Farrar Williams is a longtime educator with experience teaching in a variety of settings and levels. She has her undergraduate degree in history from Mount Holyoke College and her master’s in education and teaching from Goddard College. Farrar spent many years as a humanities teacher and administrator at a small Quaker middle school, where she honed her belief that education is a process, not a product, and that the goal is to bring out each student’s individual light. For the last decade and a bit, she has been homeschooling her sons, writing, and teaching in homeschool co-ops and drama groups. In addition to teaching, she’s currently an educational consultant and works with homeschool families on college admissions. When not teaching or working, Farrar is probably solving sudoku, reading a YA novel, or trying to resist putting in another batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. She lives in Washington, DC. Contact: fwilliams[at]aimacademy.online
Instructor Category: Farrar Williams
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Film as Literature
Some content may not be appropriate for all students. Selected films can be reviewed at Common Sense Media. See Required Texts tab for more details.
At the heart of a film is a good story. In this course, students will view a wide variety of classic and recent films to consider the question: What makes a good story? How do they help us understand the world and ourselves? In order to do that, we’ll tackle both the language of literature and the language of film. We’ll consider genre, theme, plot, characterization, motifs, allusions, metaphors, and other core elements of literary analysis. We’ll also look at lighting, sound, cinematography, acting, special effects, and other elements of film analysis. Topics will also incorporate film history and adaptation.
Discussion and writing are cornerstones of the course. In addition to guidance on writing, students should expect to learn tools for class discussion and to engage in lively discussion during most weeks. While the course focuses on film, there are several readings, including short stories, articles, and two full books. Writing focuses on developing student voice and communication clarity. Assignments include film reviews, thesis-based literary analysis papers, personal narratives, and creative writing.
Course Structure
Our course is broken into four units:
- Introduction to Film
- Coming of Age
- Speculative Stories
- Justice
Each unit includes five films and one polished, longer writing assignment. Students read one book each semester: one in the Coming of Age unit and one in the Justice unit. Students should expect to watch a full film on their own time most weeks. All other readings and assignments are short.
Who should enroll?
Students in grades 10-12 who would like an alternative core English course or an English or film studies elective. At heart, it’s a course for students who like movies and enjoy discussing films.
Please note! I welcome students who struggle with reading and would appreciate an alternative English course as a result. I also welcome lovers of literature who want a different type of English class or an elective. All students should note that there are readings for class, including essays and two full books (audiobooks are acceptable). Students are asked to participate in discussions without exception (via chat or microphone is acceptable). There are also several essay assignments, and writing is a core part of the course.
Prerequisite
This is a high school course for students in grades 10 and up. All students should understand the basics of writing an analytical essay.
Technology Requirements
- High-speed broadband Internet
- Sound card and microphone (for live sessions)
- Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures and films
- Students may be asked to scan or take pictures of certain assignments for submission
Note that no subscription film service is required for this course, but students must have access to all films. Additionally, we will host a group film watch party once per semester, and students are strongly urged to participate.
Evaluation and Feedback
My goal as an educator is always to help your students improve their skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking. Students start in different places. This is why I give extensive feedback on key writing assignments and make myself available to talk students through tricky assignments if they ask for help. The back-and-forth of the classroom is a big part of how we learn.
Classes are live and interactive. Participation is part of the grade for this course. Assignments are marked and returned in a timely fashion. I respond to student messages promptly, make myself available to schedule short help sessions for assignments, and try to reach out to students who are struggling with their work.
Rubrics are provided for all writing assignments. Grades reflect both completion of all work and quality. Revision is a focus of this course, and students will be expected to revise all major assignments.
Communication
I communicate with students via Canvas and email. I usually respond quickly to questions, and I urge students to reach out any time they need help.
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Graphic Novels
Class is limited to 15 students.
Although this is a year-long course, students may join in the second semester as we explore a unit on superheroes and a unit on the theme of immigration in graphic novels.
By bringing together words and pictures, comics and graphic novels merge art and storytelling to create an accessible, compelling medium. In this course, we’ll consider sequential art as a form of literature. We’ll look at the history and roots of comics. We’ll consider how to interpret graphic novel stories and how the visual element impacts storytelling. Along the way, we’ll focus on all the core skills of literary analysis.
