Wolmer s Boys School Fifth Form English Literature Course Outline Unit Topics: Poetry and Prose Primary Texts: A World of Poetry and Easter Term 2017-2018 RATIONALE:The CSEC English B Syllabus focuses onfostering analytical and critical reading skills in students who sit the English Literature exam. As students advance in the education system, these skills become invaluable and not only assist them in writing and expressing themselves more articulately, but aid them in becoming more perceptive individuals in society. Furthermore, in order to grasp the various concepts and engage meaningfully with the texts, students must be cognizant of the core elements that comprise the respective genres.this unit is also formulated to assist students in developing an appreciation of literature not only as a subject area, but as an art form that presents aspects of society for criticism or as a means of celebration. As a result, the literary texts will assist students in gaining exposure to other realities that are similar and dissimilar to their own, and will help them to respect difference and that which is other. DATE TOPICS STUDENT ASSIGNMENT Week of Jan. 8 Revision of trial exam scripts Review/Practise components of the essay (writing the thesis statement, formulating effective topic sentences, discussing a main point and using appropriate supporting details to develop ideas). Re-read and review components of the literary essay. Week of Jan. 15 GENRE OF FOCUS: POETRY. South: Edward Brathwaite Themes: imperialism, oppression, nostalgia, migration, home, alienation Devices: allusion, simile, sarcasm, alliteration, personification, juxtaposition GRADED PIECE: Issuing of Easter Term Project Presentation on To Kill A Mocking Bird (Homework #1) GRADED PIECE: Comprehension Questions on South and Once Upon A Time (Homework #2)
Once Upon A Time: Gabriel Okara Themes: loss of innocence, change, hypocrisy, nostalgia, identity, hope Devices: satire, fairy tale allusion, juxtaposition, diction, allegory, language, simile, repetition Week of Jan. 22 Week of Jan. 29 Week of Feb. 5 PARENT/TEACHER CONSULTATION Orchids: Hazel Simmons-McDonald Themes: journey/quest, growth, transience, death, nature Devices: allusion, personification, symbolism, motif Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge: William Wordsworth. Themes:nature, transience, development Devices:personification, imagery, symbolism Ol Higue: Mark McWatt Themes:superstition, fear, frustration, identity Devices/Techniques:language/diction, use of Caribbean folklore, rhetorical questions, juxtaposition, symbolism GRADED PIECE: ESSAY Orchids and Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge present unique perspectives on the natural world and the environment. Write an essay in which you describe the view of nature or the environment that is depicted in EACH poem. In this essay you must also comment on mankind s impact on nature and discuss how the writer uses ONE device to present their perspective on nature. Total 35 marks (Class work #1)
Mirror: Sylvia Plath Themes: transience, effects of time, identity (quest for self), youth Devices/Techniques:imagery, symbolism, allusion, personification, syntax Week of Feb. 12 Week of Feb. 19 The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed Her Son: Lorna Goodison Themes: poverty, masculinity, father absenteeism, crime and violence, power/powerlessness, hope/desire, death, love Devices:Biblical allusion, symbolism, pun, metaphor, sarcasm GENRE OF FOCUS: PROSE Introduction to the Elements of Prose: Point of View (P.O.V) Characterization Setting Plot Themes The Bildungsroman novel (Jem s development and maturity/scout s transition from innocence/naivety to awareness) Socio-historical context of the novel (Jim-Crow Laws, lynching, racial segregation in the south, The Great Depression) Chapters 1-4 GRADED PIECE: Worksheet on Chapters 1-5 (Homework #3)
Themes:maturity, growth and development/coming of age, ignorance/innocence, superstition/fear of the unknown, social hierarchy, discrimination, prejudice Narrative Strategies/devices:first person narrative p.o.v (shift between the child and adult voice)flashback, satire, foreshadowing, Week of Feb. 26 Week of Mar. 5 Week of Mar.12 Week of Mar. 19 Chapters 5-8 Themes: friendship, masculinity, alienation, suffering, introduction of the theme of injustice Narrative strategies/devices: foreshadowing, symbolism, elliptical construction of Boo Radley, juxtaposition SIX WEEKLY EXAMINATION Chapters 9-12 Themes: notions of masculinity and femininity/southern womanhood, injustice, loss of innocence, moral and intellectual education, racism, white privilege Narrative strategies/devices: episodic structure, symbolism (1)(white camellia flower: purity) (2) symbolism of the novel s title Chapters 13-16 Themes: southern hospitality, identity/lineage, adult social roles (responsibility/maturity) Devices: juxtaposition of whites and GRADED PIECE: SIX- WEEKLY EXAM (Class Work #2) EASTER TERM PROJECT DUE GRADED PIECE: ESSAY To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age novel in which Jem and Scout learn some important lessons about life. Write an essay in which you describe TWO incidents that teach the children an
Week of Mar. 26 blacks (access to resources/education), language (Calpurnia s use of dialect) Chapters 17-20 Devices: satire, irony, symbolism Themes: injustice, disillusionment, power, prejudice, morality and reason, othering, hypocrisy important lesson. In this essay, you must also discuss how ONE of the incidents affects the children, and examine ONE narrative technique the writer uses to present important lessons about life Total 35 marks (Classwork #3)