The major purpose of this course is to provide you with a balanced language arts program which provides opportunities to move from interpretation of a text to meaningful connections between the text and your experiences. Through a series of language arts activities you will listen, speak, think, and write about literature. Using the California English Standards framework you will develop the skills to explore ideas and values representing many perspectives and diverse styles, cultures, and attitudes.
View the Course Syllabus
Project #1 - Exploring Youth & Criminal Justice in Monster
You will use knowledge gained from the reading and discussion of Monster to write a screenplay that reflects your understanding of prejudice, racism, or the prison industrial complex.
Essential questions:
• Should youth be trailed as adults?
• Who is responsible for ensuring justice for youth?
• What are alternate methods of rehabilitating criminals and preventing crimes?
View the RUBRIC for the screenplay.
Project Overview:
Week 1 -2:
• Introduce Project – Youth Justice in Monster
o KWHL Chart
o Racial Profiling - Stats on prison system in CA , prejudice, racism – charts on race & age of incarcerated youth
o Reading Comics – “Bobby”, “3 Strikes Law”, “What’s Race got to do with it?”
• Prison Industrial Complex Trackstar. Write in complete sentences. Label each page with the title.
Week 3-4:
• Monster Anticipation Guide
o Elements of a Screenplay
• Plot Elements
o Plot diagram
o Monster Story Outline
• Characterization – Protagonist & Antagonist
o Bio Poem
o Character Guided Imagery
• Different Types of Conflict
o Conflict Scenarios
o Compare / Contrast Characters
Week 5: Elements of Time
• Foreshadowing/ Flashbacks
• How is time affected/changed in jail?
• Film scene from Monster
Week 6-7: Theme - Analyzing Ethical Issues relating to prisons
• Guided Imagery
• Debate on capital punishment
• Persuasive Essay
• Write two-hander
Week 8-9: Writing the Screenplay
• Reviewing Plot Diagram & Two Hander
• Write Script
• Storyboard Script
• Presentation – Cold Reading of Script
Week 10
• Create production groups
• Casting
• Film Scripts
• Edit/Post Production
View the Course Syllabus
Project #1 - Exploring Youth & Criminal Justice in Monster
You will use knowledge gained from the reading and discussion of Monster to write a screenplay that reflects your understanding of prejudice, racism, or the prison industrial complex.
Essential questions:
• Should youth be trailed as adults?
• Who is responsible for ensuring justice for youth?
• What are alternate methods of rehabilitating criminals and preventing crimes?
View the RUBRIC for the screenplay.
Project Overview:
Week 1 -2:
• Introduce Project – Youth Justice in Monster
o KWHL Chart
o Racial Profiling - Stats on prison system in CA , prejudice, racism – charts on race & age of incarcerated youth
o Reading Comics – “Bobby”, “3 Strikes Law”, “What’s Race got to do with it?”
• Prison Industrial Complex Trackstar. Write in complete sentences. Label each page with the title.
Week 3-4:
• Monster Anticipation Guide
o Elements of a Screenplay
• Plot Elements
o Plot diagram
o Monster Story Outline
• Characterization – Protagonist & Antagonist
o Bio Poem
o Character Guided Imagery
• Different Types of Conflict
o Conflict Scenarios
o Compare / Contrast Characters
Week 5: Elements of Time
• Foreshadowing/ Flashbacks
• How is time affected/changed in jail?
• Film scene from Monster
Week 6-7: Theme - Analyzing Ethical Issues relating to prisons
• Guided Imagery
• Debate on capital punishment
• Persuasive Essay
• Write two-hander
Week 8-9: Writing the Screenplay
• Reviewing Plot Diagram & Two Hander
• Write Script
• Storyboard Script
• Presentation – Cold Reading of Script
Week 10
• Create production groups
• Casting
• Film Scripts
• Edit/Post Production
