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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. SUMMER ASSESSMENTS & READING LIST ARE ON THE CLASS RESOURCES TAB ABOVE. ALL ASSESSMENT RUBRICS ARE ATTACHED ON 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 that provides free tips for assessments 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 text edit 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.
Starting the second semester, all HL essays will be completed and drafted 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: Victorian London in Autumn, or Studying at an old Library ENJOY!!
And now, here is our weekly update by class for more effective planning...
YEAR 1- Juniors, Class of 2027
Monday, December 15: Second period has their final today from 9:55-12:05. We have an early dismissal after third period finals at 2:50 pm.
Tuesday, December 16: No DP L and L Finals today.
Wednesday, December 17: Eighth period has their final today from 9:55-12:05. Dismissal is right after the final.
Thursday, December 18: Today is reflection day - if you needed additional time to complete your final, you will be given this time. Each period is 28 minutes long. This will allow you to effectively gauge how you need to improve timing for your exams next year.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Monday, January 5: After a brief reflection of the Paper 1 final, we will begin our study of William Shakespeare, Elizabethan England, and The Taming of the Shrew. We will discuss the importance of context in understanding and interpreting meaning of a text, and review the importance of TAPping our texts. We will then take notes in our lit trackers on the context of Elizabethan times and the features of Elizabethan theater. We will watch a retelling of "The Three Little Pigs" in Shakespearean English to get a sense of the language style of our text, just for some fun.
Tuesday, January 6: Today, we will prepare to take notes on Shakespeare and his Globe Theater. We will take a quick visual tour of the theater in London today, and review some vocabulary associated with Elizabethan theater. We will discuss the various types of theater and then begin reading the play's Induction in class.
Wednesday, January 7: We will walk through our study guides for Act I. Then, we will explore Shakespeare's play on words, looking at the word "stale." We will discuss what we have discovered about some of the key characters introduced so far. As we begin Scene 2, we will think about how we are responding to the character of Petruchio. We will work on completing the Study Guides as we read.
Thursday, January 8: Today, scholars will share their study guide responses at their tables. What do we learn about Petruchio and Kate? What is revealed through the language of the play? We will watch a performance of Act I! Then, we will dissect Shakespeare's prolific word plays and puns. How does this create humor for the audience? Scholars will dive deep into the implications of this playful text, especially in light of the induction "set up." We will begin reading Act II in class.
Monday, January 12: Today, we will share our study guides with our tables, and turn them in. Then, we will watch Act II. We will discuss and explore the word play of the day: tail and tale. We will explore how these puns and words plays as well as quips and quick repartee create a musical language of humor.
Tuesday, January 13: Today, we will get back our study guides and get ready to read Act III, scene 1 together. Then, we will review some types of figurative language that we may be encountering in the play's language. Finallly, we will discuss the subplot development with Kate's sister Bianca and her suitors.
Wednesday, January 14: We will review our Act III study guide and think about the changes we see in Bianca as she reveals her character more and more through dialogue. We will walk through a close analysis of scene 2 to look at the wedding of Petruchio and Katherine. We will close read and deconstruct Petruchio's lines in the play that are considered in today's context as his most misogynistic lines. What commentary is Shakespeare possibly making?
Thursday, January 15: Today, we will look at the development of the "Greenworld Pattern" as Petruchio takes Katherine to his country estate to begin her "taming." We will focus on a deconstruction of his famous falconry monologue. Then, we will explore the practice of falconry and consider how it serves as an extended metaphor.
If you wish to purchase the books in class, the prices are as follows: Persepolis - $10, Taming of the Shrew - $5, and Pride and Prejudice - $6 (Book Bundle for $21)
Important Links:
Taming of the Shrew Lit Tracker
Taming of the Shrew Audiobook for the play
Important Due Dates
December Blog: December 23 by midnight! Don't forget!
