Objectives
The basic writing objectives of the Houston I.S.D. (H.I.S.D.) Project Clear and the Texas Education Agency's Essential Skills and Knowledge (T.E.K.S.), which include the following, call for a curriculum that can motivate students to develop original works in the various subgenres of detective fiction and that encourages them to consider the questions of norms, mores, and ethics raised in their dealings with the prominent theme of good and evil in the genre. These objectives begin with the student developing the foundations of writing, then move on to the student writing for a variety of purposes and in a variety of forms (T.E.K.S. ELA.110.52.b.1.A-G). Secondly, the students' ability to use the conventions of written language to communicate clearly and effectively in writing and their application of standard grammar and usage to communicate clearly and effectively in writing is highlighted (T.E.K.S. ELA.110.52.b.3.A-D). Following this, the students must select and use recursive writing processes for self-initiated and assigned writing and demonstrate competence in evaluating their own writing and the writing of others (T.E.K.S. ELA.110.52.b.2.A-I and T.E.K.S.ELA.110.54.b.A-C). And finally, the student will interact with writers inside and outside of the classroom in ways that reflect the practical uses of writing and he/she will use writing as a tool for learning and research.
Each of these objectives lends itself well to the study and dissemination of information gained while the students familiarize themselves with a genre that wends its way through every aspect of real life, even if in an exaggerated manner, illuminating the foibles and the heroism inherent in humanity. Meeting these objectives will enable the students to write more effectively and to more accurately portray archetypes of human nature in their writings. Thus, at the end of this course of study, the student will not only be able to write according to directives and to hone that writing into clear, concise units, he/she will also be able to constructively critique the work of peers and discover insights that will help to make their own writing more incisive, a very useful skill in the writing of detective fiction.
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