Course Descriptions & Schedules
The Writing Process
| 2900.1 | Jeanne Phung | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2900.2 | Jeanne Phung | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 1:00 - 4:30 | |||
| 2900.3 | Dan Guerrero | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2900.4 | Dan Guerrero | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 1:00 - 4:30 | |||
| 2900.5 | Jeanne Phung | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 8:30 - 12:00 |
For students who have completed grade 7 or 8.
This course will explore the purposes for which authors write and will ask students to become purposeful readers and writers. Lessons and activities will focus on the process of writing--pre-writing, drafting, editing, and revising. Students will work in editing groups, help each other revise drafts, and learn the qualities of good writing. They will learn techniques for crafting well-written sentences, logical paragraphs, and coherent essays. Students will read, study, and discuss writing styles, and they will practice what they have learned in numerous writing assignments.
Homework per class meeting: 3-5 hours.
Reading for Creative Writing
| 2902.1 | Paul Heller | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2902.2 | Paul Heller | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 1:00 - 4:30 |
For students who have completed grade 7 or 8.
This class will focus on reading critically and passionately, and on fostering creative writing skills. Students will read poetry, short stories and other works of literature, and write responses to the readings. They will visualize the imagery and explore the themes of literature in relation to their own lives. For more inspiration, class activities may include drawing and art, campus explorations, and a visit to a local museum. They will share their insights into the mind of the author and seek to understand their own writing processes. Through improvisation, class discussion, and writing exercises, students will learn to identify and experiment with various narrative techniques. They will develop a portfolio of their own creative writing and will also write one analytic essay that will reflect their growing expertise as readers and writers.
Homework per class meeting: 3-5 hours.
Writing for High School
| 2903.1 | Amelia Sitter | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2903.2 | Amelia Sitter | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 1:00 - 4:30 | |||
| 2903.3 | Matthew Amaral | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2903.4 | Matthew Amaral | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 1:00 - 4:30 | |||
| 2903.5 | Agnes Mazur | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2903.6 | Agnes Mazur | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 1:00 - 4:30 |
This class will provide a vehicle for students to learn to mold facts, speculations, beliefs, and opinions into cogent, powerful statements. Through reading, class discussions, and group work, students will investigate different styles and forms of writing that provide a range of models for approaching thinking and writing. Emphasis will be on learning to refine thinking and on improving writing through editing and rewriting. Students will be assigned approximately 2-4 pages of writing, in addition to regular reading assignments, per class.
Note: Ms. Mazur's writing class will center on the immigrant experience.
Homework per class meeting: 3-5 hours.
Public Speaking and Writing for Grades 8 & 9
| 2904 | Alice Filmer | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 1:00 - 4:30 |
This course offers early high school students an opportunity to develop skills in writing and speaking publicly about their personal struggles and achievements, using creative and compelling language. Emphasis is on learning the fundamentals of creative storytelling and public speaking. Through journaling and oral history interviews, students will explore their lives to identify an "A-ha!" moment (when they suddenly "got" something), which they will write and speak about. This expression might take the form of a brief chapter from a memoir, scene from a play, or other creative writing genre that lends itself to oral interpretation. The purpose of this course is to help students find appropriate and creative means of recounting lived experiences—including some that might be considered sensitive—that exemplify their ability to overcome adversity. Later, when students enter the competitive atmosphere of the college admissions process, they will have a better sense of how to effectively communicate their unique talents and strengths to an audience.
Homework per class meeting: 3-5 hours.
Writing for College
| 2905.1 | Page McBee | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2905.2 | Page McBee | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 1:00 - 4:30 | |||
| 2905.3 | Steven Lee | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 8:30 - 12:00 |
In this course students will become better prepared for college work by developing their critical reading, thinking, speaking, listening, and writing skills. They will learn the process of producing well-organized, well-written, well-developed, and intellectually complex essays. They will perform the stages of writing from clarification of the assignment to final revision, working on grammar, composition, and editing. In addition to learning how to organize and present their ideas persuasively, students will also develop their time-management skills. They will study a wide range of engaging fiction and nonfiction texts on a range of issues.
Homework per class meeting: 4-6 hours.
Public Speaking and Writing for Grades 10 & 11
Communicating Your Way Into College
| 2907 | Alice Filmer | 5 units | $510 | Tu | F | 8:30 - 12:00 |
As you head into the college application process, knowing how to write and speak publicly about yourself in clear, concise, and compelling language is as vital to winning over an admissions search committee as your test scores and transcripts. Students will begin this course taking stock of lived experiences that have influenced their personality, values, and worldview. In oral history interviews with peers, they will gain practice speaking about themselves with confidence but not conceit. Students will inventory their unique set of skills, talents, interests, and passions in a way that recognizes their individual brilliance and capacity for collaboration. With information gleaned through these methods, they will compose a "personal statement"—the centerpiece of most college applications. Finally, we will cover the basics of public speaking in preparation for admissions interviews and scholarship competitions. As their final project, students will identify "talking points" from their personal statement and make a 2-3 minute oral classroom presentation.
Homework per class meeting: 3-5 hours.
Advanced Reading and Writing
| 2908.1 | Flossie Lewis & Joann Stewart | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 8:30 - 12:00 | |||
| 2908.2 | Kelly Mogilefsky | 5 units | $510 | M | Th | 1:00 - 4:30 |
Prerequisite: students must have completed grade 10 or 11.
In this course, which prepares students for college-level work, students will advance their reading and writing skills by thinking about and responding to rich and complex works of literature. They will learn to explore the meanings of a literary work: what the author says and how she or he uses effective and powerful language to say it. In preparation for reading literature in college, students will study styles, voices, points of view, and narrative strategies. As students strengthen their composition and editing skills, as well as deepen their understanding of grammar, their own writing will emerge more fluidly, with greater clarity and impact. By reading literature, writing essays and engaging in intense discussions, students will receive practice in skills needed for the Advanced Placement exams as well as writing papers for any of their academic subjects.
Homework per class meeting: 3-5 hours