Embedded Files
Welcome to the Odyssey Institute Website for
Year 1 and Year 2 of DP Language & Literature!
Below, you will find weekly updates, links, and assignment deadlines to help with your planning and organization of your valuable time. The Summer Assessment & Reading List for incoming Year 2 scholars is on the class resources tab above. ALL ASSESSMENT RUBRICS MAY BE FOUND ON THE ASSESSMENTS TAB. Please feel free to pull them up whenever you need. CLICK HERE to access the course syllabus.
If you need a helpful reminder for how to cite your sources on papers and assessments, click here: MLA Citation Guides for ALL written papers. A great resource for free assessment tips is the IB English Guys. Click on the Link to search out guidance and tips as you prepare for your assessments!
For Blog reading and response, always type out your response in a Word or TextEdit document and cut and paste it into the blog. That way, if anything goes wrong, you have not lost your complete, thoughtful response. Here is the quick link to the blog, Literally Speaking.
All HL essays will be drafted and completed in class to ensure authenticity. Once these essays are completed and checked, scholars will have one day in class to type the HL Essays in Google Docs.
You will receive a weekly email from me every Friday -- it will come through your school email, so make CERTAIN you are regularly checking/monitoring your email!!
Here is a link for scholars to review for Standard Response Protocol (Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate).
Enjoy studying or background music? Here are some of Mrs. Caraway's current favorite background study music links on YouTube: Celtic Music or Jane Austen Vibes for Study ENJOY!!
And now, here is our weekly class-by-class update for more effective planning...
YEAR 1- Juniors, Class of 2028
Monday, August 10: Today, scholars will find their seats and meet their group members. We will review classroom philosophy, daily procedure, and expectations for the two-year DP Language and Literature class. We will look at and bookmark the class website and look over a model DP application analysis. We will learn the TAP initial critical response to any text.
Tuesday, August 11: Today, we will learn about group discussion/conversation etiquette and expectations, and practice group discussion with a text entitled "Conversations in the Asparagus Patch" by Larry Frost. We will end our meeting with an interesting short video about the science of language and its origins.
Wednesday, August 12: Today, we will greet one another and head outside for a game of "Zip, Zap, Zop." We will debrief on the purpose of the game and then look at language through the lens of a linguistic professor. Finally, in our groups, we will begin devising our own definition of language.
Thursday, August 13: Scholars will finish their group definitions of language and then walk around and read those of their classmates. We will review IB's definition of language for comparison. Then, we will discuss our thoughts about the origins of the English language and how it spread across the globe into different countries in different dialects. We will watch a short video called "The History of the English Language in Ten Minutes." In groups, we will peruse through some short text samples written in Old English, Middle English, Shakespearean English, Victorian English, and Modern English. We will explore some of the observable changes in things like word choices, spelling, syntax, and sound.
Monday, August 17: Today, scholars will explore the language of Shakespearean English. We will watch a short video about OP or original pronunciation. We will then shift gears from language into literature, and review IB's definition of literature. As we prepare for our year of critical reading and analytical writing, we will look at the differences between description and analysis, as well as evaluation.
Tuesday, August 18: Today, we will begin an exploration of Formalism in Literary Criticism and Reader's Response. We will review the two approaches and consider why we use them together. We will then begin a textual analysis activity using the text "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.
Wednesday, August 19: Scholars will share and submit their literary analysis of "The Road Not Taken." Then, we will discuss the impact of various perspective lenses on the interpretation of a text. Why and how do we study language and literature? How are we affected by texts in various ways? In what ways is a text's meaning constructed, negotiated, expressed, and interpreted? We will watch a short video about analyzing texts more deeply. We will go through notes and discussion on the process of literary analysis, looking at the role of the reader, the text, and the writer.
Thursday, August 20: Scholars will be given the Literary Devices resource to read and review at their tables. Then, we will be given a short text, a chapter excerpt from the novel Palooka entitled "Roses and Vanilla." We will read it together, and then scholars will read it again independently, this time to annotate for writer's style and choices. After reading, scholars will discuss and fill out the Literary Devices form to create discussion questions. Scholars will discuss each question in their groups and turn in the forms.
Monday, August 24: Today, scholars will review the structure of a story and the "rules" of writing creatively. We will look at the: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. We will then explore HOW stories are told, or Narrative Technique. Who tells the story (POV)? How do they tell it? How do they speak? What tense is the story being told in? We will break down POV and show examples of three different POVs.
Tuesday, August 25: After a quick review of our notes from yesterday, we will look at two ways to narrate a story: direct and framed narration. We will examine examples of each and discuss how they work together in story telling. Then, we will move to how characters speak: direct or reported speech. We will explore examples of each to get a sense of stylistic differences. Finally, we will look at tense. We will look at the most common in fiction (past perfect) and then scholars will be challenged to change a short text from past perfect into present tense with as few changes as possible to preserve voice.
Wednesday, August 26: Today, we will be looking at the author's craft of characterization. We will listen to an exceptional and famous character description and discuss what makes it so powerful. We will then take notes on the four ways authors develop characters for their readers. We will be given another chapter excerpt from Palooka called "Chopsticks." Using our notes and knowledge of characterization, scholars will track the development of Mick or Mimi in the chapter. Then, they will fill out the form.
