Curtis High School 2009-2010

Curtis High School 2016 – 2017 English 11 Syllabus

Course Description:

This course exposes students to classic works written by American authors. Students complete a variety of papers and projects to include: five-paragraph essays, research projects/presentations, personal narrative pieces and in-class timed writes. Each semester there will be four units of literature, each unit culminating with a paper, project or presentation. Students should expect to have a moderate amount of homework each night. Grading: Scale: Assignment Weights: A = 93 – 100% C+ = 77 – 79% 50% Writing A- = 90 – 92% C = 73 – 76% 25% Tests/Projects B+ = 87 – 89% C- = 70 – 72% 25% to be determined B = 83 – 86% D = 67 – 69% by individual teacher B- = 80 – 82% D = 60 – 66%

Attendance:

 The English Department follows the attendance and tardy policies set forth in the Attendance & Tardy Policy sections of CHS Handbook

Assignments and Late Work:  The English Department does NOT accept late work. o Exception: Late Passes – Each student will be given three (3) late passes which can be used to turn in major assignments up to two (2) school days late for full credit. These late passes are the only exception to the late work policy that will be permitted. Parents will be contacted when students fail to turn in major assignment.  Due dates for daily work – students with excused absences on due dates are expected to submit assignments the day they return to class.  Tests/Quizzes – students with excused absences are expected to make up quiz/test upon return to class. All quizzes/tests, however, MUST be made up within 1 week from the absence. It is the students’ responsibility to make and schedule a time with their teachers.  For absences, students are strongly encouraged to email their English teachers to obtain daily assignments.  If students are present during any part of the school-day, they are required to submit assignments that are due for the day AND to check in with their English teachers to obtain daily assignments.  Unexcused absences - no make up work will be accepted.

Curriculum:

The following is curriculum that is on-going throughout the year, regardless of particular unit of study:  Vocabulary – Greek & Latin roots, prefixes, suffixes (bi-weekly, cumulative)  Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)  Continued development of academic writing  Continued development of research skills

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) As part of the English department SSR program, you will be asked to choose books to read for pleasure. The purpose of this program is to foster “independent, leisure reading” into students’ lives. Research indicates that independent readers build background knowledge for a wide-array of subjects, improve overall reading skills, develop a broader vocabulary, and make better writers. Guidelines: 1. You are responsible for choosing your SSR book; it may be fiction or nonfiction as long as it is in the form of a book – no magazines or periodicals. You may check out a book from the CHS library or a public library, borrow one from family or friends, or buy a book from a book store. You may even read a book on an approved e-reader. Most importantly, you should choose a book that interests you and that you will want to read. 2. You are also responsible for bringing your SSR book to class EVERY DAY. 3. You will be given about 30 minutes of class time per week for SSR. Dates and times will be determined by individual teachers. 4. In addition to the approximate 30 minutes per week, if any “downtime” may occur in class, you will be expected to do SSR. This will be very rare, but you must have you book EVERY DAY. Grading: 1.Students earn 20 points for reading your SSR book when assigned. Any off task behaviors during SSR will forfeit points. 2.Extra Credit: After completing a book, students may complete and submit a book review. In addition to a hard copy submitted to your teacher, it must be submitted to turnitin.com. Each completed book review will earn up to 5 writing points (a maximum of 3 book reviews per semester)

Semester 1 – Units Semester 2 Units Month Units Month Units September – January – The Crucible – Play Harlem Renaissance October February

November – The Great Gatsby – Novel February Personal Statement essay December & Jr Research Paper

February – January Transcendentalism Raisin in the Sun - Play March

January American Poets March – April The Things They Carried Novel

Academic Integrity:

Academic Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated! This includes plagiarism, cheating, collusion, academic misconduct, distribution/sharing of class assignments or test, unauthorized collaboration or technology/malpractice. See Student Handbook for specific definitions of each of these.  1st offense = zero (0) on the assignment, referral to an administrator and parent/guardian contact.  2nd violation = zero (0) on assignment and/or loss of credit for the entire semester, IF the violation is within the same course with within the same grading period as the first violation. Parent Contact.  3rd violation = withdrawal from the class with failing grade, including reduction and possible rearrangement of the student’s schedule and/or short-term suspension. Parent Contact.

Turnitin.com All students will be required to submit an electronic copy of all take-home writing assignments to turnitin.com. Turnitin.com is an online database that compares and calculates originality in written work.