As we work toward “wrapping up” A Doll’s House, one of our final IB tasks is completing the interactive oral.  In the interactive oral, all students are expected to participate in a discussion (of at least 30 minutes).  Students must also lead or initiate part of the discussion.  We must address the following questions:

• In what ways do time and place matter to this work?
• What was easy to understand and what was difficult to understand in relation to cultural and social context issues?
• What aspects of technique are interesting to the work?
• What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own cultural experiences?

You have until the week after October break to prepare for this discussion.  You may complete research and bring in material (readings) to support your points.  Remember to use content from the English Site if you wish.  Following the IO, all students will complete a Reflective Statement of 300-400 words which addresses the following question:

• How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?

All this will happen in the two weeks immediately following the October break.

So, since I will be away for the remainder of English Class this week, some reminders:

Your orals presentations will take place on October 4th in class. Please check the assignment sheet carefully on the English Site.

For the essay task, you may choose from Question 2 or 6 on the task sheet. Please spend no more then 90 minutes completing this task for HW this week.

Welcome to IB English Lit, a literary course which has many benefits…

• a lifelong love of and appreciation of literature
• a confidence in analyzing literature
• a confidence in speaking one’s opinion in public (as much as 30 percent of the course is based on oral work)
• an ability to structure ideas in writing
• an ability to speak and write in a formal and effective way

This is a two-year course that covers 10 works in four parts: Works in Translation, Detailed Study, Literary Genres, and Options.

Part 1: Works in translation Number of works studied: Two

1. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

2. A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen

This part of the course is a literary study of works in translation, based on close reading of the works themselves. Students are encouraged to appreciate the different perspectives of people from other cultures and to consider the role that culture plays in making sense of literary works.

Part 1 of the course aims to deepen students’ understanding of works as being products of a time and place. Artistic, philosophical, sociological, historical and biographical considerations are possible areas of study to enhance understanding of the works.

Students should develop their ability to:

• understand the content of the work and the qualities of the work as literature
• respond independently to the work by connecting the individual and cultural experience of the reader with the text
• recognize the role played by cultural and contextual elements in literary works.

Part 2: Detailed study Number of works studied: Two

1. Selected Poetry by Seamus Heaney

2. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

In part 2 the focus is on detailed analysis of a work, both in terms of content and technique.

The detailed study is best achieved through approaches that ensure close reading and in-depth analysis of the significant elements of the works involved. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with a variety of interpretations and critical perspectives. Students should form and articulate personal responses to the works.

This part of the syllabus will be assessed orally. Students should therefore make use of every opportunity to equip themselves with the skills for speaking appropriately about literature in a variety of contexts.

Students should develop their ability to:

• acquire detailed knowledge and understanding of the works studied
• demonstrate appropriate analytical responses to specific genres
• show how particular effects are achieved through language use, and analyse elements such as character, theme and setting
• engage with the details of works in order to develop a considered and informed response.

Part 3: Literary Genres Number of works studied: Three

1. Nineteen Eighty Four, by George Orwell

2. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

3. Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton

In part 3, a group of works selected from the same literary genre is studied in depth. Each genre has recognizable techniques, referred to as literary conventions, and writers use these conventions, along with other literary features, in order to achieve particular artistic ends. The grouping of works by genre is intended to provide a framework for the comparative study of the selected works through an exploration of the literary conventions and features associated with that genre.

Students will develop their ability to:

• acquire knowledge and understanding of the works studied
• acquire a clear sense of the literary conventions of the selected genre
• understand the ways in which content is delivered through the literary conventions of the selected genre
• compare the similarities and differences between the chosen works.

Part 4: Options Number of works studied: Three

1. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

2. Selected Poetry, Author(s) TBA

3. The House of Bernarda Alba, by Federico García Lorca

Works are freely chosen. There is no requirement for works to be chosen from either of the prescribed lists.

All works may be chosen freely and any combination of works may be used, whether originally written in the language A being studied or read in translation. Care must be taken to ensure that only works of literary merit and those that offer a suitable challenge are chosen. Three printed works (or their equivalent) must be studied.

Regardless of the choice of texts, the assessment task is the same, and students will be assessed on their literary understanding as well as their ability to produce an effective oral presentation.

Students will develop their ability to:

• acquire knowledge and understanding of the works studied
• present an individual, independent response to works studied
• acquire powers of expression through oral presentation
• learn how to interest and hold the attention of an audience.

Welcome to Grade 11 IB Literature. In this course, we will use a variety of digital spaces to aid in our understanding and develop our skills. This Blog will be for all students in this class to use. A pair of students each week will be responsible for preparing notes based on the class discussions and uploading them to this site. These notes should serve as a record for all of what we have covered in class and the ideas we have discussed. I hope that all students will also feel comfortable posting material you discover.

The second online area of the course is a dedicated Google Site which is available under the “Resources” tab above. Here you will find background readings, assignments, and other materials to help you.