Sophomore English

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Full year

Sophomore English is a genre survey course designed to develop analytical and persuasive skills and impart the vocabulary necessary for literary analysis. Fictional narratives, including a survey of American short stories, begin the year’s study. Winter is devoted to epic poetry, and spring to lyric poetry and to drama. Readings include Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Romantic and Modernist poetry, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Students write analytical and narrative essays, which they generate through a collaborative process that includes multiple drafts, peer editing, and metacritical reflection. In the spring, participants give two formal presentations based on their essays. Students memorize and recite “Caedmon’s Hymn,” the School Chapter, the opening lines of The Canterbury Tales, and lyric poetry. Class traditions include Chaucer Day, the Winter’s Tale, and the Sophomore Epistolary Project.

Units

Unit	Essential Questions	Content	Skills and Processes	Assessment	Resources	Multicultural Dimension
Fall Semester - English 10	What persuasive strategies do analytical or narrative writing, peer edits, presentations, test responses or recitations entail? What does "colonial" mean? What does "post-colonial" mean? How do questions of personal and national identity play out in the course texts?	Lyric poetry: selected post-colonial poems and Romantic Poetry, "Caedmon's Hymn" Epic poetry: Beowulf Narrative poetry: The Canterbury Tales Prose narrative: post-colonial short stories, Ngugi wa Thiong'o's The River Between Drama: Henry V and post-colonial drama	Review of active reading, class note-taking, and test-taking Dramatic recitation, including textual fidelity, eye contact, poise, and expressive delivery Development of literary vocabulary for analysis of prose, lyric, narrative and epic poetry Peer review and metacritical self-review for both content and style Tenable argument, tracing the movement from general claim to specific evidence Collaboration in class discussion and writing process Composition of narrative essays: a first-person account of a moment of embarassment, and the annual Winter's Tale, an illustrated story for a first- and second-grade audience Composition of an original lyric poem Composition of critical essays: such as analyzing a short story, Beowulf, Henry V	Essays, assessed for both content and style in individual conferences Tests on literature emphasizing reading comprehension, applied knowledge of literary terminology, analytical skills, and ability to synthesize Recitations of poetry, assessed for dramatic interpretation and textual fidelity Presentation of student's original interpretation of a Romantic lyric poem and collaborative teaching assignments in the spring Process and preparation: timeliness, thoroughness Participation and collaborative skills	Class Moodle Site, Dropbox, Google Docs Collection In-house guides, including "Style is How You Say What You Say," "How to Study English at Catlin Gabel," "Avoiding Plagiarism," "Introduction to MLA Manuscript Format," "Peer Reviewing Narrative Drafts," "Conventions of the Epic," and "Stylistic Characteristics of Beowulf." SAT-prep vocabulary from Vocabulary Workshop, Level 5 On-line Oxford English Dictionary OWL: Purdue's on-line writing lab	Texts by Ngugi na Thiong'o's The River Between, post-colonial short stories and plays allow for wide-ranging discussions of race and gender.
Spring Semester - English 10	See Fall Semester	Selected Romantic, modern, and contemporary lyric poetry Narrative poetry: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Drama: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar	Expansion of elements of tenable argument to include background material and rebuttals to opposing points of view Preparation of two class presentations on poetry, including an appropriate visual aid, adapting written theses for an audience of peers Continued focus on the skills outlined under the previous semester (see Fall Semester)	Two formal class presentations (exegeses) analyzing lyric poetry Narrative and analytical essays, tests, and recitations as in the previous semester (see Fall Semester)	see Fall Semester	Chaucer and Shakespeare allow consideration of medieval, Elizabethan, and contemporary sexual and racial politics

Catlin Gabel

Sophomore English

Units