H English 10A

Fall 2006

Instructor
Dr. Haupt
Office: A318
Email

• Syllabus
• Class Policies

Syllabus

Overview

The goal of this course is to foster inquiry and create literate, thoughtful communicators, capable of using language effectively as they negotiate an increasingly complex and information-rich world. Students will refine specific skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing and will use these skills and strategies as tools for learning and reflection. Exploring a variety of texts, students will understand and appreciate language and literature as catalysts for deep thought and emotion.

Introduction (8/28– 9/1)

Texts: Wright, Black Boy

Focus

•  Review summer reading.
•  Introduce students to techniques of close reading and thematic analysis.
•  Assess students’ critical reading skills.

Unit One: Form and Expression (9/5– 10/31)

Texts: Selected stories from Points of View; Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye; selected speeches and recordings

Focus

•  Introduce students to the elements of effective speeches, including a range of rhetorical techniques.
•  Introduce students to the elements of narrative.
•  Examine the use of point of view and diction in creating narrative voice.

Common Tasks

•  Analyze the rhetorical techniques of noteworthy speeches.
•  Compose and deliver a speech using rhetorical techniques.
•  Critique the rhetorical effect of a fellow classmate’s speech.
•  Compose a composition responding to an SAT prompt.
•  Analyze how a writer uses language to create a narrative voice.
•  Analyze how a writer uses various narrative elements to develop a theme.

Unit Two: Odysseys (11/2– 1/11)

Texts: Homer, The Odyssey (Fagles translation); poems inspired by The Odyssey.

Focus

•  Identify and explore multiple themes (e.g., hospitality, order, journeys).
•  Introduce and analyze epic form and conventions.
•  Relate The Odyssey to its historical context and to contemporary culture.

Common Tasks

•  Deliver a group presentation on a character, convention, or episode in The Odyssey.
•  Write a multi-paragraph essay on a key theme or question in The Odyssey.
•  Compose and deliver a short speech justifying a character’s action in The Odyssey.
•  Compose a composition responding to an SAT prompt.
•  Explain how an author uses figurative language for a specific purpose.
•  Compare the tone or speaker’s attitude in two poems.

Personal Project

All students in the 10th grade at B-CC will complete a Personal Project as a required part of their completion of the IB Middle Years Programme. The Personal Project is credited as an elective for the second semester, and is graded on a pass/fail basis. The Personal Project is a yearlong endeavor that begins in the first quarter of English with topic selection and completion of a formal Project Proposal. During the first quarter, we will work on the following steps:

•  Identifying the goals and requirements of the Personal Project
•  Generating topic ideas through brainstorming, research, and review of sample projects
•  Drafting a Project Proposal that fulfills specific requirements for structure and content
•  Writing entries in a Project Process Journal* following content and format guidelines

*The Process Journal is required for successful completion of the project. It will be reviewed on a monthly basis by your project supervisor and credited for completion in English. You will need to purchase a black and white composition book for your Process Journal.

B-CC’s Middle Years Coordinator, Dr. Martha Cohen, is available as a resource as you work on your project. Her office is in C-214.  Her email address

CLass Policies

Classroom Conduct

You are expected to:

• Respect the teacher and your fellow classmates
• Come to class on time
• Come to class prepared (with required materials and completed homework)
• Learn and follow the procedures of the class
• Keep the classroom clean

Required Materials

• A composition book (journal)
• A pencil or pen
• A folder
• Loose-leaf paper

Absences

When absent, you are expected to stay up-to-date with your assignments by consulting the assignment schedule. When returning to class after an absence, you are expected to:

• Review a fellow classmate’s journal entry for the day of absence, recording the warm-up task, vocabulary, and discussion notes
• Pick up handouts
• Schedule a time to make up missed work

Grading

Your grade for each quarter will be determined based upon the total number of points earned for all assignments divided by the total number of available points.

The following B–CC policies are consistent with the new MCPS Grading and Reporting Policy as outlined in Learning, Grading and Reporting Guidelines (MCPS, 2004). These will apply in all courses offered at B–CC.

• Teachers will assign grades to reflect individual achievement on course objectives.
• Teachers will determine grades based on a variety of assessment methods.
• Teachers will issue progress reports at the 4½ week mark in each quarter.
• Teachers will establish clear due dates and deadlines. The maximum penalty for work submitted after the due date but before the deadline is one letter grade on an A-E scale or 10% on a 100% scale.
• Teachers will record 50% as the lowest possible grade if percentages are used except in cases where a student does not complete a assignment or commits an act of academic dishonesty.

Reassessment

Your grade will be based on an assessment of the work that you complete inside and outside of class. Certain assignments agreed upon by the 10th grade team may be re-assessed, and this will be indicated when the assignment is distributed. If the reassessment is completed in a timely manner determined by the teacher, the reassessed grade will replace the 1st grade.

To have an assignment reassessed, you must meet the following criteria: 1) the assignment must be submitted before the deadline, 2) you must discuss your intended re-assessment with me and schedule a due date for it, 3) you must work one-on-one with me, with one of our composition assistants, or with someone at TAP to actively discuss your work on the re-assessed assignment, and 4) you must attach your original work to the reassessed work. No reassessment of assignments will be allowed unless these criteria have been met.

Academic Dishonesty

The designation of “academic dishonesty” applies to both written work and oral presentations. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the following: the willful giving or receiving of an unauthorized text, unfair, dishonest, or unscrupulous advantage in academic work over other students using fraud, duress, deception, theft, trickery, talking, signs, gestures, copying, or any other methodology.

Plagiarism:

• Submitting or presenting another person's work as your own without proper documentation, including downloaded information from the Internet and lab data.
• Using another student's material without prior approval.

Cheating:

• Giving or receiving information during a test, quiz, and/or class work assignment without teacher authorization.
• Using hand signals, gestures, and the like during tests or quizzes to obtain/give information.
• Using unauthorized materials during a test or quiz.

Electronic Portfolios

At the end of the semester, you will select two pieces of writing to include in your electronic portfolio. One piece must be from this English class.

Documenting Sources

For information on how to document sources in your writing, please consult the green section of your student handbook: “BCC English Department’s Guide to Writing Effectively.”