Success is determined by a student's ability to communicate well in all
modes of communication: reading, writing, and speaking.
1. Literature/Reading
--Reading is a humanities-driven approach emphasizing literature as a
reflection of culture.
--Students should be able to analyze any piece of literature according
to the following:
(a) Point of view
(b) Character analysis
(c) Literary devices
(d) Conflict
(e) Theme
--Students should be able to think beyond the basic plot facts in a
given work, moving on to inference.
--Students should be able to use context clues, synonyms, antonyms, and
analogies to determine word meanings and differentiate between multiple
meanings.
2. Writing is primarily a thesis-driven approach with writer response to
specific literature under study.
--Students should be able to create well-developed, organized,
structurally sound paragraphs in an insightful and creative manner.
Emphasis is on following a specific "writing formula" for paragraphs and
essays; basic parts of speech and their varied usage; simple and
compound structures; sentence structure with regards to run-ons and
fragments; subject-verb agreement and consistency of tense.
--Students should be able to respond to journal prompts and passages of
literature.
--Students should be able to write five-paragraph essays and major
project components, using correct spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and
style.
