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Copyright Wooster School 2006
12th
Grade
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Senior English develops analytical and critical skills, fosters competent expository writing (particularly academic argument), nurtures both the critical and constructive intelligence, and encourages reflective habits of mind.
Both English 12 and AP English 12 are literature based but involve other visual and electronic media. Course objectives derive from the basic academic competencies outlined in 1983 by the College Board and the English standards published in Understanding University Success (2003, American Association of Universities and the Pew Charitable Trusts)
Both English 12 and AP English 12 explore sources beyond the texts; respect the existential knowledge and perspective of each student; allow student ideas a role in guiding learning; promote informed, open, focused class discussion; and support elaboration and revision of students' responses. In short, the goal is to create an environment in which students will engage actively in and take responsibility for their own learning.
When I Was Puerto Rican, Esmeralda Santiago
Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin
The Tempest, William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of King Lear, William Shakespeare
The Glass Menagerie
Grendel, John Gardner
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
The Needs of Strangers, Michael Ignatieff
The Youngest Science, Lewis Thomas
Articles, editorials, and essays selected from the daily press, periodicals, and scholarly journals as appropriate
FILMS: Viewed in whole or in part as appropriate and as time permits.
The Road from Coorain
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
All Quiet on the Western Front
King Lear
The Tempest
Waiting for Godot
Weapons of the Spirit: A Holocaust Documentary
Paragraph 175
GENRES:
Myth, Parable, Folktale
Essay
Short Story
Poetry
Drama
Memoir
LITERARY/RHETORICAL CONCEPTS:
genre, autobiography/memoir, parable, myth, legend, essay, rhetoric, narration, description, exposition, argument, point-of-view, voice, thesis, structure, irony, metaphor, allusion
reliable/unreliable narrator, intrusive narrator, first-person as witness, genre blending, epic, fiction, non-fiction,
conflict, plot, character, setting, narrative point-of-view, theme, motif, symbol, tone, mood
structure, production values, exposition, theatre of the absurd, flat characters, round characters, foil, choreography
archetypes, tragedy, comedy, satire, farce, romance, fantasy, naturalism, realism,
dramatic situation, metaphor, symbol, dialogic communication
argumentation( definition, techniques, history, formal and informal argumentation)
message, method, medium
WRITING:
rhetorical
situation (speaker/author, subject, audience),
personal essay (emphasis on the college essay),
review the "writing process": brainstorming, free-writing, discovery, invention, mode, outlining, drafting, revising, editing, proof-reading, stages/recursive
summary, paraphrase, precis, annotated bibliography;
the analytical/critical essay (taking a position)
dramatic monologue as response to poetry
creating effective review documents for exams
comparison of a novel and the film version of that novel
the extended essay based on literature in several genres and research in secondary sources
LANGUAGE:
Review the
structure of dictionaries, diction, denotation, connotation, dialect, levels of
usage, etymology, word attack skills, context
syntax: the sentence reviewed and reconsidered
figurative language, language and culture, etymology, the semantic field
THE INTERNET:
Students are expected as a matter of course to access the internet in order to enrich the critical, historical, cultural, aesthetic, and biographical contexts of individual readings. Specific assignments are given in order that students learn how to evaluate the validity and appropriateness of internet sites and gain understanding of the particular value of the internet in studying literature.
12th GRADE ENGLISH – ADVANCED
PLACEMENT
Advanced Placement English 12 differs from English 12 not in its fundamental goals to develop active readers, thoughtful writers, engaged participants in critical inquiry, but rather in the following ways:
the AP Literature and Composition Examination shadows the course
the language, techniques, and theories of literary criticism play a more prominent role in AP English 12
AP students are asked to sign a contract acknowledging that they will do approximately forty percent (40%) more work - reading and writing - than is required in English 12
AP English 12 is considered a "college level course" and therefore applies more rigorous performance standards.
Additional readings include:
The Secret Agent, Joseph Conrad
Selected readings in the history of literary criticism and in literary theory
Collateral reading in fiction, drama, and memoir selected by each student with the
teacher’s guidance
ENGLISH ELECTIVES AVAILABLE TO 10TH-12TH
GRADERS:
SHAKESPEARE ELECTIVE
This course will look at the life, times, and literature of
William Shakespeare. In addition to our
examination of the literary and thematic content of plays and sonnets, we will
also explore a number of ways Shakespeare's plays have been adapted to the
contemporary scene. Our survey of his
drama will include one comedy, one tragedy, and one history. The plays will provide surprising variations
on the themes of manhood, womanhood, freedom, virtue, royalty, war, love, and
cynicism.
Macbeth, The
Merchant of
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.
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.
Selected essays
Selected short stories
Selected poems
Writing:
Students write everyday.
The semester
culminates with two short fiction works (including one realistic fiction piece)
and assorted poems. Final written work
must meet publication standards for submission into a
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.”
ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
GOALS
The basic format of the course is a chronological
survey concentrating on the development of the
SKILLS
Students:
are asked to read and prepare notes from their textbook. These assignments ensure that they are covering material on their own, train them to find the salient points and write concisely, and, if done properly, provide revision notes for the course.
are regularly assigned classroom essays. The purpose of these is to train students to build written arguments supported by factual material, and to present them in an organized, clear fashion.
during class, are encouraged to view historical events from different perspectives, and to recognize that it is not always possible to determine what the "right" course of action would be.
evaluate primary and secondary sources to help them read critically and recognize both bias and motive, and also serves to stimulate discussion about the creation and "truth" of history.
TOPICS
European exploration and colonization (15th and 16th centuries)
Interaction of Native American and European settlers
Development of American colonial government
Causes and consequences of slavery
The Revolutionary War
Creation of the
The Bill of Rights
Development of Political Parties
Westward Expansion
The Mexican-American War
Antebellum sectionalism and polarization
The Civil War
Reconstruction
Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business
Federal Indian Policy of the late 19th Century
Spanish-American War
The Progressive Movement
World War One
Social and Cultural movements of the 1920's
The Great Depression
The New Deal
World War Two
The Civil Rights Movement
Immigration and migration patterns in the
contemporary
The
influence of religion on
ELECTIVES
ECONOMICS
GOALS
This semester course for juniors and seniors introduces students to the vocabulary, analytical concepts, and techniques of the study of economics. Students will examine different theories of economic systems at the micro and macroeconomic levels and will investigate the underlying assumptions of these theories. Some consideration will be given to international economics and to analysis of current affairs.
TOPICS
Human Nature and Choice
[hc1][hc1]American Economic History from a blended economic, political, social perspective
Capitalism versus Socialism (Marx vs. Smith vs. Keynes)
Market Systems:
Financial Markets (banking, securities, bonds, currency)
Market Forces and Market Mechanisms
Time Frames (long run versus short run)
Social Implications (Efficiency versus Equity)
Globalization
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
SKILLS
Students:
are learning to pursue academics in a seminar format
are comparing different types of literature on the same topic
are learning to analyze and interpret secondary sources
are learning to apply economic philosophy to practical situations
are learning to evaluate choices
AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM
GOALS
This course is a semester elective for juniors and
seniors interested in the government of the
TOPICS
The
The Legislative Branch of Government: Congress
The Executive Branch of Government: the President, Departments, and Agencies
The Judicial Branch of Government: the Courts
State and Local Governments
Civil Rights
SKILLS:
Students will:
Develop an awareness of the processes and vocabulary of American government
Develop an awareness of current events and the political processes which underlie them
Be able to read, understand, and interpret the U.S. Constitution
Express well-informed opinions about political affairs
AREA STUDIES
GOALS
Area Studies offers an opportunity to focus in
depth on the history, geography, economic development, and political role of
two or three major geographic-political entities which play vitally important
roles in the world today and promise to be of critical importance to the
SKILLS
Students will:
Understand the nature and the source of various
types of political authority, and how these influence relationships with the
Know the various types of governments throughout the world, and understand the difference between limited and unlimited governments.
Have the opportunity to investigate in depth one issue central to each of these areas.
Share, in seminar fashion, the outcome of their research with the class.
