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Syllabus--Advanced English I

Advanced English 1

Mrs. Johnson

Advanced Freshman English—AP Track

 

First Quarter Focus:    Grammar Basics

                                    Reading—Efficiency and Efficacy

                                    Short Stories—Features and Analysis of the Short Story

                                    Writing—The Writing Process & Types of Writing

 Textbooks:

            Elements of Literature—3rd Course

            Write Source—Blue Book—Grade 9

            Vocabulary Workshop—Marzano Binder

 

 COURSE DESCRIPTION

The English 9 course in literature and composition engages students in the careful reading and analysis of all genres of literature (short story, poetry, novel, etc.). By reading selected literary works, students deepen their understanding and enhance their pleasure in literature. Students analyze a variety of aspects of literature to derive meaning from their experience of reading. Students consider literary works in relation to their own lives and experience as well. Students will also focus on increasing both vocabulary and the quality of their writing through direct and spiraling vocabulary instruction and opportunities to write, revise, and resubmit a variety of writing pieces throughout the year.

 

COURSE GOALS

  • to prepare students for in-depth analysis of literary genres such as poetry, nonfiction, the epic, short story, drama, and the novel
  • to improve reading efficiency and efficacy
  • to polish grammar skills
  • to develop good skills for  complex writing
  • to expand vocabulary

 

PROCEDURES FOR BEGINNING CLASS

  • Enter the classroom in an orderly manner. Report to your seat BEFORE the bell rings.

 

  • Roll is taken immediately after the bell rings. Absences and tardies are recorded at this time. Any student arriving tardy must present a note of explanation. Unexcused tardiness to class is NOT allowed. Three unexcused tardies will result in detention.

 

  • Bring appropriate materials to class everyday.
    • Writing utensil
    • Flash drive
    • Notebook
    • Vocabulary Binder
    • Journal
    • Textbook
    • Reading Assignments
    • Homework
    • Agenda

 

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR THIS CLASS

 

  • three-ring binder for daily notes (divided into: Objectives/HW, Literature Notes, Composition and Vocabulary, Graded Papers)
  • loose leaf folder with tabs filled with loose leaf paper (Reflection Journal) or single subject notebook
  • black/white composition notebook (Reading Log)
  • outside readings--on the day we discuss portions of a book, students should bring it to class

 

 

FURTHER CLASS EXPECTATIONS:

 

  • Each day you should note the day's objective and homework assignment expected of you in your agenda. Weekly points will be given for recording homework assignments.

 

  • Students will immediately begin the Reflection Activity assigned when class begins.

 

  • Students will remain in their seats until dismissed.

 

OBJECTIVES AND STANDARDS:

  Key Ideas and Details

  • RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • RL.9-10.2. 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.9-10.3. 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.
  • RI.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • RI.9-10.2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze 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.
  • RI.9-10.3. Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
  • RL.9-10.4. 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.9-10.5. 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.9-10.6. 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.

Craft and Structure

  • RI.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
  • RI.9-10.5. Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
  • RI.9-10.6. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

 

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  • RL.9-10.7. 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.9-10.9. 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).
  • RI.9-10.7. Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
  • RI.9-10.8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
  • RI.9-10.9. Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”), including how they address related themes and concepts.

 

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

  • RL.9-10.10. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
  •  RI.9-10.10. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
  • W.9-10.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
  • W.9-10.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  • W.9-10.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
  • W.9-10.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
  • W.9-10.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
  • W.9-10.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
  • W.9-10.7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  • W.9-10.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
  • W.9-10.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
  • W.9-10.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Text Types and Purposes

      • Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
      • Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
      • Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
      • Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
      • Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
      • Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
      • Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
      • Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
      • Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
      • Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
      • Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
      • Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
      • Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
      • Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
      • Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
      • Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.

Production and Distribution of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

      • Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “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]”).
      • Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning”).

Range of Writing

      

  •  L.9-10.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • L.9-10.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
  • L.9-10.3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
  • Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook, Turabian’s Manual for Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing type.
  • L.9-10.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
  • L.9-10.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
  • L.9-10.6. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
      • Use parallel structure.*
      • Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations.
      • Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses.
      • Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation.
      • Spell correctly.

Knowledge of Language

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

      • Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
      • Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
      • Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology.
      • Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
      • Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text.
      • Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

 Grading Policy:

The district grading scale will be used in this class.  The grade will be determined in the following manner:

                        Major Grades                                           50%

                        Minor Grades                                           30%

                        Homework                                               15%

                        Participation                                                5%

 

 

GRADING, EXAMS, AND RESEARCH PAPER

Averages for each grading period (9 weeks) are as follows:

 

  • MAJOR GRADES (50%)--tests, major writing assignments, special projects, some Reading Log assignments, Reflection Journal

 

  • MINOR GRADES (30%)--quizzes (literature and vocabulary), some small group work, short essays, longer homework assignments, some Reading Log assignments

 

  • HOMEWORK (15%)--homework, some Reading Log assignments, vocabulary workbook, some small group work, selected Reflection Journal responses

 

  • PARTICIPATION (5%)--having appropriate materials, positive participation, being on task, following classroom rules

 

  • Completed 9 weeks’ averages are as follows: CLASS AVERAGE (80%)—as determined above

 

  • EXAM (20%)--mid-term (1st nine weeks)/end-of-term exam (2nd nine weeks); exams will cover material for each 9 week period. All students will take a mid-term exam and an end-of-term exam.

