Honors English I
Mrs. Amy Hamilton
English Office – Room C
e-mail: phone – ext. 6779
Web: CHS website – Staff – Hamilton.
Office/Conference Hours: Before school starting as early as 7:20.
Periods 3, 4, 5, 8
& after school by appointment.
An overview of Honors English I:
Guiding Questions1) How do our experiences, even our struggles, contribute to our identities?
2) How does telling the stories of our identities benefit everyone?
3) How does our simultaneous membership in many different communities impact our identities?
4) What is the relationship between physical barriers and social barriers and what impact does that have on an individual and/or community’s sense of identity?
Semester
One / Summer reading: Hillenbrand’s Unbroken
Homer’s The Odyssey
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun
Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point
Persuasive Speech
Reflective Writing
Independent Reading
Semester
Two / William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Sophocles’ Oedipus & Antigone
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
Literature Circles (Example texts: Cormac McCarthy’s
The Road, Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Dalia Sofer’s Septembers of Shiraz)
Independent Project - Poetry
Writing: Over the course of the year, you will write literary analysis, synthesis, & reflective essays. You will write creative pieces including poetry and monologues. You will conduct research, and you will deliver a speech. For each composition, you will move through some or all of the writing process (inspiration, pre-writing, drafting, revision, editing, and publishing). Some compositions will move quickly – occurring over a class period or one night’s homework – while others will extend over weeks.
Writing Conference: You will write and conference five compositions each semester (=10 conferences total). Conferences are a place to develop both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Not only will you work with your writing, but also you will work on your being (persistence, meta-cognition, and divergent thinking). Here is a general overview of the conference cycle.1. Logistics - Conferences occur outside of class in my Office – Office C. You choose the best time for your conference: before school, during ½ of your long lunch period, during your learning center, after a science lab, during a free period, or after school. You will commit to a conference time previous to our conference week. Each conference is 20 minutes long.
2. Before Conference- You will usually turn in writing for me to examine previous to our conference. Because each conference is unique, I will explain what you need to bring to each specific conference. You will always bring questions about your writing and writing process.
3. During Conference – Conferences are an interactive time for you and I. We will discuss strengths and struggles in your writing; we will discuss and practice strategies that will help you revise your writing. I will be responsive to your individual needs.
4. After Conference – You will usually revise & resubmit your writing.
Please respect conference appointments.
· Set an alarm in your phone. If you need to, write your conference time on your hand. My classes are full and there are not many available times to reschedule if you are absent.
· If you are ill at home and will miss a conference, please e-mail me to let me know.
· I’ll wait 5 minutes, in case you are tardy, but then I’ll mark you down as missing the conference, and you will lose conference points and only be able to reschedule a conference at my convenience.
· I won’t be expecting you if I don’t already have your pre-conference work or if you are absent during class that day.
· If I am conferencing someone else too long and it is your conference time, please speak up!
Evaluation for Honors English I
Formative assessments or tasks are a place for you to practice new skills or old skills in a new way. Formative feedback is just that – feedback to let you know what you are doing well and how to make adjustments. Most homework assignments and paper drafts are considered formative. Small quizzes also qualify as formative grades. Formative work is a small percentage of your overall grade and I often give “completion points” for this sort of work. This is a time to take risks, and earning these points gives you the space in your grade to take risks in your summative work without worrying that your grade could take a big drop.
Summative assessments or tasks are benchmark work where you demonstrate your mastery of the skills we have been practicing. Most final paper drafts and tests are summative. The summative grades reflect your proficiency not your completion. Your summative grades will be a larger portion of your overall grade than your formative grades.
Commitment. Because your willingness to participate and complete assignments impacts your overall growth, we will also assess your commitment: participation & work completion. Your conference attendance, preparation and involvement are a large part of your commitment grade. Each conference is worth up to 20 points = 100 points per semester.
In addition, you can expect a final exam each semester worth 10% of your semester grade.
Commitment / Formative or SummativeBeyond Expectations
A range / Fulfills requirements in a complete and timely manner. Because of exemplary time management, she is ready for discussion and respond to the strengths and struggles in her writing and thinking. / Not only shows mastery of a specific skill, but also is using the skill in a sophisticated manner in classroom discussion and activities as well as in her writing. The student demonstrates risk taking and deep thinking.