Coursework
usually includes French IV
Honors,
French V AP, Advanced
French, Spanish IV
Honors, Spanish V AP, Advanced Spanish, or Basic Russian
FRENCH IV HONORS
This honors level course builds upon the skills and
knowledge acquired by the students during the three years of required language
study in the
French IV is conducted almost exclusively in French. Students' willingness to participate in class discussions is crucial to their success in this course.
GOALS
To continue to build upon a strong vocabulary and grammatical base
To improve students' communicative skills
To encourage students' daily participation in class discussions
To further develop writing proficiency by means of directed exercises, essays on a variety of topics, and a weekly journal
To learn to read new texts more globally and understand new vocabulary through context and cognates
To improve pronunciation skills
To further develop listening comprehension skills
To have students become more confident and aware of their ability to communicate in French, orally or in written form
To continue to expose students to French culture and to the French speaking world
To develop in students an appreciation and understanding of French literature through reading and discussion of short stories, novels or plays and magazine or newspaper articles
To enable students to present a subject of their own choosing with an oral class presentation followed by a question and answer session from their classmates, and with a 2 page minimum essay on the same topic
COURSE MATERIALS
Trésors du temps, student text and workbook
Le Petit Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Excerpts from Les Lettres de mon moulin (Alphonse Daudet) assigned as summer reading
French in Action video program (episodes 39-52)
Films: Ponette, Le Petit Prince, Jean de Florette, Manon des sources
Documentaries on
TOPICS
Grammar
Review fundamental verbs such as être, aller, avoir, faire
Present indicative with depuis, il y a, voilà
Pendant with expressions of time
Present and imperative of verbs of regular verbs in -er, -ir, -re, -oir
Verbs with spelling changes
Consecutive verbs with or without preposition
Position of adverbs
Usage of on
Past tenses of the three verb groups
Conjugation and uses of the imparfait and passé composé
The pluperfect
The passé simple
Verbs conjugated with être or avoir
Agreement of the past participle
Position of adverbs with compound tenses
Direct and indirect object pronouns
Accentuated pronouns
Verbs of communication
Imperative with object pronouns
Conjugation, usage, and meaning of various tenses of the verb devoir
Forms and uses of the future and conditional
The formation and uses of the present and past subjunctive
Formation and usage of reflexive verbs
Reciprocal verbs
Past participle agreement
Causative faire
Qualifying adjectives
Negations
Present participle and gerund
Pronouns: possessive, relative, interrogative, demonstrative
Verbs of communication and expression
Indirect discourse
Culture, Literature, and History
Prehistoric art
Les monuments
mégalithiques de
Salient facts of
the history of
Legends of the period
French geography and history from pre-historic times
The transition from the French provinces to today's departments
Cave art
De
Le Vase de Soissons (Grégoire de Tours)
Les Gallo-Romains
The Druids
Astérix
Early medieval literature
Medieval art and ideas
Salient facts of French history from 50 to 1066 A.D.
La Chanson de Roland
Tristan et Yseut
L'art autour de l'an 1000
The
Religious art
The goals and consequences of the Crusades
The construction of the first cathedrals
The Hundred Years War
Medieval literature
La Farce de Maître Pathelin
La Ballade des Pendus (François Villon)
Medieval and religious art
Gothic and romanesque cathedrals
Stained glass windows
La
The Great Discoveries (compass, printing press)
The Renaissance
The Reformation and its consequences
The reign of King Henri IV
Art and the Loire Valley castles
Excerpt from Pantagruel and Jehan le Fou (François Rabelais)
Essay, "Contre le colonialisme" (Michel de Montaigne)
"Ode à Cassandre" (Pierre de Ronsard)
The Art of the Renaissance
The Castles of the Loire Valley
Le Grand Siècle ou l'Age classique
Richelieu and his legacy
Louis XIV
The
The Salons
"Le XVIIe Siècle"
Theater of the 17th century, excerpt from Act II of L'Ecole des Femmes (Molière)
Lettre à sa fille sur la mort de Vatel (Madame de Sévigné)
The architecture and painting of the 17th century
The furniture and
décor of
Le dix-huitième siècle
The Regency of Louis XV
The System of Law
The reign of Louis XV
The Age of Enlightenment
"Le XVIIIe siècle"
Excerpt from Candide (Voltaire)
Excerpt from Les Confessions (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
The architecture and painting of the 18th century
The furniture and décor of Le Palais de Versailles
Louis XVI & Marie-Antoinette
France & America (War of Independence)
The General Estates
The taking of the Bastille
Excerpt from Voyages en France (Arthur Young)
Excerpt from Souvenirs (Mme Vigée-Lebrun)
La prise de la Bastille (Louis Deflue)
