Many exciting events are taking place this semester in the Language Arts Department! Check out the latest highlights in our department below.
Mr. Harris's Spanish classes are working diligently in preparation for an exciting interview session via video conference with native speakers from Spanish speaking countries. The native speakers will get the chance to share their culture with the class as well as provide students a chance to ask any questions they may have. The students are finishing up presentations now about various Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, and many others. The video conference is planned to take place on Thursday, November 19th. The native speakers joining the video conference are currently students at Columbus State University and hail from Venezuela, Honduras, and Mexico. Mr. Harris and his students are looking forward to this wonderful opportunity.
Mrs. Lavender’s English I course enjoyed acting out scenes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet this semester. After reading the Shakespearian tragedy, students chose a scene to rewrite and perform. Students were also tasked with using a unique theme for their creative interpretation of the scene. Themes and interpretations included the following: Shrek, High School Musical, Downtown Londoners, Music through the decades, and The Vampire Diaries. Likewise, Mrs. Lavender’s English III courses have been busy this semester with a unit on Argumentative writing. To kick off this unit, students practiced their argumentative skills with an in-class debate.
The students in Mr. Myers's English II class are reading George Orwell's novel 1984. They are pulling information from multiple sources to make comparisons between what they read in the book, historical events like the Maoist cultural revolution, and the current-day things they see around them. The students in Writer's Workshop are currently writing an informative essay on a topic of their choosing. Each student has brainstormed their topic to find out what they do and do not know. They've developed a thesis statement and written their rough draft. Now, they are readying to do their first revision. The Drama class has finished writing an original full-length play, a murder mystery entitled "Dying To Be Cast," and will begin rehearsals for their upcoming performance.
Ms. Quinet’s classes have completed a couple of novel studies and now are studying Shakespeare. English I classes are reading Rome and Juliet and will be creating adaptations of a scene, act, or the entire play to act out in class. The English II Honors class is studying Julius Caesar and will write and perform creative interpretations of a scene.