ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS TESTING OUT EXAM

Transcription

1 ENGLISH 9

2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS TESTING OUT EXAM ANN ARBOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS Sytlabns HURON/PIONEER HIGH SCHOOL English 9 2nd semester Passing standard (C+) For the exam, students must provide their own pens, pencils, paper In addition to the syllabus, schools will provide the follwing resources to assist students in their preparation for the testing-out exam. Course Textbooks Patterns in Literature Pioneer High School Writing Handbook Portfolio and Support Packet Literary terms sample mrnefosfinm WITMS

3 TESTING OUT REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGLISH 9,2ND SEMESTER I. REQUIRED READINGS Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare / Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou The Bean Trees by B, Kingsolver Patterns in Literature (selected short storiessee below) II. PORTFOLIO A. Literary Analysis interpret Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy of fate or a tragedy resulting from the choices made by the characters- Be sure to include specific incidents from the play to support your thesis. B. Character Analysis How is Maya in / Know Why the Caged Bird Sings affected by the people in her life? Select three characters and discuss the impact/influence they have on Maya. C. Reflective Journal As you read The Bean Trees keep a double entry journal. In the journal cite specific significant plot events and your reactions to those events. Your reaction may be predictions of the outcome, new awareness of social issues raised in the novel or any feelings you have as you meet new characters etc EXAMINATION A. Test to demonstrate understanding of literary terms (see attacched list) as found in the following short stories in Patterns in Literature "The Gift of Cochise" The Speckled Band" 'The Rule of Names" "The Man Who Knew How" The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" The Magic Shop" B. Objective test on required readings. C. Impromptu essays on required readings. D. Test on ability to recognize parts of a sentence

4 TESTING OUT EXAMINATION FOR ENGLISH 9 The syllabus and examination for English 9 were constructed based upon the following guidelines: To include the essential objectives and outcomes of the course. For example, this testing-out examination does NOT include the course objectives related to group process outcomes, such as peer evaluation of oral and written presentations. Also, this testing-out examination does NOT include course objectives related to the study of language as a reflection of historical, social, political and cultural influences. To include the course objectives related to the reading process outcomes of critical response to fiction (elements of a short story or novel) and non-fiction (main ideas and supporting details). To include the course objectives and outcomes related to specific literary genre, including drama, essay, novel, and short story. To include course objectives and outcomes related to classical and contemporary literary themes, including autobiography exploring effects of prejudice; Shakespearean drama and/or Greek tragedy exploring intergenerational conflict. To include the course outcomes related to the writing objectives of the writing process, e.g., multiple drafts. To include the course outcomes related to specific writing formats, I.e., informative essay, persuasive essay, literary analysis and short answer essay. To include those skills, concepts, and formats presented in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program high school test, such as citing multiple sources when responding to a question.

5 ESSAY QUESTION FORMAT The main components of an essay are the introduction, thesis, body and conclusion. The following are descriptions/explanations of what to do for each area. INTRODUCTION/THESIS: The first paragraph of an essay is an introduction to the theme or topic of your essay. The introduction is meant to grab the reader's attention. Make the reader want to read more! You do this by various methods such as rhetorical question, incident, quote, example, etc. The thesis statement will follow. It is a declarative sentence that reveals your position with regard to a particular issue or topic. It is essentially a belief you have about the work that you put into a statement. BODY: The next few paragraphs go on to illustrate why you take the position you do. In other words you give reasons for holding your belief. Each paragraph should reflect one main idea followed by specific examples from the stories to support this idea. You might want to use direct quotes from the story to make you point; you do this by simply using "..." within the sentence you are writing if it is only a line or two, or if more than a couple of lines you should drop quote: This is when you indent twice and write the lines you want to quote as this is written, single spaced and set off from the rest of the paragraph. Use at least three main idea,s for your argument starting with the least important first. Remember to be specific and use direct quotes when necessary. CONCLUSION: Your conclusion is simply to drive home the thesis or position for the last time. You restate your main points showing how you have indeed "proven" your thesis. There is no fixed length to this essay but you should have at least five paragraphs including your introduction and conclusion.

6 ' -. LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY ROMEO AND JULIET COMPOSITION A literary analysis of a work can be of various types. Essentially any aspect of the work can be analyzed: a character can be analyzed, exploring hidher motivation, thought process, actions, importance to the plot, vehicle for a larger theme, etc.; a major theme can be explored showing how the author views the world as expressed through character, plot and tone; the point of view that the story is told from can be analyzed as to its effectiveness; the language used by the author can be explored as to how it creates a particular mood; certain symbols can be interpreted and explained how they fit into the meaning of the work as a whole.; the structure of the work can be analyzed and how it reflects themes within the story; etc. What you will do for this essay is decide among the various topics what to write about regarding Romeo and Juliet. We will brainstorm in class somg of the possible ideas to write about. After you have selected an approach you will need to compose a thesis statement. This is your main idea or position you wish to argue or support. For example: While Romeo is an honorable and intelligent young man, his tragic flaw is that he is impatient and is too quick to act out of passion, which leads to his demise. Set up the essay as follows: INTRODUCTION - This is to get the attention of the reader. Use a good quote or ask a rhetorical question to raise the readers interest. Mention should be made of the work and the author being analyzed. Also include your thesis statement in your introduction. BODY - This is the area in which you make your main reasons for holding your position known. That is, you give reasons for your thesis statement to be accepted as valid. You construct an argument based on main reasons and specific references to the work to support or prove your main reasons, Given the thesis above one could cite several reasons why the thesis should be believed. Each main reason takes a paragraph of supporting detail, Cite lines from the text either as an internal quotation or a drop quotation. Be sure to add a tag line after each quotation that explains again how the quotation supports your main idea in the paragraph. CONCLUSION - This is a recap of your ideas that support or prove your thesis. It can also contain pearls of wisdom from the writer as to what significance can be drawn from this discussion. That is, how the thesis can point to a lesson for us a!!.

7 ' LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY ROMEO AND JULIET COMPOSITION A literary analysis of a work can be of various types. Essentially any aspect of the work can be analyzed: a character can be analyzed, exploring hidher motivation, thought process, actions, importance to the plot, vehicle for a larger theme, etc.; a major theme can be explored showing how the author views the world as expressed through character, plot and tone; the point of view that the story is told from can be analyzed as to its effectiveness; the language used by the author can be explored as to how it creates a particular mood; certain symbols can be interpreted and explained how they fit into the meaning of the work as a whole; the structure of the work can be analyzed and how it reflects themes within the story; etc. What you will do for this essay is decide among the various topics what to write about regarding Romeo and Juliet. We will brainstorm in class some* of the possible ideas to write about. After you have selected an approach you will need to compose a thesis statement. This is your main idea or position you wish to araue or support. For example: White Romeo is an honorable and intelligent young man, his tragic flaw is that he is impatient and is too quick to act out of passion, which leads to his demise. Set up the essay as follows: INTRODUCTION - This is to get the attention of the reader. Use a good quote or ask a rhetorical question to raise the reader's interest. Mention should be made of the work and the author being analyzed. Also include your thesis statement in your introduction. BODY - This is the area in which you make your main reasons for holding your position known. That is, you give reasons for your thesis statement to be accepted as valid. You construct an argument based on main reasons and specific references to the work to support or prove your main reasons. Given the thesis above one could cite several reasons why the thesis should be believed. Each main reason takes a paragraph of supporting detail. Cite lines from the text either as an internal quotation or a drop quotation. Be sure to add a tag line after each quotation that explains again how the quotation supports your main idea in the paragraph. CONCLUSION - This is a recap of your ideas that support or prove your thesis. It can also contain pearls of wisdom from the writer as to what significance can be drawn from this discussion. That is, how the thesis can point to a lesson for us all.

8 THE BEAN TREES BY BARBARA KINGSLOVER REQUIREMENTS FOR DOUBLE JOURNAL ENTRY PURPOSE: To record and to react to events, characters, and conflicts in the novel. As you read The Rean Trees, you will be keeping track of the events, characters, important quotations, idiomatic phrases: and conflicts as they develop and are resolved. You will also be sharing your reactionslthoughts to the story, the characters and the conflicts. Please follow the steps below to complete a double journal entry. 1. As you read, on ONE-HALF OF A PAGE OF PAPER, record important events as they happen. Be sure to include page numbers. (see sample) 2. On the OTHER HALF, share your thoughts about what is happening in the story, feelings about the characters, ideas about the plot, etc. (see sample) Check the back board for suggestions for each chapiter.