• “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

                                                         --Benjamin Franklin

     
     

    English II Course Syllabus

    2015-2016

    Mrs. E. Valente, Teacher of English

    Email:  Ericvalente@paps.net

     

     

    Objectives

    The following is a list of our course objectives for this school year. 

     

    ·       Improve upon existing reading, writing, critical thinking, listening, and speaking skills.

    ·       Routinely develop a reflective writing portfolio that showcases personal and scholarly growth.

    ·       Effectively share and reflect on complex/debatable content through respectful in-class discussions.

    ·       Contextually build and strengthen grade-appropriate vocabulary.

    ·       Discover one’s own “voice” as forward-thinking individuals, moving minds “outside the box.”

     

    Required Materials


    ·       No. 2 Pencil

    ·       Pen

    ·       Notebook (I give A LOT of notes.  Bring your notebook to class daily)

    ·       Assigned Texts

     


     

    Students who are unable to obtain the necessary materials for class may feel free to see me privately.

     

    Grades

    A student’s grade is a result of the student’s own hard work/effort put forth towards that grade.  In other words, students earn the grades that they receive; the teacher does not randomly create them.  I do not give extra credit.

     

    60% - Tests / Projects / Essays / Research Paper

    30% - Quizzes / Short Essays

    10% - Classwork / Homework / Participation

     

    *Students may (and are strongly encouraged to) rewrite any writing assignments (short or long essays) for a higher grade.  Rewrites will ONLY be accepted during the Marking Period that the original assignment was due.  The original, graded, work must be attached to any revisions in order to receive proper credit.

     

    *All written work is to be stored in WRITING FOLDERS located in the classroom.  It is your responsibility to file your graded work.

     

    Absence from School or Class

    You must make up any work that you missed while you were absent or out of class for another school function.  It is your responsibility to turn in any assignments collected and pick up the missed assignments from me on the day that you return. It is not my responsibility to remind you. Assignments not submitted due to absence are automatically marked as “missing” (0%) in my grade book.

    Classroom Rules

    1.     Be on time. 

    2.     When walking into, working in, and leaving the classroom, you are to do so in an appropriate (mature) manner.

    3.     The bell does not dismiss you—I do.  Lining up at the door will constitute in an automatic write-up.

    4.     Show respect for the teacher, your classmates, and the classroom.

    5.     Electronic devices are strictly prohibited while on school grounds.  If seen, it will be taken, given to an administrator, and will not be returned until a parent comes to retrieve it. 

    6.     No whining.  The class will not slow down simply because you “don’t like” the material.  Be mature, do the work, earn the grade.

     

    Academic Integrity

    Plagiarism is the unauthorized, uncited use of another individual’s words and/or ideas.  Cheating includes copying, sharing, and using “cheat sheets” or other written, verbal, or electronic information which is not your own.  Both are illegal, and neither is tolerated in my classroom.  Such activity that represents the use of plagiarism will result in loss of all potential credit for the assignment and referral to administration for further disciplinary action. 

     

     

    Please sign and date this form to indicate your compliance with the stated rules and regulations of the class.  Consider this your first homework assignment for the school year.

     

     

     

     

    ____________________________________________________             

    Signature of Student                                           Date                        


     

    English II – Course Outline

     

    Summer Reading

    ·       In class essay (test grade)

    Unit I:  Deception and Moral Responsibility

    Texts:

    ·       The Crucible

    ·       Fahrenheit 451

    ·       Short stories / informational text / poetry

    Research Paper Unit

    Unit II:  Shakespeare

    Texts:

    ·       Macbeth

    Unit III:  Family Relationships & Suffering

    Texts:

    ·       Grapes of Wrath

    ·       To Kill A Mockingbird

    ·       Short stories / informational text / poetry

    Unit IV:  Femininity & Race

    Texts:

    ·       The Color Purple

    ·       A Raisin in the Sun

    ·       Short stories / informational text / poetry

    Unit V:  Lost Love, the Past, & Memories

    Texts:

    ·       The Great Gatsby

    ·       Ethan Frome

    ·       Short stories / informational text / poetry