English at Watershed

The English program at Watershed is built upon the idea that skilled writing and critical reading go hand-in-hand. We provide our students with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of written English — structure, usage, grammar, organization, and clarity of expression — as well as a far-reaching familiarity with many of the greatest works of world literature. Our goal is to make every student a lifelong reader, as well as a confident and effective writer,  in the belief that both of these will pay lasting dividends over the course of their lives. To this end, our discussion-based classes support the development of skills in the following areas: deep and critical analysis of literary texts, writing and speaking with clarity and confidence, close reading as a means for intellectual inquiry, and a commitment to finding meaningful connections with a wide-range of literary works.

Revising written work

English

English 1

English 1

Instructor: Ronni Arno Blaisdell

2017-2018

 

Course Description:

 

English 1 provides an important overview of the various genres of literature, including but not limited to novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays, journalism, and speeches. Both non-fiction and fiction pieces are incorporated to supplement understanding of how meaning is constructed and conveyed in writing. English 1 serves as a basis not only for literature, but also for an expected set of skills that will be developed, reinforced, and refined in coming years. By the conclusion of the course, students will have an appreciation for various genres, and will know the grammatical constructs important for their own writing. They will be exposed to a variety of different types of writing styles, including literary analysis, expository essays, creative writing, compare/ contrast, cause and effect, and persuasive styles. The selected units are designed to inspire, provoke thought, and provide a solid basis upon which students can build in future years. In addition, students will receive guided instruction in class and be able to navigate the literary waters with independence and personal responsibility.

 

This course will enable students to actively construct meaning, use written and spoken language to understand and analyze literature and other forms of media. Students master language arts literacy by exploring and interpreting the many dimensions of the language. These skills are the foundation for success in their future career endeavors, as well as their own ability to communicate with one another and function effectively in society.
 

Course Materials:

We will read a range of literature texts, including:

  • The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

  • I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

  • The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

  • Night by Elie Wiesel

  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

  • Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

  • Walking by Henry David Thoreau

  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

  • Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

  • Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown


We will also frequently supplement these texts with selected poetry, award-winning journalism, excerpts from essays, critical texts, speeches, films, and articles about literature and writing.


Foundational Skills addressed:
 

1. READING

  1. Adjusts approach to reading based on purpose and text;       

  2. Forms comprehensive summaries of information gleaned from the text;   

  3. Effectively analyzes/synthesizes texts in relation to other texts; and       

  4. Takes effective reading notes.

Students will read a range of texts, including poetry, plays, selections from critical articles, essays, novels, and even blog posts. We will focus primarily on identifying key details in a text; summarizing plot; recognizing literary inheritances, common styles, and allusions; identifying specific literary devices and explaining how they are used; and analyzing major thematic elements, in particular those related to the theme of the course.
 

2. WRITING       

  1. Shows competence in expository writing at the level of the:               

    • word (word choice, spelling, precision and tone);           

    • sentence (grammar/punctuation, clarity, rhetorical technique);           

    • paragraph (thesis development, summarizing, sequence, role of paragraph)       

    • writing form (audience, topic choice, citations, form-specific conventions)       

  2. Able to plan, scope, collect information, draft, respond to edits, rewrite to completion the following written modes or forms (as defined by instructors):               

    • narrative/creative, persuasive/argumentative

Students will be asked to write both short journal pieces (1-2 paragraphs) and longer, polished essays (3-5 pages). We will focus on both content (argument, organization and development, synthesis of disparate ideas) as well as style (sentence structure, grammatical correctness, tone/purpose). Creative writing exercises will help students attend carefully to their own style and language.
 

4. DISCOURSE       

  1. Debate/Deliberation in classroom discussion               

    • summarizes and restates statements and current understandings           

    • evaluates/weighs evidence       

    • understands opposing viewpoints           

    • takes clear positions and argues them effectively, taking into account alternate viewpoints       


Students will be expected to regularly and meaningfully participate in classroom discussions about the themes of the course. Students will also be encouraged to develop and demonstrate Foundational Skills #11 and #12, relating to social interaction and personal development. Such skills form the basis for classroom and community engagement.

