some courses follow a chronologic survey, a strong emphasis is placed on understanding concepts and themes and developing interpretive skills. Some of the more important of these skills are reading comprehension and analysis, historical thinking and problem solving, primary source interpretation, and developing an argument using supporting evidence.
The history curriculum in Upper School has been designed based on three general assumptions: that students are preparing for college, that students expect a rigorous academic experience, and that students understand that the expectations of their work and performance increase significantly as they grow older.
A successful college preparatory curriculum places greater demands on students in terms of the amount of work, the level of sophisticated thinking, and the amount of time involved to effectively prepare for successful completion of the course. Students are given greater autonomy in preparing and organizing for class and it is expected that they will readily avail themselves of extra help when necessary.
The amount of work and the demands of time plus the high standards for academic achievement make for a rigorous academic experience. The small classes and close teacher interaction with students require that each student be sufficiently prepared to be fully engaged with the class material and class discussions. Ideally, students will begin to recognize their responsibility to think globally as they interpret the information and will be well prepared as they enter the new challenges that undergraduate admissions presents.
The expectations on students are commensurate with their age and maturity level both in terms of their chronological age and grade in school. The bar continues to be raised throughout the year, from year to year and from division to division. The most significant jumps are between the eighth and ninth grade and between tenth and eleventh. Students continue to build study skills throughout ninth grade. Such skills include efficient note taking, time management, interpreting large bodies of information, writing coherent prose, evaluate information sources, and organizing and writing research papers.
Building upon the experience presented in the middle school, students in grades 9-12 are able to be successful learners because they understand the three basic areas of effective learning, preparation and study:
I. General Sense of History and Geography
Students:
understand chronological sequence and causation
acquire factual knowledge
demonstrate accuracy when discussing historical data
understand how historical sequencing and events influence one another
understand how current time is influenced by the past and influences the future
understand diversity and relativity of historical perspectives and interpretations
understand how people in various regions of the world experience similar events in different ways
comprehend interdisciplinary connections
develop a sense of place (how to read and interpret maps)
understand geography from cultural, economic, and political perspectives
understand how geographic contexts contribute to the development of a society
understand how context influences the ways people see the world
II. Reading, Research and Analysis
Students learn:
to read effectively and efficiently for comprehension with close attention to nuance
what to do when encountering difficult reading
to read to infer and extend meaning by identifying the main points and by distinguishing supportive statements from illustrative detail
about the scientific method (what do we know? and How do we know it?)
the skills associated with the scientific method:
to recognize hypotheses within the text and understand evidence
to evaluate the quality and relevance of the material used to build and support an argument
Theory Building (what is a theory? How is a theory developed? How is a theory tested, debated and applied?)
Information Literacy: (ability to find information) using a variety of sources (library and internet) and assess the quality and reliability of the information
to generalize while recognizing personal biases and identifying fallacies
various research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative data analysis)
to take note effectively
to identify key components of a lecture
to identify important and relevant pieces of information
how to use notes after the lecture
how to prepare an outline with coherent sections and subsections
why note taking and the subsequent organization of information is necessary
III. Orientation Toward Learning
Students:
use a variety of communication skills that show they understand the class material
exercise written, oral, and visual communication
become good communicators and attentive listeners to the questions and concerns of others
accept criticism by others and answer questions with an attentive, positive attitude
make the connection between general knowledge and personal observations and experiences
make connections across disciplines (e.g. Economics and everyday life, sociology and geography)
integrate and use knowledge from across different discipline (social studies and other disciplines)
relate historical, geographic, and sociological materials to a sense of self
become comfortable with ambiguity
demonstrate a variety of skills necessary for success in college:
taking personal responsibility for their work
doing homework and reading assignments
completing written assignments on time
exercising efficient/effective time management techniques
ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES (ESOL)
To
improve pronunciation and intonation skills
To
develop writing proficiency
WOOSTER'S UPPER
SCHOOL MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT
The Upper School is the next stage in a student's mathematical journey. It is here that students prepare for the demands of college. With the understanding that not all students will take a mathematics course in college, the teachers in the Upper School know that mathematical techniques are essential in adult life. With this in mind, teachers stress not only algebraic manipulations but also mathematical processes and problem solving techniques. Students are expected to learn and use conventional mathematical terminology. The core subjects of the curriculum - Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry - are required for graduation. Each student is strongly encouraged to take more advanced courses beyond these.
