Parents & Students!!

We are well into the first quarter of American Literature.  Students are required to complete SAT Word Power Warm-Ups almost every class period.  After an accumulation of words, students take a Word Power Quiz.  Right now, we have taken three Word Power Quizzes, and flashcards for those words and upcoming words will be posted on the flashcards link on this page.

Currently, we are reading "The Crucible" a play by Arthur Miller that analyzes the Salem Witch Trials.  Students are to complete a character analysis chart for each of the following characters for each Act: Reverend Samuel Parris, Reverend John Hale, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor.  There should be three characteristics (and evidence to support each characteristic) for each character for each Act.  We are also working on a similarities and differences chart as we view each Act of the movie after we read the same Act in the play.  These comparison charts will be used to complete a TYPEWRITTEN essay at the end of the play.

Listed below you will find my course syllabus.  Please read it carefully, as it explains how your child will be graded in my class, as well as what goals and objectives we hope to acheive this school year.  Please feel free to email me from this website with any questions you may have (the emails come directly to my work email).  Thank you and I look forward to a wonderful school year!


SMWalker

Ms. S. Walker               Course Syllabus – English 11          Room 254

Phone: 301-497-2050 ext. 1230       email: steph.walker@pgcps.org

Classroom Standards

Course Description:

            This is a literature course that will focus on the development of American Literature over time while infusing proper grammar techniques and usage lessons during the reading of texts.  Writing is an integral part of all activities and is weighted as such.  Students will keep track of their own writing assignments in student portfolios.  Test will be announced, but quizzes can be announced or unannounced.

Classroom Preparation:

            Students must come prepared to learn with ID’s properly placed and visible, notebooks with LOOSE-LEAF paper (not spiral or composition-bound), textbooks, and blue or black pens everyday. NO PENCILS and any work written in pencil WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  Notebooks must have dividers for the following sections: Notes, Writing Assignments, Class work/Homework, Journals/Warm-Ups, and Tests/Quizzes.  Students must also have some sort of calendar or agenda book in order to keep track of their assignments.

Grading Policy:

            Unexcused late homework or class work will not be accepted, NO EXCEPTIONS!  If you are absent, you have two (2) class days to bring in an excused note for the makeup work.  If you have an excused absence, you have the number of days you were absent to make up all assignments missed.  If the absence is unexcused, the work cannot be made up.  If you are tardy unexcused, no points will be given for completion of the warm up/journal entry that day.  Permission to be absent from class from any reason besides being absent from school must be obtained from Ms. Walker BEFORE the class period.  Teachers CANNOT excuse a student from another teacher’s class.  If there is a test scheduled, DO NOT make any appointments (administrator, guidance, etc.) during that period as you WILL NOT be able to make up the test.  If there is a field trip or other activity already scheduled for a date that a test is assigned, inform Ms. Walker IMMEDIATELY so alternate testing arrangements can be made.  When a test is given, there will be NO looking around or talking until EVERYONE has turned in his/her test or Ms. Walker reserves the right to confiscate tests and assign ZEROES.  You must schedule a time with Ms. Walker to make up a test (usually during the “Spartan Hour”).  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will overdue make-up work be accepted the last week of the grading period.  Papers and Projects are due on the due date.  For every class day they are late, there will be one letter grade deducted.  If work is more than three (3) class days late, it WILL NOT be accepted and a grade of zero points will be given.  No messy, disorganized or damaged work will be accepted.  Breakdown of percentages are as follows:

Writing Assignments - including Journals/Warm-Ups = 30%

Class work/Homework/Participation = 10%/8%/2% (total = 20%)

Tests/Quizzes/Assessments = 50%

Classroom Expectations:

1. Be Prepared

- Come to class on time, ready to learn, with proper materials and open minds.

2. Be Responsible

- Blaming others for your behavior is irresponsible; you are your own person

- Honesty is truly the best policy

3.      Be Respectful
- Show respect while others are talking by being quiet

      - Raise your hand if you have something to say

      - Talking at anytime is inappropriate unless you are asking a question or during                  group/class discussions.

      - Remain seated at all times and if you need to move, please raise your hand

      - The teacher dismisses the class, NOT THE BELL

      - The classroom is an area to be treated with respect – KEEP IT CLEAN

      - Eating, drinking and chewing gum in class are not allowed.

Course Outline and Objectives

This English Course focuses on themes and ideas in American Literature.  The units are studied in chronological order and there is an emphasis on the roles of minorities in the development of American Literature.

This course may cover, but is not limited to, the following objectives:

The students will:

-         Use effective strategies before, during and after reading while viewing and listening to self-selected and assigned materials.

-         Construct, examine and extend meaning of traditional and contemporary works recognized as having significant literary merit.

-         Explain and give evidence to support perceptions about print and non-print works.

-         Compose oral, written and visual presentations that inform, persuade, and express personal ideas.

-         Compose texts using the prewriting, drafting and revision strategies of effective writers and speakers.

-         Demonstrate the ability to respond to a text by employing personal experiences and critical analysis.

-         Compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms and selecting language appropriate for a particular audience or purpose.

-         Control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in writing and speaking.

-         Locate, retrieve and use information from various sources to accomplish a purpose.

-         Demonstrate understanding of the nature and structure of language, including grammar and concept skills, to strengthen control of oral/ written language.

-         Identify how language choices in writing and speaking affect thoughts and feelings.

-         Use capitalization, punctuation and correct spelling appropriately.

-         Assess the effectiveness of choice of details, organizational pattern, word choice, syntax use of figurative language, and rhetorical devices in the students’ own composing.

-         Demonstrate the ability to express ideas clearly and concisely in a variety of oral contexts and to apply active listening skills to the analysis and evaluation of others’ ideas.

-         Execute a four-year career development plan.

The following is a sample outline of selections that will be covered:

Quarter One

• “The Way to Rainy Mountain”
• “La Relacion”
• from “Plymouth Plantation”
• from “ . . . Narrative of . . . Olaudah Equiano”
• "The Crucible"

Quarter Two

• from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
• “Speech in the Virginia Convention”
• “Declaration of Independence”
• “Civil Disobedience”
• “Masque of the Red Death”

Quarter Three

• from “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave”
• “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
• from “Life on the Mississippi”
• Emily Dickenson: An Author Study
• “The Story of an Hour”
• Langston Hughes: An Author Study

Quarter Four

• “How It Feels to be Colored Me”
• “The Death of the Hired Man”
• “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
• “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
• “Straw to Gold: The Metamorphosis of the Everyday”

Each of these selections is geared toward covering a period in American History that has had an impact on American Literature.  *PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS SIMPLY AN OUTLINE AND WORKS MAY BE ADDED OR OMITTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE INSTRUCTOR.*