| Fresh Start |
| Fresh Start English: Multicultural Literature and the
Personal Narrative-
Students will read and respond to a variety of multicultural literature
including works by Junot Diaz, Sandra Cisneros, Abraham Rodriguez, Toni Cade
Bambara, Annie Dillard, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice Walker, Cynthia Kadohata,
Alice Hoffman, and Tom Romero. They will draw conclusions, form
generalizations, express opinions, and analyze the texts. They will also use
this literature as a means of self-reflection and as an opportunity to
understand what they have in common with people from cultures different from
their own. Students will also write a number of personal narrative essays, a
formal research paper in conjunction with their Cultural Studies/Social
Studies class, and daily responses to a variety of relevant prompts. They
will develop their vocabulary, learn interpersonal and oral communications
skills, and create a "Common Writing Errors" notebook which is a
personalized exploration of writing conventions. Within this course,
students will complete reading, writing, and speaking work samples which
will be assessed using the state score criteria. This course is not designed
to take the place of Freshman English. |
| Fresh Start Social Studies: Cultural Studies- This course is shaped around the overall "fresh start" theme: Social responsibility--Our Environment, Our Community, Ourselves. Cultural phenomenon will be studied in the context of "the artist as a social critic." Students will be asked to perform daily written evidence of critical thinking about a variety of issues relevant to the social responsibility theme. Students will also be required to complete a rigorous, semester-long research project . This research project will be an examination of a social problem of the student's choosing and will include a research paper, a statistical overview, a visual component (poster, film, skit, mural, etc.) designed to demonstrate the impact of the social problem on the human community, and an oral presentation of the student's findings to the class. Students will read literary and informative materials and will interview an expert who works in the area of these social problems in order to analyze these issues and suggest solutions to them in a social context. |