Year-Long College Prep Writing Intensive Curriculum Guide District 219 Niles Township High Schools Niles North & Niles West Skokie, Illinois Prepared by: Heather Ingraham, North Sharon Swanson, West Directors: Roger Stein, North Sanlida Cheng, West August 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS English Program Sequences …………………………………………………………….... 3 College Prep Philosophy and Course Description………………………………………… 4 Student Learning Outcomes Coded to State Goals………………………………………… 7 Instructional Materials ……………………………………………………………………. 10 Agreement Elements of Course……………………………………………………………. 11 Units of Instruction – Thematic……………………………………………………………. 12 Units of Instructions – Grammar/Writing/Research……………………………………….. 14 Literary Terms and Concepts………………………………………………………………. 16 Commonly Confused Words……………………………………………………………… 22 Summative Assessment……………………………………………………………………. 28 Appendix A: Sample Writing and Research Assignments……………………………….. 29 Appendix B: Smaller Literary Research Assignment Sequence …………………………. 32 Appendix C: One Approach to the “Big” Senior Research Paper………………………… 33 2 ENGLISH PROGRAM SEQUENCES Pathways illustrate typical movement within a sequence of courses; however, adjustments in sequence can be made to accommodate individual needs. Grade Weight Level is indicated in parentheses. Freshman Year Sophomore Year Junior Year Senior Year Freshman English 13-23 (II) With (West) or W/out Intro. to ALCUSH Reading 1-2 (II) Soph. English (II & III) 33-43 (II) Senior English (II) With or Without Intro. to Amer Lit. & Freshman English Reading 1-2 (II) Composition (II) 12 -22 (III) With Reading 1-2 (II) ALCUSH (III) Freshman English Soph. English College Preparatory 12-22 (III) 32-42 (III) English (III) American Lit. & Composition (III) Honors ALCUSH (IV) College Preparatory English Honors (IV) Freshman English Soph. English American Lit. & 11-21 Honors (IV) 31-41 Honors (IV) Comp. Honors (IV) AP English (V) AP Great American Writers (V) Electives (semester courses) Freshman – Senior Year Sophomore – Senior Year Junior-Senior Year Journalism (III) Images in Literature (III) Lit. of Moral Conflict(IV) Photojournalism & Publications* (III) Lit. of Sports & Amer. Culture (III) Humanities 1* (III) Creative Writing (III) Lit. of Peace & Non-Violence (III) Humanities 2* (III) Public Speaking (III) Bible & Mythology (IV) Advanced Public Speaking (IV) World Literature (III or IV) Newspaper Production* (IV) English Composition & Rhetoric (III) Yearbook Production* (IV) • These courses do not carry English elective credit but will count as a general elective credit. 3 YEAR-LONG COLLEGE PREP PHILOSOPHY AND COURSEBOOK DESCRIPTION The year-long, two semester College Prep English course involves teaching students the skills necessary for them to succeed in college and beyond. This involves developing competency and confidence in college-level reading, writing, research, and the cognitive development these areas involve. The curriculum has been designed to optimize the students' skills and capabilities through progressive instruction that refines academic and professional writing as well as critical thinking. One of the benefits to year-long College Prep is that students have the opportunity, over the course of a two-semester program, to grow into their voices and to consciously develop their self-presentation as writers and as thinkers. We scaffold the instruction in each of the units so that students are able to move with appropriate support from teacher-guided to more self-directed learning. This scaffolding prepares students to succeed in life through and beyond academics. The first semester is designed to accelerate the transition to college-type classes; the second prepares students to proceed independently with college-level and professional work. We start the year with Policies and Procedures, and continue by bridging to a critical review of what they learned junior year, "The American Dream." This beginning allows teachers to find out what students already know and allows students to build on a platform of established knowledge. As this year is a threshold year, establishing common ground allows us to address the unique needs of the College Prep enrollment, which typically includes ELL students taking a mainstream English course for the first time, basic students moving up to regular level, and honors students not continuing in the honors track. "The American Dream" unit metamorphoses into the reality of today's American Dream with an in-depth study of selections from works such as Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed , which begins the transition to the course discussion of life after high school. The college application process comes next, in two phases. Phase One includes researching appropriate schools and financial aid programs, as well as what information is required to complete the application forms; Phase Two includes writing the personal and/or professional statement(s). By the end of this process, students will know how to complete their college applications in a timely and successful manner. As the course continues, students will move from discussion of the American Dream (with personal variations on it) to considerations of "Fate and Free Will." Course readings for this unit include Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus and Shakespeare's Macbeth , with accompanying excerpts of literary criticism (Dodds, Aristotle, etc.). These texts invite in-depth consideration of the formal and thematic elements of "The Tragic Hero." Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis brings the readings into the modern era and provides a thoughtful review of the semester's emphasis on determinism vs. choice. The first semester will conclude with a Public Speaking unit, if time allows. An independent reading unit may also be included here, or staggered throughout the semester/year; past selections have included detective fiction, environmental literature, and poetry or another appropriate unit. Additional elements of instruction, including vocabulary work and grammar, will be done in context; separate lessons may be designed as needed. 4 The second semester of year-long College Prep offers considerable flexibility by presenting a range of instructional choices that accommodate students' needs and interests in relation to the senior research paper. Depending on the time allotted to the senior research paper(s) and course materials available through the textbook center, the teacher may choose at least two units from the following: Vietnam literature, Chicago literature, a short story unit, an existentialism unit (including Camus's The Stranger ), and/or a comedy unit. Each of these units involves analysis, in-depth research, rhetoric, and critical thinking and writing. The most famous -- or possibly infamous -- aspect of senior year is the senior paper. As the coursebook asserts, "successful completion of the research component is a requirement of this course." Accordingly, the structure of the yearlong College Prep class offers several options for the research paper(s). To this end, the course presents a sequence of research reading and writing that helps students to increase the sophistication and confidence of their writing over time. Some teachers address this requirement through one or two longer papers; others assign two or more shorter research essays (tied to themes and units if desired); many teachers use a combination of both approaches throughout the year. THE SENIOR PROGRAM Depending upon their past performance in English, seniors may have more or less freedom to choose how to meet the seventh and eighth semester requirements in English. For students whose skills remain in need of remediation, the Senior English course will be required. For students who have met success in the regular and honors English Program, at least one semester of College Preparatory English and an English elective are required. Students whose performance has been excellent and who are so recommended may take Advanced Placement English. AP ENGLISH LITERATURE EN3L01 Length: 2 semesters Credit: 2 credits Open to Grades: 12 Grade Weight: V Prerequisite: AP Great American Writers, or equivalent, and teacher recommendation Advanced Placement English requires students to reason and read critically, and to write logically, persuasively, and with distinctive prose style. Essays are based on literature (particularly on close analyses of texts) and personal experience. A research paper and a creative project are integral parts of the course. The literature spans more than three thousand years and is predominantly European. AP English helps the student prepare for the college-level English literature and composition examinations given in May of each year by the National Advanced Placement Program. Success in this examination may entitle the student to college credit, advanced college placement, or both. Students are expected to complete both semesters. Note that successful completion of the research component is a requirement of this course. 5 COLLEGE PREPARATORY ENGLISH FOR SENIORS (Honors) EN3L05, EN0L50 Length: 2 semesters (EN3L05) – OR -- 1 semester (EN0L50) Credit: 2 credits (EN3L05) – OR -- 1 credit (EN0L50) Open to Grades: 12 Grade Weight: IV Prerequisite: Six (6) semesters of required English and teacher recommendation Honors College Prep emphasizes critical thinking, writing and rewriting, use of the word processor, and composition of specific essay types, including the research essay. The course also requires study of non-American literature encompassing a broad range of style, form, and concepts.