Course Title:

Honors Great Books Seminar

Length:

One Semester

Grades 11 & 12

Elective

DEPARTMENT:

English Department

Lori Dernelle, Chair

Gifted and Talented

Brenda Fargo, Coordinator

Brenda Fargo, Teacher

School:

Rutherford High School

Date:

Fall 2005

December 20, 2005

Rutherford Public Schools

Rutherford, New Jersey

HONORS GREAT BOOKS SEMINAR- GRADES 11&12

  1. Introduction/Overview/Philosophy

The Great Books program of study is a vigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum based on the reading, study, and discussion of great books in literature, mathematics, philosophy, theology, the sciences, political theory, music, history, and economics. These are the works that reflect and create our civilization; they challenge our understanding, illumine our lives, and shape our culture. The works are complex and multi-faceted, allowing students to ask questions that are genuine and thought-provoking.

The method used for discussion is Shared Inquiry. The search for meaning in a story is a genuine investigation shared by everyone in the discussion, including the leader. Written and oral interpretive activities can extend this structured search for meaning to every stage of the reading and writing process.

This one-semester course is designed for juniors and seniors with strong academic ability and is supported by the Gifted and Talented Program. Through Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Middle College Program, students may opt to register for three (3) college credits for this course.

  1. Objectives
  2. Students will be able

1.To experience outstanding works of fiction and non-fiction that are not normally considered on the high-school level (3.1).

2.To interpret and discuss reading assignments within the parameters of Shared Inquiry (3.3, 3.4).

3.To express themselves logically and persuasively (3.3).

4.To find contextual support for the answers they offer during discussion

5.To appreciate and understand the form, structure, style, purpose, and effectiveness of works discussed (3.1, 3.5).

6.To initiate discussions of specific reading assignments with the aid of personally prepared interpretive questions (3.3, 3.4).

7.To assume leadership responsibilities for discussion (3.3, 9.2).

8.To develop both the flexibility of mind to consider problems from many angles and the discipline to analyze ideas critically.

9.To constructively consider and weigh arguments set forth by fellow classmates (3.4).

10.To develop critical thinking, creativity, speaking and listening skills (3.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4).

11.To conduct themselves in a manner suitable to a seminar situation (9.2).

  1. Course Outline

This course includes, but is not limited to, the following works. The order in which works are approached is at the discretion of the individual teacher. Supplemental works may be substituted or added. Numbers in parentheses refer to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards.

  1. Introduction to Great Books: First Series

These selections enable students to acquire an historical overview of man’s social, societal and economic relationships, including the nature of war and the division of society into social and/or economic classes (3.1, 3.4, 5.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6).

“Why War?” by Sigmund Freud

“The Melian Dialogue” by Thucydides

“The Social Me” by William James

“Rothschild’s Fiddle” by Anton Chekhov

“Concerning the Division of Labor” by Adam Smith

“Chelkash” by Maxim Gorky

“How an Aristocracy May be Created by Industry” by Alexis de Tocqueville

“Observation and Experiment” by Claude Bernard

“Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor

“An Essay in Aesthetics” by Roger Fly

“An Outpost of Progress” by Joseph Conrad

“On Studying” by Jose” Ortega y Gasset

  1. Introduction to Great Books: Second Series

These selections enable students to acquire an historical understanding of the forces that helped to mold the government of the United State of America (3.1, 3.4, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4).

“Politics” by Aristotle

“Of Commonwealth” by Thomas Hobbes

“Barn Burning” by William Faulkner

“Of Civil Government” by John Locke

“In Exile” by Anton Chekhov

The Declaration of Independence

“Equality” by Isaiah Berlin

“Sorrow-Acre” by Isak Dinesen

“Why Americans Are Often So Restless” by Alexis de Tocqueville

“After the Ball” by Leo Tolstoy

“Habit” by William James

“The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol

  1. Introduction to Great Books: Third Series

These selections enable students to acquire an understanding of an individual’s relationship with his government and the responsibilities of both in the search for happiness (3.1, 3.4, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4).

“On Happiness” by Aristotle

“Habits and Will” by John Dewey

“Happiness” by Mary Lavin

“Crito” by Plato

“On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill

“Conscience” by Immanuel Kant

“A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka

“Of the Limits of Government” by John Locke

Antigone by Sophocles

“Why Great Revolutions Will Become Rare” by Alexis de Tocqueville

“A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf

“In Dreams Begin Responsibilities” by Delmore Schwartz

  1. Junior Great Books: Series 9

These selections enable students to develop an understanding of historical, philosophical, and scientific ideas through the exploration of literature (3.1, 3.4, 5.2, 6.1, 8.2).

“Miriam” by Truman Capote

“Zoo Island” by Thomas Rivera

“At the Pitt-Rivers” by Penelope Lively

“New African” by Andrea Lee

“Sponono” by Alan Paton

“Bobby’s Room” by Douglas Dunn

“A Bird in the House” by Margaret Laurence

The Strange Case of Dr. Jerkyll and Mr. Hyde

by Robert Louis Steveson

“The Little Cousins” by Peter Taylor

“The Idealist” by Frank O’Connor

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

  1. These selections enable students to read dramatic materials with comprehension and contrast the text with oral/visual presentations of the dramas as they explore the nature of personal freedom (3.1, 3.4, 3.5).

