Mrs. Hill
College Bound
2010-2011
Course Description
The curriculum for College Bound English meets the state academic standards for
English 12 with emphases on skills that will help students succeed in college. The
following comes from the general guidelines posted on the Arizona Department of
Education website under Arizona Academic Standards.
Language Arts Standards Rationale
A Vision for Arizona’s Students
Arizona’s students must be able to communicate effectively in their schools and
communities. The communication skills of reading, writing, listening, speaking,
viewing and presenting form the core of language and literacy. The ultimate purpose
of the following language arts standards is to ensure that all students be offered the
opportunities, the encouragement and the vision to develop the language skills they
need to pursue lifelong goals, including finding personal enrichment and participating
as informed members of society. The language art standards presented in this
document are organized into four areas:
Reading
Writing
•
Listening and Speaking
•
Viewing and Presenting
Mainly, students will work on improving skills in reading, writing, listening,
speaking, viewing, and presenting. There are also some learning objectives specific
to this grade level, such as learning the art of research writing and gaining crosscultural awareness through world literature studies. Additionally, students will
learn college bound skills, such as strategies for taking notes, approaches for
reading college-level texts, and instruction in writing college-level essays.
Arts Component
This is the final year for the Southeastern Arizona Arts and Academics (SAAAA)
grant, a project I have been involved with since its inception. Students in my classes
will once again participate in SAAA sponsored special events and unique learning
opportunities. Developed with the goal of increasing awareness of the arts and
inspiring new perspectives, projects meeting SAAA goals will be an essential part of
the curriculum in my English classes. These projects will be connected to units of
study that meet both English state standards and state standards for the arts. As
part of this process, visiting artists will help students develop skills in areas such as
drama, music, visual arts, poetry, and script writing. Units of study will culminate in
speech and drama presentations, musical demonstrations, and a poetry anthology.
Students will also participate in field trips and other special school activities.
Grading Policy
Class participation will be emphasized. Students must come to class prepared and
utilize time effectively during the class period. The instructor will inform students
of the learning objectives.
Units of study will culminate in projects (typically essays and/or speech
presentations) and tests to assess student learning. These assignments will weigh
more heavily than the usual class assignments.
Grades will be calculated as follows, (with possible exceptions according to the
instructor’s discretion):
Class Participation (which includes arriving to class on time, completing bell work
in a timely fashion, and participating in all class activities)…………………… 20%
Class Assignments……………………………………………………………..…………………..30%
Homework…………………………………………………………………………………………….20%
Projects and Tests………………………………………………………………………………….30%
Course Agenda
At the beginning of each unit of study, students will be given a more detailed outline
of assignments to be completed. This is a general overview for the first semester:
August/September
Focus: Introduction to college-level reading and writing skills; review of literary
elements (short stories, poems) and basic grammar; literary essay; college
application essay; expressive writing (including journal writes and a creative
writing assignment based on themes of stories. Introduction to Shakespeare and
genre of tragedy; begin reading the play Macbeth.
Artist Residency—Paul Fisher: creative writing and theater
October
Focus: Continue reading Macbeth. Work in groups on speech presentations based
on the themes of Macbeth. Short expressive writing assignments (journal writes)
will accompany the reading of this text (to help students make personal
connections).
November/December
Focus: Speech Presentations based on reading of Macbeth and creative writing
assignments; AR assignments (outside reading for homework)
Artist Residencies—Paul Fisher and Alida Gunn: speech presentations and
creative performance
Spring Semester 2011
The second semester will focus on writing assignments, including a research paper,
and literature studies that will include the following novels:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
At the end of the year we will also be involved in an arts grant project focused on
creative writing and poetry during Kimi Eisele’s residency)
January
Focus:
First two weeks--Read Diary of a Part-time Indian; journal writes designed to explore
themes and ideas (plus, make personal connections); formal essay based on journal
writes.
Last two weeks--Introduction to Heart of Darkness; begin reading the novel
February
Focus: Reading Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart
March
Focus: Finish reading Things Fall Apart; begin research paper
Artist Residency: Carrie Starr, Connecting the Art of Poetry with the Art of
Drumming
April
Focus: Finish research paper
Artist Residency: Kimi Eisele, Poetry and Dance
May
Focus: AR book of choice; final exam in grammar and revision; complete work for
poetry anthology