Teaching and Learning

This literature and composition course is designed to expand those skills learned at the ninth-grade level. The writing genres include the following: literary analysis, the personal narrative, creative writing, and comparison-contrast. Students are expected to make effective use of thesis statements, topic sentences, introductions, transitions, and conclusions. Major works include The Bible as/in Literature, a Shakespearean play (Macbeth and/or Othello), The Catcher in the Rye, 1984, and the memoir, Black Boy. Additional literature may include Night, The Things They Carried, Things Fall Apart, Inherit the Wind, and Persepolis. Other elements of study include grammar, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry. Each semester, students are required to write, conference, and revise five compositions, complete an independent reading assignment with related assessment, and make informal presentations.