Infernos
Essential Questions:
What is Dante's definition of contrapasso?
How is Dante's text influenced by Florentine politics?
How does the journey to the underworld serve as a transformative experience?
Content:
Dante Alighieri, Inferno
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit
Selected poetry and criticism
Skills and Processes:
- Direct class discussion
- Develop critical abilities as readers
- Improve skills as writers of analytical prose
- Prepare and present class meetings, both in collaborative groups and as individuals
- Apply principles of unguided peer reviewing and metacritical self-review for both content and style
- Use techniques of active reading, class note-taking, and test-taking
Assessment:
- Three analytical essays are assessed for both content and style in individual conferences
- Tests emphasize reading comprehension and synthesis
- Peer reviews
- Metacritical writing
- Discussions about critical analysis and persuasive writing
- Class presentations are assessed for both class plan and execution
Resources:
Consultation of departmental handouts from grades 9-11