Course Description
How can you become a real-life Sherlock Holmes? As young adults- we're expected to see things beyond black and white. How can we present arguments that don't fall into the trap of over-simplifying things? Literature/Composition I is designed to build upon previous writing- reading- and thinking skills and introduce high school strategies for comprehending writing texts with more nuance and complexity. This course uses six central units (3 reading- 3 writing) to teach students to read textual characters as sensitively as we might read people- trace logical arguments in text- and produce writing for a variety of real-world audiences that transfers that learning. Across the year- students will use writing processes and practices necessary for producing effective persuasive- critical- and creative multi-paragraph essays and compositions. All units use Common Core State Standards and learning progressions aligned to middle school progressions to help students and parents understand what the students strengths and needs are in terms of reading- writing- and speaking.
Essential Standards
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. (L.9-10.2)
- Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. (RI.9-10.6)
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (RI.RL.9-10.1)
- Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. (RI.RL.9-10.2)
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative, connotative and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone) (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper). (RI.RL.9-10.4)
- Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. (RL.9-10.3)
- Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. (RL.9-10.5)
- Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. (SL.9-10.1)
- Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. (SL.9-10.4)
- Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. (SL.9-10.5)
- Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. (W.9-10.1/2)
- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. (W.9-10.3)
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (W.9-10.4)
- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (W.9-10.5)
- Research to build and present knowledge. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (W.9-10.7/8)