English 11 A Honors

Syllabus/Course Overview

2006 – 2007

 

Instructor:  Mrs. Poeppel

English office: 240-497-6364

 

Email

 

 

Department Objective Focus:  Fostering inquiry and helping students develop strong questioning skills and annotating skills when reading and responding to texts.

 

Throughout this semester students will be learning to

 

•           read and listen to acquire literary experience, gain information, perform a task, and derive pleasure.

 

•           reflect upon the creative elements and forms and respond in a critical manner.

 

•           recognize, analyze, and interpret various writing techniques used in poetry, prose, and drama.

 

•           evaluate the author’s use of structural elements appropriate to narrative, informative, persuasive, and expressive writing.

 

•           identify and use specific textual evidence from the works we read to support a personal response to a text.

 

•           write analytical essays that are well-written. well-organized, and well-argued.

 

•           use self-evaluation to improve written work through the process of revision.

 

Texts (subject to change)

 

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (summer reading assignment)

An Introduction to Poetry, edited by X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia

Fences by August Wilson

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

 

Supplementary Text

 

50 Essays, edited by Samuel Cohen

 

We will read, examine, discuss, and write about these works in three units.

 

 

Unit 1:  Textures

 

Texts:  Fences by August Wilson and An Introduction to Poetry, edited by X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia

 

Essential Questions:

 

1. Why does a writer choose specific words?

 

2. How does the placement of words affect understanding?

 

3. What are the elements of style?

 

4. How does style contribute to meaning?

 

 

Unit 2:  Patterns

 

Texts:  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and An Introduction to Poetry, edited by X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia

 

Essential Questions:

 

1. What patterns do writers use in prose (fiction and nonfiction) and poetry to convey information, feeling, and experience?

 

2. How do writers use patterns to shape and affect meaning?

 

3. What factors influence the choice of structure (form)?

 

 

Unit 3: Landscape

 

Text:  Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

 

Essential Questions:

 

1. In what ways do landscapes shape people's attitudes, ideas, and beliefs?

 

2. How do groups of people or individuals change and redefine the landscapes upon which live, and what are the implications of these changes?

 

3. What is the role of landscapes in determining a people's or individual's sense of identity?

 

 

Class expectations and rules

 

Students are expected to follow the school rules as outlined in the student handbook.

 

If you are absent, you are responsible for keeping up with reading assignments and for making up missed work.

 

•  Treat everyone with respect.

•  Come to class prepared with necessary materials.

•  Come to class on time.

•  Do not bring food to class.

 

 

Grading Policy

 

Assignments will be explained in detail and due dates will be clearly stated.  Assignments will have a due date and a deadline as stated in the MCPS grading policy (see student handbook).  Papers will not be accepted after the deadline.

 

Grades for each quarter will be determined based upon points accumulated for all assignments.  These assignments will include papers, quizzes, tests, presentations, study guides, and projects. 

 

Grading scale:

90-100% = A

80-89%  = B

70-79%  = C

60-69%  = D

50-59%  = E

0 = used only if the work is not done or in cases of academic dishonesty.

 

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 of academic dishonesty.

 

 

Reteaching/Reassessing Policy

 

Students will be allowed to be reassessed on assignments as determined by the 11^th grade Honors English Team.  Students will be informed ahead of time when an assignment may be reassessed.  They must show evidence as determined by the teacher and team that they have made an attempt to relearn the material before taking the reassessment.  Examples of that evidence include, but are not limited to:

 

            •  Coming to the teacher for extra help

            •  Attending TAP

            •  Completing practice assignments

            •  Making corrections on the original assessment/assignment

 

Reassessment must be done in a timely fashion according to a schedule determined by the teacher and the team.  The reassessed grade will replace the original grade.

 

 

Academic Dishonesty

 

Students are advised to read carefully the entry entitled “Academic Dishonesty” in the student handbook.  Students are expected to follow these guidelines.   Plagiarism or cheating will result in a zero on the assignment with no opportunity for resubmission.  All cases of academic dishonesty will be referred to school administration. 

 

 

Getting in touch

 

I am available every day at lunch to answer questions on assignments.  I will be either in A320 or in the CHIPS room (next to A314).  The best way for students or parents to reach me is by email.