Materials:

1

  • Loose-leaf college ruled paper, pen &/or pencil
  • 3-ring binder with dividers and pockets
  • Dictionary/Thesaurus
  • Highlighter
  • Email address (for a Dropbox or Google drive account) or a jump drive
  • Composition notebook

1

Course Description:

This course is designed to give students quality reading and writing experience and to further develop writing skills. Students will learn to think, read, and write critically and logically. Students should be capable of completing outside reading and writing assignments as expectations of this course. Students will gain understanding of the rhetoric used all around them by analyzing many forms of writing, such as essays, speeches and other media. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of clarity, idea development, focus, organization, word choice, logic, and sentence construction. There will also be emphasis on studying English grammar and usage, writing in various styles and from multiple perspectives, refining research skills, and developing appropriate vocabulary skills. Students will be expected to create works of their own, and to analyze, respond to, and edit the work of others. Both formal and informal writing will occur, and students will be exposed to a number of pre-writing and post-writing strategies.

Makeup Work/Late Work

Making arrangements for completing make-up work is the responsibility of the student. All make-up work will be completed and turned in before or after school, but never during homeroom or during class. Arrangements to complete make-up must be made by the student within three days of an excused absence.

PLEASE AVOID LATE ASSIGNMENTS! Your responsibilities in this class include keeping your own up-to-date assignment notebook, turning assignments in on time, and carefully guarding your class notebook. If you do not understand an assignment, check with me either at school or phone me at home, making sure that you reach me far enough in advance that you will have time to finish the assignment.

When an assignment is not submitted on the assigned due date, a “1” will be entered until the assignment has been turned in. Concerning late work, the following actions will be taken:

One day late = 10% will be taken of the final grade

Two days late = 20% will be taken off the final grade

After two days late = Assignment will not be accepted and final grade will be a zero.

Cheating/Plagiarism

Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were the student’s original thoughts. The student will learn and develop the correct techniques to reference material from other authors and sources. The teacher is only interested in the student’s opinion of the subject matter, referencing others as a source of support for his or her opinions. Cheating is talking or passing papers between students during a test, or giving and/or receiving answers. Cheating will NOT be tolerated! The Burke County Board of Education policy on plagiarism and cheating will be followed.

Classroom Rules

  1. Be respectful at all times.
  2. Be punctual (on time).
  3. Be prepared for class.
  4. Be productive in class.
  5. Refrain from disruptive behavior.

Methods of Evaluation/Distribution of Grades

Students will have numerous opportunities to demonstrate the skills necessary to successfully master the standards of the course. Assignments may include: daily class work and homework, quizzes (oral and written), tests (oral and written), writing assignments, class discussions, independent work using the computer, projects(individual and group), oral presentations, and reports (oral and written).

Evaluation: For most major assignments, I will provide the rubrics or explain the expectations that I will use to assess your work.

Grading Scale:

A = 90-100 B = 80-89 C = 70-79 F = 0-69

Grade Breakdown:

Formative Assessments 45% (journal writings, worksheets, class Discussion/participation, quizzes, short writing assignments, etc.)

Summative Assessments 55% (Essays, tests, projects, cumulative tests, etc.)

Restroom Policy:

Use the restroom and get water before coming to class. You will not be permitted to leave class for the first and last 15 minutes. Hall passes and restroom passes will be issued only at the teacher’s discretion. The need for frequent trips to the restroom will require a doctor’s excuse.

Cell Phone Policy:

  1. Cell phones are allowed in the hallways and mall area.
  2. Restrooms are a red area.
  3. In the classroom, permission to use the cell phone is at the discretion of the teacher.
  4. In my classroom, cell phones are only permitted (green card) when doing the following:
  5. Working on an individual assignment for instructional purposes (research, dictionary, project etc.)
  6. While working on an individual assignment and one desires to use ear buds to listen to music while working
  7. However, cell phones are not permitted (red card) when doing the following:
  8. While taking notes during direct instruction
  9. While taking a quiz, test, or other assessment
  10. While conducting whole class or small group discussions (fishbowl, Socratic seminars, Think-Pair-Share, etc)
  11. If you refuse to abide by the policy, you will be referred to an administrator.
  12. Refer to the Bearfacts Student Handbook for consequences for violation of the cell phone policy.

Attendance Policy:

Tardies

  1. When the tardy bell rings, the door will be shut and locked.
  2. You will not be allowed in class without a pass from an assistant principal, another teacher, or a late bus pass.
  3. There are penalties for tardies:
  4. 1st-2nd offense -Warning and parent notified
  5. 3rd offense – Assigned detention by assistant principal
  6. 4th offense – Saturday school
  7. 5th -7th offense – OSS pending parent conference
  8. 7th + offense – OSS pending social worker contact

Consequences:

Students who do not abide by the above rules and policies during class will receive one or more of the following consequences depending on the severity of the rule broken:

  • 1st offense: Conference with student; parent notified in some way
  • 2nd offense: Conference with parent (verbal or face-to-face); counselor may be notified
  • 3rd offense: Referral to administration (which may result in lunch detention, ISS, or OSS)

Tentative Course Outline:

10th Grade
The Hero’s Journey
Extended Text(s):Things Fall Apart and Fences,
Short Stories/Poems:
“The Interlopers”
“Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Informational: “Simplexity” pg.129, “Why We Pick Bad Leaders” (f)
Writing: Short in-class informational/argumentative papers, in-class narratives
Macbeth writing topics/ideas: Break between truth and reality in the first three acts using examples from the text
Grammar: DGP, Mechanically Inclined (review the basic parts of a sentence, various types of phrases, parallelism, pronoun/antecedent agreement)
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary From Latin and Greek Roots: Level IV
Each Unit contains four Latin and/or Greek roots; two to four English vocabulary words are provided for each root.
Practice involves using vocabulary in context, inference, reading comprehension, and deduction of unfamiliar words.
Units 1, 3-5
Latin and Greek Roots
vinc/vict, duc/duct, tract, peto, punct,pel/puls, jac/ject, mist/mis,
mot/mov, via, fer, port, vid/vis, pari, spec, phan,
Individual Rights
Extended Text(s):
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Fahrenheit 451
Short Stories/Poems:
“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston (short story/folder)
“Mines” by Susan Straight (short story/folder)
“The Conversation Within” (poem/folder)
“Blue Light District” (poem/folder)
“Silent Night, Bloody Night” (poem/folder)
“I, Too Sing America” by Langston Hughes
Informational:“Chief Seattle’s Speech” (Common Core Coach I American Literature)
Writing:Full research paper - must include a researchable topic (can be informational for general and argumentative for honors), correct parenthetical citations, correct MLA formatting, correct Work Cited page (add source cards), correct Annotated Bibliography (must double the Works Cited requirement- for this paper at least 12 sources), paper length should be at least 6 pages w/a minimum of 6 primary/secondary sources
Grammar:DGP, Mechanically Inclined (focus on clauses, sentence structure, punctuation, subject/verb)
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary From Latin and Greek Roots: Level IV
Each Unit contains four Latin and/or Greek roots; two to four English vocabulary words are provided for each root.
Practice involves using vocabulary in context, inference, reading comprehension, and deduction of unfamiliar words.
Units 6-9
her/hes, fus, solu/solv, leg, fac/fact/fic, pon/pound, struct/strue, stit/stat, plac, grat, doc/doct, temper, tort/torq, volv/volu, flex/flect, vert/vers,
Rite of Passage
Extended Text(s):, Of Mice and Men
Short Stories/Poems:
“Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison (short story/folder)
“Brownies” by Z.Z. Packer (short story/folder)
“A&P” by John Updike
“Growing Young” (folder)
“she being brand” by ee cummings
“Purple Heart” (folder)
“And Silence Prolonged” (folder)
Informational: “Dreaming of Heroes” from Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger; “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” (Reading Informational Texts I-Purple Book); “The Inaugural Address/Franklin Roosevelt” (Common Core Coach I American Literature); “The Completely Free Market” (Common Core Coach I American Literature)How to Survive High School (f)
Writing:Short in-class informational/argumentative papers, in-class narratives
Grammar: DGP, Mechanically Inclined DGP, Mechanically Inclined (focus on clauses, sentence structure, punctuation, subject/verb AND pronoun ambiguity)
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary From Latin and Greek Roots: Level IV
Each Unit contains four Latin and/or Greek roots; two to four English vocabulary words are provided for each root.
Practice involves using vocabulary in context, inference, reading comprehension, and deduction of unfamiliar words.
Units 11-14
fid, fall, cred, dubultima, fin, nov, prim, err, grad/gress, ven/vent, cur/curs, vir, dem, polit,
The Inevitability of Death
Extended Text(s):Night
Short Stories/Poems: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson (p. 25),
“The Masque of the Red Death”
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
Metamorphosis (p.93-127 Collections)
“The Moment Before the Gun Went Off” by Nadine Gordimer (Mirrors V),
“Death of Benny Paret” by Norman Mailer,
Informational: “Ancient Egypt Finds an Afterlife” (Common Core Coach I World Literature);
“Life After People” (Close Reader); “Bile” (Close Reader)
“Last Diary Entry of John Wilkes Booth” by John Wilkes Booth (diary/Common Lit)
Writing:Short in-class informational/argumentative papers, in-class narratives,
annotated bibliography
Grammar: DGP, Mechanically Inclined (the basic parts of a sentence/acceleration - various types of phrases)
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary From Latin and Greek Roots: Level IV
Each Unit contains four Latin and/or Greek roots; two to four English vocabulary words are provided for each root.
Practice involves using vocabulary in context, inference, reading comprehension, and deduction of unfamiliar words.
Units 15-18
civis, dic/dict, loc/loqu, voca, clam/claim, crux, dol, acri/acer, ferv, put, nota, ratio, sci, aes, path, sens/sent, tang/tact

Available Days for Tutoring: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 3:15 pm– 4:15 pm

MATERIAL ON THIS COURSE SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS OR OTHER UNAVOIDABLE CIRCUMSTANCES

COURSE SYLLABUS RECEIPT

(Please Return)

I have read the above syllabus and understand the content and requirements for Advanced Composition. I understand that the material on this course syllabus is subject to change due to time constraints or other unavoidable circumstances. I understand that this syllabus is to be kept in the front of my notebook after it is signed by my parent/guardian.

Student’s Signature______Date______

Parent’s Signature______Date______

Parent/Guardian Home Phone # ______

Parent/Guardian Cell Phone # ______

Parent/Guardian E-mail

______

Is there anything I need to know about your child in order to provide him or her with the best possible instruction?

______

______

1