S+DePue+Margaux


 * Brave New World (English 101)** **Syllabus**

Office: Room 319 Office Phone:(207) 779-7929 Office Hours:** Tuesday and Thursday: 11:00pm-1:00pm, Friday: 2:00pm-3:30 pm By appointment
 * Teacher: Ms. Margaux DePue
 * E-mail:** margaux.j.depue@maine.edu


 * =Summary of Unit= ||
 * The Unit "Brave New World" is a series of approximately six eighty-minute-long classes that will focus on the novel Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley. Students will become knowledgable with literary terms and devices, as well as how to recognize certain themes and genres in different works. Students will be able to analyze characters and pinpoint/relate to internal and external conflicts certain characters experience in works of literature, as well as how these conflicts create greater meaning in a work of literature. Students will also become fluent with the art of satire, a writing style that exposes the faults of society though irony and ridicule with the intention of improving society, and show how this novel could be helpful to society members today in terms of reflection. Students will be evaluated through discussions, debates, written pieces and a WebQuest involving the creation of their own utopian society. ||

A2 Literary Texts Grades 9- Diploma Brave New World Students read text, within a grade appropriate span of text complexity, and present analyses of fiction using excerpts from the texts to defend their assertions. e.) Recognize themes that are explicitly stated in the text to aid comprehension.
 * Insert all of Stage 1 ||
 * Maine Learning Results: English Language Arts- A Reading

Understandings: Students will understand that… •Literary themes are essential in finding greater meaning and understanding in a work of literature. •Genre in literature and how it targets a specific point or audience helps others understand the true purpose and meaning of a work of literature. •Internal/external conflicts of characters adds to the meaning of a work.

Essential Questions: •Why is it beneficial to identify and examine literary themes in literature? •Why is the evaluation and exploration of a work's genre so important? •How do the identities and the internal/external conflicts of characters in a work add to the meaning of a work as a whole?

Students will know… •Critical Details: Brave New World, a novel written by Aldous Huxley in 1932, is a Dystopian work portraying a society that has overthrown love, religion, culture, art, and idealism, replacing these things with a new and emphasized necessity for a strong economy, scientific discovery and social stability. Though the government has succeeded in eliminating all forms of war, poverty and disease, it has also made all form of humanity, including love, family and expression through beauty, art and knowledge illegal. Citizens are drugged on a regular basis, giving them the illusion of happiness, and are conditioned by the government as children to fit certain social classes and to have certain personal motives and desires, mostly revolving around production and consumption of government-made products.

•Definitions: Dystopia: a society created with the intentions of being a utopia, or paradise/ perfect society, but results in the opposite of a utopia. It becomes a society of oppression and fear with a government carrying complete domination over the entire population.

Satire: the systematic process of unveiling faults, flaws and weaknesses of society through the means of ridicule, irony or other ways with the intention of improving society and eliminating its faults.

•Vocabulary: Novel, Theme, Plot, Conflict, Climax, Genre, Characterization, Satire, Dystopia, Imagery, Symbolism, Metaphor, Shakespeare, Henry Ford

Students will be able to… • Explain how the common effects of literary devices, including imagery, symbolism or metaphors, help the reader understand the text.

• Evaluate the structural elements of the plot and the way in which conflicts are (or are not) resolved.

• Use knowledge of the situation, setting, and a character's traits, motivations and feelings to determine the causes for that character's actions.

• g.) Analyze the characteristics of various genres of literature and their purposes.

• Relate to the situations and conflicts of the characters, being able to express ideas and opinions about the text.

• e.) Recognize themes that are explicitly stated in the text to aid comprehension. ||


 * =Expectations= ||
 * Attendance: In order to understand many of the concepts in this class, attendance and participation are required. When a day is missed, so is much knowledge that will enable you to complete certain projects that I assign you. Excused absences will be overlooked as long as assignments are made up on time. We are all human, and conflicts, illness and other reasons for missing class do occur. If you are aware that you are going to be out on a certain day, please let me know and I will understand. If too many unexcused absences are found on your record, I will be speaking to you, talking to the office and possibly giving your parents a much undesired call.

Assignments: All assignments MUST be done on time as I assign them. I will give you a schedule of assignments so that you can plan how and when you can complete you assignments by the date I need them due. If there are any conflicts with the date I have assigned, I encourage you to come and talk to me after class.

Plagiarism and Cheating: There should be no need to look up any information about a literary piece on Sparknotes, Cliff’s Notes, or any other dishonorable source found online. Any response that you write should be completed with your ideas and opinions and no one else’s unless you cite your sources. If there is any evidence of cheating on an assignment of any kind, you will need to make the assignment up. I will have meetings with you and this information will be communicated to your family. ||

iMovie Propaganda Performance Task: (20%) You will be taking on the role of a founder of a new society in Northern Maine and need to create a movie that will encourage prospective citizens to join your society or town. This will be a group project done in and out of class and we will take some time to look at the iMovie software and how to use a video camera. This movie does not have to be very long, so do not stress! Have fun with this and be creative! Sight-Write piece and discussion: (10%) You will be watching a performances by the High School chorus via webcam and writing responses in class. This response will be 2-3 paragraphs and will be discussed afterwards amongst your groups. Thesis Paper (15%) You will be choosing a thesis dealing with any of the novels/literary pieces we have read and discussed in class and writing a 4-5 page paper dealing with this thesis. Workshops will be held in class to revise these papers and we will be discussing what makes a strong, developed and focused argument in class. To prepare for this, you may want to consider marking important passages and taking a few notes to help you remember critical details and provide yourself with evidence for your argument. Journals (10%) You will be taking note of what you are reading in your journals by responding to certain passages. Journals will be checked every other Friday to make sure that they are complete. Entries must be at least two paragraphs in length. These will be graded for completion, NOT for the content. Blogs (15%) You will be asked to blog on certain topics given for discussion on a daily basis. For instance, you may be asked a question to respond to about the reading or you may be asked to look at something online and respond to it. This is a place where your thoughts and feelings can flourish and give you some ground for discussion in class. Symbol Project (15%) You will be asked to model a symbol or piece of imagery from one of the works you have read in class. You can do this with a movie, a website, a model, etc. You will need to require an explanation of this symbol as well. Chalk Talk and Fish bowl discussions (15%) These are different discussion activities that we will be doing at various points in the semester. Some will be about musical recordings and responses to these songs, others will be directly related to the readings. Participation (10%) This is a highly important facet in this class. I will try not to put you on the spot in class, but you MUST participate in class discussions, group talks and activities as well as on writing assignments. ||  ||
 * There will be several large assignments as well as daily assignments that you will complete for this class. Next to each of these assignments is a percentage that they will count for on your final grade.
 * There will be several large assignments as well as daily assignments that you will complete for this class. Next to each of these assignments is a percentage that they will count for on your final grade.

Grade Scale: A+ (98%-100%) A (94%-97%) A- (90%-94%) B+ (87%-89%) B (84%-86%) B- (80%-83%) C+(77%-79%) C (74%-76%) C- (70%-73%) D+ (67%-69%) D (64%-66%) D- (60%-63%) F (59% and below) ||
 * =Grading Scale= ||
 * Though students can pass a course with a D- (60%) or above, I encourage all of you to put your best effort into this class. I know you are capable of great things!