Pre-AP English I Room 212 Ms Deidre Comegys (Comma-geez) [email protected] 202-282-0123

Objective: Students enrolled in Pre-AP English will read and interpret great works of literature along with supplementary texts and learn to appreciate writing mechanics and style. Students will practice writing narrative, expository and argumentative essays; close reading; and seminar discussion.

Classroom expectations: Room 212 is a space of respect and kindness. The rules and expectations established by the administration of DESA will be enforced. Students are expected to arrive on-time, prepared to work. Assignments are to be completed on deadline. Please leave your gum outside the room and your cell phone inside your backpacks. Thank you.

Required supplies: ▪ Ruled notebook paper ▪ One Composition book ▪ One spiral notebook (college ruled) ▪ Pencils or pens (blue or black ink only) ▪ Yellow highlighter ▪ Two, 2-pocket folders (prongs not necessary)

Educational Units: UNIT 1: Honorable Actions and Honorable Words How do authors use historical fact to inform fiction? Students will closely study a single chapter of Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Reading to collect Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s thoughts, words and actions during one battle, students will compose an essay explaining how Shaara drew from historical fact and used creative license to portray these facts. Students will also complete a differentiated novel study, which will further their analysis of fact and fiction with another character from the Battle of Gettysburg.

Historical fiction is defined as movies and novels in which a story is made up but is set in the past and sometimes borrows true characteristics of the time period in which it is set.

UNIT 2: Tension in Literature Students will examine the ways in which mystery, tension and surprise are used in informational and literary texts to engage and intrigue readers. Students will read short stories and poetry, including Pied Piper of Tucson by Mara Bovsun. Students will also read Fences by Pulitzer- Prize winner playwright August Wilson, analyzing the role of subplots to create tension among characters. Fences is the foundation of the Cornerstone task: Identify important moments and reflect on the impact of those moments. Students will perform excerpts in class.

UNIT 3: Identity in Literature Students will study the Harlem Renaissance, focusing on the ways in which writers and artists of this movement used art to represent and shape cultural identity. Students will study written works, including Passing by Nella Larsen, and visual art in this unit. Students will also complete an extended research project where they select a topic, use printed and electronic resources, resulting in a well-written argumentative essay.

UNIT 4: Love or Madness Students study Shakespeare’s language and the context in which his plays were first performed. This unit challenges students to practice speaking, listening and movement skills in addition to reading and writing. Students will have the opportunity to examine how the author’s classic love story, Romeo and Juliet, has been adapted since its first performance four hundred years Some adaptations: West Side Story, O, Gnomeo and Juliet, Romeo Must Die.

Grading: ▪ Participation: 10% ▪ Practice and Application: 50% ▪ Assessments: 40%

Attendance: This class will follow the policies set forth by DESA and DCPS. Clarification of those expectations will arrive under separate cover.