English 10 Honors Course Syllabus Ms. Dalia Zabaneh

English 10 Honors Course Syllabus Ms. Dalia Zabaneh 2012/2013 [email protected]

Welcome to Grade 10 Honors English. Students will be reading a variety of literary works from different regions around the world. Students will learn how to analyze and critique literary works, orally and in writing. They will also learn to appreciate different cultures and literary styles. Students should demonstrate an excellent knowledge of grammatical conventions through writing, editing, and speaking. The guiding questions throughout the units will involve the role of culture and history in the setting, characterization, plot and theme of the literary works. The following is a brief tentative outline of the regions and authors that will be covered in this course:

Term 1: Middle-East (Naguib Mahfouz, Khalil Gibran, Rumi) Term 2: Asia (Amy Tan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Various Poets) Term 3: Africa (Alan Paton, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe) Term 4: South America (Paulo Coelho, Isabel Allende, Pablo Neruda)

Grading Scheme:  The grading scale for Honors courses is the same used for IB. Please check the student handbook for details.  10% of each term grade is participation. Participation includes coming to class on time and prepared, doing in-class work, taking part in class discussions in a respectful way, and speaking English at all times. Students will receive 2 points for participation every day they come to class prepared and are on task.  20% of each term grade consists of homework. Homework is a very important part of developing analytical and language skills. Homework will be assigned regularly.  30% of each term grade consists of quizzes and tests. These include vocabulary tests, literature- based tests and unit tests. There will be regular weekly vocabulary quizzes and tests on the literature we cover during each term.  40% of each term grade consists of essays, presentations and projects. You will be expected to write an essay for every work of literature we read. There will be an essay assigned about every two weeks. In addition, there will be a project or presentation assigned during each term.

Course Policies: o All essays must be submitted to turnitin.com. Failure to do so will result in a lower grade. Students must also submit a hard copy to turn in that day.

o Papers completed at home must be typed and meet the following requirements: Times New Roman font, 12-point size, double-spaced with 1-inch margins. If papers do not meet those specifications, they will need to be fixed and will not earn full credit. Use MLA formatting in all your written work. o Plagiarism and cheating are not tolerated. A zero will be given without a chance for make-up. Your parents and the administration will be contacted. o Late work will receive half credit. Please see your student handbook regarding what constitutes an excused absence.

o Make-up work is the student’s responsibility. Work that was due on the day a student had an excused absence is due upon his/her return. The student has one day (even if he/she does not have English class that day) for every excused absence to make up work that was missed. You are expected to take announced quizzes/tests/presentations/projects on the day you return.

Course Materials:  A 2 or 3 ring binder for your Portfolio, packs of loose leaf paper, dividers and plastic sleeves  Journal, pencils, blue/ black ball point pens