12th GRADE HONORS ENGLISH COURSE SYLLABUS



12th GRADE HONORS ENGLISH COURSE SYLLABUS 2013-2014Instructor: Mrs. Ashley Abraham The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the ArtsCourse Description and Overview: The 12th Grade Honors English Course is designed to expose students to a wide variety of texts and authors from England. In this way, the course acts as a survey of British literature. Students will engage with challenging texts that force them to think critically and analyze in an in-depth fashion. Students will strengthen their writing skills and vocabulary through writing in a multiplicity of modes throughout the course of the school year. Lastly, students will learn the value of scholarly conversation through the colorful discussions they will have regarding the texts to be studied.Course Objectives:Students will…Analyze the interaction and development of a complex set of ideas, sequence of events, or specific individuals over the course of the text.Evaluate how an author’s point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.Evaluate?how?words?and?phrases?shape?meaning?and?tone?in?texts.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.Determine and analyze the relationship between two or more themes or central ideas of a text, including the development and interaction of the themes; provide an objective summary of the text.Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences and conclusions based on and related to an author’s implicit and explicit assumptions and beliefs.Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama.Evaluate the structure of texts including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the texts relate to each other and the whole.Develop and analyze the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic; include graphics and multimedia when useful to aiding anize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a whole; use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text; provide a concluding statement or section that supports the information presented; include formatting when useful to aiding comprehension.Distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims; develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.Create organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence; use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text to create cohesion and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims; provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.Policies and ProceduresExpectations for Honors Students: As honors students, you are expected to take control of your own learning. Your work should show a deep and critical analysis, and present new ideas based on a synthesis of the information presented in class. If you do not understand an assignment, you are expected to attempt multiple methods for completion: ask parents, call a friend, do some research, read supporting documents. DO NOT take answers from the internet. You should NEVER show up empty-handed. You are expected to work out an honest attempt. Classroom Rules: In addition to the school rules outlined in your handbook, there is one rule to rule them all in my classroom. BE RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS. We will spend the year exploring exactly how we respect others, but some examples are listed below:Be on timeBe preparedAlways give 110% of your best workPay attention when others are speakingNo electronic devices in the classroom unless given express permission by the instructorUse kind words, especially when you disagreeReturn/leave things in better condition than they were in when you received them (this includes your desk, the classroom, books, things you have borrowed, etc.)Cheating/Plagiarism Policy:Cheating is not permitted in any way, shape, or form in this class. If a student is found to be cheating on any assignment, test, quiz, etc., the student will receive a zero for the work. The student will also face strict disciplinary action as result of this decision. Plagiarism is also not permitted and is considered a form of cheating to the fullest extent. In no situation should the student use the words of another author without the use of proper citation. If the student has any question concerning proper citation practices, please ask the instructor to avoid a misinterpretation of plagiarism. Late Work: I will not track down students for late work! Late work will be handled according to the situations below:For unplanned, excused absences: Students must see me the next school day to turn in the work that was due the day before and make up anything that was missed. This work will be accepted for full credit as long as it is returned by the determined due date.For planned, excused absences: Students must see me before they will be out in order to obtain work they will miss. This work will be accepted for full credit as long as it is returned by the determined due date.For unexcused absences: Late work will not be accepted.For all other late work: Late work will not be accepted.Required Materials: Students are expected to always bring the following items to class:Specified book/textbookDesignated English notebook or folderLoose leaf paperHomework (if applicable)Writing utensils A book for pleasure readingDaily Routine: Your homework will always be written on the white board. Depending on the complexity of the assignment, I may or may not mention it in class. It is your responsibility to complete it whether I mention it or not.You must always have a pleasure reading book with you. If you finish an assignment early, unless I direct you otherwise, you will be expected to turn in the assignment and sit and read quietly. This is not the time to do other homework! This is a time to read for fun. You have to discover what that means for you. You can choose novels, comic books, fiction, non-fiction, how-to manuals…whatever you enjoy!Essay Grading Standards:A “C” essay offers a plausible argument that reveals a basic grasp of the text and topic at handsupports its argument with some reference to and discussion of the textis adequately organized—though there may be lapses in structureis adequately written—though there may be recurrent errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation (“mechanical” errors) that are distractingIn brief, a “C” essay satisfies the requirements of a given assignment and demonstrates competence in analyzing a text.A “B” essay offers a convincing argument that includes moments of insight and originalitysupports its argument with significant reference to and discussion of the textis clearly and purposefully organized is effectively written, making visible use of precise diction and varied structure—though there may be occasional lapses and mechanical errors In brief, a “B” essay is characterized by its facility in analyzing a text and moments of insightful, original interpretation.An “A” essayoffers a compelling and persuasive argument that reveals depth of understanding and sheds new light on the textsupports its argument with extensive, if not exhaustive? reference to and discussion of the textis strategically organized in order to bring its argument to a powerful conclusionis written with sophistication and style and is virtually free of mechanical errorsIn brief, an “A” essay is characterized by its intellectual rigor and illumination of a text with fresh observations and insights.Curriculum OverviewThe course units will revolve around literary periods. Please note, however, that the instructor reserves the right to make changes to the text list and/or to the order in which the texts are studied throughout the course of the school year.Unit 1: Learning About Close Reading and AnalysisChapters 2 and 3 from Literature and CompositionWuthering Heights by Emily BronteUnit 2: The Old English and Medieval Periods“The Seafarer” by unknown author“The Wanderer” by unknown author“The Wife’s Lament” by unknown author From Beowulf by unknown authorFrom The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey ChaucerFrom Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Unit 3: The English RenaissanceThe Sonnets of Edmund SpenserThe Sonnets of Sir Philip SidneyThe Sonnets of William ShakespeareThe Sonnets of Franceso PetrarchThe Sonnets of Pablo Neruda“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher MarloweMacbeth by William ShakespeareUnit 4: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries“Song” by John Donne“A Valediction Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne“Holy Sonnet 10” by John Donne“Meditation 15” by John Donne“Meditation 17” by John DonneWit original drama by Margaret Edson & film by Mike Nochols (we will be watching the film)From Paradise Lost by John MiltonUnit 5: The Romantic Period“My Heart Leaps Up” by William Wordsworth“I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud” by William Wordsworth“The Tyger” by William Blake“The Divine Image” by William Blake“Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor ColeridgeFrankenstein by Mary ShelleyUnit 6: The Victorian Period“The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning“Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning“Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti“Jabberwocky” by Lewis CarrollUnit 7: The Modern and Postmodern Periods“When You Are Old” by William Butler Yeats“The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats“The Hollow Men” by T.S. Eliot“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot“Araby” by James Joyce“The Dead” by James Joyce“Digging” by Seamus Heaney“The Tollund Man” by Seamus Heaney“The Bog Queen” by Seamus Heaney“The Balloon” by Donald Barthelme “The Literature of Exhaustion” by John BarthA Final Comment:This academic year will be a rigorous one in the 12th Grade Honors English Class. However, I am sure that it be a fun year as well. Take your studies seriously, and you will succeed. Please feel free to email me at aabraham@ with any questions throughout the course of the school year. I ask that you and your parent/guardian sign below to acknowledge that you read and understand all the requirements and expectations for this course. Please return these signatures by the next class period. Thank you very much, and I am very excited to work with you this school year.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Student Printed Name: ___________________________________Student Signature: ___________________________________Parent/Guardian Printed Name: ______________________________Parent/Guardian Signature: ______________________________ ................
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