English 2/3

English 2/3
The American Bildungsroman|
Instructor: Anne Bardaglio
Spring 2019

“Nonconformity is the highest evolutionary attainment of social animals.” 
-Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Who am I?

How am I shaped by my culture and society? By my family? By my peers?

Where do I belong?

What is morality? Is morality inherent or learned?

Does growing up ever end? Is the process finite or infinite?

This semester, we will explore many of the questions above through a literary genre known as the Bildungsroman. In German, bildung means “education or formation” while roman means “novel”; a bildungsroman narrative, therefore, is a novel about the formation of the self, typically set during adolescence. Traditional Bildungsroman texts chart a protagonist's growth through four distinct stages: an inciting incident, usually manifested as a tragic loss; a sense of being stuck in an “unbending social order” (Howe, 1930); an inevitable conflict between the protagonist and social norms that precipitates growth and maturation; and finally, a “reentering” of society on the part of the protagonist. In many ways, Bildungsroman narratives are similar to Joseph Campbell’s monomyth of the hero/heroine's journey.

The Bildungsroman framework was born in Germany and dates to the early 1800s. The American form, though, differs from its European origins. As noted by theorist Tamlyn Avery, the “American model forgoes..harmony” in its resolution (2014). In other words, in American Bildungsroman narratives, sometimes the protagonists don’t grow up. In our first two units, we will look for evidence of the traditional Bildungsroman stages in two novels, Catcher in the Rye and The Namesake, and in doing so, we will also seek to complicate our understanding the genre. Toward the end of the second unit, you will pick one of the two novels to use as a focal point for an analytical research paper.

In the third and final unit, we will discuss what it means to come of age in today’s America, largely by examining stereotypes about Gen-Zers, social media, and digital culture. Have the answers to the questions above changed in the digital age? If so, how? We will round out the unit with a persuasive essay on a topic of your choosing related to the theme of coming-of-age and adolescence.

MY APPROACH TO TEACHING

In short:

  1. I teach because I love to teach.

  2. I want to see you succeed. Among other things, this means that I value multiple intelligences and learning styles. If something isn’t working for you or you need additional support, let me know, and we will make a change.

  3. I believe we all learn best when we understand the relevance of what we are learning to our daily lives. If we are discussing something and you are struggling to understand its relevance outside of our classroom, feel free to ask. I view it as a significant part of my job to make our learning relevant.

  4. I value inquiry, curiosity, and intellectual ambition over safe choices, and I’ve designed my rubrics to reward process over final product.

  5. I strive to make connections between what you are learning in the humanities classroom and what you are learning in your other classes at Watershed—interdisciplinary learning is one of my greatest professional passions.

  6. I encourage respectful dissent and open conversation.

 


 

TEXTS & MATERIALS

Unit 1: The Bildungsroman and the Anti-Bildungsroman | Active Reading

The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger (1951)

Unit 2: Complicating the Bildungsroman Narrative | Rhetorical Analysis

“Goodbye to All That,” Joan Didion (1967)

The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri (2003)

“Goodbye to All That,” Eula Bliss (2005)

Unit 3: Gen-Z: Coming of Age in Today’s America | Persuasive Writing  

“Have Smart Phones Destroyed a Generation?” The Atlantic (September 2017)

“Are Today’s Teenagers Smarter and Better Than We Think?” New York Times (March 2018)

“Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems,” The New York Times (July 2018)

“The Fine Art of Baloney Detection,” excerpted from The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan

Required materials: A reading notebook, a method of notetaking that works well for you, and a Google Classrooms login.

Titles may be added and extracted as dictated by the course

 


EXPECTATIONS

Be prepared: Come to class; come on time; bring your readings, brain, and laptop; silence your cell phones; and don’t get distracted online. Extensions will not be granted except in the case of personal or family emergencies. If I change a due date, I will change it for the entire class. Any work not uploaded to Google Classroom by the due date will receive a zero, which in turns affects your course completion percentage. In my experience, a no late work policy keeps things fair for all of us, ensuring that everyone has the same amount of time to complete an assignment. If you are struggling with an assignment at any point in the process, please let me know well before the due date so that I can support you. Everyone gets one free pass on an assignment deadline.