We’ll begin our study with the classic graphic novel about graphic novels, Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. From there, students will read a wide variety of graphic novels, including memoirs, nonfiction reporting, fantasy stories, and superhero comics. Shorter works and full-length graphic novels will be considered. We’ll also read authors from several countries.
Discussion is a cornerstone of the course and a core part of the course assessment. As a core English course, writing is also an important part of the course. Writing focuses on developing student voice and communication clarity. Assignments include thesis-based literary analysis, personal narrative, and creative writing.
Course Structure
This course will alternate between longer, full-length graphic novels and shorter reading assignments. While the course doesn’t have specific units, in the first semester we’ll start by focusing on the visual language of graphic novels and, more generally, visual communication. We’ll move to the history of graphic novels as well as the growing emphasis on memoir and nonfiction in graphic novels today. Along the way, we’ll explore relatable stories, fantasy elements as metaphor, and graphic novels as a way to convey serious journalism and personal stories, including by reading the seminal two-volume story Maus by Art Spiegelman.
In the second semester, we’ll explore two very different worlds. First, we’ll look at superheroes, including Spiderman, the Avengers, and Superman. Next, we’ll turn our attention to stories that center on immigration, first by using Ms. Marvel and Superman to bridge those themes, and then by considering several memoirs and stories.
Each semester will have two projects, one of which is an essay with revision. Students will complete a presentation and a graphic-based story of their own (no art skills required!). Shorter writing practice will also be expected, but the emphasis is on in-class discussion.
Who should enroll?
Students in grades 10-12 who would like an alternative core English course or an English elective. At heart, it’s a course for students who like comics and graphic novels, or who would like to expand their reading to include them.
Please note! I welcome students who struggle with reading and would appreciate an alternative English course as a result. I also welcome lovers of literature who want a different type of English class or an elective. The volume of reading for this course is steady. Students will read more than a dozen graphic novels during the course. Students are asked to participate in discussions without exception (via chat or microphone is acceptable). Writing assignments are core to the course but not its primary focus, which is why discussion is a required element.
Prerequisite
This is a high school course for students in grades 10 and up. All students should understand the basics of writing an analytical essay.
Technology Requirements
- High-speed broadband Internet
- Sound card and microphone (for live sessions)
- Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures and films
- Students may be asked to scan or take pictures of certain assignments for submission
Evaluation and Feedback
My goal as an educator is always to help your students improve their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Students start in different places. This is why I give extensive feedback on key writing assignments and make myself available to talk students through tricky assignments if they ask for help. The back-and-forth of the classroom is a big part of how we learn.
Classes are live and interactive. Participation is part of the grade for this course. Assignments are marked and returned in a timely fashion. I respond to student messages promptly, make myself available to schedule short help sessions for assignments, and try to reach out to students who are struggling with their work.
Rubrics are provided for all writing assignments. Grades reflect both completion of all work and quality. Revision is a focus in this course, and students will be expected to revise all major assignments.
Communication
I communicate with students via Canvas and email. I usually respond quickly to questions, and I urge students to reach out any time they need help.
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History of Africa and Asia
This is a full-year course providing 1 credit in History. This course may also be taken by semester (0.5 credit each semester), with History of Africa and the Middle East covered in the first semester and History of Asia in the second.
Would your student like to center their education on world history in a different way? This course explores the history of Africa and Asia. We’ll learn about the history of great ancient civilizations, from the early Mesopotamians and Egyptians to the mysterious Indus River Valley people and the first Han Chinese dynasties. In addition, we’ll look at the development of trade networks across Africa and the Indian Ocean and how they created enormous wealth and power in the medieval world. Students will also learn about the rise of Islam and the ways its spread influenced history. We’ll examine how the clashes between Europe and its neighbors played out in Africa, the Middle East, India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Finally, we’ll look at the roots of contemporary conflicts and issues across the continents.
This course is centered on engaging with a variety of texts, including films, memoirs, graphic novel memoirs, primary sources, and secondary sources. While our class will include lecture and note-taking practice, my emphasis is on class discussion and participation. Learning happens outside the class when students read and watch videos. Processing that information happens in the classroom through discussion, synthesis, and preparation for written assignments.
Course Structure
This course has four units: Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. Each unit will cover the basic geography, religions, and cultures of the region and the history from prehistoric times to the present or recent past, meaning that we’ll have a chance to see themes repeated and find connections as we make our way through history four times.
