This textbook follows California Language Arts Standards for grades 9-12 to provide a generalized understanding of composition and to serve as a supplementary aid to high school English teachers.

Students will view and discuss Yellow Rain Jacket, paying particular attention to the artists choice of content and composition. They will learn about composition by creating a frame and choosing areas of an image that they wish to emphasize.

Students will take on a mystery, Sherlock Holmes style, to uncover the secrets, history, and deeper meanings of Moyo Ogundipe's painting Soliloquy: Life's Fragile Fictions.

Students will be able to: explain why Ogundipe used particular colors, patterns, and images for his painting; discuss what the snakes and birds symbolize in the picture; and express in their own words at least three reasons the different elements of the painting are a treasure.

Students will explore the statue of St. Ferdinand, King of Spain with an eye for detail. They will use the ideas and mock techniques from the statue to design a royal figure for themselves.

Students will be able to: identify descriptive attributes of a sculpture; relate to an artwork in a personal and meaningful way; identify a symbol that represents their 'royal identity'; and present an artwork to the class and explain its design.

Students use improvisation to vary established patterns and to develop an idea or theme. They combine the basic elements of the dance form(s) into sequences, describe dance works using the language of dance criticism, and reflect on their own work and that of others. Through their compositions, they demonstrate the basic movement skills of the dance form(s) studied.

The Glyfada Method is a formula to help students write essays by focusing on the most difficult part of an assignment: getting started. This method helps the writer discover what their main points are and what they have to say about each main point.

Students will read about literacy narratives, read a published literacy narrative, and then create their own.  

Students will analyze and compare the Japanese Lacquer Box to pencil boxes used in school. They will then explore why the lacquer box was deserving of such attention to detail by learning about the story represented on the box. They will then design their own boxes based on a different Japanese story, with careful attention to detail.