Course Overview:
English I Semester 2 Writing is designed to develop students’ writing skills through the analysis of complex texts in various genres including fantasy, science fiction, mystery, poetry, and historical fiction. Students will read and analyze works by numerous authors within each genre. Via these works, the fundamentals of writing, development of compelling characters, narrative writing, and evaluating media literature will be highlighted.
The course includes instruction in the use of precise language and domain-specific vocabulary, writing style, and structure. Narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines are revealed as ways to develop experiences, events, or characters in writing.
Grammar and vocabulary studies, along with the fundamentals of writing and the writing process, are integrated into text studies through close reading and analysis. Other areas of focus are task, purpose, and audience; drawing evidence from a literary text; and examination of a sequence of events. Students will develop their writing and improve their awareness of language while acquiring a sound foundation for further study in future high school and college courses.
This course requires a lot of writing and students will be required to edit drafts and submit both drafts as well as final versions. Please be sure to save all your writing work in a separate folder on your laptop or computer.
Note: This course is not designed for ELL (English Language Learners) students. ELL students may enroll in this course ONLY if they have adequate mentor support at their home school and are able to fulfill all course requirements.
Prerequisites:
Syllabus:
Section 1: Introduction to Writing
In this unit, you will learn about the following objectives:
- Understand how to categorize characters so that you can understand them better.
- Analyze interactions between characters to clue into their personality traits.
- Appreciate how precise word choices allow authors to reveal the personality traits of characters.
- Write dialogues.
- Write from a different point-of-view than what the author has provided.
Lessons:
- Introduction to Writing and Genre
- Writing Science Fiction
- Writing Mystery
- Writing Poetry Part 1
- Writing Poetry Part 2
- Historical Fiction
Section 2: Fundamentals of Writing
Through various writing styles and examples, this section will help you:
- Explore and discuss various types of writing - (descriptive, response to literature, fictional, narrative, and poetic).
- Use precise words and phrases, details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
- Emphasize how the style of a text is organized for the task, purpose, and audience.
- Understand text structure and technique (including story arc).
- Explore tone and mood.
- Consider theme.
Lessons:
- Why Do We Write?
- Types of Writing
- Importance of Rich Vocabulary
- Task, Purpose, and Audience
- Plot
- Tone & Mood
- Imagery
- Theme
Section 3: Writing Narratives
In this unit, you will learn about the following objectives:
- Use precise words and domain-specific vocabulary to convey meaning.
- Emphasize how the style of a text is organized for the task, purpose, and audience.
- Analyze and write poetry.
- Analyze text style, structure, and techniques to produce clear and coherent writing.
- Understand the writing process and steps for effective writing.
- Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
- Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
- Sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Lessons:
- Introduction to Narratives
- Orient the Reader
- Dialogues and Pacing
- Sequencing of Events
- Point of View
- Multiple Points of View
- Perspective, Tone, and Voice
Section 4: Developing Compelling Characters
In this unit, you will learn about the following objectives:
- Understand narratives and how to develop and write them.
- Learn to orient the reader via story structure, point of view, characters, and sequence of events.
- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
- Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
- Apply knowledge of point of view to narratives.
- Appreciate the contribution of perspective, tone, and voice to a narrative.
- Engage and orient the reader by establishing one or multiple point(s) of view.
Lessons:
- Introduction to Developing Characters
- Introduction to Atlas Shrugged
- Atlas Shrugged: Eddie Willers
- Atlas Shrugged: Eddie Willers and James Taggart
- Atlas Shrugged Protagonist: Dagny Taggart
- Atlas Shrugged: Dagny and James Taggart
- Atlas Shrugged Woman in Charge
Section 5: Evaluating Media Literature
In this unit, you will learn about the following objectives:
- Introduce characters and eventually develop them.
- Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
- Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation.
- Establish multiple points of view.
- Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
- Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.
- Draw on and transform source material in a specific work.
Lessons:
- Recap of Narrative Techniques
- Introduction to The Phantom: Setting
- Introduction Continued: Characters and Plot
- Discussion on the 1943 Film
- Events
- Literary Analysis
