Sophomore English:  Literature & Composition

Course Number:  0062
Level:  College Prep
Department:  English

Course Description
Prerequisite: Freshman English
Open to:  Sophomores
Length:  Semester
Credit:  .5
Summary:  CP  Language & Composition continues the work with fundamental reading, writing (including grammar), and thinking skills begun at the freshman level in order to refine them further.  In their reading of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, students sharpen their ability to formulate insightful questions to aid their comprehension.  Defining tone, point-of-view, the rhetorical elements of logos and pathos in argumentative writing, and identifying common logical fallacies are new skills.  Writing experiences include writing poetry, analyzing components of literature, structuring of comparison and contrast essays,  and paraphrasing and summarizing.  Many of these reading, writing, and thinking skills anticipate the research paper to be completed second semester in World History.  Library orientation first semester acquaints students with more databases and trains students in evaluating web sites.

Course Goals:

·        Formulating insightful questions to aid reading comprehension

·        Improving vocabulary by deciphering contextual clues and word formations

·        Focusing a purpose in writing, identifying the most advantageous organization of thought, and developing those thoughts more fully

·        Analyzing rhetorical elements of imaginative literature and argumentative prose

·        Differentiating among clause and phrase structures and their appropriate punctuation; differentiating between transitive and intransitive verbs and understanding the implications for clause structure; employing perfect tenses properly; editing errors in the use of commas and colons

·        Applying reading, writing, and thinking skills to research

·        Accessing a variety of on-line databases and evaluating web sites

Textbooks and Materials:
Primary Texts for Annotation:  Of Mice and Men and Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Other Primary Texts:  Lord of the Flies, Ordinary People, and Oedipus Rex
Assorted poems and essays

Course Outline
Reading & Writing Experiences:
Formulating insightful questions to aid comprehension; analyzing rhetorical elements of prose and poetry (including characterization, metaphor and imagery, point-of-view, tone,  logos, and pathos); defining one’s purpose in writing, identifying the appropriate organization of thought, and developing paragraphs fully; writing a poem; composing comparison/ contrast essays; paraphrasing and summarizing.
Reading and Annotating Of Mice and Men, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oedipus Rex
Grammar:  Distinguishing between essential and non-essential clauses and phrases and their correct punctuation; defining transitive and intransitive verbs and understanding the implications for clause structure; understanding active and passive voice and the appropriate use of the latter; editing for correct usage of the comma and the colon.
Major Assessments:  Reading exams, essay assignments, and assessment of grammar knowledge and editing skills

(Parents and students: please consult individual teachers for grading policies, extra credit info, class procedures, etc.)