Course Title:  English IV – British Literature

2 Semesters – 10 Credits – 5 Class Periods per Week
 
Course Description:
 
The primary emphasis of this course is on literary review with a secondary objective of preparing students for the rigorous academic writing requirements of college.  The students will read works from several genres of British Literature starting with Anglo-Saxon period and continuing through the twentieth century. The students will respond both in oral and in written form, critically and analytically about the various themes, topics and literary terms presented in the reading and discussed in class. A specific emphasis will be placed on a thorough examination of the cultural traditions, thoughts, actions, and beliefs of the various time periods as student identify those that are in direct conflict with a Biblical worldview.  Students will also apply Core Biblical Truths as a contrast to the revealed assertions of the reading selections in order to discover God’s Truth or lack thereof, in humanity and to help students think strategically about their beliefs in a world that is lost.
 
In addition to literary analysis, the students will master the multi-paragraph essay in response to literature using a thesis statement as the controlling idea.  Students will master the basic elements of essay writing including: varied transitions, elevated diction, thought provoking analysis, and evidentiary support through parenthetical documentation. Students will also be fully prepared and practiced in timed writing strategies necessary for testing purposes. Students will continue to incorporate rhetorical strategies and figurative language into their writing in order to demonstrate a mastery of advanced secondary writing.  
As a culminating project, students will prepare a writing portfolio which will display selected writings, timed writes, semester writing goals, and a reflective essay covering all four years of secondary study.  The purpose of this portfolio is to help students grow in their writing development, to be able to examine evidence of that growth, and to help students begin to take ownership over their writing development and learning in general.
 
Objectives:
 

• To master  the various patterns of essay writing including; analysis, persuasive,  and  compare and contrast
• To recognize and utilize figurative language in poetry and in personal writing.
• To identify the unique characteristics of literature in the various time periods
• To examine how the writings of the time period influenced the thinking and the culture
• To continue to develop rhetorical strategy skills obtained in junior year English

 


Textbooks and Materials:
 
The Bible
R. A. McRae, S. Weiler, Vocabulary for Achievement, Sixth course, (Houghton Mifflin, 1988).
Prentice Hall Literature Anthology: The British Tradition, (Prentice Hall, 1989).
The MLA Handbook, (The Modern Language Assoc. of America, 19950.
George Orwell, 1984
Portfolio materials
Computer Access
 
 
Prerequisites:
 
 English I, II and III or an equivalent course.