BRITISH LITERATURE & COMPOSITION Ms. Rapp
[email protected] COURSE DESCRIPTION Students in this course study the central works in British literature, allowing students to examine the cultural attitudes and customs, major historical events, authors, and genres in order to develop ethical, aesthetic and cultural values. This course is a survey of the development of literature and the English language from its Anglo-Saxon beginnings to the present. Students will strengthen their interpretive and writing skills, learn to understand the changing nature of the English language, and make connections between English literature and events in today's world. This class equips students with the critical thinking, reading, and writing skills necessary for success in college and beyond. COURSE GOALS Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Literature 1. Demonstrate an increased vocabulary derived from the literature and their understandings of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes. 2. Read for both literal and figurative meaning. 3. Evaluate the philosophical, political, religious, ethical, and social influences of the historical period that shaped the characters, plots, and settings. 4. Analyze the rhetorical devices writers use to achieve their purposes. 5. Analyze and use evidence to support the way in which the theme of a selection represents a view or comment on life. 6. Contrast the major literary forms, techniques, and characteristics of the major literary periods. 7. Analyze characteristics of sub genres (e.g., satire, parody, allegory, and pastoral) that are used in poetry, prose, plays, novels, short stories, essays, and other basic genres. Writing 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the elements of discourse (e.g., purpose, speaker, audience, and form) when completing narrative, expository, persuasive, or descriptive writing assignments. 2. Write interpretive essays that demonstrate a close reading of the text, a unifying purpose, and clarity of expression. 3. Enhance meaning by employing various rhetorical strategies to develop ideas such as comparison/contrast, cause and effect, examples, narration, description, and argumentation. 4. Achieve high interest level in compositions by employing rhetorical devices such as parallelism, repetition, & analogy. 5. Revise process papers to highlight the individual voice, improve sentence variety and style, and enhance subtlety of meaning and tone in ways that are consistent with purpose, audience, and genre. 6. Prepare a multimedia presentation that demonstrates research and the use of technology. 7. Employ the conventions of Standard English. LITERATURE UNITS The Anglo-Saxons (449-1066); Songs of Ancient Heroes The Middle Ages (1066-1485); The Tales They Told The Renaissance (1485-1660); A Flourish of Genius The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century (1660-1800); The Best of All Possible Worlds The Romantic Period (1798-1832); The Quest for Truth and Beauty The Victorian Period (1832-1901); Paradox and Progress The Modern World (1900 - Present); A Remarkable Diversity TEXTS Drama Hamlet, William Shakespeare Epic From Beowulf From Gilgamesh From Paradise Lost, John Milton
Poetry From the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer Novels Brave New World, Aldous Huxley Great Expectations, Charles Dickens Short Stories The Rocking-Horse Winner, DH Lawrence Shocking Accident, Graham Greene The Rain Horse, Ted Hughes Nonfiction Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell Historical Speeches RECOMMENDED MATERIALS Parent contributions have enabled Irvine High School to enrich the curriculum and offer students the highest quality education experience that we can envision. In order to provide a more meaningful educational experience, families of students enrolled in this class are encouraged to purchase the following materials: Three-ring binder Post-it notes – small and large Spiral notebook Flash drive or disc to save and transfer work College-ruled, loose-leaf paper Planner Stapler (mini is best) Dictionary and thesaurus Pencils and blue, black, and red pens Access to a computer and the Internet Highlighters Money in IHS printing account Families who choose not to purchase these materials will have them provided. GRADING Everything we do in class will be assigned a point value, including participation. If you complete the work consistently and completely and participate in class, you will do well in this class. All work must have your full name so I know who to give credit to for the work. Please try to be as neat as possible; if I cannot read it, I cannot grade it. All formal assignments are expected to be typed. Typed work for homework assignments is strongly recommended. GRADE WEIGHTING 1. Essays/Journals – 20% 2. Exams/Quizzes – 20% 3. Oral Presentations & Projects – 20%
4. In-Class Assignments – 20% 5. Homework – 10% 6. Daily Participation & Preparedness – 10%
Grading Policy for Daily Preparedness and Participation: You start the semester with 100 points for participation and preparedness. You will lose 5 points EVERY TIME you do one of the following: 1. Your phone is seen or heard from bell to bell 4. You are disrespectful 2. You come to class unprepared 5. You are tardy 3. You disrupt class 6. You fall asleep
The only opportunities you have to make these points up are with incredibly thoughtful, active, engaging contributions toward in-class discussions or projects. It must exceed expectations, or the participation grade remains the same.