A short note about an A grade in Honors English I.
In order to earn an A, a student has to be a “creative, inventive, discoverer” and user of language as well as an artful, reflective thinker. This is a very difficult task and often improves with practice.
An A indicates that a student can do more than repeat the thinking and writing skills we practice in class & conference.
If a student is taking RISKS with his or her thinking and writing, he or she will probably not earn an A on every summative assessment. Of course, if a student never takes the risk, the A is almost impossible to achieve.
Meets
Expectations
B range / Fulfills requirements in a complete, thoughtful and timely manner. / Shows mastery of a specific skill and is ready for a more sophisticated use.
Progressing
C range / Fulfills requirements in either a thoughtful and complete OR timely manner. / Shows partial mastery/understanding of a specific skill.
Not yet / An attempt to fulfill the assignments is evident. / May be making progress, but still showing misunderstanding related to a specific skill.
Grade Scale: 99-100 = A+ 98-94 = A 93-90 = A- 89-87 = B+ 86-83 = B 82-80 = B-
79-77 = C+ 76-73 = C 72-70 = C- 69-67 = D+ 66-63 = D 62-60 = D-
Semester 1: Q1 (45%) + Q2 (45%) + S1 Final (10%)
Semester 2: Q3 (45%) + Q4 (45%) + S2 Final (10%)
Plagiarism: Plagiarism in any form of any length on any assignment is unacceptable. Any plagiarized work will result in a zero on the assignment. +++ PLEASE NOTE that in order to be eligible for Honors Society in the future, you want to avoid academic violations now. +++ Other consequences appropriate to the violation of academic integrity may be applied. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, please see my website for additional resources or feel free to talk with me. Plagiarism can be confusing, and I’m available for very friendly conversations to help clarify your understanding so you don’t accidently slip into the pitfall.
All the other stuffSupplies. You must have these supplies for EVERY class.
· Bring your text to class every day.
· Two different colored pens or pencils at all times.
· You need a THREE RING BINDER to organize your English notes and store handouts and graded work.
· Furthermore, you need paper in your binder OR a notebook to archive your in-class notes and homework.
· Bring a current copy of whatever project or paper we are working on at the time.
· Optional: Highlighters, post-its.
SAVE EVERY DRAFT of your writing MULTIPLE TIMES The easiest way to do this is by using your school Google Drive.
Tardies: Class starts when the bell rings, but you can always warm up early. The third tardy and every subsequent tardy PER SEMESTER earns a detention. If you are late to class and are excused, silently drop your pass on my cart and smile at me before you scurry away.
Bathroom: The “parade of ants” is disruptive to learning. But sometimes, you just have to go. So, you have four bathroom passes PER SEMESTER to use as your biology requires. Don’t ask for permission; just drop your pass on my cart and go do your business.
Bonus: If you have any passes left at the end of the term, staple them to your final exam for bonus points. They are worth 1/2% point each, which means that you currently own 4% of your final. Huzzah! Otherwise, any bonus opportunities are given universally. Do not hang your hope on “bonus” activities to cushion your grade. Persistence is a quality of character.
Technology Class time is not time for personal use of Facebook, texting, twitter, or phone calls J That being said, bring your technology because you never know when we will find a way to make it work for class purposes. I reserve the right to take personal devices during class no questions asked or answered. If your personal device is out, you are signaling that you don’t mind if I take it. After class we will assess the situation and together develop your personal technology use plan of action.
Food & Drink: No food or candy during class. Gum isn’t candy-at the moment. Do bring WATER to drink. It is good for your brain. All other drinks stain the carpet so leave them behind.
Classroom Commitments1. Civic spirit – We are a community. We will support each other unconditionally. We will challenge others’ ideas and self-imposed limits. We will celebrate others’ successes – small and large.
2. Engaging Discourse – Listen to hear. Talk to question, discover, and build new understandings. Encourage others to do the same.
3. Individual Accountability – Becoming a part of the community means being accountable for individual expectations: honoring time commitments, being prepared, completing homework, and bringing a positive attitude – or giving a heads up when you just can’t fake it.
4. Willingness to Take Risks and Push Limits – This is critical. In order to grow both academically and socially, we need to take risks. Sometimes we will fall, say something odd, write something we don’t like. And then we will try again, do differently, and find our greatness.