Modeling natural and manmade phenomena with algebraic or graphical representations is an essential skill. We teach this through data collection, analysis of causality and dependence of one variable on other factors, discovery of algebraic connections among variables, formulation of functional relationships, and analysis of the resulting model to determine its limits of applicability.
SEQUENCE OF COURSES
As the students enter high school, the two courses of study
diverge: those who completed Algebra 1 in Middle School (Honors Algebra 1 at
After the completion of Geometry, the last required course
for graduation from
After Honors Algebra 2, most students proceed to Honors Precalculus and, finally, AB Calculus. A small number of students, usually seniors, reach BC Calculus, offered after AB Calculus.
Some years,
PLACEMENT AND
TRANSITIONS
When students enter Wooster, they are placed in a math class based on previous coursework, teacher recommendations, standardized tests, and the assessment of the Math Chair and Director of Studies. Because students' growth is not uniform, some placements just don't work. Lacking a crystal ball, we can only evaluate what we see now, keeping the students' best interests at heart. When a placement is not working out well, we try to improve the situation by remediation or by enrichment or by moving the student to another course. We fully expect to have to do this every year. In fact, our ongoing chore is to re-evaluate students regularly and make the best decisions - in consultation with parents - about what course is best.
When students move to the
AP AND HONORS
CRITERIA
The math department has criteria for entrance into Honors level courses. All honors courses require a teacher recommendation and approval of the department chair.
Students currently enrolled in honors level course and are
singly advanced, must maintain a 4/G to advance to the next honors level course.
doubly advanced, must maintain a 4+/G to advance to the next honors level course.
Students who do not meet this standard may be enrolled in a non-honors section. Students currently enrolled in non-honors level courses and earn a minimum of 5/G may be eligible for honors level courses in the next level.
The mathematics department offers advanced placement opportunities to highly motivated students entering the 11th and 12th grades. These courses are designed to be college level courses requiring strong effort and academic achievement. Admission into AP classes is not guaranteed, and students who wish to be considered must show a sustained record of academic success and effort, not only in math, but in all areas of academics. Students must also have demonstrated the ability and desire for more ambitious learning and have a strong foundation of basic skills. Students must have the recommendation of their current teacher. Each student will be given individual consideration. Any student may take an AP test regardless of enrollment.
It should be noted that the AP status of any student currently enrolled in an AP class whose grade falls below 3+/G or who fails an exam will be reviewed by the Department Chair, Director of Studies, and the Committee of Department Chairs.
During the spring course sign-up for the following year's courses, students who wish to be considered for enrollment may sign up for AP courses. Students should have the approval of their current teacher prior to signing up for an AP course and teachers will encourage strong candidates to apply for Honors level and AP courses. Selection for advanced placement courses will be made according to the following criteria. Final approval of the selections is made by the Director of Studies. Students who have expressed a desire to enroll in an AP class but who have not been selected may appeal that decision. The student must submit a written document expressing why he/she feels that he/she belongs in the AP class. The Committee of Department Chairs will review all appeals and make a final recommendation to the Director of Studies.
Students wishing to enter AP Calculus AB must maintain at least a grade of 4/G in Honors Precalculus
Students wishing to enter AP Calculus BC must maintain at least a grade of 3+/G in AP Calculus AB or earn a minimum of 3 on the AP AB Calculus exam
Students wishing to enter AP Statistics must maintain at least a grade of 3+/G in Honors Precalculus or at least a grade of 4+/G in Statistics.
PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES
AND CURRICULAR CHOICES
Our belief is that students learn differently and at different rates. We acknowledge the different learning styles of our students and place them where they are best supported. Student participation in class and on homework is crucial. Math is not a spectator sport - students learn by doing, not watching.
At
As the students move into the
The
In the
Abilities necessary to do scientific
study X X X
Identify questions and concepts that
guide scientific investigation X X X
Design and conduct scientific
investigation X X X
Use technology and math to improve
investigations and communications X X X
Formulate and revise explanations
and models using logic and evidence X X X X
Recognize and analyze alternative
explanations and models X X X X
Communicate and defend a scientific
argument X X X X
Understandings about scientific
inquiry X X X X
Structure and properties of matter X X X
Conservation of energy and increase
in disorder X X
Interactions of energy and matter X X
Molecular basis of heredity X X
Interdependence of organisms X X
Matter, energy, and organization in
living systems X X
Origin and evolution of the earth
system X
Origin and evolution of the universe
Identify a problem or design an
opportunity X X X
Propose designs and choose between
alternative solutions X X
Implement a proposed solution X X
Evaluate the solution and its
consequences X X
Communicate the problem, process,
and solution X X X X
Understandings about science and
technology X X X
Science
in Personal and Social Perspectives
Personal and community health X
Natural and human-induced hazards X
Science and technology in local,
national, and global challenges X X X
Science as Human Endeavor X X X
Nature of Scientific Knowledge X
Oh
God, You have given us every good gift.
We
thank You for the bounty of your creation,
your
teachings through the ages,
the
love of family and friends,
and
the goodly heritage of this school.
Bless
us we pray, in our work and in our play.
Make
us gentle, generous, truthful, kind, and brave.
and
let the life of our school go on from strength to strength,
and
have its place and meaning in your kingdom.
Art
Classes offered during the academic day:
Art
Classes offered after school:
Computer
Graphics and Illustrating
Working
the 2-D Surface in Black and White (AI)
Working
the 2-D Surface in Color (AI)
The Library Links Seminars are required of all 9th grade students and are offered in conjunction with the English Department.
The librarians provide instruction in grades 10 to 12 as is required by a classroom teacher. This includes specialized research instruction for a specific project, bibliographic instruction, and evaluation of resources. Students learn to apply gathered information to critical thinking skills.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Although no Information Technology courses are required in
the
The three computing requirements for graduation are:
The students
must write a paper using a word processor.
The paper should have endnotes (or footnotes) and a bibliography. It can be quite brief. Students must submit the paper on disk and on
paper. A student may resubmit
work completed for any
The students must create a spreadsheet which serves any useful purpose and uses cell formulas which refer to other cells. Microsoft EXCEL must be able to read the spreadsheet. The document must be submitted on disk and on paper.
The students must use the Internet to find the answer to a question provided to them. They must cite the source of their answer, write a convincing paragraph about the internet source's credibility, and copy the information from the internet to a disk. They must submit a disk with all relevant information, as well as a hardcopy.
ELECTIVES OFFERED IN
THE
Introduction to Web Design
AP Computer Science
Computer Graphics and Imaging
(offered in conjunction with the
Computer Graphics and Illustrating
(offered in conjunction with the
Animation (offered in conjunction
with the
Upper school students take physical education class three days
per week in each season when they are not involved in either an afternoon team
sport or an afternoon physical activity.
The physical education program is an integral part of the total
curriculum and strives for the development of the whole individual through
healthy physical activity. Emphasis is
placed on learning lifelong skills and strengthening each student's anaerobic
and aerobic systems.
Please note:
The information
contained in these documents is the intellectual property of
and intended solely
for the use of current and prospective members of the
to better understand
and anticipate course content.
Reuse, resale, or reproduction of
this material outside of
Copyright Wooster School 2005