English 2 CP Syllabus
COURSE DESCRIPTION
English 2 CP introduces literary and informational texts that create awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity. The course is designed to prepare students for the rigor of the South Carolina State Standards for College and Career Readiness. Note: this course carries CP GPA weighting. PREREQUISITE: Completion of English 1.
TEXTBOOKS
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Collections / Close Reader / Performance Assessment
Holt McDougal | Literature
UNIT 1: Informational Text Study/Argument and Narrative Writing
UNIT 2: Literary - Prose and Poetry/Text-Dependent Analysis
UNIT 3: Drama/Argument Writing
UNIT 4: Informational Text/Narrative and Argument Writing
UNIT 5: Literary Study - Prose and Poetry/TDA
UNIT 6: Literary Choice - Prose and Poetry/Literary Analysis Essay
POSSIBLE NOVELS TO BE STUDIED
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton - is about two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Peer pressure, rebellion, and identity centers on two rival groups of teens. It includes fighting, underage drinking, fighting, and a fatal stabbing. But the feelings of being ostracized are timeless -- which is why this book is still so relevant more than 50 years after its original publication.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding - At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want which leads to the true nature of humanity.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it. “The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices - to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own - for the children and the children yet unborn…” - Rod Serling
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - Algernon is a laboratory mouse who has undergone surgery to increase his intelligence. The story is told by a series of progress reports written by Charlie Gordon, the first human subject for the surgery, and it touches on ethical and moral themes such as the treatment of the mentally disabled.
Animal Farm by George Orwell - A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned-a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible. When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell's masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.
Fire From The Rock by Sharon M. Draper - Sylvia Patterson is shocked and confused when she is asked to be one of the first black students to attend Central High School, which is scheduled to be integrated in September 1957, whether the citizens or governor of Arkansas like it or not. Before Sylvia makes her final decision, smoldering racial tension in the town ignites into flame. When the smoke clears, she sees clearly that nothing is going to stop the change from coming. It is up to her generation to make it happen, in as many different ways as there are colors in the world.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare - One night on the heath, the brave and respected general Macbeth encounters three witches who foretell that he will become king of Scotland. At first skeptical, he’s urged on by the ruthless, single-minded ambitions of Lady Macbeth, who suffers none of her husband’s doubt. But seeing the prophecy through to the bloody end leads them both spiralling into paranoia, tyranny, madness, and murder. This shocking tragedy - a violent caution to those seeking power for its own sake - is, to this day, one of Shakespeare’s most popular and influential masterpieces.
Night by Elie Wiesel - Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must simply never be allowed to happen again.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and will not reveal her lover’s identity. The scarlet letter A (for adultery) she has to wear on her clothes, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. She struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero. Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous–it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - It is about a man who is trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for about nine months. The novel integrates a lot of mathematical and scientific discourse, while also exploring three major religions.