English 10 HP Course Syllabus s1

English 10 HP Course Syllabus

Mrs. Jill Lax La Costa Canyon High School Tel.: (760) 436-6136 x 6274 [email protected] Room 461 Website: http://jlax.wikispaces.com

Welcome to my sophomore English Honors class! This course constitutes a pivotal year for refining critical thinking, reading, writing, and analytical skills before taking Advanced Placement English. The central theme “Journeying into the World” provides an excellent catalyst for students to explore timeless works of global literature, as well as fostering a sense of identity and self-discovery.

Course Description This course is designed to:  Enhance students’ writing, reading, and thinking skills  Stimulate students’ appreciation and understanding of the function of literature in society  Strengthen students’ confidence, competence, and enjoyment of reading and writing  Prepare students for the challenges of junior and senior Advanced Placement English  Foster students’ sense of self-awareness and their role in society and the world  Expose students to a variety of ideas, readings, and writings so that they can formulate their own opinions, ideology, and philosophy  Challenge students’ assumptions, expectations, and limitations, so that they not only succeed, but exceed their standards, as well as those of the State  Encourage genuine discussion, conversation, and interaction in the classroom

Syllabus In accordance with the Common Core Standards, students will complete various written assignments and engage in other creative and intellectual activities which may include in part:  Journal entries  Interpretive essays, creative writing assignments, and timed writings  Self-assessment and self–reflection  Collaborative projects and group and individual class assignments  Peer assessment, conferencing, and evaluation  Group and individual student-led lessons  Editing, conferencing, and revision (the writing process)  In-depth study and analysis of language (literary and stylistic terms and rhetorical devices)

Developing a repertoire of techniques, strategies, and tools for understanding literature and non-fiction forms a large part of this course. Students should expect to probe concepts at a deeper level, and to discuss texts in a broader context. Since the focus is on world literature, students will have an opportunity to investigate a variety of international works. The amount of reading required per night will vary, depending upon the text being studied at the time. In addition to reading and discussing the works, students should expect to annotate their reading in detail. Although books are available for checkout at school, and the purchasing of books is not mandatory, I do encourage students to purchase their books to facilitate annotation. New books are available at Barnes and Noble (I have ordered the texts for purchase there) or online, or used copies of the texts are also available online at greatly reduced prices. If you choose not to purchase all the texts at once at the beginning of the year, please take note of the approximate dates when students will need each text. Students not opting to purchase texts should inform me ahead of time so that I may reserve books for check out from school.

NOTE: Texts marked with an asterisk (*) are the texts that I strongly advise students to purchase. We study the following texts at these approximate times (subject to some variation):

 August/September: Short story selections from Kincaid, J (ed): World Writers Today  September/October: First of Sophocles’ plays in the Theban trilogy: Oedipus Tyrannous*  October/November: Theodore Dostoevsky’s Russian novel: Crime and Punishment*  December: J.D. Salinger’s novel: The Catcher in the Rye*  January/February: Albert Camus’ novella The Stranger (L’Etranger)and/or (depending upon time) Franz Kafka’s novella: The Metamorphosis  March/April: Seminar Set Choice reading (Book Club unit)… One of the following works:* Allende, Isabelle: The House of the Spirits Courtenay, Brice: The Power of One Mehta, Gita: A River Sutra Tolstoy, Leo: Anna Karenina Hosseini, Khaled: The Kite Runner Martel, Yann: Life of Pi  April/May: William Shakespeare’s comedy: Much Ado About Nothing*  May/June: South American magic realism short story selections from Howes B (ed): Eye of the Heart

Classroom Atmosphere I encourage my students to learn independently and to develop the courage and confidence to explore original ways to think, write, and present their ideas. I favor a more natural, informal, authentic learning environment, but my standards are high with regards to student attitudes: I expect courtesy, kindness, integrity, and dedication to excellence to prevail.

My Expectations  Honors (Advanced) English students who want to write, read, discuss, explore, and investigate.  Enthusiastic, active class participants eager to engage in meaningful, mature discussions.  Students who take ownership for their learning and behavior, acting maturely and responsibly.  Honest students with academic integrity (which includes not pretending to have read or written something that they haven’t) – please see the Academic Honesty Policy below.  Responsible students, who bring the appropriate, completed work and materials to class every time and who are seated and ready to work before the second bell rings.  Respectful students who keep their hands, belongings, and hurtful comments to themselves, and who show kindness and courtesy to everyone in the class.  Students who keep the classroom clean and tidy.  Students who respect everyone’s right to share ideas and who do not interrupt others (raising hands to talk is not necessary, but only one person talks at a time).  Committed students who are intrinsically motivated to read all the material and to complete all the assignments on or before the due dates.  Students who respect our learning environment and refrain from using cell phones at all times, unless we are sing hones as part of our lesson. Please turn off your phone upon entering the class period and leave it off during the entire class period. Vibrate mode is unacceptable, as is texting during class time. If we are doing an activity that requires using your phone, I will let you know.

