Course Outline

INTERMEDIATE LITERATURE A

Intermediate Literature A sharpens reading comprehension skills, engages readers in literary analysis, and offers a variety of literature to suit diverse tastes. Through a varied selection of classic stories, plays, and poems, many of which highlight exemplary virtues, students develop skills of close reading and literary analysis while considering important human issues and challenging ideas. They come to appreciate the writer's craft as they consider the feelings, thoughts, and ideas of characters, and make connections between literature and life. Students also learn to read for information in nonfiction texts.

Literary Analysis and Appreciation

• Identify defining characteristics of a variety of literary forms and genres
• Understand elements of plot development
• Identify cause-and-effect relationships
• Identify conflict and resolution
• Understand elements of character development
• Identify character traits and motivations
• Recognize stereotypes
• Describe characters based on speech, action, and interactions with others
• Make inferences and draw conclusions
• Recognize effect of setting and culture on a literary work
• Compare and contrast works from different time periods
• Identify and interpret specific literary techniques
• Understand and interpret point of view
• Understand use of language to convey mood
• Understand use of dialect
• Interpret symbolism
• Recognize and analyze use of irony
• Recognize and explain poetic devices
• Identify and discuss theme
• Compare and contrast literary selections and characters

Reading Comprehension/Reading Process

• Establish and adjust purpose for reading
• Predict outcomes
• Articulate an opinion and support it with evidence
• Skim for facts, and take notes
• Recognize author’s purpose and devices used to accomplish it
• Use reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts
• Differentiate between fact and opinion in informational texts
• Recognize author’s attitude
• Analyze appropriateness of text for purpose

READINGS INCLUDE:

Lessons Learned: Not What You Get, But What You Give

• "The Stone," by Lloyd Alexander
• "The Three Brass Pennies," a Chinese legend retold by Augusta Huiell Seaman
• "The Magic Prison"
• "Kaddo's Wall," a West African folktale retold by Harold Courlander
• "The Story of Baba Abdalla," from the Arabian Nights

Animals and Their People

• "Zlateh the Goat," by Isaac Bashevis Singer
• "Black Snake," by Patricia Hubbell
• "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass," by Emily Dickinson
• "How a Cat Played Robinson Crusoe," by Charles G.D. Roberts
• "Ode to Mi Gato," by Gary Soto
• "The Open Door," by Elizabeth Coatsworth
• "The Cat and the Moon," by William Butler Yeats
• "Stray," by Cynthia Rylant
• "Lone Dog," by Irene R. McLeod
• "Vern," by Gwendolyn Brooks
• "The Dog of Pompeii," by Louis Untermeyer

Nonfiction Selections

• "Are Dogs Dumb?"
• "The Days the Gulls Went Crazy"
• "Close Encounters of the Bear Kind"

Myths of Greece and Rome

• "Perseus and the Quest for Medusa's Head"
• "Atalanta, the Fleet-Footed Huntress"
• "Theseus and the Minotaur"
• "Jason and the Golden Fleece"
• "Damon and Pythias"
• "Baucis and Philemon"
• "Orpheus and Eurydice"

Required Novel (choice of one)

• The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

Life Stories: Creative Lives

• "The Child of Urbino," a story about Raphael, by Louise de la Ramée
• "Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata"
• "Mary Cassatt: Artist and Trailblazer," by Vanessa Wright
• "Young Pablo Casals," by Mara Rockliff
• "Marian Anderson Sings," by Mara Rockliff

Favorites from Famous Books: The Jungle Book,by Rudyard Kipling

• "Mowgli's Brothers"
• "Tiger! Tiger!"
• "The Tyger," by William Blake

A Matter of Justice

• "The Wisdom of Solomon"
• "A Just Judge," by Leo Tolstoy
• "Ooka and the Honest Thief," a Japanese folktale retold by I.G. Edmonds
• "Mohandas Gandhi: Truth in Action," by Vanessa Wright
• "Equal Justice Under Law: Thurgood Marshall," by Mara Rockliff

