Course: English III-P Classroom
Course: English III-P Classroom:
Instructor: Mrs. Villaseñor C-32
Hours Available for conference with students: Email:
After school: (usually) one hour (or by appointment)
Before school: by appointment only Website:
During 1st lunch: by appointment only mrsv.us.com
Note: Parent/Teacher conference must be set up through the counselor.
Course Description:
Students will be exposed to a variety of literary works. We will be engaged in discussion of such works relating to social and political issues as well as ethical and cultural ideas. Students will be refining their own style of writing through assigned essays, which will be comprised of the writing process, including: prewriting, rough drafts, revisions, peer editing, and final drafts. Students will also be engaged in practicing the craft of creative writing. It is my hope that students will find the ability to merge their creative attributes of writing with their academic writing voice—it is through this process that each uniquely gifted student will emerge with an authentic author’s voice. In addition to polishing their writing skills, students are responsible for assigned readings in novels, short stories, and other written works. Students will be involved in group and individual activities as well as larger projects—which will attempt to challenge students both in written and verbal form.
Furthermore, as expected, the curriculum is aligned with the standards to better prepare students for academic success in their future. Lastly, it is my hope that we can all work as a team in order to make this class an interesting and fulfilling part of your education.
Text:
Literature and Language (Yellow Level)--McDougal and Littell
Books:
Of Mice and Men--John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby--F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Things They Carried--Tim O'Brien
The Joy Luck Club—Amy Tan
Plays:
The Crucible--Arthur Miller
Other Readings:
Non-fiction
Short stories, poetry, selected essays,
and excerpts from various works (provided by teacher or textbook)
Attendance: Students are expected to be in class and prepared for the day's lesson as part of participation for this course. We will be following the school’s policy for tardies and truancies (un-excused absences).
1st tardy: warning 1st truancy: warning
2nd tardy: phone call home 2nd truancy: phone call home
3rd tardy: phone call home 3rd truancy: phone call home
4th tardy: dropped from the class 4th truancy: dropped from the class
See school policies Student/Parent Handbook. We are all expected to begin class when the bell rings.
Materials: We will all be prepared for the daily lessons for this course. This includes paper, pencils, pens, textbook or book (unless otherwise indicated by the teacher), folder, and any other materials that may be required for assignments. If students are in groups for an assignment and a student is required to bring something to class imperative to the group’s presentation, then the students must bring it to class. If one group member forgets something, then the individual and the group will lose points.
Grades: Grading will be based upon written and reading assignments. There will be assigned quizzes or tests throughout the year, which also will be incorporated into your grade. Journals, individual and group projects, and participation will be a large percent of the overall grade. Grades will be based upon the quality of the work, not necessarily quantity. I will give a rubric for papers and activities; therefore, students will know what is expected.
I accumulate all the work for the semester; therefore, there is always a chance for a student to improve; however, work cannot be pushed aside for the entire semester. It is almost impossible to claw your way back.
Each student is expected to do his or her own work; therefore, cheating and plagiarism should not be an issue. If, however, it does become an issue, I will be following the guidelines outlined in the Parent/Student Handbook.
Note: Grades may neither be changed on progress reports nor on quarter grades; therefore, any late work must be turned in prior to these deadlines.
Grading Scale: Work Folders:
100-90% A Homework/Classwork 25%
89-80% B Projects (Individual/Group) 25%
79-70% C Quizzes/Tests 25%
69-60% D Papers/Essays 25%
59-below% F
A note about work folders:
On my grading program, I will make each of my folders equal in weight in order to balance out the student's strengths and
weaknesses. Some students excel on tests without the aid of countless homework assignments. Some students struggle on tests,
but they have completed and done well on all homework assignments. However, the most important and apparent success or
failure will be seen through writing assignments and projects. These folders are worth more due to the sheer number of points I
assign for these items, also due to the fewer items in these folders. Therefore, if there is a concern for what will "make or break"
a student in this class, these two would be the areas of concern, yet I deem all assignments as being equally important for the
quality of the students' education.
A note about grades and late work:
Do not wait until the end of the semester to begin doing work! This is not an avenue for passing my class.
Your final for the class is not worth fifty percent of your total semester grade. I am expecting to see
students working on every assignment throughout the semester. Therefore, do not push work aside until
the end of the semester. It is highly probable that you will fail the class.
I do accept late work; however, it is only worth fifty percent of the original points possible for the
assignment. Yes, that is an “F;” however, points are points. My suggestion is that this should not become
a habit, especially since I do not give extra credit assignments. Therefore, do not ask me for extra credit
to make up for all the work you didn’t do all semester! If you only turn in late work and no work, then you
will not pass this class. Late work will only readily be accepted up to two days after the
original due date; after that, I may or may not accept your assignments. You must pass this class in order
to graduate from high school. Please do your best to complete assignments and projects.
Expectations of Course Goals:
Students are expected to do their best by working diligently the entire semester. We will work towards
academic success in writing, reading, and public speaking. This class is set up to prepare each student for
their next year of high school; however, it also focuses on preparing each student for college and/or
success in choice of career. It will also provide tools necessary to prepare students for college or career
choice. We want students to leave high school feeling confident and competent in whichever endeavors
they pursue.
“Academic English and Competence” will include the following for the entire year:
Private Self Public/Professional Self
Personal Conduct Public/Professional conduct
Personal voice Public/Professional voice
Personal dress Public/Professional dress
All of you have obtained and will certainly keep your private self; however, we will focus on developing the public/professional
self.
“Academic English and Competence” provided by Maria Montano-Harmon.