Honors English-Grade Ten
SCHOOL FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
Mr. Carmicle 2006-2007
323-461-3891 Ext. 419
Web Log: hollywoodhighschool.net
The Grade Ten School for Advanced Studies (SAS) curriculum, denotes, by its very designation, that students will encounter rigorous demands of the rhetorical approach to reading and writing, with instruction paced more rapidly than normal tenth-grade coursework requires. Grade Ten Honors (SAS) readies students for an eleventh-grade advanced placement high school class as they learn to think, read, write, listen, and speak academically, successfully arguing a well-constructed thesis, skills necessary for entering post-secondary educational institutions. Students enrolled in SAS Grade Ten Honors experience a curriculum that spans genres such as short stories, poetry, novels and plays, as well as contemporary literature selections and nonfiction that necessitate the student's ability to elicit the author's purpose, the author's persona, the author's claim and evidence, and offer a precise response to the author's argument. Successful student compositions are measured by rubrics, and it is strongly suggested, at the outset of this course, that learners familiarize themselves with this tool so they can produce thoughtful and precise works of prose in response to the series of writing prompts that will be assigned. Students retain all assignments, cover sheets, revisions and other materials necessary to write a reflective letter at the end of the semester.
Textbooks and Novels:
Elements of Literature, 4th Course (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston) 1997
Vocabulary Workshop Level “E”; English Workshop, Fourth Course (HRW)
Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury; The Catcher In The Rye Salinger
Universal Access Interactive Reading, Fourth Course (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston) 2003
Literature Assignments August 30-December 22, 2006 (Semester A)
Short Story
“The Cold Equations” (see below) Tom Godwin (1915-1980)
“The Bet” (see below) Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)
“Through The Tunnel” (see below) Doris Lessing (1919-)
Nonfiction
Hair from Autobiography of Malcolm X (see below)Malcolm X (1925-1965)
“No News From Auschwitz” (see below)A.M. Rosenthal (1922-2006)
Poetry
“The Passionate Shepherd To His Love” Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
“The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” Sir Walter Raleigh (?1552-1618)
“Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
“She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways” William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
“I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
“Youth and Love” Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
Excerpt from Macbeth William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
“On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer” John Keats (1795-1821)
“The Road Not Taken” Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Composition Assignments
Why Johnny Can’t Pass His Fitness Test Due: September 15, 2006
School Junk Food Due: September 29, 2006
Violence in Video Games Due: October 13, 2006
Should High School Start at 9:00 A.M.? Due: October 27, 2006
Cell Phones in School Due: November 17, 2006
Should Teens Work? Due: December 1, 2006
High School Bullies Due: December 15, 2006
Periodic Assessment: Persuasive Due: TBD
BARTON, THE PILOT OF A LIGHTWEIGHT SPACECRAFT, HAS ONLY HOURS TO HELP A TEENAGE STOWAWAY, MARILYN LEE CROSS, UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THE INEVITABLE AND FATAL CONSEQUENCES OF HER ACTION.
Changing The Ending: You are a researcher in the year 2196. You discover some pages of an ancient textbook containing a short story called “The Cold Equations.” However, the final pages are missing. The last bit of text you can read is Marilyn’s “I’m ready” on page 27. Write a plausible resolution for the story that is different from the present ending. Suppose you are an optimistic researcher. Is it possible to find a happy ending?*
IN 19TH CENTURY RUSSIA, A YOUNG LAWYER AGREES TO UNDERGO FIFTEEN YEARS OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT TO PROVE THAT IMPRISONMENT FOR LIFE IS PREFERABLE TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
Debate: Where do you stand on the question of life imprisonment vs. the death penalty? Do you agree with the lawyer that, “to live anyhow is better than not at all”? Or do you believe as the banker does that a quick execution is more humane than a lifetime of confinement? Write an editorial for the school or local newspaper, expressing your views on the subject. Be sure to evaluate the conflicting claims of the community, of victims, of victims’ families, and of convicted individuals. Using your editorial stand as a resource, participate in a classroom debate involving imprisonment vs. the death penalty. Debate skills are covered on page 1018.*
WHILE ON VACATION AT THE SEASHORE, JERRY LEARNS ABOUT AN UNDERWATER TUNNEL THAT OLDER BOYS ARE SWIMMING THROUGH. DETERMINED TO DO THE SAME, JERRY SPENDS A WEEK TRAINING FOR THE EVENT.
Collage: A collage is an arrangement of images (photographs, magazine art, drawings), words, and other objects (sand, shells, stones, and so forth) glued to a surface. Make a collage called “The Wild Bay.” Find words from the text that can go with your images. What mood do you want to convey in your collage?*
MALCOLM X RELATES WHAT HE LEARNED ABOUT HIMSELF THE FIRST TIME HE CONKED HIS FAIR, TURNING IT STRAIGHT, LIKE A WHITE PERSON’S HAIR.
Research/Drawing: Look up pictures of hairstyles throughout the course of history. Draw four or five of them, and write an informative caption for each. Some possible examples: conked hair; the pageboy; the Afro; cornrows; long hippie hair; punk hair; the crew cut; ponytail; ducktail; powdered wigs; the squash-blossom hairstyle of the Hopis.*
A JOURNALIST VISITS THE MEMORIAL AT THE INFAMOUS CONCENTRATION CAMP OF AUSCHWITZ.
Drawing, Poster, Collage, Exhibit: Maya Ying Lin was a twenty-one-year-old architecture student when she submitted the winning design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.: two long black granite walls inscribed with the names of those who died in the war. Choose an important historic event (it does not have to be tragic) that interests you, and think about the visual ways that could be used to remind people of what happened and why it is important. You may want to brainstorm ideas with a partner or small group. Then, create a poster, a collage, an exhibit, or a model or drawing of a monument to memorialize the event.*
*Elements of Literature, 4th Course (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston) 1997
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 4 LABOR DAY
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10 VETERANS DAY
THURSDAY-FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23-24
THANKSGIVING DAY HOLIDAYS
YEAR LONG HONORS ENGLISH RIGOR TOOLS
DICTION, SYNTAX, TONE, IRONY;
RHETORICAL READING AND WRITING;
TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH PAPER;
ARGUMENT AND COUNTER ARGUMENT
