This is the place you should go to when you missed a class, forgot a due date, or want to ask a question about an assignment. If you have specific questions please feel free to email or ask during class! The breakdowns in this section are for my ELA 10 students. ELA 11 students have their own section and should reference that for assignments!

 

What exactly will I be doing for this class?

This course focuses on world issues through the lens of young adult literature! We will be covering three different topics throughout this semester: mental health, global warming, and immigration.

In addition to our topical units, you will be required to recommend two YA books from outside reading per semester.

 

Our first topic is mental health and mental illness. (Yes, these are different things!) In addition to learning about mental health, we will be reading "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green and writing a research paper on any mental illness you chose. 

 

Our second topic is global warming. (We're just going to start with the base understanding that global warming is not a myth, and work from there.) Global warming may be the biggest crisis humankind has faced. It threatens our ecosystems, our homes, our families and our very existence. In this section, we will discuss what is being done about global warming, what isn't and our obligations because of it. We will be reading _____ and ____. Students will be asked to write an argumentative call to action in support of a global warming policy (it doesn't have to be a U.S. policy) or with a policy that they create in their own.

 

Our third topic is immigration. Immigration is an important global issue. For the purposes of this class, we will be discussing the novel "American Street"? (permission slip: strong language, alternative text required; great text to bring in more on mental health and addiction to tie into the previous topic and reinforce material; why would this text be controversial? discussion point) by Ibi Zoboi and various news articles about immigration. For the entirety of this section, students will be expected to keep a journal with entries about their perspectives on immigration, and entries from the perspective of someone who has a different citizenship status than they do. We will learn how to tell what is "fake news" and write a short critique of work on immigration.

 

Students will then design and write their own newspaper on the topics we have studied this semester. As a student, you will have the option on what format you want to write in. For example, you could write a poem about global warming, an article on mental health, or a comic strip on immigration. All students are expected to contribute one polished piece for each of the three topics. The final newspaper will function in place of a final exam, and featured articles chosen by a student vote will be sent to the local paper for printing.

 

Grade Breakdown:

Participation: 15%

Journal: 10%

Book Recommendations: 10%

Research Paper: 15%

Argumentative Paper: 15% 

Literary Critique: 15%%

News Paper: 20%