English 10 Course Syllabus

Quarter 1

READING [Theme: Coming of Age] 1. Unit of Short Works on the theme (poetry, short story) 2. Novel: The Catcher in the Rye 3. Non-Fiction: Various articles on theme

WRITING Unit: Students will draft a personal narrative that reflects their own coming-of-age experience. This unit will reinforce student understanding of the elements of a story. The writing purpose is to express and reflect

LISTENING Students will study strategies for effective public speaking by listening to speakers sharing personal stories (TED talks) and analyzing which speaking strategies have the greatest impact upon an audience.

SPEAKING Students will read a section of their personal narrative aloud to the class that demonstrates the effective application of the lessons learned during the writing unit and mini-lessons on effective public speaking.

Quarter 2

READING [Theme: Human Nature] 1. Unit of Short Works on the theme (poetry, short story) 2. Novel: The Lord of the Flies 3. Non-Fiction: Various articles on theme

WRITING Unit: Argument Students will apply the conventions of argument to take a position on whether or not human-kind is predominantly good or bad.

 LISTENING Students will listen to various podcast on the theme of human nature with a particular focus on inspirational and positive stories of people doing good.

 SPEAKING Students will continue to practice speaking in front of the class throughout the quarter to build confidence through exposure and repetition. This quarter, students will create a slide-show in support of their written arguments/position papers.

Quarter 3

READING [Theme: The struggle b/w fate and free-will and moral consequence of one’s actions.] 1. Unit of Short Works on the theme (poetry, short story) 2. Play: Macbeth 3. Non-Fiction: Various articles on theme

 WRITING Unit: Literary Analysis (Essay with cited quotations) • Letter writing mini-unit • Writing a “10-minute play” (dialogue, character creation)

LISTENING Students will listen to certain sections of Macbeth read aloud using the critically acclaimed Arkangel audio production of the play

 SPEAKING Students will take parts in our class reading of the play. Speaking lessons will focus on speaking with the appropriate tone through an understanding of character and context

Quarter 4

READING [Theme: The art of research and synthesizing information] 1. Students will be reading within the subject chosen as a research topic. (Research = Reading). 2. Poetry (enhanced focus on poems during National Poetry Month and in support of the department’s annual poetry event – Poem in your Pocket Day.

WRITING Unit: Research Paper Students will write a 5-7 page research paper based on a self-chosen inquiry. Skills include: synthesis of information from various sources, summarizing main ideas, citing sources, determining source credibility, works-cited and MLA formatting.

LISTENING Podcasts and TED talks that feature academic findings and results to strengthen students’ understanding of attributing research to sources and the necessity of citing sources.

SPEAKING: This quarter, students will create a slide-show in support of their written arguments/position papers and present them.