IB LITERATURE I--PERIODS 1, 2, 6

Class Introduction:

This class is the first year of a two-year IB course of studies in literature.

Course Objectives:
IB Literature I provides highly motivated students with opportunities for rigorous, in-depth analysis and interpretation of major literary works in a variety of genres: fiction prose (novels, short stories), drama, poetry, and nonfiction prose (essays). Students will be able to:

--cooperatively discuss literature in small and large group seminars
--understand and appreciate the universality of ideas as expressed through literature
--gain an appreciation of literature as a meaningful, integral part of their lives
--better understand their own culture and their own lives through the study of literature
--understand how the elements of literature (plot, setting, characterization, theme, tone, symbolism, imagery, diction, syntax) contribute to meaning
--write prose that effectively and persuasively compares and contrasts, analyzes, critiques, and explicates ideas in literature
--understand and implement the six traits of effective writing (ideas, organization, word choice, voice, sentence structure, conventions)
--produce creative and original responses (written and oral) that demonstrate personal insight into literature
--expand their personal vocabularies
--use MLA format to cite sources used in their writing

Course Syllabus: The following two units of study follow the IB curriculum. Some of the texts used are subject to change.

Unit I (School's Free Choice): Othello (Shakespeare), short stories (a wide variety of authors), poetry (Robert Frost, John Keats, and others)

The IB assessment for this unit is the Individual Oral Presentation.

Unit II (Works in Translation): Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Marquez), The Metamorphosis (Kafka), Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand), Blood April (Kadare), other possibilities. I often make final choices regarding the texts in this unit after I've become familiar with the students in the class. This allows me to choose the texts that I think will best fit the interests and abilities of the class.

The IB assessment for this unit is an essay developed from in-class writings based on our discussions of the texts.