Course Information:

• Course Syllabus
• Georgia Performance Standards: Grade 10 ELA Standards, World Literature & Composition
• RCPS gifted education goals

Travelling Around the World through Literature

I look upon travel as a means of spiritual testing. What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, we are so far from our country . . . we are seized by an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits. This is the most obvious benefit of travel. At that moment, we are feverish, but also porous, so that the slightest touch makes us quiver to the depth of our being. By exercising our most intimate senses, we understand a culture. It is through travel that we learn about ourselves. (Albert Camus)

Unit 1: Border Crossing and Cultural Clashes

Unit 2: The Human Condition and the Search for Meaning

Unit 3

Darkness Within: Man's Inhumanity to Man and Self

Essential Questions:

•  Is humankind inherently good or evil?
• What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility? 
• Do individuals have a moral obligation not to allow their own freedom to negatively impact other human beings?
•  How do individuals control their dark side and reconcile their dual nature?

Resources:

• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde online text

Week of 4 January 2010

• introduction to unit and discussion of essential questions
• Carolyn Forche's "The Colonel"
• SAT vocabulary group 10
• pre-reading activities for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• background on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Freudian psyche, model of psyche, Victorian society, Darwinian theory, characters, thematic concepts)

Week of 11 January 2010

• SAT vocabulary group 11
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde chapters 1 & 2 reading and analysis (questions, vocabulary, double-entry journal)

• introduction to Night (online guide, discussion leader assignment)

Week of 18 January 2010

• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde chapters 1 & 2 reading and analysis (questions, vocabulary, double-entry journal)
• 01/21/10 Night pages 3-28 discussion [discussion leaders: Erinn & Ryan] (instructions)
• SAT vocabulary group 12
• work on Poetry Out Loud recitation and explication(POL website, instructions)

Week of 25 January 2010

• 10/25/10 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde vocabulary & double-entry journal DUE for "Story of the Door" through "Incident of the Letter" (vocabulary, double-entry journal)
• 10/25/10 RCPS mock Georgia High School Graduation Writing Test
• work on Poetry Out Loud recitation and explication(POL website, instructions)
• reading and discussion of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (vocabulary, double-entry journal)

• 01/27/10 Night pages 29-65 discussion [discussion leaders: Melanie & Alayna] (instructions) 

Week of 1 February 2010

• discussion of novel choices (The Kite Runner, Les Miserables, Lord of the Flies, The Stranger)
• 02/02/10 Night pages 66-97 discussion [discussion leaders: A. J. & Billy] (instructions)
• 02/04/10 Poetry Out Loud recitation and explication DUE (POL website, instructions)

 Week of 8 February 2010

• 02/08/10 Night pages 98-115 discussion [discussion leaders: Ryan &  Tyler] (instructions)
• 02/10/10  Poetry Out Loud school competition during 2nd period

Useful Links:

• SAT Question of the Day 
• Free Rice: vocabulary for the UN World Food Program
• BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) News
• Discover Magazine
• Do Something
• National Geographic
• National Public Radio
• The New York Times
• ProCon.org
• TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Links to Critical-Thinking Games:

• Tangrams
• Sudoku
• Peg Puzzle 
• Number Puzzle
• Mastermind
• Crossword Puzzle (New York Times Learning Connection; USA Today)
• Complete the Pattern
• Circle 99
• Circle 3

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Gifted English 10 Summer Reading:

• assignment instructions
• Bless Me, Ultima graphic organizer