Consequences We are a community of learners in my classroom. I rarely, if ever, find that behavior is a problem, and seldom take “punitive” action. However, if students do have a lapse in judgment (depending upon the severity or nature of the disruption), I reserve the right to take the following action:  Teacher warning / private conference with student  Parent-teacher conference  Change of seating location  Removal of student from classroom for a period of time  Detention / referral of student to assistant principal  Suspension / permanent removal of student from my class  Confiscation of cell phone (first time use: warning, second time use: confiscation for class period, third time use or more: confiscation of cell phone to assistant principal)

Grading Policy and Deadlines

Since grades are indicators of student effort, achievement, and the quality of your work, the grades students earn are consistent with the expectations of an Honors classroom. It should be possible for students to maintain a high grade in my class throughout the year, but only if they work consistently, to their maximum ability, and take advantage of opportunities to improve and grow. A positive attitude, full aptitude, and an eagerness to rise to challenges are important components for success. I am interested in discovering my students’ talents and capabilities, so that they can grow as learners and be challenged along the way. In short, I am here to help students experience success.

Grade Breakdown :  All grade categories receive equal weight in my course; there is no one category that is weighted higher over the other. However, more points are allotted for certain assessments than for others.  Students’ grades are calculated to reflect the following components and assessments: - Timed essays, process pieces, and creative writing assignments - Individual and group creative assessments - Class activities - Speeches and other oral presentations - Quizzes, tests, and examinations  Incentive opportunities: Throughout the year, students will have several chances to earn “tickets” worth points, which they may redeem at the end of each semester. I would like to emphasize that in order to be equitable to all students I provide a range of diverse opportunities in various areas, both during class time and beyond class time. These tickets are intended as motivators, not as replacement grades for missing assignments. Since students have this opportunity all year, I do NOT offer extra credit at the end of each semester. In addition, please note that I do NOT “round up” grades as a matter of course. IF a student has reached within 0.5 points (NOT percent!) of the next grade level BEFORE their ticket points have been added, AND if that student has NOT either failed to turn in ANY assignments and has not turned in ANY assignments past due throughout the semester, I will certainly take that student’s effort and attitude into consideration for a grade “bump”. Please do NOT ask for grade raises. I believe that I am fair, understanding, and provide many occasions for students to earn high grades in my class.

A+ 98 – 100% B+ 88 – 89% C+ 78 – 79% D+ 68 – 69% A 92 – 97% B 82 – 87% C 72 – 77% D 62 – 67% A- 90 – 91% B- 80 – 81% C- 70 – 71% D- 60 – 61% below = F

 Class time is vital. Class work and class participation are assessed and from time to time class work will be included in students’ grades. If students have an excused absence they may make up timed writing and tests and exams either at lunch, if time allows, or after school by appointment only within 5 days of their return to school. It is the student’s responsibility to make an appointment with me to make up any missed work or tests. Since it is often difficult for students to find time outside of school, it is of course advisable that students do their best to keep absences to an absolute minimum. If an absence is unavoidable, students should be resourceful and make use of my “study buddy” system. Students should find at least two students to be their “buddies”... they should call them to find out what they missed and then make up the assignments/reading as soon as possible. When students return, they should bring with them the work that was due the class period before, and if possible, the work that they missed / that was assigned when they were absent. Students will have as many days to make up work missed as the number of days for which they were absent.  All class work and homework are crucial. I do not assign “busy” work (sometimes there might not even be homework). I encourage students and parents to check grades regularly on Aeries by visiting the Aeries portal at http://parents.sduhsd.net . Please contact Sherrie Bender at 760-436-6136, ext. 6006 if you do not have an Aeries password. Progress reports and report cards will be delivered electronically through the Aeries parent portal. It is the student’s responsibility to stay on top of grades.  I will also post homework assignments and deadlines on my web page, which can be found at http://jlax.wikispaces.com or accessed through the link on our school website under my name. Students should sign up to be a member of my wiki space as soon as possible, by visiting http://jlax.wikispaces.com.

