Young Adult Readers: Monsters, Magic, and Mayhem

This course will transport you to fantastical worlds where monsters and magic cause all sorts of mayhem. We'll follow teen protagonists' journeys through magical lands inspired by diverse, real-world cultures. As these protagonists battle cruel and violent forces, they forge meaningful relationships and uncover secrets that lead them down a path of self-discovery. A variety of creative and essay assignments will enrich your understanding of genre, theme, character development, and figurative language. Assignments with visual components and research will expand your proficiency with multimodal presentations. You will also strengthen your critical reading skills by closely reading the texts and using textual evidence to support your written analyses. Online writing forums allow you to engage in meaningful discussions with classmates around the world, and deepen your understanding of the readings and common themes found in a variety of literary works. Parents are advised to familiarize themselves with the required readings below, as literature in this course includes some violent and disturbing scenes. Time Commitment: 6-8 hours of independent work per week. Course Overview Learning Objectives: Engage collaboratively in online discussions with various topics, texts, and issues,determining the development of themes and central ideas in a text, citing strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events, using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone) Analyze an author's choices concerning the text, including the development of complex characters, the structuring of the text (i.e. parallel plots, manipulating time, mystery, tension, suspense, etc.), and how those choices advance the plot or develop the theme Write informative/explanatory texts and arguments to support claims to convey ideas clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience Gather relevant information from multiple sources, assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas