10th GradeLiterature Syllabus

Mr. Kitchens

Welcome to 10th grade Literature! This course will cover a range of themes covered by World Literature. The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with the writings of a variety of authors from different cultures, as well as to teach you how to analyze their writing. In addition to being able to read works with an analytical eye, this course will deal in depth with how to write, research, and cite to prepare you for the years to come. I can’t wait to get started with everyone!

Materials:

Daily basis:

Pen or pencil

Notebook paper.

Textbook/Novel we are currently reading

Notebook/Binder: Keep up with your notes. They will be relevant ALL year.

I can provide paper/pencil in return for your cell phone (just for the one period). I’ll need both back (yes, I want the paper back… with your stellar work on it!)

Project materials:

Flash drive, e-mail, onedrive account, something to save stuff on.

Access to computer, internet, printer, etc. I do my best to provide this, but you may need access out of class. If this is a major problem, come talk to me.

Rituals and Routines:

Each day, I will greet you at the door. Please do not be on your cell phone or have your headphones in so we can greet each other!

Please make sure you have all your materials before coming so we can have a productive class time. You will always need paper and pencil and often you will need your textbook/close reading book. I can provide pencils or paper for collateral, such as your cell phone.

When you walk in, go ahead and put your homework in the basket, sharpen your pencil, and have a seat and get started on the warm up quietly. You should be able to get all this done before the bell rings so we don’t lose any time.

After the bell rings, I need about 5 minutes to get things like the roll out of the way and get things squared away, so please remain quiet and finish up your warm up.

Warm ups should be at least three full sentences. I take up warm ups on Friday and it is best to keep them all on the same sheet of paper and simply date each day’s warm up.

During the opening, please give me your attention, take notes, and hold your questions until the end. Many times I will have anticipated problems or you may have and already have incorporated them into the lecture, so please don’t derail my thought train so we can get speedily into the work period. I promise to answer all questions you still have after the lecture!

Please participate in a positive way during the work period. Let people concentrate by not being too noisy and regulate discussions to things that will help you and your classmates complete your tasks! Raise your hand if you need assistance and be patient and continue to be on task if I am already working with someone.

Please do not bring food or eat in our classroom, as we do not want any classroom pets.

Failure happens, do not let it define you or discourage you, let it motivate you to do better. The moment you give up is the moment success is forever out of reach. Come see me if you need to after school, Mon-Wed, and we will create a plan to turn failure into success.

Always do your best! That’s all I want. I will never ask you to do more than I know you can do. Strive to meet your true potential and never give up, even if a task seems difficult. No student that did all their work has EVER failed my class.

Work Expectations:

All work is to be headed using MLA format to help prepare you for upcoming projects and papers. That is as follows:

NameLast name, pg #
Teacher’s Name
Course Name
Date assignment is due
Title of Assignment

You are also expected to CITE any information that does not come from your own brain in proper MLA format. In most cases, with reference to the textbook or novel, this will be the author’s name and the page number for the information in parentheses at the end of the sentence, but before the period, like this: (Stoker 93). We’ll go over this in more detail, but it is super important you always give credit to the authors for any ideas you take from them.

Late work: Turning in work late is not a good habit and if you have that habit, it is time to start trying to break out of it. The logical consequence of not turning in an assignment is that you get a zero and I don’t want that for you. Ifsomething you can’t control happens, talk to me, let’s come up with a plan, but I need you to turn in work on time, otherwise I cannot give you credit for it. If you are absent, you need to see me the day you get back and we’ll get the work for you and you will have 5 days to complete. Please try not to miss class if possible, and if you do, please come after school and I’ll repeat the lesson just for you!

Breakdown of Units: Each unit will cover a period of 10th Literature and will include at least one major work as well as selections of poetry and short prose from that era.

Unit 1: Theme: Loyalty. Major work: Antigone

Unit 2: Theme: Injustices. Major work: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and excerpts from Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Unit 3: Theme: Guilt. Major work: Tears of a Tiger

Unit 4: Theme: Corruption. Major work: Animal Farm

Grading Policy:

Classwork/Homework: 20%

Tests/Performance Tasks/Projects: 40%

Quizzes: 25%

Warm Ups/Participation: 15% Warm ups will be collected each Friday. Please write each warm up on the SAME SHEET OF PAPER and keep up with it during the week.

Homework: Homework is due the next day, unless otherwise noted. I believe in giving authentic homework that either allows you to demonstrate for me your content knowledge or will help prepare you for class the following day; I do not give busy work, ever. Having homework every night seems like it might be a problem, but think of it like this: All those grades add up. Messed up on a test, but have 100% of the homework? Well, it all averages out. Remember what I said about no student ever failed that did all of the work I assigned.

Plagiarism on assignments will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the taking of ideas (yes, even if you take their idea and put it into your own words) or words that are not your own and not giving proper credit to the original author. It is also plagiarism if they majority of the assignment is someone else’s work, even if you have cited. To avoid plagiarism, you must cite your work. Everything that does not come from your own head must be cited. When directly quoting or paraphrasing, there should be an in-text citation. Then, at the bottom of each assignment there should be a list of full citations for each text you have used. This will be expected on every assignment that is not based entirely from your own head, to include questions from the book, graphic organizers, and any other every day assignment. Cheating, as in, copying from another student, will likewise result in a zero.

Performance Tasks

You will have 4 major Performance Tasks set by the county this year. These are a non-negotiable and failure to complete them will result in a failure for the 9 weeks they are assigned. All major tasks and most essays will be turned in electronically through turnitin.com, so even if you are absent, all you need is a computer with internet access to turn in your work. Time will be given in class to work on projects, but some outside time may be required as well. See below for a list of dates for the projects.

Tutoring:

Tutoring will be provided from 2:30 to 3:30 every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but please come asap, because I’ll be leaving at 3:15 if no one has come. Try to schedule tutoring if possible, as sometimes the school calls me away to do other things.

Grade Recovery: I will give grade recovery opportunities each 9 weeks. You can only make up the previous 9 weeks in the following 9 weeks. As in, if you fail 1st 9 weeks you have to do the grade recovery 2nd 9 weeks, you cannot do grade recovery for the 1st 9 weeks in 9 weeks 3 or 4. In order to gain credit for the failed 9 weeks, the following criteria must be met:

  • The Performance Task for the 9 weeks you failed must have been turned in and passed.
  • The 9 weeks you are currently in must be passed and its Performance Task must be turned in.
  • All assigned work to make up the failed 9 weeks must be turned in by the due date, which will be assigned to you when the grade recovery is given.
  • There must not be discipline issues in the classroom.
  • A contract for the grade recovery must be signed by both parent and student that details academic and behavior requirements in more detail.

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Please detach this part and fill it out (this if your first HW grade). Keep your syllabus in your notebook.

I understand the expectations of this course and will adhere to them to the best of my abilities, and will seek help when needed:

Student Signature:______

I understand the expectations of this course and will make sure my student is consistently prepared with materials and is doing their homework each night. I certify that the number(s) I provide you are in working order and that if I change numbers, I will provide you with a new working number immediately.

Parent Signature:______

Parent e-mail:______

Parent phone number(s):______

Please remember to sign up for Remind101! Put in this number: 81010 and text this message: @0rw3ll. You will receive a notification asking for your name. Enter your name, and you are signed up. Students/Parents may communicate with teacher about homework/assignments between the hours of 3-7 pm through Remind.