GRADING SCALE
A+ A AB+ B BC+
100% 93% - 99% 90% - 92% 87% - 89% 83% - 86% 80% - 82% 77% - 79%
C CD+ D DF
73% - 76% 70% - 72% 67% - 69% 63% - 66% 60% - 62% 59% and below
You should keep track of all grades (and save all work) so that you can double check my grading accuracy! If you would like to check your grade with me, please come in before or after school. Do NOT ask me during class. HOMEWORK Homework can be expected nearly every night. A physical copy of all work should be complete and is due at the beginning of class; emailing the assignment to me without providing sufficient time for printing before class is not acceptable. Some assignments will be written and others will consist of reading and studying or preparing for oral presentations. Please plan ahead and manage your time wisely to ensure assignment completion. LATE WORK Homework: No late homework will be accepted unless it is accompanied by an excused absence readmit. You have exactly the amount of days that you were absent to make up homework. If you were absent for two consecutive days, you have two consecutive days to make up the work; otherwise, it will not be accepted. When you turn in work from when you were absent, you must write "Absent on (Date)" on the assignment or you will not receive credit. Quizzes/Exams: You have one week to make up a quiz or test. You must take the initiative and come before or after school to make it up. Essays/Major Projects: Late grades on major projects and essays – Every day the project/essay is late the grade will drop by a full letter grade. Example: If the earned grade is an A- but it is turned in one day late, it drops to a B-. A failing grade will occur automatically on the fifth day. It is a great idea to have the phone number and/or email address of at least two people in this class. You may also see me before or after school or you may email me while absent. STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR BLACKBOARD LOGIN & ENROLLMENT 1. Go to: blackboard.iusd.org 2. Click on “User Login” a. Username: i. Two digits of graduation ii. Eight letters of last name iii. Eight letters of first name b. Password: permanent id name (can be found on your schedule card) c. Example: Joseph Student will graduate 2012 and his permanent id number is 11223344 i. Username: 12studentjoseph ii. Password: 11223344 3. YOU MUST SELF ENROLL ONCE YOU LOG IN! a. Select the “Course” tab at the top of the page b. Select “High Schools” on the right of the page c. Select “Irvine” on the left hand side, middle of the page d. Select the correct content area of the course (language arts) e. Find your course from the list of courses f. Click “submit” and then click “OK” g. You are now enrolled in the course 4. Click on the “Irvine USD” tab at the top of the page. 5. Look at the right hand side of the screen for the box labeled “My Courses.” 6. The course that you just enrolled in should now be listed there.
7. Click on the name of the course in the “My Courses” box and you will be able to access the blackboard site for that course. Record your username and password here: Username: ________________________________________ Password: _________________________________________
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR Follow these three simple guidelines for behavioral success in this classroom: 1. Be respectful and polite to all people and property in the classroom. 2. Be prepared for class by completing all assignments, bringing all necessary supplies to class, being on time, and turning off all electronics. 3. Obey all school rules. Always remember: Integrity, Honor, and Social Responsibility. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Plagiarism is taking credit for work that is not yours. This includes copying homework assignments. Plagiarism will result in a 0 for the assignment and 3 hours of detention. Do Not Bring Drama into the Classroom. We'll get plenty of that from the literature! BATHROOM/LATE PASSES At the beginning of the semester, you will receive 5 tickets that you can use as either a bathroom pass or a late pass. If you want to use one of your tickets, deposit it in the canister at the front of the classroom with your name written on the back. Once you have used all of your tickets, that's it – there are no more. If you still have tickets at the end of the semester, each ticket will count as one point of extra credit towards your grade. TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES If you experience computer/printer problems, you will need to be proactive. E-mail the document to yourself and then email it to me. Otherwise, you will be deducted points or receive a zero on the assignment. If you come in with enough time before class, you may use my computer to print your document.
British Literature & Composition Ms. Rapp Fall 2011 Please sign to acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the guidelines, responsibilities, and expectations for British Literature & Composition, as well as my policies for make-up/late work. Both the student and a parent/guardian must sign this contract and turn it in to me by Monday, September 12, 2011. This (extremely easy) assignment is worth five points. More importantly, I will not grade any of your other assignments this semester until these contracts are turned in.
I will do my best to comply with Ms. Rapp’s guidelines, responsibilities, and expectations.
Student's name (please print): ___________________________________________
Period ___________
Student's Signature: ___________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian's Name (please print): ____________________________________
Parent/Guardian's Signature: _____________________________________________
E-mail: _________________________________________________
Phone #: ________________________________________________
If there is any additional information you would like me to know, please write it below:
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