Each unit contains:
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- A nonfiction history book (there are two short books for the East Asia unit)
- One or two memoirs
- A film
- An essay assignment
- A map quiz
- Weekly history questions that practice close reading and summarizing skills
- Additional readings and short summary video links, including short primary source readings, were provided by me
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Who should enroll?
Students in grades 9-12 who are:
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- Interested in history, especially students interested in getting a different view of history than is usually explored in high school history classes
- Interested in a world history course that is not centered on the Western world
- Interested in honing their nonfiction reading and writing skills or students who enjoy memoirs and nonfiction graphic novels
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Technology Requirements
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- High-speed, broadband Internet
- Sound card and microphone (for live sessions)
- Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures and weekly short video assignments
- Students may be asked to scan or take pictures of certain assignments for submission
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Evaluation and Feedback
My goal as an educator is always to help your students advance their skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking, especially as applied to history. Students start in different places. This is why I give extensive feedback on key writing assignments and make myself available to talk students through tricky assignments if they ask for help. It’s also why I give marks for class participation. The back-and-forth of the classroom is a big part of how we learn. Students who are less comfortable speaking up in class will have ample opportunities to participate in writing and other ways.
Rubrics are provided for all writing assignments. Grades reflect class participation, writing assignments, short answer questions, and map quizzes.
Communication
Communication is through Canvas. Parents and students are encouraged to reach out with any questions. Additionally, I provide a short narrative progress report at the end of each quarter.
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AP World History
This is an AP course that will follow the College Board’s syllabus for world history:
“In AP World History: Modern, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from 1200 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course provides six themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation.”
Through its themes, this course emphasizes the big picture of world history since the Middle Ages. However, to succeed in interpreting and analyzing historical sources, students must retain information and be able to draw on sufficient specific details about that history. My goal is to help students build fluency with facts and then lead them to practice their interpretation skills through discussion and reflection. Students who take the AP exam can receive college credit for this course.
Course Structure
The AP course syllabus contains 9 units:
We spend three weeks on each unit, with a tenth and final unit spent solely on review and exam preparation.
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- Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450)
- Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)
- Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)
- Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (1450-1750)
- Unit 5: Revolutions (1750-1900)
- Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (1750-1900)
- Unit 7: Global Conflict (1900-present)
- Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (1900-present)
- Unit 9: Globalization (1900-present)
- Unit 10: Review
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Exam readiness is also woven into every unit. The units follow a pattern. We spend the first week reading, introducing, and outlining the chapter. The second week is spent on more in-depth responses to the unit’s material, including close reading of primary sources, practice with writing skills, consideration of different perspectives on history, occasional group projects, and creative responses. The final week of each unit culminates in a practice-style exam that covers all components of the AP exam, but focuses only on the themes and topics from that unit. That includes multiple-choice questions, short-response questions, an essay, and a document-based question essay.
Students will:
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- Learn to analyze primary and secondary historical sources
- Develop historical arguments
- Make connections between different times and places in modern world history
- Increase their understanding of cause and effect in historical contexts
- Develop a strong thesis statement in a well-organized essay
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Who should enroll?
Students in grades 9-12 who are:
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- Interested in history
- Interested in a challenging social studies course
- Capable of writing a short, organized essay and reading at a strong high school level
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There are no specific prerequisites for this course. Students should be able to read and retain a college level history textbook and be able to write a simple, thesis-based essay.
I’m happy to welcome students taking their first AP course or their tenth.
Technology Requirements
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- High-speed, broadband Internet
- Sound card and microphone (for live sessions)
- Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures
- Students may be asked to scan or take pictures of certain assignments for submission
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Evaluation and Feedback
My goal as an educator is always to help your students advance their skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking, especially as they apply these skills to history. Students start in different places. This is why I give extensive feedback on key writing assignments and make myself available to talk students through tricky assignments if they ask for help. The back-and-forth of the classroom is a big part of how we learn.
Classes are live and interactive. Assignments are marked and returned promptly, and they include specific feedback for the student on free-response questions and essays. I respond to student messages promptly, make myself available to schedule short help sessions for assignments, and try to reach out to students who are struggling with work.
Rubrics are provided for all writing assignments. Grades reflect the three components of each unit: chapter outlines, response assignments, and exams. There is also a small participation grade and an opportunity for extra credit in each unit.
Communication
Communication is through Canvas. Parents and students are encouraged to reach out with any questions. Additionally, I provide a short narrative progress report at the end of each quarter.
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