English 11

Daily Sketch This page contains an outline of what was done in class this week and the previous week. If you were absent and looking for assignments, this is were you go. RED WHITE	Romanticism Unit Study Schedule RED WHITE	Master Vocabulary List
Edgar Allan Poe Short Story Lesson	Want to know more?	General Sites on Romanticism and Transcendentalism
Daily Oral Language	*Huckleberry Finn* Study Guide	Research Essay Assignment White Syllabus
Falcon Skills & Style Handbook Check out this site for help with your writing MLA Websites

Course Overview

1. Literature study: As this is a literature and composition course you can expect to do a tremendous amount of reading. The literature component of the class will be a survey in American Literature Classics. I am aware that there are a variety of great American authors, but we have a limited amount of time. The authors and works selected have in someway shaped the history and/or literature of America. Before we study each work we will look at the author and time period in which the work was written. During the reading we will discuss the methods and devices the author used to create meaning. While discussing the text I will be sharing popular themes, symbols, and motifs found within the work. It is imperative that instead of arguing the validity, you discuss how these are revealed. I promise that I obtain my information from very reliable sources.

2. Composition study: You will hand in at least one essay a week. These essays will usually be done in class to practice a technique. In Unit 1 we will review and practice the narrative and persuasive essays. In the consecutive units we will be working on analytical essays.

3. Literature and Composition study: We will focus on specific literary and composition terms or devices throughout the year. These terms will be practiced through a variety of classroom exercises and assessed through the study of the above works and their accompanying tests.

4. Vocabulary study: Each week you will receive a vocabulary packet containing 10 words and a variety of exercises to practice their meaning. The packet will be due at the start of the last class meeting for the week and there will be a quiz over the 10 words. The quizzes will be as follows: I will pronounce a work and you will spell it correctly, define it, and use it in a sentence with contextual clues that help define it further. I suggest you know the part of speech; if the word functions equally as two parts of speech (a noun and a verb, for example) know the meanings for each. When you write your sentences, you may use various forms of the word: adjective, adverb, or any verb tense, provided you use the form correctly. The quizzes are worth 20 points each and the packet is work 60 points.

5. Grammar study: We will study different aspects of grammar/usage on a daily bases with periodic grammar assessments. All written assignments are expected to be grammatically correct.

Course Expectations/Classroom Policies

1. Behavior: I expect that students will show respect, not only to me but to fellow classmates as well. If you cannot be respectful, then you will be removed from the room and will not pass the class. As a junior, I know that you have learned how to behave in the classroom. For specific school policies please read you student handbook.

2. Attendance: You are not in college, and attendance is not optional. If you want to pass the class, then you must come to class; it is that simple. I realize that many of you are in activities that frequently take you away from the classroom. It is your responsibility to keep up! Classroom participation is a major part of your grad, and obviously, if you are not here you cannot participate. There are ways of making up participation points for excused absences. Students who are unexcused will not be able to make up participation points. If you are falling behind due to attendance (excused or unexcused), please meet with me.

3. Tardies: I expect you to be on time to class; late students disrupt the class. You are allowed 4 tardies a semester; after the four you will serve a detention with me each time you are tardy.

4. Assignments: I do not accept late work. If you are absent, it is mandatory that you come to see me the day before the next class meeting. There is also a class website that will have the assignments. I have done all that I can to ensure that you are prepared for each class meeting; respect your fellow classmates and me by doing the same.

5. Test and Quizzes: If you are in attendance on the day of a test or quiz you must take the test or quiz unless arrangements have been made the day before. If you are absent the day of a test or quiz, you have two class days after your return to school to make it up. Failure to make it up within two days will result in a zero. Unexcused students cannot make up tests or quizzes.

6. Reading Journals: In order to participate in the class discussions you must have your reading journals up-to-date, with you, and open. This will be part of your participation grade.

7. Research Project: You will be working independently on a research project that will span the year. If you do not complete the paper and presentation, you will not receive a grade higher than a D in the class.

8. Cheating: Cheating is inexcusable! If caught cheating, you will receive a zero on the assignment. The school policy states that the penalty for cheating is 3 days out of school suspension. This policy will be enforced. If I see you copying work for my class it will be thrown away, and all participants will receive a zero. If I see you copying work for another class it will be confiscated and handed over the appropriate teacher. In case you were unaware, plagiarism is a form of cheating. It is the act of passing off someone else’s ideas, inventions, writings, etc as one’s own.