10th Grade English Syllabus

Grissom High School

Mrs. Ashley Bryant

Course Description

This course expands listening, speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills. Students study American literature to 1900 and world literature that influenced the development of American literature. Students will write a research paper using the MLA format.

Course Objectives

•Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text (RL.9-10.1).

•Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text (RL.9-10.2).

•Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme (RL.9-10.3).

•Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone) (RL.9-10.4).

•Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise (RL.9-10.5).

•Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature (RL.9-10.6).

•Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" and Breughel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus) (RL.9-10.7).

•Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare) (RL.9-10.9).

•By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently (RL.9-10.10).

Course Calendar

1st nine weeks / 2nd nine weeks / 3rd nine weeks / 4th nine weeks
~”Warriors Don’t Cry”required text
~American Beginnings: Native American Origin Stories
~American Beginnings: Spanish Heritage ~American Beginnings: The Puritans
~Writing: Narrative, ~Beginning Analysis ~Grammar: Phrases / ~A Nation is Born: Voices of the Revolution
~A Nation is Born: Founding Documents
~Ancient Revolution: Julius Caesar
~Writing: Analysis / ~The American Imagination: Storytellers
~The American Imagination: The Novel
~The American Imagination: Research
~The Scarlet Letter
~Writing: Research / Advanced
~American Masters
~A Nation Divided: Civil War
~New Frontiers: Mark Twain
~The American Imagination: Poetry
~A Nation Divided: Civil War
The American Imagination: Poetry

Grading Policy

The students’knowledge and skills will be assessed through the following:

•Do Nows

•Class & Homework Assignments

•Reading, Vocabulary, and Grammar Quizzes

•Tests

•Essays

•Projects or Presentations

Percentage / Grade Distribution
60% Standards Based Summative Assessments / Assessments that determine standards mastery (tests, quizzes, projects, exams)
40% Formative Assessment and Assignments / In-class assignments/homework that directly reflect and support mastery of course standards

Materials Needed

•A charged laptop

•A three-ring binder with labels (Bell Ringers, Classwork, Homework, Writing Journal, Notes).

•Black or blue pen(s)

•Hand-held pencil sharpener

**Each student is expected to have materials, daily. If an item is missing, please make Mrs. Bryant aware and materials may or may not be provided depending on any recognized consistencies of lack of materials. **

Classroom Management Plan

Class Guidelines (Rules)

  1. Follow directions quickly.
  2. Be prompt.
  3. Be prepared.
  4. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
  5. Respect our learning environment.

Positive Reinforcements

•Verbal praise (daily)

•Positive notes/emails home (randomly)

•Enjoying (school-appropriate) music while working (randomly)

•The joy of learning and a stress-free environment (daily)

Consequences

  1. Verbal Warning
  2. Guideline Infraction Notice
  3. Action Plan (specifics below)
  4. Parent-teacher conference
  5. Discipline as deemed by school administrator

**Depending on the severity of the behavior, the sequence of consequences may be re-arranged.

Action Plan

1.This is a plan that allows students to be accountable for their behavior once warnings and a guideline infraction are exhausted. It includes four questions to be answered by the student in complete sentences.

2.This plan is always due the following school day after it is assigned. It must be signed by the student and a parent/guardian. All directions are included on the cover sheet. Failure to submit the action plan will result in a parent-teacher conference.

3.Once submitted, this action plan will be discussed with Mrs. Bryant during Tiger Time.

Classroom Procedures

  1. Entering the Classroom

1. Enter class silently; class has begun.

2. Place any homework on your desk. If you do not have your homework, please complete a pink slip (before you take your seat) and place it in on your desk face down.

3. Begin your Do Now.

**If you need to use the electronic pencil sharpener, it can only be used before the bell rings as the grinding is a disturbance of class. Hand-held pencil sharpener will suffice after the bell rings.

II. Tardies

1. If you are tardy, you must provide an excuse from a school administrator or teacher.

2. Sign the tardy log in the back of the classroom.

3. You are only able to make up your quiz (Do Now) if you have an excuse from a teacher or administrator. If not, you will forfeit your daily quiz grade (which is during the Do Now).

III. Homework

1. Place any homework on your desk. All homework is due at the beginning of class. Anything turned in from that point risks late consequences or a zero.

2. If you did not complete your homework, please pick up a pink slip before you take your seat at the beginning of class. Fill it out (at your seat) and place it on your desk face down. If you do not complete a pink slip, you will receive a zero and will not be allowed to make up any work.

