ORIENTATION

Queens Satellite Academy
Eleanor Morley

Goals and Objectives:

This course is designed to orient "at risk students" to academics. We accomplish this goal by reinforcing positive classroom skills and habits. All Orientation students are required to carry a binder and pen each day. Homework is an essential component in the course and regular exams as well as class projects are assigned. Great emphasis is placed on writing and revision. The course topics focus on self reflection and writing a memoir. Assignments ask students to reflect on their goals, desires, behavior and relationships, through literature and writing activities.

Course Description:
The course consists of the following units.
Introductory descriptive writing workshop
Peer Interview Project
Reading a memoir of your choice
Creative writing unit
Autobiography/memoir project
Topics are introduced with a piece of literature from a contemporary memoir or autobiographical fiction
such as Black Boy, Drown, Almost a Woman, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Down These Mean Streets, and The Color of Water among other works.

The writing topics include:
Someone Important in My Life
A Turning Point
A Mistake
My Future
This Thing
My Family
Me and History

Students study the reading for style, grammar, language use, voice, and content, and then prepare their own piece with a sense of these elements in their own writing. They learn to compare and contrast authors and writing styles while developing their unique style and voice.

The students also prepare an extensive portfolio. This portfolio examines their history as a Satellite student during their first term with us. Progress is documented for each of their subject classes and for their school habits such as attendance, lateness and behavior.

Target group:
Returning at-risk students at any grade level. This is the first English course for all new students at Queens-Satellite Academy.

Standards:
This course is aligned with the NY state and city English Language Arts standards in the following areas:
Writing and Revision
Familiarity with contemporary literature
Ability to Compare and Contrast
Literary Analysis

Materials:
Literature listed above grammar worksheets Assessments: Tests and exams Autobiography Portfolio Notebook checks and writing assignments