Shakespeare

• Twelfth Night (in the Shakespeare for Young People adaptation)

Bible Characters and Stories

• "Moses: The Long Journey Through the Wilderness"
• "The Fiery Furnace"
• "The Parable of the Good Samaritan"

Stories of Our Time

• "Thank You, M’am," by Langston Hughes
• "The Circuit," by Francisco Jiménez
• "The Bracelet," by Yoshiko Uchida
• "The Strangers That Came to Town," by Ambrose Flack

Poetry: "To Everything There Is a Season"

• "Waiting," by Harry Behn
• "Something Told the Wild Geese," by Rachel Field
• Haiku (selections) translated by Harry Behn
• "Check," by James Stephens
• "The Pasture," by Robert Frost
• "A Wintry Sonnet," by Christina Rossetti
• "The Morns Are Meeker Than They Were," by Emily Dickinson
• "The Storm," by Walter De La Mare
• "Swift Things Are Beautiful," by Elizabeth Coatsworth
• "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud," by William Wordsworth
• "Until I Saw the Sea," by Lillian Moore
• "To everything there is a season" from the Book of Ecclesiastes

Stuff and Nonsense

• Selections from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
• "The Walrus and the Carpenter," by Lewis Carroll
• Limericks by Edward Lear
• Poems by Ogden Nash

NOVELS

This program allows students to read any three novels of their choice from a selection of award-winning works by renowned authors, from a variety of genres: fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, realistic fiction, and mystery. These novels are listed in order of increasing difficulty as measured by the Lexile scale, a system that measures reading difficulty by sentence length and vocabulary (see Lexile ratings roughly correspond to grade levels as indicated below.

SECTION BELOW NEEDS TO BE REFORMATTED

Approximate Grade Level               Lexile Range

             5                                         750-950

             6                                        850-1050

             7                                        950-1075

             8                                      1000-1100

             9                                      1050-1150

            10                                      1100-1200

Lexile levels are only one means of assessing whether a work is appropriate for your student. When selecting a novel, keep in mind that the Lexile rating does not measure subject matter or themes in the work.

Title and Author                                                                                                               Lexile Level

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg 700

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle 740

The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury 740

The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton 750

The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare 760

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech 770

War Comes to Willie Freeman, by Christopher and Lincoln Collier 770

The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare 770

The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander 770

Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt 770

My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George 810

Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes 840

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkein 860

The Cay, by Theodore Taylor 860

Dragonwings, by Laurence Yep 870

Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson 880

Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson 910

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor 920

The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper 920

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis 940

Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis 950

White Fang, by Jack London 970

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery 990

The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite de Angeli 990

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell 1000

Ben and Me, by Robert Lawson 1010

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne 1030

Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle 1090

Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt 1100

Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman 1170

War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells 1170

Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss 1260

The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford 1320

INTERMEDIATE LANGUAGE SKILLS A

Intermediate Language Skills A offers a systematic approach to the development of written and oral communication skills, and is designed to give students the essential building blocks for expressing their own ideas in standard (or formal) English.

COMPOSITION

After an opening focus on paragraph writing, students write a variety of compositions in genres they will encounter throughout their academic careers, including: compare-andcontrast, persuasive, how-to, and research essays. In writing each essay, students go through a process of planning, organizing, and revising, and they learn to examine their own writing with a critical eye, paying attention to ideas, organization, structure, style, and correctness. Throughout the course, students write in response to prompts similar to those they will encounter on standardized tests.