Art at the end of the Old Regime
Jacques-Louis David
Le Trianon
Art and revolutionary propaganda
The Great Fear
The abolition of privilege
The Constitution and the constitutional monarchy
War with
The Terror
What was brought by the Revolution
Les dernières heures de Louis XVI (Jean-Baptiste Cléry)
Art during the revolutionary period
L'Arbre de la liberté
The
Revolutionaries and Ancient
Napoléon et le début du XIXe siècle
Napoléon I, emperor
Napoléon as an administrator
Napoleonic Wars
Louis XVIII
The exile of Napoléon
Excerpt from Le Retour de Russie (Victor Hugo)
Excerpt from Les Mémoires d'outre-tombe (Chateaubriand)
"Le Lac" (Lamartine )
Art during Napoleon reign
Painting (David and Gros)
Furnishings: the Empire style
SPANISH IV HONORS
This honors level course depends on the skills and knowledge acquired by the students during the first three years of required language study in the Upper School. Students are expected to build upon their strong vocabulary, grammatical and communicative skills. Students are to develop greater self-confidence in expressing themselves orally. Students participate in class discussions based on the readings of authentic Spanish literature in the form of short stories, plays and poems. Writing skills are further developed as students express their ideas through creative essays and in their journals. The geography and history of several Spanish speaking countries are explored in this course. Spanish IV Honors is conducted exclusively in Spanish and students are expected to speak Spanish at all times. Students' participation is crucial to their success in this course.
GOALS
To continue to build upon a strong vocabulary and grammatical base
To enhance students' communicative skills
To further develop writing proficiency by means of directed exercises, essays on a variety of topics, and a weekly journal
To learn to read new texts and understand new vocabulary through context and cognates
To improve pronunciation skills
To further develop listening comprehension skills and ability
To have students become confident and aware of their ability to communicate in Spanish
To continue to expose students to Spanish culture and to the Spanish speaking world
To develop in students an appreciation and understanding of authentic Spanish literature through reading and discussion of authentic short stories, excerpts from novels or plays, and poetry
COURSE MATERIALS
Nuevas Vistas, curso uno
Student text and workbook, audio compact discs, and video program
Destinos video series (episodes 37-52)
Supplemental: Short stories from Album, an intermediate reader with authentic literary works.
Printed lessons, practice exercises, tests and quizzes from the website Learn Spanish (www.studyspanish.com)
Summer Reading - Historias de la Artámila (short stories), Ana María Matute
TOPICS
"Mis primeros versos" (autobiographical episode), Rubén Darío
"Primero de sucundaria" (autobiographical episode), Gary Soto
"Un cuentecillo triste" (story), Gabriel García Márquez
"La guerra de los yacarés" (story), Horacio Quiroga
de Platero y yo (prose poem), Juan Ramón Jiménez’
"Posada de las Tres Cuerdas" (folk tale), Ana María Shua
"La puerta del infierno" (legend), Antonio Landauro
"Mañana de sol" (play), Serafín y Joaquín Álvarez Quintero
de Paula (novel), Isabel Allende
de Versos sencillos (poem), José Martí
"La tortuga" (poem), Pablo Neruda
"El forastero gentil" (story), Sabine R. Ulibarrí
de "Valle del fuego" (essay), Alejandro Balaguer
de "Aydin" (story), Jordi Sierra i Fabra
"Romance sonámbulo" (poem), Federico García Lorca
Conversation
Expressing emotions
Talking about cause and effect
A past experience
Making a description
Making comparisons and contrasts
Talkng about what one should do
Presenting ideas and making connections
Expressing certainty and doubt
Talking about past evens
Asking for and clarifying an opinion
Talking about hypothetical situations
Expressing similarities and differences
Grammar
Nouns
Definite and indefinite articles
Adjectives
Accents (diacritical marks)
Narration (autobiographical episode)
Present tense
Preterit
Imperfect
Accents: the division of syllables
Present subjunctive
The subjunctive in nominal clauses
The subjunctive in adverbial clauses
Accents: the tonic accent
Imperfect subjunctive
Conditional
Future
Accents: syllables and accent placement
The infinitive
The gerund
Prepositions
Accents: dipthongs
Culture
Nicaragua: history and politics
Uruguay: history, Society of Uruguay
Argentina: European influence
Spain: Arab influences and politics
Present perfect indicative
Present perfect subjunctive
Pluperfect indicative
Pluperfect subjunctive
The sequence of tenses
Accents: palabras agudas
Chile: history and politics
Talking about poems
Presenting and supporting an opinion
Talking about someone in the past
Peru: history and politics
FRENCH V AP
French V AP is an elective course offered to those students who have successfully completed French IV Honors and to the students who are returning from the Year Abroad Program in Provence for whom the course is required.
