Freshmen Seminar - What is it and why do we do it?

By Liz McGuffin (Freshmen Seminar Teacher)

Freshmen Seminar is designed to increase student awareness of social, economic, and political issues and encourages them to consider who they are as individuals and what responsibilities they owe to American society and the world at large.  In teaching Seminar, I hope to increase student reading levels and comprehension through rigorous reading material; to help students develop their critical thinking skills through research, in-depth analysis, and debate; and to increase student engagement and enthusiasm for English and Social Studies through collaborative, real-world problem-solving based lessons that students can relate to as individuals and global citizens.

Freshmen Seminar combines 9^th grade English and Social Studies into a single class based on contemporary issues like race, poverty, and corruption where reading, writing, and grammar skills are built into these thematic units.  Each unit re-visits a set of themes introduced in the first unit on Self-Worth: character, compassion, responsibility, and active citizenship.  Students study a variety of texts and the different reading strategies needed to comprehend each, helping them to become more active viewers and readers.  We look at novels, short stories, essays, poetry, news articles, music, visual art, and more, many of which have varied - and often contradictory - messages, challenging students to compare the validity and credibility of each, and ultimately develop their own, unique perspective that they can support using what they've learned. 

Freshmen Seminar sets rigorous standards for reading, analysis, writing, discussion, and presenting.  At KWoods, we want to help students become more independent learners so that by their senior year, they're prepared for Senior Exhibition, a capstone project where each student is immersed in a year-long study of an essential question of his or her own creation.  Seminar helps our students build those very skills that are necessary for success in Senior Exhibition, college, and the workplace: curiosity, a desire to learn and grow, investigation, self-advocacy, independence, collaboration, competence, and self-confidence.