for my current website, please visit www.mrsmelnyk.4t.com My classes provide students with an opportunity to complete intensive, in-depth readings of classical and modern literature through activities that appeal to multiple intelligences and learning styles. This website is maintained to facilitate personal responsibility for the timely completion of quality work.  Please click on the links above to access details on homework assignments and due dates, handouts, and useful resources for further study.

Honors Freshman Language Arts Students work individually and cooperatively in a student-centered atmosphere to complete a sophisticated study of literature, including Death of a Salesman, The Odyssey, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Great Expectations, and Romeo and Juliet, among others.

American Literature 11

Students embark on a concentrated study of dramas, novels, short stories, and poems, including Native Sun, Catcher in the Rye, and A Lesson Before Dying.  Students use the tools acquired in the previous two years of study to develop a more sophisticated, critical literary mind.

A research paper based on an American work is completed in the first marking period. 

To prepare for the HSPA while developing an identity as a writer and critic, students participate in intensive peer-review and guided practice workshops.

 

Throughout the year, students strive to

           

Understand the relationship between contemporary writing and past literary traditions
Understand that our literary heritage is marked by distinct literary movements
Analyze how the works of a given period reflect historical events and social criticism
Understand the effect of literary devices on the reader’s emotions and interpretation

 

Students will become familiar with the following literary terms and devices:

 

Alliteration                             Allusion                                 Anecdote                               Antagonist

Apostrophe                           Aphorism                              Blank Verse                          Character

Conflict                                  Connotation                          Consonance                         Denotation

Diction                                   Epic                                        Figurative Language          Foreshadowing

Free Verse                            Genre                                     Imagery                                 Irony

Lyric Poem                           Metaphor                               Meter                                      Motivation

Narrative Poem                   Onomatopoeia                     Parable                                  Parody

Personification                     Plot                                         Point of View                        Prose

Protagonist                           Rhyme Scheme                   Simile                                    Sonnet

Symbol                                  Theme                                   Tone                                       Tragedy

 

We will study new vocabulary words from our readings.

 

In addition, and in accordance with the New Jersey Language Arts Literacy Curriculum Framework, students will:

 Speak before a group to defend an opinion and present an oral interpretation
Prepare for and participate in structured debates and panel discussions
Present an extemporaneous speech
Demonstrate comprehension of ideas in speeches and presentations
Evaluate the credibility of speakers and media messages
Write technical materials (the instructions for a student-produced board game)
Write for real audiences and purposes, such as business letters and memoranda
Solve problems using multimedia technology

MRS. MELNYK'S POETRY

Mrs. Melnyk's book, devil in my ear, a collection of poetry, is available online from Barnes & Noble and other major retail booksellers.

Learn more about her poetry at www.ginamelnyk.com