Thursday, August 27: Scholars will share and discuss their character analysis of Mimi or Mick. Then, we will take notes on Joseph Campbell's "Mythology of the Hero" and watch a short video about the Heroic Journey model. Groups will be assigned the fairy tale Cinderella to use in creating their Hero's Journey analysis.
Important Links:
Important Due Dates
Literary Analysis of "Road Not Taken" (Wednesday, August 19)
"Roses & Vanilla" Form (Thursday, August 20)
"Chopsticks" characterization of Mick or Mimi (Thursday, August 27)
Cinderella Group Hero's Journey Analysis (Monday, August 31)
August Blog (No later than Monday, August 31, 11:59 pm)
YEAR 2- Seniors, Class of 2027
Monday, August 10: Today, scholars will meet their table mates and prepare their notebooks/binders. We will be spending these first two weeks on preparation for the Assessments and the IO. We will review where to find everything and our classroom expectations. We will briefly review our external assessments and the rules for testing/submissions, starting with Papers 1 and 2, then the HL Essay selection.
Tuesday, August 11: Today, we will jump into the IO. We will review the general expectations of the IO assessment and the global issue component, as well as possible pairing ideas. Scholars will go through past IO outlines to consider some inspiration.
Wednesday, August 12: Scholars will share their ideas with table mates and inspiration. We will discuss signposting in the IO delivery and look at how we structure the IO preparation and presentation. We will also address the teacher discussion in the final 5 minutes of the IO.
Thursday, August 13 Today, we will listen to a sample IO with the IB English Guys. We will listen to their assessment of Paul's IO and review how it was scored.
Monday, August 17: Today, we will look at two past scholar IO's and evaluate what we notice. We will start with Persepolis. After listening and following along to the scholar IO, groups will evaluate the IO using the marking scheme. We will then revisit an IO on Taming of the Shrew. We will discuss and evaluate in our groups.
Tuesday, August 18: Scholars will review the Student IO Resources (see link below) and consider pairings. We will watch an IB English Guys video about Presentation Outlines.
Wednesday, August 19: Today is a work day on possible IO planning. Scholars will sign up for their IO dates.
Thursday, August 20 Today, scholars will read some summer assessments and evaluate them. We will look at Mrs. Caraway's notes, if available, and do our own evaluation using marking schemes with our critical friends. Any remaining time may be spend on IO preparation or HL Essay refinement.
Monday, August 24: Today, we will begin our unit entitled, Let Me Count the Ways, a study of Cyrano de Bergerac, the famous French play. We will address thematic questions and then take a "Beauty Survey." We will discuss the impact of social media and celebrity photo touching/enhancements on society's definition of beauty and self-worth. Scholars will read and discuss an article on Beauty and Body Image in the Media.
Tuesday, August 25: Today, we will look at examples of before and after celebrity enhanced/photoshopped photos. We will discuss what we notice consistently and what this says about beauty standards. We will review lyrics from Colbie Caillat's song, "Try," and watch her music video. Scholars will read another article about body image and the media.
Wednesday, August 26: Today, we will take notes in our notebooks about the context of Cyrano as a work in translation, Edmond Rostand, translated by W. Brian Hooker. We will watch an informative video about the translation process. We will then engage in a reading translation activity. Finally, we will take notes on our translator, William Brian Hooker.
Thursday, August 27 Today, we will take notes in our notebooks about the playwright, Edmond Rostand. We will walk through the various character-shaping events of his life and get a sense of life in Paris with a cinematic stroll. Then, we will get some context for the Cyrano play. We will read an article in class about the Gascons, adding notes to our notebooks.
Important Links
Recommended Reading List for Summer Assignment
Electronic Copy of Summer Assignment
Important Due Dates
Summer Assessment (Thursday, August 13)
August Blog (No later than Monday, August 31, 11:59 pm)
HL Essay Selection Revised to Mrs. Caraway (Monday, February 1, 2027)
Kristin Caraway
Contact Information
Email: kcaraway@topamail.com
Required Course Materials
1. A one subject spiral notebook or composition book
2. A 1-inch binder (which will be stored in class/provided by IB Program)
3. Writing & annotating materials: highlighters, pencils, black ball-point or gel pens
4. Required novels-Hard copies ONLY! No pdfs. (non-literary texts will be provided by Mrs. Caraway)
Literature Materials for Year 2 (Seniors)
Click on the book images below to access Amazon links
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (We will read this last)
2. Purple Hibsicus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (This is our second novel)
3. Cyrano de'Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (make sure you procure the Brian Hooker translation--We will read this first)
Literature Materials for Year 1 (Juniors)
1. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (We will read this last)
2. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (We will read this first)
3. Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (We will read this second)
I hope that this introduction answers at least some of your questions about the course. Please don't hesitate to contact me via email with any further questions. During the school year work week, I will get back to you within 24 hours at the most.
On the above tab entitled "Class Resources," I will attach important course handouts for your convenience. At present, I have attached your recommended reading list and summer assignments. I also have the syllabus, QPA Guide, and Critical Reading checklist. In addition to giving you choices of reading material for your summer assignments, the Recommended Reading List highlights books that are highly regarded and influential works in the world of literature that would be good reading for those who plan on majoring in English, Literature or Communications in the university setting.
Resources will also be readily available here by link if they are not provided as hard copies. Papers and assessments may be uploaded to Managebac for turn in after final edits are completed.
Page updated
Report abuse