Introduction to Paragraph

• Parts of a Paragraph
• Paragraph Decisions
• Paragraph Conventions
• Writing a Paragraph
• Revising a Paragraph

Personal Narrative

• What Is a Personal Narrative?
• Prewriting: Investigating Ideas for a Personal Narrative
• Prewriting: Using Language That Shows
• Drafting: Writing a Personal Narrative
• Revising, Proofreading, Publishing

Compare and Contrast Essay

• What Is a Compare and Contrast Essay?
• Prewriting: Planning a Compare and Contrast Essay
• Drafting: Writing a Compare and Contrast Essay
• Revising: Revising a Compare and Contrast Essay
• Proofreading and Publishing

Persuasive Essay

• What Is a Persuasive Essay?
• Prewriting: Logical Thinking
• Prewriting: Fact vs. Opinion
• Prewriting: Structure of a Persuasive Essay
• Prewriting: Planning a Persuasive Essay
• Prewriting: Organizing a Persuasive Essay
• Drafting: Writing a Persuasive Essay
• Revising a Persuasive Essay
• Proofreading and Publishing a Persuasive Essay

Research Report

• What Is a Research Report?
• Covering the Basics
• Prewriting: Finding Information
• Prewriting: Finding More Information
• Prewriting: Taking Notes
• Prewriting: Organizing the Information
• Drafting
• Revising
• Bibliography
• Proofreading
• Publishing

How-To Essay

• What Is a How-to Essay?
• Prewriting: Planning a How-to Essay
• Drafting: Writing a How-to Essay
• Revising and Proofreading
• Publishing

Advertisements

• What Are Advertisements?
• Planning an Advertisement
• Creating an Advertisement
• Planning a Presentation
• Practicing Your Presentation
• Delivering a Presentation

Book Review

• What Is a Book Review?
• Prewriting: Planning a Book Review
• Prewriting: Summarizing
• Drafting: Writing a Book Review
• Revising, Proofreading, and Publishing

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS

The Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics program offers practice in sentence analysis, sentence structure, and proper punctuation. Students learn to diagram sentences in order to understand how words, phrases, and clauses function in relation to each other. Frequent exercises and regular practice help students absorb the rules so they can confidently apply them in their own writing. The Barrett Kendall Language Handbook provides exercises and a ready resource for grammar rules and conventions.

The Sentence

• Positions of Subjects
• Sentence Fragments
• Ways to Correct Sentence Fragments
• Sentence Diagramming and Review

Nouns and Pronouns

• Common and Proper Nouns
• Pronoun Antecedents
• Personal Pronouns
• Reflexive Pronouns
• Indefinite Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Sentence Diagramming and Review

Verbs and Complements

• Action Verbs
• Helping Verbs
• Direct Objects
• Indirect Objects
• Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
• Linking Verbs
• Predicate Nominatives
• Sentence Diagramming and Review

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives
• Articles
• Proper Adjectives
• Predicate Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Adverbs that Describe Verbs
• Adverbs that Modify Adjectives and Other Adverbs
• Sentence Diagramming and Review

Other Parts of Speech

• Prepositions
• Prepositional Phrases
• Preposition or Adverb?
• Conjunctions and Interjections
• Sentence Diagramming and Review

Phrases

• Adjective Phrases
• Prepositional Phrases
• Adjective Phrases
• Misplaced Adjective Phrases
• Adverb Phrases
• Appositives and Appositive Phrases
• Sentence Diagramming and Review

Sentence Structure

• Simple Sentences
• Compound Sentences
• Run-on Sentences
• Sentence Diagramming and Review
• Diagramming Compound Sentences

Using Verbs

• Regular and Irregular Verbs
• Principal Parts of Verbs
• Problem Verbs
• Verb Tenses
• Tense Shifts
• Progressive Verb Forms

Using Pronouns

• Kinds of Pronouns
• Subject Pronouns
• Pronouns Used as Subjects
• Pronouns Used as Predicate Nominatives
• Pronouns Used as Direct Objects
• Pronouns Used as Indirect Objects
• Pronouns Used as Objects of Prepositions
• Possessive Pronouns
• Possessive Pronoun or Contraction?
• Pronoun Problem: Who or Whom?
• Pronouns and Their Antecedents
• Indefinite Pronouns as Antecedents

Subject and Verb Agreement

• Number
• The Number of Nouns and Pronouns
• The Number of Verbs
• Singular and Plural Subjects
• Common Agreement Problems
• Verb Phrases
• Doesn’t or Don’t
• Prepositional Phrases after Subjects
• Subjects after Verbs
• Compound Subjects
• Agreement Problems with Pronouns
• You and I as Subjects
• Indefinite Pronouns

Using Adjectives and Adverbs

• Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs
• Regular Comparisons
• Irregular Comparisons
• Problems with Modifiers
• Double Comparisons
• Double Negatives
• Good or Well?

