Midwood High School
Department of English
Announcements:
Students: Sign
up for Spring Electives in English. See the list below
Teachers: Click here to
access Internet
resources, lesson plans, and interdisciplinary curriculum
Welcome to the Department of
English at Midwood High School.
The English Department, headed by Ms.
Janice Pumelia, Assistant Principal Supervision (IA), offers a Regent's
curriculum
for all students. In addition, there are many
interestingelectivesavailable:
NEW OFFERING NEXT FALL The
Literature of Art....Novels and other Literature based on works of Art
Classroom Without Walls
World Theater (ELTG)
This one term course will introduce the development of the theater tradition
throughout history, and the forces which have shaped the theater of today.
The works of Sophocles, Shakespeare, Moliere, Sheridan, Ibsen, Strindberg,
Shaw, Chekhov, Pirandello, Brecht and Albee, in conjunction with a consideration
of theater history, will comprise the content and foundation of discussion
for the semester. Student writing will focus on the literary essay.
Creative Writing Workshop (EWSG)
The writing workshop is designed for students to improve their craftsmanship
by writing short stories, plays, poems and essays to be critically evaluated
by the teacher and by each other. The term's work will culminate in the
actual design and production of Patterns, Midwood's literary magazine.
This will involve learning the skills of editing, proofreading, make-up and
layout. Readings in the course will include plays, poetry and short story
anthologies, not only to inspire but also to uncover the structure and
techniques
underlying the meanings of great writing.
Advanced Journalism Workshop (EJSG)
The journalism workshop is designed for students interested in improving their
journalistic skills. All work will be critically evaluated by the teacher
and by fellow students. The workshop aspect of the class will have primary
responsibility for the production of Argus. In addition to critical
journalism,
emphasis will be placed on broadcast journalism. In addition, the class
will focus on communication arts through oral interpretation ofsophisticated
class literature.
American Experience in Literature ((ELEG)
The class is designed for academically oriented students who will study the
historical and humanistic influences upon literary American masterpieces of
19th and 20th centuries. The influences of war, westward movement, and
cultural shifts as reflected in major works will be developed through class
discussion and independent research. Writers will be selected from the
following: Hemingway, Steinbeck, Lewis, Faulkner, Fitzgerald.
World Classics (ELRG)
This class is a study of some of the "giants" of world literature. A
variety of novels, plays, and poetry (including Madame Bovary, Wuthering
Heights,
Hamlet) will be read with the emphasis placed on advanced analysis and discussion.
Students will also have the opportunity to see and discuss Broadway plays.
Literature and the American Mu
sical
This one-term elective will focus on the art of
adaptation" how a work is taken from one form (a short story, play, or
novel) and transformed into a musical. We will study five works in class
with an eye towards identifying moments to musicalize, eliciting themes,
identifying the dramatic arc, and determining the focus of the show.
Students will read and discuss the following texts: "Tevye and His
Daughters", Anna and the King of Siam, Romeo and Juliet, Jane
Eyre, Ragtime.. In addition to studying these works in class
each student will do an oral presentation on a musical after researching its
creative team, reading the work from which it was adapted and listening to the
score. As part of he presentation, the student will share several musical
selection with the class. Students will also work in groups to design a
production. There will be trips to musicals during the term.
Script Writing (EHVG)
This class introduces students to the art of
television writing and production using Midwood's new state-of-the art
television studio. Working in groups, students will produce a pilot
episode from start to finish, including conception and pitching of the idea,
script writing and revision, casting , direction, shooting and editing.
Programs will include six shows, including a news magazine, a late night talk
show, a primetime sitcom, a family or police drama, and a children's
program. Guest lecturers from the film and TV industry will discuss their
experiences and we will try to visit the taping of an actual show. Final
programs will be broad cast to the class and other students.
Theater Production Workshop (EPTG)
Intended to give formal orientation to professional production, the class
activity will be coordinated with the actual preparation of the annual Drama
Workshop play. Study will focus on performance and acting technique
(although this will not be primarily an acting class) and the spectrum of
production
problems and functional directing, choosing a play, casting, theater
organization,
theater business and management, stage craft, costuming, make-up, etc.
Readings will include Shakespeare, Miller, Williams and other playwrights and
authors significant to the modern theater.
Advanced Placement (ELX)
College credit English course culminating in the National College Board
sponsored
Advanced Placement Test.
From Chaucer to Shakespeare: A Celebration
of Medieval and Elizabethan Literature (EHEG)
This one term humanities elective will center upon the works, times and
influence
of “the father of English poetry”, Geoffrey Chaucer and “The
Bard of Avon”, William Shakespeare. Travel with and listen to the
tales on route to Canterbury, enter the worlds of King Arthur, and enjoy
the genius of William Shakespeare. This course will be open to juniors
and seniors alike.
Women in Literature (EHWG)
The thematic focus of this course will be on the difficulties women face in
society when attempting to express themselves as individuals. Throughout
history women have been victims of a society which severely limited their
physical,
emotional, and intellectual freedoms. The women writers whose works we
will read this semester have addressed these issues in their lives and in their
writings. The course will also address the modern writing techniques
used by these women such as stream of consciousness, first person diary narratives,
and the reader as confidential listener. We will focus on 20th century
words beginning with Virginia Woolf and Doris Lessing and then moving to current
writers such as Edwidge Danticat, Esmeralda Santiago, and Sandra Cisneros. The
course is open to juniors and seniors.
East Asian Literature
(EHAG)
This humanities elective will emphasize the deep rooted cultural similarities
as well as differences between China, Korea, Japan and other Eastern countries.
Through literature, art, music, film, dance, theater, and other venues, students
will learn about the region and cultures of Asia. Fieldtrips to cultural
events will be arranged. Open to juniors and seniors.
Literature of Censorship (EHBG)
This one term humanities course introduces students to the issue of censorship
in relation to all forms of self-expression, but the focus is specifically
on literature. The course will, indirectly, deal with one crucialquestion
which profoundly affects the intellectual life of our time: do governments
and private organizations have the right to censor speech and printed materials
which they deem offensive for political, social, moralor aesthetic reasons?
The course will also deal with corollary issues related to censorship such
as: freedom of expression, First Amendment rights,broadcast speech, etc.
Literature of Supernatural and Horror [or
Tales from the Crypt (EHQG)
Reading for the thrill of it! This course will delve into the literature
of horror, the supernatural, and the occult. The course will cover the subject
from its classic origins through the present day. We will study such
authors as Poe, de Maupassant, Hawthorne, Shelley, Stoker, Stevenson, as well
as King, Rice, Straub, and others. Students may have the opportunity
to create their own tales and poems related to the horrific. We shall
also view films of this genre and compare them to the literature studied. This
course is open to juniors and seniors [not recommended for the weak of heart].
Literature of the 80's & 90's (EHDG)
This course, which is open to juniors and seniors, will examine the relationship
of several recent novels to continuing social and political issues in our
modern world. The wide ranging selections will allow for discussions
of ethnic, class and gender tensions in the United States, Latin America,
Canada and Australia. The reading material will be multi-cultural,
exploring
the literature of African-Americans, Latin Americans, Canadians, Australians,
Jewish-American, and southerners.
The reading material is sophisticated modern, college level literature.
We will examine the symbolism of magic as part of Native American, Latin
American
and African-American tradition, explore how historic heritages become an unconscious
part of modern life, and examine the complicated issues of love and stress
between men and women from a variety of male and female viewpoints. We
will explore the fiction of several newliterary sensations.
Advanced Creative Writing
(EHLG)
This one term course is open to students who have
completed two semesters of creative writing. Students will work towards
the completion of a “thesis” type writing portfolio consisting
of either a collection of short stories, poems, plays, memoirs or a novel.
These works will be drawn from the best of their edited pieces done during
the semester. Students will be encouraged to work independently as well
as with their peers and with the teacher in honing and editing their “manuscripts”.
The class will critique and analyze the works of their fellow writers as well
as the works of published writers.
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