Course Syllabus
Literary Studies 10 & Creative Writing 10
Literary Studies 10 - Room 225
Creative Writing 10 - Room TBD
Ms. Hayley Jacobs
Email (8am-5pm): hjacobs@stgeorges.bc.ca
Office: 295J
Literary Studies 10 Course Description
The Grade 10 year provides a crucial transition between junior and senior English studies. Through cross-genre explorations of such themes as forming relationships between people, the land, and our environment, students are challenged creatively to discover themselves as individuals with opinions which matter.
In the new curriculum, the course is split into two half-year courses: Literary Studies 10 and one choice course. Literary Studies allows students to delve more deeply into literature as they explore specific themes, periods, authors, or areas of the world through literary works in a variety of media. By examining a range of texts including novels, short stories, poetry, and drama, students will develop key analysis and interpretation skills, applying them to formal written compositions. While deepening an appreciation for literature, students will also become more proficient in the literary forms, techniques, and devices that writers to use to effectively convey their opinions and themes.
By the completion of Literary Studies 10, students will demonstrate
- expansion of critical vocabulary,
- an exploration and appreciation of multiple literacies,
- transitional work to synthesis writing,
- a sharper focus on the means by which literary ends are achieved,
- a depth of approach appropriate to senior English,
- awareness of how the role of story, narrative and oral tradition expresses First Peoples’ perspectives, values, beliefs and points of view,
- awareness of how First Peoples’ languages and texts reflect their culture, knowledge, history and worldview
Creative Writing 10 Course Description
The Grade 10 year provides a crucial transition between junior and senior English studies. Through cross-genre explorations of such themes as forming relationships between people, the land, and our environment, students are challenged creatively to discover themselves as individuals with opinions that matter.
Adhering to the the new curriculum, this course is split into two half-year courses: Literary Studies 10 and Creative Writing 10.
Creative Writing 10 facilitates students exploring a variety genres/forms to develop both analytical and communication skills, and better understanding the characteristics of a given medium as a method to serve an author’s intent. Students will evaluate authors’ and directors’ artistic choices, their own, and those of their peers.
By the completion of Creative Writing 10, students will demonstrate
- an exploration and appreciation of multiple literacies
- an understanding of the key characteristics of several genres
- a honed sense of how authors make choices about communication
- a depth of approach appropriate to senior English
- awareness of how First Peoples’ languages and texts reflect their culture, knowledge, history and worldview
- an ability to communicate effectively in multiple genres
Course Expectations
St. George’s School expects all students at the Senior School to be interested and motivated in achieving their personal best while at the School. We expect students will be engaged in their endeavours, responsible to their studies, classmates and teachers, and demonstrate integrity in their pursuit of learning.
Workload:
Students are expected to participate in class discussions and learning activities. Students will not have large amounts of homework but will have take-home tasks to prepare for the next class or finish an assignment that we started in class.
Submitting Work:
Students in this course are expected to complete work assignments on the date assigned and to submit their work on Canvas.
If circumstances prevent the student from completing a work assignment on the assigned due date, the student must inform the teacher prior to the due date for the work assignment. The teacher will provide a second due date through the school’s 5th block system.
Instructional Aims
Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn through the following experiences:
- Read for enjoyment and to achieve personal goals
- Understand the importance of place, perspectives, and ownership in working with texts
- Recognize the text features and structures appropriate to specific format
- Reflect on their reading and communication skills to grow their self-awareness
- Respond to text in personal, creative, and critical ways
- Demonstrate speaking and listening skills in a variety of formal and informal contexts for a range of purposes
Learning Outcomes
Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn and be evaluated on the following knowledge and skills:
- Infer the impact of the author’s perspective, values, and context on the meaning of a text.
- Make thematic connections between multiple texts
- Demonstrate strategic comprehension skills for written, visual, oral, and multimodal texts (independent vs. with help; Bloom’s, annotations).
- Explain how literary elements and devices support a theme (motif vs. Theme).
- Make a coherent and clear claim that is supported with concrete and specific evidence.
- Apply tone, stylistic elements, and transitions appropriately for formal and informal communication.
- Proofread, edit, and polish with a focus on pronoun case agreement, conjunctions, punctuation, wordiness.
Use MLA formatting for in-text citations to cite quotes appropriate to the task.
Assessment and Evaluation
A student's final mark will be determined by evaluation of their ability to demonstrate proficiency in these skills and learning these concepts.
Major assessments for this course include:
- Literary analysis essay
- Synthesis assignment
- Mini-research project
Assessment Weightings:
Assignments will be entered into the following skill-based assessment buckets. Final marks will be calculated according to these weightings.
- Reading - 40%
- Writing - 40%
- Speaking and Listening - 20%
We anticipate adjustments may be made throughout the year due to the extenuating circumstances we are facing. Any adjustments will be posted here and discussed as a class.
Both the school’s assessment expectations and supports that teachers provide can be found online. Academic dishonesty to any degree is not acceptable.
There are a variety of academic supports available at St. George’s for students. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the range of supports available to them which include:
- Faculty support
- 5th Block
- Head of Grade
- Student Success Centre
- Personal Counselling
First Peoples Principles
We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are honoured to live, work, and play on this land together.
As part of contribution to reconciliation, this course makes First Peoples Principles of Learning visible in class by:
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
- Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge.
- Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.
- Learning requires exploration of one’s identity.
- Learning involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and/or in certain situations.
Literacy and Numeracy
This course embeds literacy practices within every lesson. Students will be asked to demonstrate understanding through comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation tasks (e.g. reading texts, connecting texts to self, evaluating the effectiveness of authors’ techniques). They will also be asked to share ideas using oral, written, and visual communication in both formal and informal settings (e.g. discussions, oral presentations, multimedia).
Resources
Resources that will be used as part of this course include:
- Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
- Various short stories, poems, and texts given out by teacher
- Summer reading novels
Canvas Information
Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.
- canvas.stgeorges.bc.ca
- For Canvas, passwords, or any other technical support contact the SGS Service Desk.
- 604 221-3654
- Sr Room 121
- SGSServiceDesk@stgeorges.bc.ca