Teacher:
Mr. Gregory Glazier
Email: gglazier@daltonschool.kr
Embedded Files
Literature & Composition II
Welcome to Lit & Comp II!
Welcome to Lit & Comp II!
Course Description
Course Description
This course begins with a focus in Unit 1 on understanding informational texts. Students will be exposed to a variety of personal narratives as they develop the skills of explanatory writing. Unit 2 will equip them with the tools needed to craft and explain their own personal narratives about significant experiences from their lives. In Units 3 and 4, students will explore the elements of storytelling as we read, perform, and analyze Shakespeare's Othello. During our final two units of the school year, students will apply their understanding of textual analysis to both literary and informative texts as we embark on student-drive research projects. Students will also participate in literature circles as they investigate novels of their choice. This course is designed to prepare all students for success in Literature & Composition III & IV, as well as AP English courses.
Units of Study & Assessment Information
Units of Study & Assessment Information
Quarter 1
Quarter 1
Unit 1. Understanding Informational Texts (Personal Narratives)
Unit 1. Understanding Informational Texts (Personal Narratives)
August 16 - September 29
At the end of Unit 1, students will show their understanding of informational texts by explaining the central ideas of an author's personal narrative. Students will be asked to interpret how an author's choices contribute to the overall meaning of a text, and explain their interpretation with clarity through writing. This summative assessment will take place in class and will require students to combine unit learnings including composition, organization, effective use of textual evidence and analysis, as well as language skills. Over the course of this unit, students will be expected to engage in class discussions of various sizes, as well as complete in-class writing assignments for a range of audiences & purposes.
Quarters 1-2
Quarters 1-2
Unit 2. Writing Informational Texts (Personal Narratives)
Unit 2. Writing Informational Texts (Personal Narratives)
October 4-November 10
Students will learn about themselves, their classmates, and their communities as we apply our understanding of informational texts to the creation of our own personal narratives. In Unit 2, students will explore storytelling techniques including characterization, plot, and literary devices, as well the ways in which personal narratives can help us make sense of our individual and collective experiences. Each student's personal narrative will be assessed. The unit will culminate with an in-class writing summative in which students will be asked to explain the choices they made in the creation of their personal narratives, and how those choices are intended to effect their audience.
Quarter 2
Quarter 2
Unit 3. Understanding & Writing Literature, Part 1 (Othello by William Shakespeare)
Unit 3. Understanding & Writing Literature, Part 1 (Othello by William Shakespeare)
November 13-January 26
Students will continue their exploration of the ways in which our historical and cultural contexts shape our identities as we read Shakespeare's Othello. This tragic play will provide students with the opportunity to develop their public speaking skills as we perform the play together in class. We will analyze the Bard's use of narrative techniques such as characterization, plot, and poetic as well as prose-style language. Why do bad things happen to good people? Who decides who gets to be a "hero"? What does it mean to be a man or woman in society? Students will seek the answers to these questions as we prepare for two summative assessments: a spoken analysis of an extract from Othello, and a creative product inspired by the play.
Students will conclude their study of Othello by responding creatively to Shakespeare's tragic play. Prologue, epilogue, and modernization are all options for the students' creative expression. As they consider issues of casting, staging, and dialogue, students will engage in dramaturgy and bring an Elizabethan production into the 21st century. Students will further strengthen their explanatory writing skills by introducing and justifying their authorial choices in the form of written rationales of their creative work.
Quarter 3
Quarter 3
Unit 4. Understanding & Writing Literature, Part 2 (American Born Chinese)
Unit 4. Understanding & Writing Literature, Part 2 (American Born Chinese)
January 29-March 15
Using Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel American Born Chinese, students will bring their investigations of identity into the present day. Students will explore how Yang weaves together Chinese mythology, American popular culture, and the archetypical hero's journey into an unforgettable coming-of-age narrative. Progress will be assessed through analytical writing and creative expression.
Quarter 4
Quarter 4
Unit 5. Literature Circles
Unit 5. Literature Circles
March 5 until end of School Year
As we move into the final quarter of the academic year, students take control of their learning by engaging with their peers in Literature Circles. Each circle decides upon its text of study, creates a reading schedule, and records their learning with daily written agendas. Students share various roles and responsibilities that involve record-keeping, close reading, and making text-to-self/text/world connections. As the unit progresses, each book becomes the object of focus of various critical lenses. Students will think, speak, and write purposefully about issues related to race, gender, class, nationality, and ability. Assessment will come in the form of a written essay.
Quarter 4
Quarter 4
Unit 6. Literary Theory & Criticism
Unit 6. Literary Theory & Criticism
March 5 until end of School Year
Our course concludes with an introduction to literary theory and criticism, and some of the various critical lenses scholars use to analyze the underlying meaning of English literature. The students will practice applying these lenses to texts of their choice. Our final assessment comes in the form of an oral summative in which the students are asked to analyze a previously unseen text from one of the following academic perspectives: Marxism, feminism, disability studies, or critical race theory.
Google classroom calendars
Google classroom calendars
Broad Learning Categories
Broad Learning Categories
The following broad learning categories represent the broad areas of knowledge and skills within which daily and unit-long learning targets and expectations in English can be organized.
Course Expectations
Course Expectations
Grading Policy
The CDS English Department uses standards based grading to provide more accurate feedback of student performance. The following performance levels are used to convey the level of skill a student has demonstrated in English:
Reassessment Policy
When reassessment is offered, students must meet the following requirements:
complete the original task or summative assessment by the specified due date;
complete all required assignments leading up to the summative assessment;
complete the reassessment form provided by the teacher; and
complete a mini conference with the teacher, which may include re-teaching/re-learning activities, as determined by the teacher.
Powerschool averages the most recent three summative assessments pertaining to any given standard. The most recent three likely includes the student's original assessment score. So it is likely that both the original and reassessment scores will be taken into account for a student's grade in Powerschool.
The following thresholds to reassessments apply:
For summative assessments, students may reassess ONCE only. To earn the right to reassess, students must satisfy the requirements listed above. If there is an alternate plan to reassess the same learning outcome in a different way, then the student is not entitled to a reassessment opportunity.
Students are not entitled to a reassessment for the following types of summative assessments:
end-of-course or end of semester exams; and
culminating projects, performances, and papers.
Formative assessments are assignments intended solely for feedback and improvement. For formative assessments, students have UNLIMITED opportunities to reassess, but this right should be exercised reasonably, and assignments should reflect a processing of feedback. Students may not submit a formative reassessment after two weeks before the end of the relevant semester.
Late Work Policy
All work is expected to be submitted on the day it is due. In the event that a student does not submit a summative assessment on the day it is due, that student may submit the work up to two weeks after the original due date and time without penalty, but also forfeits the opportunity to reassess.
Special considerations may be made for students with extended absences due to illness, or certain family issues that meaningfully impact the student's ability to complete the work on time.
Extra Credit Policy
There are no extra credit assignments.
Students can expect from the teacher that:
all assignments will be posted in GOOGLE CLASSROOM (students who are having trouble locating the Google Classroom should contact the teacher); and
once RUBRICS and POLICIES are posted here, they will not change significantly. However, if a change is necessary, the teacher will inform students well in advance and mark the changes clearly.
Plagiarism
The following infographic describing unoriginality by Turnitin.com (updated 2023) summarizes each type of plagiarism that is deemed as a breach of academic integrity. Any instances of plagiarism or academic dishonesty will be subject to the school's academic integrity policy.
tii_gl_plagspec2.0-aiwritmisconductguide_us_0623.pdfQuick Link High School Policies
Quick Link High School Policies
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