3. Unless you have an excuse, the highest grade you can make is a 70% for late homework. You have one day only (regardless of block schedule), to turn in late homework. If it is not received by then, you will receive a zero. Please note that late homework assignments are at the discretion of the teacher. If there is a pattern or consistency of submitting assignments passed the deadline, your work may not be accepted, unless an excuse is provided.

IV. Absences and Make-Up Work

1. If you are absent, you have three days to turn in your assignment upon your return. You must provide a copy of your excused absence to make up your work.

2. Upon your return, check the “Absent ?”section located on the back counter. Each basket is labeled with each day of the week. Please pick up your “While You Were Out” slip that your teammate left for you from the basket drawer(s) based on the day(s) you were absent. If you do not see one with your name on it, please check Edmodo for any missed assignments.

3. The student is responsible for all make up work. A “1”will be given in iNow until the assignment is completed. If the assignment is not turned in within three days of the absence (regardless of block schedule), the “1”will then become a zero.

4. Quizzes and test cannot be made up unless the class has earned enough scoreboard points to receive that privilege or it is stated in the child’s IEP. However, each student is welcome to attend academic overtime to receive help in any areas of need.

V. Academic Overtime

1. Academic overtime is offered Wednesday-Friday during 1st lunch (11:30-12:05). Students are able to come in and receive help to address any deficits.

2. Students who are failing are required to attend academic overtime. Parents are either sent home letters or called by the teacher. If your child has a failing grade by the end of any nine-week period and you have not received a notification, please email me immediately at .

V. Restroom

1. There are sixrestroom passes given every semester (18 weeks); use them wisely. Accommodations will be made for any emergencies or doctors’excuses. Please speak to me privately for either of these cases.

2. If permitted to leave the class, please sign the “GHS Hall Pass List”. Also, wear the pass around your neck and return it upon your return. Only one student is permitted to leave the class at one time.

3. If you are absence exceeds five minutes, you will risk losing future restroom passes.

VI. Turning in Work

1. If there is a paper assignment, place all papers in the center of your group. An assigned student will collect papers from each group and place them in the appropriate basket.

2. All electronic work will be submitted via Edmodo or other sites that will be explained during class.

3. If you did not complete your work in class, please complete a pink slip before you leave class. Please note: You are only allowed to make up this work if you were excused out of class by another teacher or school administrator.

VII. Paper Headings

1. We will use a MLA Paper Heading for each paper that is submitted. The title must include your first and last name, teacher’s name, Class Title and Block, and the date, in that order. An example is provided below.

Johnathan Johnson (Your Name)

Mrs. Bryant (Teacher’s Name)

English 10:1A (Your class period)

3 August 2017 (The date)

VIII: Cell Phones

1.Your cell phone is expected to be put away at all times. If it is caught out, your class loses scoreboard points and you risk it being taken away for the remainder of the day. If there is an emergency, please make Mrs. Bryant aware.

VIIII: Classroom Jobs

1. Our classroom jobs encourage responsibility and teamwork among students. Some tasks are daily routines and others are done weekly. Regardless, all aide in smooth transitions and a stress-free environment for everyone.

2. Jobs are assigned by Mrs. Bryant every nine weeks and may vary over time depending on the need of the class. They are listed below.

•Teacher’s Assistant- available to assist Mrs. Bryant during class. Responsibilities may include collecting homework from desks, answering student’s questions when Mrs. Bryant is unavailable, assisting students with materials they need, etc.

•Errand Assistant- responsible for any errands Mrs. Bryant may need.

•Audio/Visual Assistant- responsible for assisting students with technology needs as well as assisting Mrs. Bryant with classroom technology.

•Greeter- responsible for greeting all students as they walk into the class; responsible for greeting visitors with a handshake and the statement “Welcome to Mrs. Bryant’s class.”The greeter is also responsible for answering the phone by saying, “Thank you for calling Mrs. Bryant’s class. How may I assist you?”and must also sit close to the door.

X. Dismissal

1. Mrs. Bryant dismisses the class; the bell does not. The class will be dismissed only when the classroom is clean (floors and desks are trash free and left how they were upon entry).

2. It is important for all of my students to know that I have faith in their overall success. Therefore, I dismiss my class every day by saying, “Class I believe in you.”The class then responds, “I believe in you too.”Once that is said, class is dismissed. No matter what challenges the day presents, it is important that we all leave with positivity and encouragement from each other.