The course is designed to refine and enhance the student's skills in speaking, writing, reading and listening comprehension to prepare them to understand and communicate effectively in any situation. Students' progress in those skills is due to the fact that they come to understand the interrelatedness of structure and functional communication and the importance of grammar to accurate communication. The course is also intended to prepare students for the Advanced Placement French Language Examination.
GOALS
To refine communicative skills in the four skill areas (speaking, writing, reading and listening comprehension)
To acquire a heightened understanding of Francophone cultures with an emphasis on the culture and literature of former French colonies
To enhance grammatical competence by reviewing previously learned structures and concepts and acquiring new structures and their uses
To be able to use basic thematic vocabulary and circumlocution to express complex ideas
To develop higher-order thinking skills and literary chronology, techniques, and interpretation
To speak French at all times and be able to discuss literature, newspaper and magazine articles, films, and videos
To be exposed to art and music and expected to share their views and ideas in class or in writing about these topics
To prepare for the Advanced Placement French Language Examination given in May
RESOURCES:
Une fois pour toutes (Longman)
Excerpts from The AP Student Book (Longman)
Spanish literature (see below)
SPEAKING
Students are expected to speak French at all times from the moment they enter the classroom. Conversation and discussion are the backbone of the class and daily practice is imperative.
Discussions focus on literature, short articles, films/videos, and current events. The students should be able to discuss, express personal opinions, including hypotheses and conjecture, using the subjunctive and si- clauses appropriately and correctly. To prepare for the AP exam students practice answering short questions and interpreting a series of pictures that together form a narrative. Students are expected to relate this narrative within two minutes. The rubrics used to grade the students on the exam measure the ability to use a wide range of vocabulary, understand and use grammatical structures, and demonstrate fluency, accuracy, and comprehensible pronunciation. The student is also given twenty seconds to respond to each of six questions or statements.
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
The class is conducted entirely in French enabling the students to listen to their peers, the teacher, guest speakers, films, videos, and tapes that are used specifically to further develop listening skills and prepare for a listening section in the AP examination. On the Advanced Placement French Language exam, students are asked to listen to short dialogues, narratives, statements or remarks and are expected to answer multiple choice questions about what they just heard.
The students in this class are expected to be able to understand the general idea of each presentation but also to identify more specific elements such as inflection, tone, and tenor. They should have acquired the ability to follow the essentials of conversation between educated native speakers, even those who use familiar or colloquial expressions, understand standard French from tape recordings, records, the radio or the telephone.
WRITING
Students are expected to be able to describe and narrate, present and defend ideas and points of view, organize arguments and consider opposing points of view, provide appropriate examples and draw conclusions from them, and provide introductory remarks, transitions, and conclusions in an essay.
In order to be able to do this, students must have a good control of most grammatical forms and processes. Vocabulary should be extensive enough to cover most topics, although gaps in vocabulary can be filled in with circumlocutions. In addition to showing good control of grammar and vocabulary, the student's essay should be organized, to the point, and always understandable.
TOPICS
Grammar
Grammar chapters from Une fois pour toutes are regularly reviewed. Exercises are assigned for each chapter and s