COURSE SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 9

Mrs. Markenson

Please read this syllabus carefully and keep it in a safe place in your notebook. Refer to it whenever you have a question about grading, homework policies, or course requirements. If you have additional concerns, please feel free to come and speak with me personally. I teach periods 2 & 3. You can contact me via email () or visit me during free periods in my office.Please note that I do not regularly check email in the evening or on weekends, so if you need feedback on an assignment, plan ahead. Because I want you to be successful in this course, I am committed to making time to meet with you and am available during Upper School Conference Period for those who need to meet with me for extra help.

GOALS OF THE COURSE: Enjoyment and Development

My main objective as your teacher is to help you become a more self-reliant intellectual; this means that I want you to deepen your ability to think for yourself. But, you must base your arguments on evidence – close reading, close listening and you must continue to learn how to communicate more effectively – by using tone, body language, word choice, word order, etc. Furthermore, it is essential that we all continually develop our ability to appreciate different ideas through open debate, even despite disagreement. Essentially, we need to be able to talk about ideas without taking dissent personally. Perhaps most importantly, I want the literature we study and the discussions we have to help you learn more about who you are. Hopefully, you will learn more about who others are and what it means to be a human being.

The theme of this course is the search for identity. Many of the texts we will read tell the story of a character’s journey of self-discovery or coming-of-age, and their recognition of the truth of their character and identity. We will examine how identity is formed and how human interaction shapes character.

TEXTS / GENRES
The Seagull Reader Stories, Edited by Joseph Kelly / Short Story
The Odyssey Abridged. Homer, trans. Johnston / Epic Poem
The Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger / Modern Novel
The Oedipus Cycle. Sophocles, trans, Fitts and Fitzgerald / Greek Drama
Persepolis, Satrapi / Graphic Novel
Othello. William Shakespeare, ed. Folger / Shakespearean Tragedy
Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller, ed. Penguin Plays. / Modern Tragic Drama
Vocabulary Workshop. Sadlier-Oxford Levels E and F
Conquering SAT Writing. McGraw-Hill
Poetry handouts / Poetry

GRADING SYSTEM

Papers30%

Tests30%

Participation25%

Quizzes/Homework/Journals15%

WRITING/PAPERS:

We will focus on expanding your competence in writing analytic essays, but you will also write some creative works that borrow themes or techniques from the works we read. Compositions will be assigned at least two weeks before they are due. As per department policy, one third of a grade will be deducted each day a composition is late. For example:

On Time = A-

One day late = B+

Two days late = B

Paper Length: Freshman aim for 2.5 pages immediately and we will move to 3-4 by midyear.

REVISION POLICY:

1) Students who visit me to review their papers, prior to the final grading, may have the chance to rewrite the assignment ONCE for a better grade. Students who do not edit papers with me prior to the final grading may have a chance to rewrite their paper without a change in their grade.

2) Students must visit me at least two days before the paper is due; occasionally, students need to make large changes in their work and have, unfortunately, not given themselves enough time to make the alterations.

3) A revision must be resubmitted within ten days to qualify for a potential grade change.

4) The revision and original grade are averaged for the assignment’s overall grade.

Occasionally, I may insist that you rewrite a paper. All papers must be corrected to free them of errors in mechanics, sentence structure, paragraphs, etc.

TESTS/QUIZZES

All tests will be announced at least one week in advance. Reading pop-quizzes may be administered at any time without prior notice. Unit tests (for literature) will consist of objective and subjective questions, but reading quizzes will focus on details from the narratives. If you are absent on the day of a test, it is your responsibility to take the exam on the day of your return to school. If you are absent for a longer period of time, please see me to schedule a time for review and to take the test.

PREPARATION FOR CLASS/PARTICIPATION:
You will need to purchase either a three-ring binder or a notebook/folder exclusively for English class. For each unit that we cover, you should collect notes, a list of relevant literary terms, handouts, homework, quizzes, review sheets, and paper topics.

Your participation grade is 25% of your overall average, which weighs almost equally with tests and papers. As such, your participation grade will depend on your performance in the following areas:

(1) You must always bring your binder/notebook to class, as well as a writing utensil, and the appropriate text. If you do not bring your text to class, you will earn a zero for the day.

(2) Lateness will not be accepted and we will not wait for you to begin class. Those who repeatedly arrive late to class will be sent to the Upper School office for a late pass.

(3) You will be expected to participate frequently in class discussion by making statements, asking questions of your peers, and demonstrating knowledge of the reading. But, remember that class participation is not only about what you say; it also has to do with how you treat others who voice their own opinions. I expect you to treat each individual in the classroom with respect- to listen to them, to answer their questions thoughtfully, to take notes from their comments. Being a good listener is part of being a good student.

HOMEWORK POLICY

Because the work that you do at home helps you to prepare for our class activities and ensures your success on quizzes and tests, I will hold you accountable for its completion. Homework will be graded on a five point system and journals will be graded on a ten point system. When missing homework becomes a problem, I will send an Alert Notice home.

VOCABULARY

We will be completing one unit of vocabulary during each week of the course. Bring your vocabulary workbooks to class each Mondayfor review and homework check. You will not receive credit unless you have your workbook with you. Vocabulary quizzes will be administered each Wednesday or the next class period.

HONOR CODE / PLAGIARISM

If you have not done so already, please be sure to familiarize yourself with the Pingry Honor Code. In this class, as in all other areas of school life, each member of the Pingry community is expected to uphold every aspect of the Pingry Honor Code - both in terms of academic guidelines and personal conduct. In this class, you are to work independently except during special group assignments. Unless I indicate otherwise, you should not consult or quote from outside sources in any of your essays; the use of published literary criticism is unnecessary for your papers in this course. The use of Spark Notes and other such materials are totally forbidden. I am interested in what you know and think about your reading and not what someone else thinks. Cutting and pasting from Internet sources and calling it your own is plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as copying or imitating the language or thought of another and passing it off as one’s own. This pertains to parent and tutor help as well. If you have any questions about plagiarism, please consult me rather than risking an Honor Code violation. Always cite quotations and ideas as outlined in The Pingry Manual of Style. Throughout the course, we will talk extensively about appropriate procedure when writing papers and will also workshop some papers in class. Developing effective and original writing skills is a major goal of this course.

*The Teacher is the only individual, other than the student, who is allowed to make SPECIFIC CORRECTIONS to the paper. The Teacher is the only individual who is allowed to give the student aid in their efforts to complete the assignment. *All other individuals (tutors, family, friends) may make GENERAL HINTS/SUGGESTIONS that enable to student to find areas in the paper that might need attention.

Examples:

●"Chuck – I see that you may want to check your paper for consistent verb tense. I can’t point them out or help you fix them. If you need help, you need to see your teacher."

●"Blair - you may want to make your topic sentences relate more to your thesis. I can't tell you how - and I can't do it for you."

●"Serena – Your introduction should begin with a general statement and end with a specific thesis statement. If you are having a lot of trouble, you need to see your teacher.”

●"Dan - you need to add more quotations to prove your points. Even though you are having difficulty finding quotations - you need to do it. If you need more help please see your teacher."

*The student is the only individual, besides the teacher, who can legally:

●Generate ideas/make connections ●Correct grammar ●Write any sentences/paragraphs ●Find quotations to be used in the paper, ●Find resources for a research paper