Course Syllabus

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Junior English:  The Individual in Society:  Syllabus 2021-2022

room 230 

green block

 

Welcome:

Dear Students, 

 I write to you today with great excitement.   I’m eager to get to know each of you, to hear about your summers, your goals for the year, and your hopes and dreams for the future. 

I'm also looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our summer reading book:  (Free here online, if you haven’t had the chance to read it yet.  https://readgraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2017/12/page-6-chapter-1-american-born-chinese-book-online.html (Links to an external site.)).  

Let’s make this a year in which we connect, sharing both our inspirations and our frustrations.  You can reach me at dubec@wellesleyps.org.  

See you in class.

Best, 

Ms. Dubé

Carol M. Dubé

(she, her, hers)

English Teacher

Wellesley High School 

Wellesley, MA

 

Course description:  In The Individual in Society, we examine a diverse selection of texts from all genres of literature, taking a close and careful look at the creation and evolution of individual and group identity.  We focus on the power of literature to help us understand and express our own identities and hone our writing skills so that we can best express ourselves as individuals and artists.

 

Essential Questions:

  1. To what extent are we bound by our identities? How do boundaries affect human potential?
  2. How do social conventions about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, health, religion, ability, age, and family structure shape practices and perceptions and define “normalcy”?
  3. How do authors use stylistic techniques and literary conventions to create complex layers of meaning in their work? What is the relationship among form, function, and larger commentary?

 

Sample Texts:

  • Margaret Atwood,“You Fit Into Me.”
  • Jimmy Santiago Baca,  “I am Offering You this Poem.”
  • Christian Cooper, It’s a Bird
  • ee cummings, “since feeling is first.”
  • Rita Dove,  “Grape Sherbet.”
  • Martin Espada, “Jorge the Church Janitor Finally Quits.”
  • Martin Espada,  “Rednecks.”
  • Robert Frost,  “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”
  • Li-Young Lee,“Eating Together.”
  • Julius Lester “Parents” 
  • Michael Patrick MacDonald, All Souls: A Family Story from Southie
  • Pat Mora, “Same Song.”
  • William Shakespeare, Macbeth
  • William Shakespeare, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”
  • Art Spiegelman, Maus I:  My Father Bleeds History
  • Art Spiegelman, Maus II:  And Here My Troubles Began
  • Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese
  • Assorted student and teacher choice poems from the following websites:

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/ (Links to an external site.)

http://www.poetryoutloud.org/ (Links to an external site.)

http://www.favoritepoem.org/ (Links to an external site.)

http://www.martinespada.net/Poems.html (Links to an external site.)

 

Objectives:

  • Students will be able to read analytically and will be able to explain this analysis in terms of form and function in their writing.  
  • Students will be able to connect the literature to their own experiences in a creative response.  
  • Students will be able to speak in front of the class in a thoughtful, appropriate, and sophisticated manner.  
  • Students will be able to recognize, define, and utilize the literary and rhetorical devices that authors use to create meaning in their texts.  

 

Managing Assignments: 

Canvas

  • Homework will be posted on Canvas.
  • All written assignments must be turned in on Canvas. (Assignments will not be accepted in any other format.)
  • All written assignments will be graded in Canvas. 

Wellesley High School Gmail

I will also use Wellesley High School Gmail to communicate with you by email.


Policies:  See the Wellesley High School Student Handbook for more information on our plagiarism policy and our online learning guidelines:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I2uqRLdrWHhNWBbXvgpPZGOjub7_ZAMX/view

Course Summary:

Date Details Due