Be present: We can’t all be present 100% of the time, but please give whatever your 100% looks like for any given day. Ask questions; answer questions; respectfully challenge yourself, the materials, your classmates, and me; pay attention; and do whatever you need to do to best capture the information shared in class that day (i.e. take notes, type notes, listen closely and don’t take notes, etc.) If you do miss class, please check Google Classroom for assignments and handouts.

Be honest: Turn in your own work. The internet makes it easy to plagiarize; it also makes it easy for me to find out if something has been plagiarized. We are a small class, and I will come to know your writing and your voice on the page very well.

Be respectful of one another’s work: We will be using a peer review process as part of our work together. I will expect you to engage fully in this process and offer thoughtful, constructive criticism that reflects the intentions of the author.

Communicate: Consider this an invitation. Your success in this class and your growth as a writer, speaker, and thinker matters to me. Request to meet with me after class, let me know if something about an assignment or concept is unclear, and ask for additional feedback. I am at Watershed Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and you can also readily reach me by email ([email protected]) or phone (207-691-6779). Please don’t call or text after 6:00 PM. You can call me over the weekend, but know that I might not be immediately available.

Course Credit Policies:

  1. Narrative reports will be provided at the mid- and end-point of our spring semester.

  2. Work that is completed on time will earn positive credit toward your completion percentage; late work will earn zero credit.

  3. Work that is submitted on time may be revised and resubmitted throughout the semester.

  4. To earn credit in this course, students must:

    1. Have no more than 9 excused absences over the course of the semester

    2. Successfully complete a minimum of 90% of the coursework, keeping in mind that only coursework turned in on time will count toward this percentage.

    3. As noted above, everybody has one free pass on a deadline. Your free pass gives you an automatic extension of one class period, and work must be turned in on the following class meeting day for credit. To use your free pass, you must email me before the assignment is due so I can keep a record of pass usage. Free passes cannot be used for reading quizzes.

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

Unit 1:

The Bildungsroman and the Anti-Bildungsroman

Assignment Category

% Toward Credit

Due Date

Fall 2018 Semester Reflection

3

January 17th

Facilitated Discussion

6

Individual sign-up

Quiz #1

4

January 28th

Quiz #2

4

February 4th

Quiz #3

4

February 7th

Catcher Active Reading Entries (6 total)

6

Ongoing

Unit 2:

Complicating the Bildungsroman Narrative

The Namesake Active Reading Entries (8 total)

8

Ongoing

Primary Source Analysis

10

April 1st

Secondary Source Integration

10

April 8th

Analytical Research Paper

25

April 11th

Unit 3:

Gen-Z: Coming of Age in Today’s America

Persuasive Essay, Draft #1

5

April 30th

Persuasive Essay, Final Draft

15

May 9th

 

English 4

English 4
The Literature of the Landscape: Developing an Ethic of Place
Instructor: Anne Bardaglio
Spring 2019

COURSE DESCRIPTION

"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
- George Orwell

This semester, we will expand on the theme of a “land ethic,” a concept which asks us to define our responsibility to the entire biotic community of a place. Building on the skills developed in during the fall semester, we will practice expository, analytical, and persuasive writing.

The first three weeks of our class comprise a unit called "Ideas and Inquiries,” during which I will ask you to write an essay on a question you find either disturbing, unanswerable, or both. As examples, we'll look at Aldo Leopold's attempt to define the human responsibility to the land in "The Land Ethic," read Wendell Berry's critique of the colonization of rural communities in "Compromise, Hell!" and his 1973 poem "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front," and consider E.O. Wilson's proposal for setting aside half of the world's landmass for nature in "A Biologist's Manifesto for Preserving Life on Earth." The unanswerable question you identify by the end of the first unit will guide you through three different projects over the course of the semester: an analytical research paper, a persuasive speech, and a persuasive essay.

On the surface, this is primarily a college preparatory writing course. More accurately, however, this is a course about thinking: what is worth investing our time in thinking deeply about, how to think against yourself, how to think analytically and logically, and ultimately, how to persuade others of the validity of your ideas. This means that in pursuit of an idea that compels you, you may develop project topics outside of the course theme. I welcome such expansions. In return, I ask you for two things: curiosity and care. Be curious about other people’s ideas, identify something you are curious about, and care enough about the quality of your own thinking to try and communicate that curiosity clearly. In short, as Orwell warns us in the course epigraph above, do not allow others to do your thinking for you.

