Dear Parentsand Student

2014-15Pre-AP EnglishSyllabus

Anne-Marie Ophus

509-291-3721 ext. 254

Dear Parentsand Student,

Welcome to the 2014-15 school year! This syllabus is a generalization of the year’s coursework, but changes may be made from time-to-time. Please contact me if you have questions.

Students in this course will explore multicultural texts that include novels, drama, short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Through careful reading, annotation, and discussion, we will analyze text and respond to it. There will be a strong emphasis on effective writing for both literary analysis and rhetorical argument which will require students to refine what they already know and learn new concepts in order to improve their skills.

LITERATURE FOCUS

“Some books are to be tasted, others are to be swallowed, and a few are to be chewed and digested.” -Francis Bacon

Pre-AP 9 Major readings will include The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, and To Kill A Mockingbird. Other works including poems, short stories and non-fiction will generally come from our English textbooks, but may also include selections from other sources.

Pre-AP 10 Major readings will include Fahrenheit 451, Julius Caesar and/or A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Night. Other works including poems, short stories and non-fiction will generally come from our English textbooks, but may also include selections from other sources.

RULES & POLICIES

Late Work: It is critical that students come to class prepared. Late work will be reduced by 50% of the points received. Students who have a pre-arranged, school-related absence (sports, field trips etc.) are expected to make arrangements ahead of the absence and submit assignments early or upon returning to school.

Retakes of Quizzes/Tests: Testscan be retaken up to two weeks after the test grade is posted. Retaken tests receive no higher than an 80%. Unit, Mid-term, and Final exams are not allowed to be retaken.

Cell Phones, iPods, and other devices: Devices are not allowedto be used in the classroom. Students will receive one warning if they are using a device in class. The second offense will result in having the device turned over to Mr. Straw. Students should plan to bring a book or other homework to class for the rare instance that they have completed their English work and have nothing to do.

Food, Dress, Tardies: If you must bring a drink to class, please be sure it is in a sealable container (twist top, etc). No food is allowed in the classroom. Rules regarding the dress code and tardy policy can be found in the student handbook.

GRADE WEIGHTING & POINT BREAKDOWN

30%-DAILY WORK/PARTICIPATION/HOMEWORK

Students will not necessarily have an assignment every day, but much of the work students do will fall into this category and may include activities such as:

Entry Tasks - Students will frequently have a short task to complete upon coming into the classroom. This may be a reading, a short writing assignment, or a grammar exercise

Current Event Articles- Critical readings of non-fiction sources such as newspapers, political cartoons, and advertisements. When an article is assigned students will generally be asked to read, annotate and respond to the reading.

Writer’s Notebook- This is a combination of free and assigned writing and will be collected at various times for grading. Students will have advance notice before notebooks are turned in.

40%-WRITING

Final Essays- All components of the writing process (rough drafts, outlining etc) will comprise the final grade for larger essays. Main essays taught during the school year include literary analysis, persuasive, expository, and research. All essays may be revised as many times as needed for your student to achieve his or her desired grade.

10% - Timed Writes/Final Exam Writing

Impromptu/timed writing is a reality in standardized testing (SAT, AP, etc) as well as a necessary skill in many careers (e-mails, report writing etc), so I will include grades for impromptu timed essays. I do not weight timed writes as heavily as formal essays because I do not expect them to be revised on a regular basis. We will discuss strategies to improve the quality of their impromptu writing skills.

20%-VOCAB QUIZZES

Word Within a Word-Our English department’s vocabulary development focuses on Greek and Latin roots as they appear in various words. Freshman will focus on learning lists 1- 20 and sophomores will review lists 1-15 and learn 11-25. The students will be quizzed most Fridays.

~Final Note~

My chief goal in the Pre-AP English classes is to improve student writing. In order to be effective writers, students must be effective thinkers. Writing is a process that often requires much effort; students who are not willing to draft, rewrite, and revise with intention tend not to do as well in my course as those who are.