Short stories and novels can entertain, teach about different people and places and inspire thinking about the meaning of life. This course presents short stories and novel excerpts and examines their elements. It also presents scenarios where fictional characters explore the meaning of the literary works.
Prerequisites: Good writing skills as demonstrated by one of the following: a successful course history with Hadley; completion of "English Composition" or another of our literature courses; or an equivalent score on the English Diagnostic assessment.
Course: LIT-101, Media: B, C, LP, OL, DTB or DTB-DL, Lessons: 8
Literature: Fiction
Course ID: LIT-101
Audience
Adult Continuing Education and High School Programs
Course Description
People enjoy fictional literature for many different reasons. Short stories and novels can entertain, teach about different people and places, and inspire thinking about the meaning of life. This course examines the elements of short stories and novels and presents specific short stories and novel excerpts. It includes class discussions where scenarios involving fictional characters explore the meaning of the literary works. Examining certain short stories and novel excerpts will enable the student to increase his or her understanding of these literary genres.
Media
large print, braille, audiocassette, digital talking book and online
Organization
The course is divided into eight lessons.
Credit
ACE Program: no credit
HS Program: 1/2 Carnegie Unit
Prerequisites Skills
ACE Program: English Diagnostic Test
HS Program: English Diagnostic Test or English Composition
Prerequisite Equipment
Students provide their own writing tools. Those taking the audio version provide their own cassette recorders.
Overview
All students submit eight assignments, as follows:
ACE students answer Part A only, which includes multiple-choice and short-answer questions.
HS students complete Part A plus the essay questions in Part B.
Assignments can be submitted using longhand, large print, braille, or keyboarding. ACE students only can submit assignments on audiocassette; high school students cannot.
Grading
ACE Program: satisfactory/unsatisfactory
HS Program: letter grades
Objectives and Content
After completing Lesson 1, the student will be able to
- define the short story and its elements
- analyze content in Parts 1 through 3 of “A Scandal in Bohemia,” by Arthur Conan Doyle
- discuss the meaning of the short story
After completing Lesson 2, the student will be able to
- describe the role of characters in the short stories
- analyze content and characters in “Life of Ma Parker” by Katherine Mansfield
- discuss the role of character in and the meaning of this short story
After completing Lesson 3, the student will be able to
- describe the role of setting in the short stories
- analyze content and setting in “The Finish of Patsy Barnes” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
- discuss the role of setting in and the meaning of this short story
After completing Lesson 4, the student will be able to
- define the novel and its elements, especially character
- analyze content, especially related to character, in an excerpt from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- discuss the role of character in and the meaning of this novel excerpt
After completing Lesson 5, the student will be able to
- discuss the role of setting in the novel
- analyze content, and setting, in an excerpt from Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
- discuss the role of setting in and the meaning of this novel excerpt
After completing Lesson 6, the student will be able to
- discuss the roles of conflict and theme in the novel
- analyze content, conflict, and theme, in an excerpt from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
- discuss the roles of conflict and theme in and the meaning of the novel excerpt
After completing Lesson 7, the student will be able to
- discuss the element of plot resolution in the novel
- analyze content, and plot resolution, in an excerpt from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- discuss the role of plot resolution in and the meaning of the novel excerpt
After completing Lesson 8, the student will be able to
- review the elements of the novel
- analyze content of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- discuss the meaning of this novel
Course Details