I look forward to working with you all again this spring!

MY APPROACH TO TEACHING

In short:

  1. I teach because I love to teach.

  2. I want to see you succeed. Among other things, this means that I value multiple intelligences and learning styles. If something isn’t working for you or you need additional support, let me know, and we will make a change.

  3. I believe we all learn best when we understand the relevance of what we are learning to our daily lives. If we are discussing something and you are struggling to understand its relevance outside of our classroom, feel free to ask. I view it as a significant part of my work to make our learning relevant.

  4. I value inquiry, curiosity, and intellectual ambition over safe choices, and I’ve designed my rubrics to reward process over final product.

  5. I strive to make connections between what you are learning in the humanities classroom and what you are learning in your other classes at Unity—interdisciplinary learning is one of my greatest professional passions.

  6. I encourage respectful dissent and open conversation.



LEARNING OUTCOMES


  1. Practice communication as a recursive process:

    1. Employ a range of strategies for generating material, drafting, developing, organizing, revising, editing, rehearsing, and copy editing.

    2. Develop a sense of self-confidence in your ability to communicate in a public forum.

    3. Demonstrate the value of individual and collaborative efforts.

    4. Understand the relationship between verbal and nonverbal communication.

  2. Demonstrate rhetorical knowledge:

    1. Compose texts and present a speech demonstrating your ability to analyze and persuade.

    2. Be able to organize and develop effective oral presentations for varying audiences.

    3. Convey a clear purpose.

    4. Use appropriate voice, evidence, reasoning, visuals, and organization.

  3. Develop critical and creative thinking skills:

    1. Use active reading and listening to understand public and academic texts.

    2. Reach an understanding of the components of effective speech-making.

    3. Analyze and use appropriate evidence from your observations and research.

    4. Demonstrate the ability to quote, paraphrase, and summarize.

    5. Consider ideas from multiple perspectives.

  4. Develop understanding of conventions:

    1. Demonstrate the ability to copy edit.

    2. Develop technical oral communication skills.

    3. Understand that conventions are context-specific.

    4. Practice conventions for a variety of public audiences.

    5. Practice academic honesty.


TEXTS & MATERIALS
 

Writing Analytically, David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen, Seventh Edition

“The Land Ethic,” Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

“Compromise, Hell!,” Wendell Berry, Orion Magazine

“Manifesto: A Mad Farmer Liberation Front,” Wendell Berry, The Country of Marriage

“A Biologist’s Manifesto for Preserving Life on Earth,” E.O. Wilson, Sierra

“Polemic: Industrial Tourism and National Parks,” Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

All other materials: We will continue to use Schoology extensively for this course, so please bring your laptops to class daily. You will notice an assignment called “Class Prep” that is posted for all of our class meetings. This is your checklist for class preparation, and it will include any reading, writing, drafting, or research that you need to bring to class that day. I expect you to check Schoology daily.
 

Class Website: www.schoology.com   

Access Code: ZGVWT-WZ55C



EXPECTATIONS

Be prepared: Come to class; come on time; bring your readings, brain, and laptop; silence your cell phones; and don’t get distracted online. Extensions will not be granted except in the case of personal or family emergencies. If I change a due date, I will change it for the entire class. Any work not uploaded to Schoology by the due date will receive a zero. In my experience, a no late work policy keeps things fair for all of us, ensuring that everyone has the same amount of time to complete an assignment. If you are struggling with an assignment at any point in the process, please let me know well before the due date so that I can support you.

Be present: We can’t all be present 100% of the time, but please give whatever your 100% looks like for any given day. Ask questions; answer questions; respectfully challenge yourself, the materials, your classmates, and me; pay attention; and do whatever you need to do to best capture the information shared in class that day (i.e. take notes, type notes, listen closely and don’t take notes, etc.) If you do miss class, please check Schoology for assignments and handouts; you should complete these to earn credit and email me if you have any questions.

Be honest: Turn in your own work. The internet makes it easy to plagiarize; it also makes it easy for me to find out if something has been plagiarized. We are a small class, and I will come to know your writing and your voice on the page very well.

Be respectful of one another’s work: We will be using a peer review process as part of our work together. I will expect you to engage fully in this process and offer thoughtful, constructive criticism that reflects the intentions of the author.

Communicate: Consider this an invitation. Your success in this class and your growth as a writer, speaker, and thinker matters to me. Request to meet with me after class, let me know if something about an assignment or concept is unclear, and ask for additional feedback. I am at Watershed Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and you can also readily reach me by email or phone. Please don’t call or text after 6:00 PM. You can call me over the weekend, but know that I might not be immediately available.
 

Course Credit Policies:

  1. Narrative reports will be provided at the mid- and end-point of our spring semester.

  2. Work that is completed on time will earn positive credit toward your completion percentage; late work will earn zero credit.

  3. Work that is submitted on time may be revised and resubmitted throughout the semester.

  4. To earn credit in this course, students must:

    1. Have no more than 9 excused absences over the course of the semester

    2. Successfully complete a minimum of 90% of the coursework, keeping in mind that only coursework turned in on time will count toward this percentage.

    3. As noted above, everybody has one free pass on a deadline. Your free pass gives you an automatic extension of one class period, and work must be turned in on the following class meeting day for credit. To use your free pass, you must email me before the assignment is due so I can keep a record of pass usage. Free passes cannot be used for quizzes.




ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS

Essays (3): I will ask you to write three essays over the course of the semester, one for each of our three units. In total, the essays are worth 56% of your grade. Broadly, the arc of the essays move from inquiry to analysis to persuasion:

  1. Unit #1: The Disturbing and the Unanswerable: 6

  2. Unit #2: The Analytical Research Paper: 35

  3. Unit #3: The Persuasive Research Essay: 15

The essay-writing process will include a mixture of peer-review feedback, instructor feedback, and individual conferences. When I comment on your drafts, I will focus primarily on the expression of your ideas and helping you to shape your thoughts logically on the page. Your revised essays are weighted more heavily than your drafts. At this point, I will be evaluating your application of revision techniques, the development and organization of your ideas, and the your use of language.

Speech (1): There is one speech required for this course: the Persuasive Speech, weighted at 15% of your grade. I will ask you to present a first draft of the speech to a small group of 4-5; revised speeches will then be presented to the whole class.   

Reading Critiques (3): In the first unit, I will ask you to write three reading critiques (approximately 500 words), worth three points each for a total of 9% of your grade. We will discuss specific strategies for critique-writing in class.

Quizzes (5): There will be five in-class reading quizzes, worth two points each for a total of 10% of your overall grade. You may not reference the reading material the quizzes assess, but you may use any notes that you take while reading. Quiz dates are noted on our class calendar below.


ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
 

Assignment

% Toward Credit

Due Date

Unit 1: Ideas and Inquiries: 15% | 3 weeks

Fall 2018 Reflection

1

January 17th

Reading Critique #1

3

January 17th

Reading Critique #2

3

January 22nd

Reading Critique #3

3

January 24th

Essay #1: The Disturbing and the Unanswerable

Draft 1: Due for peer review

Final Draft: 5

January 28th

January 31st

Unit 2: Thinking Analytically: 35% | 6 weeks

Essay #2, Part 1: Primary Source Analysis

7

February 14th

Essay #2, Part 2: Secondary Source Integration

10

March 5th

Essay #2: The Analytical Research Paper

Final Draft: 18

Final Draft: March 14th

Unit 3: Persuasive Communication: 30% | 5 weeks

Essay #3: The Persuasive Research Paper

Draft 1: Due for peer review

Draft 2: 5

Final Draft: 10

Draft 1: March 25th

Draft 2: March 28th

Final Draft: April 9th

The Persuasive Speech

Draft 1: Due for peer review

Outline: 1

Final Draft: 14

Draft 1: April 1st or 2nd

Outline: April 1st

Final Draft: April 4th

Assessments: 20%

Quizzes (5)

10

Ongoing

Open Book Final (1)

10

April 11th

Total

100