 

  • Final grade is determined as follows:
    • FIRST 9 WEEKS (50%)
    • SECOND NINE WEEKS (50%)
    • Research Paper: In order to receive credit for the second nine weeks of freshman English, students must complete a research paper. Students who choose not to will receive an incomplete (“I”) on their report card for the 9 weeks and the final grade. If the paper is not completed within two weeks after report cards have been sent home, the 9 weeks grade will become an F and the final grade will be averaged accordingly.

 

DAILY AND LONG TERM HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

  • Occasionally daily homework will be assigned that is to be turned in the next day. These assignments will not be accepted late, and the student will receive a zero.

 

  • Students will normally be given long-term (2-4 day) reading assignments that they can complete at their own pace. This includes the novels for outside reading. Other assignments that will be spread out over long periods include their vocabulary workbook (due once a week), research and creative projects, studying for tests, and longer writing assignments.

 

  • Written projects, thesis, papers, research paper, or any other “major” assignment must be turned in on time to receive full credit. Any major assignment turned in one day late or more, 1 letter grade for each day that it is late. If you are having trouble with a major assignment, please see me early to discuss issues and possible solutions.

 

 

PRE-REQUISITES FOR ADVANCED ENGLISH 1

  • maintains an 89/B average
  • demonstrates advanced writing skills
  • displays consistency in work
  • manifests a responsible attitude toward work
  • shows appreciation and enthusiasm for the subject
  • has consistent attendance record
  • is recommended by 8TH grade English instructor or as indicated by test scores

 

EXTRA CREDIT WORK

  • Now and again there will be opportunities for “bonus points” on tests or an extra homework grade. These assignments will be given and a due date assigned. Students will not be reminded to turn these assignments in, therefore, it is the students responsibility to turn in extra credit assignments on their due dates. LATE EXTRA CREDIT WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGLISH CLASS PAPERS

  • All homework and essays should be on loose-leaf paper or submitted electronically via your SchoolRack page for Mrs. Johnson.
  • All final drafts of hand written work should be written in blue or black ink, but typed work is preferred.  
  • All homework, essays, papers, or reports should be written in MLA format.

 

ABSENCES AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAKE-UP WORK

  • Students will be allowed to make up work in the case of excused absences. This class work must be made up within the specified time period as outlined in your student agenda. You will have 2 days for each day you were absent to  make up assigned work.
    • It is your responsibility to present your excused absence slip and to find out what assignments were missed.
    • I will not generally track you down for missing assignments.

 

  • Students will not be allowed to make up work in the case of unexcused absences.

 

  • After an absence, students are required to get their assignment from the teacher either at the beginning or end of class. (DO NOT leave class without knowing what is expected of you.)

 

  • In case of an illness, be sure to have your parent/guardian or a classmate turn in your assignment. For an extended absence, have your parent/guardian email me to have your assignments e-mailed to you or picked up in the office (mjohnson@madison.k12.il.us ). This will alleviate being overwhelmed upon your return.

 

  • In the case of a pre-planned, pre-approved trip of ANY kind (i.e. going out of town, sports tournament, field trip, etc.), please see the teacher for instructions regarding classwork BEFORE you leave. This rule is outlined in the student handbook.

 

  • If a student is absent the day before a test is to be taken, he or she will be expected to take the test the day they return since all tests are announced about a week in advance. Students absent the day of a test will take the test the day they return.

 

OTHER PROCEDURES

  • During fire drills, exit the building in a calm manner and line up in the designated area of the campus.

 

  • Interruptions are inevitable. Students must continue working or sit patiently.

 

  • Listen to ALL P.A. announcements.

 

The following expectations will apply for English 9:

 

  • Homework: All homework must be performed individually unless otherwise authorized.
  • students may use only the resources specifically authorized by the teacher.
  • Original Papers: Thesis papers are to be the original work of the student author without the use of any outside aids.
  • Research Papers: Research papers are to be the student author’s original ideas supported by outside aids as authorized by the teacher. These outside aids must be documented correctly according to MLA standards.
  • Students should not rely on aid such as Cliff Notes, SparkNotes, Monarch Notes, or E-Notes for the purpose of writing essays and papers.
  • Cliff Notes, SparkNotes, Monarch Notes, or E-Notescan be good aids in helping a student to a general understanding of a work or text, but the use of these resources can only help a student so far. You cannot pass an Advanced English I exam if you have not read the original works.
  •  ALL papers will be subject to a plagiarism originality report generated by Turnitin.com. Any papers found to be plagiarized will be given a 0 grade and forwarded to the building administration. Your parent or guardian will also be contacted if blatant plagiarism is discovered.
  • If at any time you are unsure as to what is expected regarding the expectation for a specific assignment, it is your responsibility to ask—please do so.
  • NOTE TO STUDENTS: All rules found in the Parent/Student Handbook will apply in the classroom

Prerequisite course:              Honors 8th Grade English

Follow up courses:                Advanced English II