Required Materials  A three-ring binder (with plenty of paper to write on), with an English section for writing essays and notes, as well as a separate English notebook for keeping notes on stylistic terms  Pens, pencils, highlighters, and post-it-notes (necessary for annotations)  A calendar / agenda  Access to a computer and printer as homework and major assignments should be typed (please see me if presents a problem for you). In addition, you will need to access turnitin.com.  Access to a good dictionary at home Personally Speaking

I am passionate about teaching and truly enjoy working with students and engaging them in the learning process. I believe that learning should be challenging, rewarding, enjoyable, and last a lifetime. I believe that books are a gateway to freedom, insight, compassion, and wisdom. I view education as a privilege, not merely a right. I am excited about the challenges and opportunities that await us this year. I would like to stress that although I have the highest expectations, this is, after all, a learning environment. I hope that parents and students will feel free to seek help and communicate openly with me. Thank you for your continued support. Please sign below and return this packet. There will be a copy of this syllabus available online on my wiki space should you wish to refer later to anything in this syllabus packet.

Parents, I look forward to meeting you at our Back-to-school Night on Wednesday, September 16th.

Please sign and return this syllabus the next class period. Please do not forget to read, sign, and return the plagiarism portion as well. A copy of this syllabus for future reference will be available on my wiki space.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Jill Lax

We have read and understood the contents of the above syllabus, and agree with the expectations contained therein.

______Student’s first and last name Student’s signature Student’s e-mail

______Parent/s first and last name Parent/s signature Date

Parent/s address: ______

Parent/s e-mail: ______Parent/s home phone: ______

Parent/s cell phone: ______Best time to reach parent: ______

Please also read and sign the Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty Policy information below:

(Borrowed, in part, from policies established by the University of Washington’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.) Cheating, or academic misconduct, is increasingly a problem amongst high school students. Regardless of motivation, cases of academic misconduct are completely unjustified in every instance. To cheat is to demean one’s efforts. It causes one’s character to come under suspicion, and it belittles the hard work of all students. Cheating, plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, in any form, is not tolerated. The purpose of these policies is to clearly delineate examples of cheating, as well as to clearly inform students of the consequences of academic misconduct in this course. **NOTE: These policies refer only to how plagiarism is viewed within the confines of this classroom. These do not supersede the Academic Dishonesty policies initiated by the San Dieguito Union High School District in any way. These policies inform students and parents/guardians of how academic dishonesty is viewed in this class. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to: 1. Using another author’s words without proper citation. 2. Using an author’s ideas without proper citation. 3. Reproducing the exact wording of another source without using quotation marks, even if the source is cited. 4. Borrowing the structure of another author’s words or phrases without proper credit or citation. 5. Borrowing all or part of another student’s paper or assignment, including borrowing the structure of another student’s words, phrases, or ideas. 6. Using a paper writing service, or an online source of written assignments, or having another student complete an assignment This includes obtaining information, either in full or in part, from Internet websites (popularly known as “paper mills”), in which students can obtain papers either free or for cost). This also includes the cutting and pasting or by hand reproducing content which can be found online, such as is found on sites such as (but not limited to) Wikipedia.. Other examples of academic dishonesty: 1. Cheating during a quiz or an exam, including: . Copying answers from another student . Possession of unauthorized notes or study-aids during a quiz or exam . Using an electronic device (such as a camera-enabled smart device) at any time during an exam or quiz. 2. Turning in work that is identical, or substantially similar to, the work of another student: . This is frequently a by-product of “working with another student.” In many cases, working with a partner while studying is a beneficial way of learning. However, please understand that submitting work that is identical or quite similar to the work of another student is considered cheating. All work should be uniquely your own. 3. Purchasing or possessing materials that contain specific answers to homework assignments or exams. 4. Cutting and pasting answers from online sources, such as Wikipedia, even if the work is cited properly. This is not “doing” your own work, and in this class, it shall be treated as a case of academic dishonesty. Any infraction not described above, but that clearly falls under the auspices of academic dishonesty, is subject to the consequences in the Discipline Policy outlined by La Costa Canyon High School and the San Dieguito Union High School District. Students who engage in academic misconduct will incur the following consequences: 1. The student will lose credit for the assignment. 2. The student will be referred to an administrator for documentation and for possible disciplinary action. Careful planning and time management will serve as good tools to prevent instances of academic misconduct. Please do not engage in any action that will cause your integrity to be questioned.

Please sign below to indicate your receipt and understanding of these policies. PLEASE sign and return the entire packet.

______Full Student Name Student signature Date

______Parent/Guardian Full name Parent signature Date

Please feel free to add anything below about your son or daughter, to help make this a most successful year!