Cathedral High School, Inc : British Literature

British and Postcolonial Literature

This course is designed to familiarize students with the development of British literature and the Post Colonial Literature of Ireland, Africa, Canada, India, and the Caribbean Islands through the study of drama, novel and poetry. Because writing is an essential communication skill, students will in relation to the literature studied demonstrate mastery of various essay forms, including a seven-page research paper.

Reading List:

Anglo-Saxon Era: Students will examine the evolution of the English language, and will come to understand the development of the oral tradition, and its influences on the literature. They will also study the heroic tradition as present in Anglo-Saxon literature.
Students will read: Beowulf or a shorter work.
Medieval: Students will continue to study the evolution of the English language. They will also learn to recognize the elements of Medieval Romance and the traditions of knighthood, chivalry and courtly love.
Students will read: either Canterbury Tales selections OR Medieval Romance unit
Renaissance: Students will examine the literature-history connection, and understand the term “renaissance”. They will examine Shakespeare’s use of dramatic techniques in one of the following plays:

Any comedy: Midsummer Night’s Dream
Any history: Twelfth Night
Macbeth: Taming of the Shrew

17th Century (optional): Students will explore the history-literature relationship, and will examine John Milton’s expression of the values of Christian England through epic poetry.
Students will read: John Milton, Paradise Lost (excerpts)
18th Century (optional): Students will explore the history-literature connection, and will recognize the literature of the 18th century as political and public.
Students will read: either Swift, “Gulliver’s Travels” or “a Modest Proposal” OR Pope, “ The Rape of the Lock”
Romantic Age: Students will understand Romanticism, and its manifestation in the literature of the time. They will recognize important themes, such as nature, emotions, and the supernatural.
Students will read: One novel for a novel unit, or a combination of these poets for a poetry unit:

Novel: Mary Shelly- Frankenstein
A Jane Austen Novel
Poetry: Keats, Shelley, Byron, Coleridge, or Wordworth

Victorian Age: Students will study the relationship between history and Victorian literature. They will look at the themes of chaos and disorder,conflict, lack of communication, and meleorism. Students will read selections from:

George Eliot
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Bronte sisters

Modern: Students will examine the impact of modern history, especially war, on modern literature. They will read a variety of works exploring this connection. Students will read selections from the following list:

T.S. Eliot
War poets of WWI
Virginia Woolf
William Golding- The Lord of the Flies
George Orwell
C.S. Lewis
Joseph Conrad- Heart of Darkness
Dylan Thomas
D.H. Lawrence

Post-Colonial: Students will examine the impact of British colonialism and post-colonialism on the modern World. They will read one piece of literature from at least 2 of the 4 listed post colonial areas. Study of this period will cover at least 8 weeks.

Irish (1916 Easter rebellion as organizing theme):
--W.B. Yeats, poetry selections
--Seamus Heaney, poetry selections
--JM Synge, Playboy of the Western World (drama)
--Sean O’Casey, The Plough and the Stars (drama)
Caribbean:
--Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
--Jamaica Kincaid, any short story or novel, except for Annie John
India:
--Rudyard Kipling, Kim
--Roy, Short Stories
Canadian:
--Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
--Margaret Atwood, A Handmaid’s Tale (or any novel written by Margaret Atwood)

Objectives:
British/Post Colonial objectives will be accomplished in the context of the literature taken from both the British and Post-Colonial traditions, spanning the period from the Anglo-Saxon era, up to the contemporary literature. Students will also use critical analysis to learn how these works have been interpreted by scholars over the years. Most of the following learning objectives will be woven into each unit listed in the reading section.

COMPETENCY GOAL 1: Language: all students will demonstrate communication skills. Objectives:

Students will use agreed upon rules for informal and formal discussion in small and large groups.
Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information and ideas of others, and contribute their own information and ideas in group discussion or in interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.
Students will deliver formal or oral presentations using appropriate gestures, tone, vocabulary, and organization.
Students will recognize and analyze how the English language has developed throughout history.
Students will demonstrate how oral dialects differ from each other in English, how they differ from written standard English, and what role standard American
English plays in formal and informal communication. They will analyze when these dialects are a source of positive or negative stereotypes among social groups.

