Welcome to Advanced Composition and World Literature!
Welcome to the class! We are going to fit in quite a bit of study during this course, so let's get right to it! Since our course combines Advanced Composition with World Literature, there will be two main components we will be working on: Reading and Writing. All of our books are modern texts that explore cultures around the world. You will gain a better understanding of some of the complex issues that make up our global societies, influence our politics, wars, and religions, and hopefully, you will also begin to see how much we have in common, despite our differences. I have chosen books from Asia, India, Afghanistan, and Africa. Our main text, One World, Many Cultures, will include a much more diverse selection. Furthermore, your research into current events each week will take you wherever you choose to go. Are you fascinated with Russia? Great! You can learn as much about Russia's cultures, education, religions, politics, and more in your current events studies. Have you always wanted to go to Italy? You can do that, too, through your research. Maybe you want to explore a specific topic, like war or famine. You can focus your current event studies each week on all of the areas affected here. You will not need to write full papers on your current events studies, but you will need to write paragraph summaries to share in class each week. We will grow in our understanding of the world when we all come together to share our research.
Another area where we can grow as writers is by enhancing our vocabulary. Now, I've primarily focused on SAT style words for this portion of our class, and I will be using Worldly Wise 3000, book 12 for the lists. If you need the practice, pick up the workbook. If not, use the words each week to make index cards, or even flash cards on the internet (I like Quizlet), to study. I will not grade these, or test you on these, other than reviewing them in class and playing a few games. Our limited time in class means that I have to prioritize the discussions and writing instruction. By the advanced high school level, many of you should be able to tackle this area of growth independently. If you use any of the weekly words in your writing, highlight them so that I do not miss them, and if they are used correctly without sounding awkward, I will give you an extra point for each on your assignment.
Which brings me to my next point: I will grade your work this year, unless other arrangements are made with your parents. If they do not care for a grade to be assigned, I will not give you one. Now, I am not a fan of grading; however, on my student assessments last year, the number one request from students was to give them a grade on their work. This helps some to see where they might be academically, and for others, it helps them to take their work more seriously.
The next area of writing focus will be on grammar. Now, most of you have had years of grammar instruction so we will not be diagramming sentences at this stage. Instead, I prefer to take an individualized approach to your writing. You will all need to download the FREE version of Grammarly. I do not require the full version. This will help you to see areas in your writing that are incorrect, while also supplying you with the reason. For example, it may tell you that you have an unnecessary comma. You can easily fix this before turning this in; however, I want you to take a step further. You will need to keep a separate notebook or composition book for your grammar log. When you get this message, jot down in your notebook the grammar mistake that you have. Next, go to your Elements of Style book and jot down the rule for that mistake. Finally, make the correction, both in your notebook and on your paper. This will help you to eliminate your common writing mistakes. Now, we will do plenty of in-class writings, so I'm probably not going to believe that you never make a grammar mistake, so this requires honesty. In addition to your typed papers, you will also need to add the mistakes I point out to you in your papers. This may look like a lot at the beginning of the year, but as your writing improves, and you learn from your mistakes, the goal is to have very few mistakes left at the end of the year. My goal is for each of you to be able to pass the TSI writing section, whether you plan to attend college or not. I will hand out a template I would like for you to follow on the first day of class for your corrections.
Finally, there is your reading. We will use literary circles here, so as you all form your literary groups, you will learn what your task is for the week and you will be held accountable to your team for your participation grade. I typically assign less than 100 pages a week, so you shouldn't have to read much more than 15 pages a day to keep up. If you wait until Monday night to get your reading done, you will likely get little sleep. I don't suggest this route. Instead, start early. If you finish early, great! There's never any penalty for finishing a book early. Audible choices are available for all assigned texts, so if you have any type of reading disability, please use Audible. You are not excused from the text.
Now, some of the texts are harder, both academically and emotionally. All of the books chosen are in the canon of world literature studies and also best sellers; however, they explore tough topics, like war, abuse, death, assault, and trauma. These are great books to discuss with your parents, also. I suggest this class for ages 15 and up.
Another area where we can grow as writers is by enhancing our vocabulary. Now, I've primarily focused on SAT style words for this portion of our class, and I will be using Worldly Wise 3000, book 12 for the lists. If you need the practice, pick up the workbook. If not, use the words each week to make index cards, or even flash cards on the internet (I like Quizlet), to study. I will not grade these, or test you on these, other than reviewing them in class and playing a few games. Our limited time in class means that I have to prioritize the discussions and writing instruction. By the advanced high school level, many of you should be able to tackle this area of growth independently. If you use any of the weekly words in your writing, highlight them so that I do not miss them, and if they are used correctly without sounding awkward, I will give you an extra point for each on your assignment.
Which brings me to my next point: I will grade your work this year, unless other arrangements are made with your parents. If they do not care for a grade to be assigned, I will not give you one. Now, I am not a fan of grading; however, on my student assessments last year, the number one request from students was to give them a grade on their work. This helps some to see where they might be academically, and for others, it helps them to take their work more seriously.
The next area of writing focus will be on grammar. Now, most of you have had years of grammar instruction so we will not be diagramming sentences at this stage. Instead, I prefer to take an individualized approach to your writing. You will all need to download the FREE version of Grammarly. I do not require the full version. This will help you to see areas in your writing that are incorrect, while also supplying you with the reason. For example, it may tell you that you have an unnecessary comma. You can easily fix this before turning this in; however, I want you to take a step further. You will need to keep a separate notebook or composition book for your grammar log. When you get this message, jot down in your notebook the grammar mistake that you have. Next, go to your Elements of Style book and jot down the rule for that mistake. Finally, make the correction, both in your notebook and on your paper. This will help you to eliminate your common writing mistakes. Now, we will do plenty of in-class writings, so I'm probably not going to believe that you never make a grammar mistake, so this requires honesty. In addition to your typed papers, you will also need to add the mistakes I point out to you in your papers. This may look like a lot at the beginning of the year, but as your writing improves, and you learn from your mistakes, the goal is to have very few mistakes left at the end of the year. My goal is for each of you to be able to pass the TSI writing section, whether you plan to attend college or not. I will hand out a template I would like for you to follow on the first day of class for your corrections.
Finally, there is your reading. We will use literary circles here, so as you all form your literary groups, you will learn what your task is for the week and you will be held accountable to your team for your participation grade. I typically assign less than 100 pages a week, so you shouldn't have to read much more than 15 pages a day to keep up. If you wait until Monday night to get your reading done, you will likely get little sleep. I don't suggest this route. Instead, start early. If you finish early, great! There's never any penalty for finishing a book early. Audible choices are available for all assigned texts, so if you have any type of reading disability, please use Audible. You are not excused from the text.
Now, some of the texts are harder, both academically and emotionally. All of the books chosen are in the canon of world literature studies and also best sellers; however, they explore tough topics, like war, abuse, death, assault, and trauma. These are great books to discuss with your parents, also. I suggest this class for ages 15 and up.
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