Read/Listen to Act I, Scene 1 of Taming of the Shrew and complete your Study Guide. Add notes to your lit trackers, as directed. (Wednesday, January 7)
Read/Listen to Act I, Scene 2 of Taming of the Shrew and complete your Study Guide. Add notes to your lit trackers, as directed. (Thursday, January 8)
Read/Listen to Act II of Taming of the Shrew and complete your Study Guide. Add notes to your lit trackers, as directed. (Monday, January 12)
We will read Act III, Scene 1 in class. Read/Listen to Act III, Scene 2. Complete Study Guide. (Wednesday, January 14)
Read/Listen to Act IV, Scene 1. Complete Study Guide. (Thursday, January 15)
Read/Listen to Act IV, Scene 2. Complete Study Guide. (Tuesday, January 20, due to holiday)
January Blog: (Saturday, January 31)
YEAR 2- Seniors, Class of 2026
Monday, December 15: First period has their final from 7:40 - 9:50. Today is an early dismissal after the third period final at 2:50 pm.
Tuesday, December 16: There are no DP Language and Literature finals today.
Wednesday, December 17: Seventh period has their final from 7:40-9:50. Today is an early dismissal after the eighth period final at 12:05 pm.
Thursday, December 18: Today is reflection day - if you needed additional time to complete your final, you will be given this time. Each period is 28 minutes long. This will allow you to effectively gauge how you need to improve timing for your exams this May.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Monday, January 5: After a brief reflection on our Paper 1 finals, we will begin our unit study of Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus. We will consider the essential questions of the unit and the summative assessment of the Paper 2. We will listen to the Ted Talk, The Dangers of the Single Story by the author, and scholars will discuss the central idea as well as how Adichie conveys her message. We will walk through our new lit trackers for this unit.
Tuesday, January 6: Today, we are going to take lit tracker notes in Part II, the Nigerian Gallery exploration. We will then listen to a long piece of music from Nigeria and discuss our observations and record in our lit trackers.
Wednesday, January 7: Today, we will read an article in class today about "Life in Lagos, Nigeria" from the National Geographic and take notes in our lit trackers. Then, we will take notes on the author's life and context. We will begin the novel in class as we listen to the audiobook of the first 7 pages and discuss what we observe about the character of Eugene Achike or "Papa."
Thursday, January 8: Today, we will discuss the reading. We will then take contextual notes on the tumultuous history of Nigeria and consider how the larger setting relates to the family life setting in our novel.
Monday, January 12: Today, we will discuss the reading. Then, scholars will look through their notes thus far and work on creating a QPA.
Tuesday, January 13: Today, we will share our QPA and discuss the reading. We will work in our groups to develop a thematic statement that describes the author's message about silence in the novel. Scholars will need to support their theme message with concrete textual evidence.
Wednesday, January 14: Today, we will share our observations from the reading. Scholars will infer Papa's driving values vs. those of Papa Nnukwu. In groups, scholars will consider how Kambili and her father play as foils to one another in several ways. They will compare and contrast the characters and explore the author's message.
Thursday, January 15: Scholars will be assigned a passage from our reading to evaluate for tone. They will prepare to share their evaluation and the word choices that they believe worked to create that tone. We will then discuss the reading.
If you wish to purchase the books in class, the prices are as follows: Cyrano - $4, Purple Hibiscus - $12, and A Thousand Splendid Suns - $11 (Book Bundle for $27)
Important Links
In Class IO Sample: Paul (IB English Guys)
In Class IO Sample 1 Persepolis
In Class IO Sample 2 Taming of the Shrew
In Class IO Sample 3 Pride & Prejudice
Taming of the Shrew Non-Literary Texts
Pride & Prejudice Non-Literary Texts
Lit Tracker for Purple Hibiscus
Important Due Dates
December Blog: December 23 by midnight! Don't forget!
Read pages 7-16 in the novel and take notes as directed in the Lit Tracker. (Thursday, January 8)
Read pages 19-36 in the novel and take notes as directed in the Lit Tracker. (Monday, January 12)
Read pages 37-51 in the novel and take notes as directed in the Lit Tracker. Write a QPA on a selected authorial choice/"notable nugget" (Tuesday, January 13)
Read pages 52-70 in the novel and take notes as directed in the Lit Tracker. (Wednesday, January 14)
Read pages 71-88 in the novel and take notes as directed in the Lit Tracker. (Thursday, January 15)
Read pages 89-109 in the novel and take notes as directed in the Lit Tracker. (Tuesday, January 20, due to the holiday)
January Blog: (Saturday, January 31)
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.
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