COMPETENCY GOAL 2: Literature: students will demonstrate a proficiency in reading and understanding all genres of literature. Objectives:

Students will decode accurately and understand new words encountered in their reading materials, drawing on a variety of strategies as needed and then use these words accurately in speaking and writing
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic facts and essential ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed, drawing on focusing, planning, monitoring, and assessing strategies as needed.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of different genres.
Students will compare, contrast, and evaluate the different styles of various authors.
Students will use their knowledge of literary allusions to capture the full flavor and resonance when used in other literary works.
Students will recognize and analyze themes in literature and provide evidence to support their understanding.
Students will apply themes across time and texts.
Students will analyze the moral and philosophical arguments presented in novels, films, plays, or poems. They will interrupt an author’s political ideology and its relevance to society.
Students will identify and analyze the ways in which historical and cultural contexts influence literature.
Students will interpret the meaning of literary works, non-fiction, films, and media by using different critical perspectives and analytical techniques.
Students will recognize and understand how an authors choice of words appeals to the senses, creates imagery, suggests mood and sets tone.
Students will analyze and compare figurative language, imagery, and symbol in literature.
Students will locate and interpret character development in literature, supporting their ideas with evidence from the text.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the structure and elements of fiction by supporting their ideas with evidence from the text. Specifically, students will locate and analyze point of view, foreshadowing, and irony.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the structure, elements, and meaning of non-fiction or informational material, including speeches and literary criticism.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of structure, elements, and theme of poetry.
Students will compare and contrast similar myths and narratives from different cultures and geographic regions.
Students will analyze and compare the role of such elements as journeys, supernatural helpers, magical objects, and tests in literary works of literature and non–fiction.
Students will plan and present effective dramatic readings, recitations and presentations,
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the functions of playwrights, directors, and actors by writing, directing or acting in a play.
Composition
Students will develop their own voice in writing.
Students will be able to write in a variety of forms.
Students will write coherent compositions with a clear controlling idea and adequate detail, drawing on focusing and planning strategies as needed to generate and organize their ideas.
Students will select and use appropriate genres, modes of reasoning, and speaking styles when writing for different audiences and rhetorical purposes.
Students will improve organization, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone, and word choice in their word choice in their compositions, drawing on a variety of revising strategies as needed.
Students will develop their writing through a process of multiple drafts, conferences, revision, and editing.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of English Grammar and Standard English conventions for sentence structure, usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling and use their Knowledge to edit their writing.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of theme through formal essay writing.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of character development through formal essay writing.
Students will use self-generated questions, note taking, summarizing, precise writing, and outlining in their learning activities.
Students will use open ended research questions, different sources of information, and appropriate research methods to gather information for their research projects.
Students will evaluate the utility and credibility of informational resources.
Students will understand the definition and consequences of plagiarism and site their sources according to the MLA guidelines.
Juniors and Seniors: Students will develop and use rhetorical, logical, and stylistic criteria for assessing final versions of their compositions or research projects before presenting them to varied audiences.
Media: Students will obtain information by using a variety of sources.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of how techniques used in electronic media modify traditional forms of discourse for different aesthetic and rhetorical purposes.

Writing Workshop
Goals:
Students will demonstrate proficiency in:

The construction of a 5-paragraph essay with the correct use of citation from a source.
Writing about a character and theme.
The construction of a seven page research paper, dealing with the literature read in class, with the use of at least 5 sources as shown in the bibliography.
The use of the bibliography formation
The citation of the author’s criticism about literature in their research paper.

Technology Learning Outcomes
The student can

Create a project using video equipment.
Develop a project using a variety of printed and online resources.
Determine the best way to present written text for a project.