1. 12 A English
Class Overview

2. General Goals
Prepare students for the likely demands of a typical freshman literature/composition course required by a four year college
Provide a solid foundation for students who may pursue higher level literature or writing courses beyond their freshman year at college
Encourage students to actively think and reflect about material studied and express their ideas in class discussions
Prepare for college both in terms of SKILLS needed AND general KNOWLEDGE needed

3. Major Components World Literature Classic and Contemporary Composition
Grammar
Discussion
SAT prep
Debate
Oral Presentations with Visual Aids
Each element is linked to specific high school CCSS

4. Composition Reflective/Personal Narrative Writing
Creating Tone/Voice Creative Writing
Literary Analysis
Personal Philosophy Essay
Short Responses to Non-Fiction Readings

5. The Year in Literature To Sir, With Love- E.R. Braithwaite
Antigone and Oedipus Rex- Sophocles
Medea- Euripides
Selected readings from Ancient Greek and other world philosophies/mythologies
Beowulf (selected episodes)
Middle English excerpts- various poets
The Canterbury Tales (General Prologue and selected tales)- Chaucer
Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Animal Farm- George Orwell
Anthem- Ayn Rand
Death of a Salesman and/or The Crucible- Arthur Miller

6. Lit Group Projects Archetypal (Circle) story presentation
World Mythology/Religion presentation
Medieval Times presentation
Shakespeare mini- performance
Russian Revolution presentation

7. Liberal Arts/Humanities
My hope is that the 12A course is much more than merely an English Language Arts course. As we study literature of different ages, we hope to see how it relates and connects to the history, culture, philosophy, arts and other academic disciplines of its particular period.

8. Having a broad set of knowledge is good!!!!
Susan Migliorisi, associate director of admissions at BC, refers to their core curriculum as “an opportunity to explore different parts of yourself. Even if you know you want to be an accountant and not a scientist.”
Zach Weilgus, BC admission staff, says the core is “designed to cultivate intellectual curiosity and broaden your skillset. Down the line if you change your job, or even your career , you won’t be starting from scratch.”

9. It’s not just “What do you know?”, but ALSO “What do you think?”
Express your thoughts and feelings in your writings and by getting involved in class discussions. In college you may have much larger class enrollment than in high school- make yourself stand out from the crowd!

10. Weighting 60% Tests, Quizzes, Compositions, Projects
20% Homework, In-Class Exercises
20% Class Preparation and Participation