1. OPEN HOUSE WELCOME PARENTS!
RED HOOK HIGH SCHOOL
MRS. DECKER
IB LANGUAGE A: LITERATURE HL
SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

2. Welcome Parents! Thank you for coming to Open House this evening!
Goals for tonight:
To help you understand the work your child will be doing throughout the school year
To explain my expectations of your child
To share information about how you can support your child’s learning

3. Curriculum Goals THE AIMS OF THIS IB LITERATURE COURSE ARE TO:
introduce students to a range of texts from different periods, styles and genres
develop in students the ability to engage in close, detailed analysis of individual texts and make relevant connections
develop the students’ powers of expression, both in oral and written communication
encourage students to recognize the importance of the contexts in which texts are written and received
encourage, through the study of texts, an appreciation of the different perspectives of people from other cultures, and how these perspectives construct meaning
encourage students to appreciate the formal, stylistic and aesthetic qualities of texts
promote in students an enjoyment of, and lifelong interest in, language and literature.
develop in students an understanding of the techniques involved in literary criticism
develop the students’ ability to form independent literary judgments and to support those ideas.

4. TEXTS WE STUDY JUNIOR YEAR Part Four: School’s Free Choice
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Assessment: Oral Presentation 15% (Internal)
Presentation on a topic based on a Part 4 work, chosen by student. (10-15 minutes)
Part Two: Detailed Study
Selected poetry by Sylvia Plath
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Assessment: Oral Commentary and Discussion 15% (Internal/Externally Moderated)
10-minute recorded commentary on a poem or poetry extract
10-minute recorded discussion based on one of the remaining Part 2 works

5. TEXTS WE STUDY SENIOR YEAR Part One: Works in Translation
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Brodeck by Philippe Claudel
The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Assessment: Written Assignment 25% (External)
Interactive Oral Presentation leading to reflective statement ( words) and supervised writing leading to literary essay (1,200-1,500 words) based on one Part 1 work
Part Three: Literary Genres: Novel and Short Story
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Assessment: Written Exams (External)
Paper One (2 hrs.) Written Commentary 20%
Students write a commentary on either a prose or poetry passage
Paper Two (2 hrs.) Comparative Study 25%
Students respond to one question from three choices (from genre we studied)

6. Assessment and Evaluation
Students will be expected to manage their own reading schedule and are given about four-five weeks to read each text. They should be writing in their Reading Logs as they progress through each work.
THE READING LOG
Students are asked to record their impressions of, responses to, and reflections on our texts as they are reading them at home
Recording what they notice will help students discover the value of their own impressions, observations, questions, and other responses as starting points for illuminating discussions of these literary works
The Reading Log also serves as a reservoir of ideas and first-draft writing from which the student can draw upon for the public and more formal papers they will be asked to submit
The Reading Log is not graded

7. ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
In addition to writing in their Reading Logs, students will be expected to practice focused freewriting, commentary writing, and literary analysis essays in preparation for the assessments this year
At the beginning of each unit, the students will take a reading check assessment
At the end of each unit, students will write a commentary or respond to a Paper 2 prompt

8. Syllabus and Assignment Calendar
Feel free to check out my website:
You will find my course syllabus and additional assignments on my website
Questions? Concerns?
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