Capital Letters

• First Words and the Pronoun I
• Sentences
• Lines of Poetry
• Parts of Letters
• Outlines
• The Pronoun I
• Proper Nouns
• Proper Adjectives
• Titles
• Names of People
• Direct Address
• Written Works and Other Works of Art

End Marks and Commas

• End Marks
• Other Uses of Period
• Commas that Separate
• Items in a Series
• Compound Sentences
• Introductory Words and Phrases
• Direct Address
• Appositives
• Commonly Used Commas

Italics and Quotation Marks

• Titles with Italics
• Titles with Quotation Marks
• Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations
• Capital Letters with Direct Quotations
• Commas with Direct Quotations
• End Marks with Direct Quotations
• Writing Dialogue

Other Punctuation

• Apostrophes to Show Possession
• Possessive Forms of Singular Nouns
• Possessive Forms of Plural Nouns
• Possessive Forms of Pronouns
• Contractions
• Apostrophes with Contractions
• Contraction or Possessive Pronoun?
• Apostrophes with Certain Plurals
• Semicolons
• Colons
• Hyphens with Divided Words
• Other Uses of the Hyphen

VOCABULARY

The Vocabulary from Classical Roots program builds knowledge of Greek and Latin words that form the roots of many English words, especially the polysyllabic terms that sometimes cause students to stumble. Throughout this program, students will define and use words with Greek and Latin roots, and use word origins and derivations to determine the meaning of new words, as they increase their own vocabularies and develop valuable test-taking skills.

Numbers

• Greek root monos
• Latin roots unus, duo, duplex, bi
• Greek root tri
• Latin roots tres, quartus, quatuor, decem, centum

All or Nothing

• Greek roots pan, holos
• Latin roots omnis; totus; claudo, claudere, clausi, clausum
• Latin roots incipio, incipere, incepi, inceptum; nihil; nego, negare, negavi, negatum; vanus, vacuus; aperio, aperire, aperui, apertum

More or Less

• Greek root micros
• Latin roots minuo, minuere, minui, minutum; minus; tenuo, tenuare, tenuavi, tenuatum tenuis; satis; impleo, implere, implevi, impletum; plenus
• Greek roots macros, megas, poly
• Latin roots copia, magnus

Before and After

• Latin roots ante, pre
• Latin roots primus, post

Creativity

• Greek root aoide
• Latin roots ars, artis, canto, cantare, cantavi, catatum; pingo, pingere, pinxi, pictum
• Latin roots cresco, crescere, crevi, cretum; facio, facere, feci, factum, texo, texere, texui, textum

Travel

• Greek root hodos
• Latin roots trans, eo, ire, ivi, itum, erro, errare, erravi, erratum
• Greek root tele
• Latin roots iter, itineris, venio, venire, veni, ventum, via

Sports

• Latin roots celer, curro, currere, cucurri, cursum, cursor, cursoris, glomus, jacio, jacere, jeci, jactum
• Latin roots salio, salire, salui, saltum, valeo, valere, valui, valitum, volvo, volvere, volvi, volutum

Animals

• Latin roots apis, asinus, avis, bos, bovis; canis, caper, capra, equus
• Greek roots leon, zoion, zoa
• Latin roots felis, leo, leonis, piscis, porcus, serpens, serpentis, simia, ursa

Lesson Time and Scheduling

Total Lessons: 180

Lesson Time: 60 minutes

You might choose to split the lessons into smaller segments. The online lesson tracking system will allow you to pick up wherever you left off in any given lesson.

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