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards

The following New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards are integrated into this multidisciplinary course:

Language Arts Literary List of Standards

3.1 (Reading) All students will understand and apply the knowledge of sounds, letters, and words in written English to become independent and fluent readers, and will read a variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.

3.2 (Writing) All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in context and form for different audiences and purposes.

3.3 (Speaking) All students will speak in clear, concise, organized language that varies in context and form for different audiences and purposes.

3.4 (Listening) All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a variety of situation.

3.5 (Viewing and Media Literacy) All students will access, view, evaluate, and respond to print, nonprint, and electronic texts and resources.

Science List of Standards

5.2 (Science and Society) All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology, and how major discoveries and events have advanced science and technology.

Social Studies List of Standards

6.1 All students will utilize historical thinking, problem solving and research skills to maximize their understanding of civics, history, geography, and economics.

6.2 (Civics) All students will know, understand and appreciate the values and principles of American democracy and the rights, responsibilities, and roles of a citizen in the nation and the world.

6.3 (World history) All students will demonstrate knowledge of world history in order to understand life and events in the past and how they relate to the present and the future.

6.4 (United States and New Jersey history) All students will demonstrate knowledge of the United States and New Jersey history in order to understand life and events in the past and how they relate to the present and the future.

6.5 (Economics) All students will acquire an understanding of key economic principles.

6.6 (Geography) All students will apply knowledge of spatial relationships and other geographic skills to understand human behavior in relation to the physical and cultural environment.

Technology and Literary List of Standards

8.2 (Technology education) All students will develop an understanding of the nature and impact of technology, engineering, technological design, and the designed world as they relate to the individual, society, and the environment.

Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills List of Standards

9.2 (Consumer, family, and life skills) All students will demonstrate critical life skills in order to be functional members of society.

  1. Proficiency Levels

Honors Great Books Seminar is offered as an honors-level elective for students in eleventh and twelfth grades. It is recommended for students with high academic achievement because of the rigor of its content. College credit for this course is available through Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Middle College Program.

  1. Methods of Assessment
  2. Student Assessment

The teacher will provide a variety of assessments which may include, but are not limited to, the following: homework, class discussions, reaction papers, quizzes and tests.

1)Homework will be assigned regularly and will count as 20% of a student’s grade each marking period.

2)Class Discussions will be closely monitored as an ongoing assessment of class participation.

3)Quizzes and Tests may be either objective or essay or a combination of both.

4)Reaction papers to topics considered in class, or to field trip experiences, may be assigned.

5)The final exam administered at the end of the course is worth 20% of each student’s final grade, as per Board policy. The content of this exam is determined by the individual teacher may include material from the first marking period, although emphasis is to be placed on the latter half of the course content.

  1. Curriculum Assessment/ Teacher Assessment

The teacher/ Gifted and Talented Department Coordinator will review this course and share suggestions for changes with the supervisor of the English Department.

  1. Grouping

Elective course offering for highly academic students in grades 11 & 12.

  1. Articulation/Scope & Sequence/ Time Frame

One semester (one class period per day)

  1. Resources

a. Speakers

Speakers from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Middle College Program faculty can be contacted to speak on a variety of topics, from ethics and materialism to Victorian horror literature.

  1. Supplies/Materials

The following audio-visual supplies are available:

Junior Great Books Video, The Great Books Foundation,

40 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2782

1-800-222-5870.

A Doll’s House starring Anthony Hopkins, South Gate Entertainment @ 1989.

Contrasting the performance of the play with the reading of it is often beneficial for students.

  1. Texts

Introduction to Great Books, Series 1, 2 and 3.

Junior Great Books, Series 9.

  1. Supplemental Reading

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

An Introduction to Shared Inquiry Third Edition, The Great Books Foundation, 1992.

  1. Methodologies

The preferred methodology for this course is Shared Inquiry, a process “in which participants search for answers to fundamental questions raised by a text” (An Introduction to Shared Inquiry). The discussion leader does not impart information or offer his/her own opinions; rather, the leader’s role is to pose thought-provoking questions so that participants consider ideas from many different angles and analyze them critically. This promotes thoughtful dialogue and encourages participants to become responsible readers.

  1. Suggested Activities
  • Shared Inquiry discussions
  • Comparisons of film and drama
  • In-class writing
  • Close textural analysis
  1. Interdisciplinary Connections

The scope of the readings for Honors Great Books Seminar is broad and interdisciplinary. Readings include essays on society, economies, the nature of war, the role of government, what constitutes art, happiness, ethical choices, materialism, human personality, the role of science, and much more. The literature also reflects this depth of subject and discussion.

  1. Professional Development

As per the PIP/100 home statement: the teacher will continue to improve expertise through participation in a variety of professional development opportunities. Specialized professional development for teachers in the Gifted and Talented Department is offered through the Bergen County Consortium of Teachers of the Gifted (BCCTG), the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children (NJAGC), and the Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG). Two-day training in Shared Inquiry, offered by the Great Books Foundation, is required for teachers of this course.

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