Honors American LiteratureSpring 2010- 10th Grade

Instructor - Ms. Cindy Threet

720-424-1821

Goals:

  1. To increase understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of various types of literature, and to understand how American Literature is a record of the American experience.
  2. To develop best writing practices in regards to usage, punctuation, sentence and paragraph construction, grammar and spelling.
  3. To recognize and analyze various literary genres.
  4. To use literature as the inspiration for creative and critical writing. Including

• using fictional, dramatic, and poetic techniques in writing;

• conveying technical information in a written and spoken form appropriate to the audience;

• supporting an opinion using various forms of persuasion (factual or emotional) in speaking and writing;

• incorporating material from a wider range of sources (for example, newspapers, magazines, interviews, technical publications, books) in their writing and speaking;

• selecting a focused topic and drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading a legible final copy;

• experimenting with stylistic elements such as voice, tone, style, and audience in writing.

  1. To utilize a full range of strategies to comprehend essays, speeches, biographies, autobiographies, and first person historical documents in addition to short stories and the novel.
  2. To recognize and analyze various literary genres.
  3. To participate in meaningful discussion and speak about literature studied.
  4. To develop a greater appreciation and understanding of the varied cultural, historic, social and artistic contexts of American literature.

Texts:

  1. Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes
  2. Springboard: American Literature
  3. Novels will include: The Sound and the Fury, Grapes of Wrath,

The Jungle, Invisible Man, and novel choices written by a number of contemporary writers.

  1. Various other resources provided by teacher and student

What to expect:

  1. A considerable amount of reading. For a country with a relatively “short” history, there’s a LOT of literature.
  2. A considerable amount of writing, both critical and creative. You will write a variety of different essays including personal essays, literary responses and research papers.
  3. Grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, best writing practice review and practice.
  4. Class discussion, group projects, creative projects, note taking, presentations, etc.

Grading and Attendance:

Semester grades will be determined by a continuous accumulation of scores over the

18 -week semester (there will also be separate grades for each 9 weeks). Student grades are based on accuracy, completion, rigor, and presentation quality of all work.

Grading Scale:

A / A- / B+ / B / B- / C+ / C / C- / D / F
93-100 / 90-92 / 87-89 / 83-86 / 80-82 / 77-79 / 73-76 / 70-72 / 60-69 / 0-59

Assignments will be given point values based on the time required and expectations of the assignment. Work will be turned in on time. LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR 50% CREDIT.

Makeup work from excused absences will be completed promptly. It is YOUR responsibility to find out what work you missed if you were absent. Makeup work will NOT be accepted for unexcused absences. All unexcused absences (truancies) will be reported to the student advisor.

*******COMMUNICATE WITH ME AHEAD OF TIME IF YOU NEED HELP OR MORE TIME TO GET SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENTS OR PROJECTS FINISHED. Coming to me on the day assignments are due (or after) with excuses will do no good- don’t even try it! Students who attend regularly, conscientiously complete assignments and participate in class discussion will earn a good grade. Don’t be late. Don’t ditch. Don’t blow off assignments and homework.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT GRADING!

It is important to me that your written work is given the consideration it deserves. That consideration takes time. Daily homework assignments will generally be graded within a week, but papers take me longer- sometimes a month, depending on the assignment. Please be patient with me, I want to be able to read and think about what you have to say- not just skim!

Progress Monitoring:

  • Grades in Infinite Campus will be updated once a week.
  • Every 3 weeks prog/elig grades will be used to help identifying struggling students for interventions including tutoring.
  • Every week, IC Messenger will send notices regarding failing assignments. These are notices of assignments that earned a failing grade (less than 59%). To verify a student’s class grade, you will need to check IC in more detail. Please keep in mind the grading policies as stated in the syllabus above. IC Messenger will also send out a message if the student has missed an assignment. Failing grades will be sent once per week, missing grades may be sent multiple times over a nine-week period.

Non-Academic Materials: The following are not permitted in class.

  • Cell phones and pagers. (Parents, please do not call your student during class. In case of an emergency, please call the main office.)
  • Grooming supplies (makeup, perfume, lotion, cologne, brushes, etc.)
  • I-pods, walkmans, gameboys, etc.
  • Notes to/from friends
  • Food, gum and drinks (Water is OK)

Academic Honesty:

Academic honesty is a cornerstone of this class. Cheating, including plagiarism, is never acceptable. Presenting someone else’s work as your own, whether the work is from a friend, the Internet, a parent, etc., is cheating. Please review citation formats. If you choose to cheat on an assignment, test, or quiz, you will earn no credit for the assignment, test, or quiz. In addition, a referral will be sent to the Student Advisor.

Absences:

Please review DSA's attendance policies and other procedures in the student planner. Due to the nature of the program, it is helpful for the student to be in attendance in each class everyday. Please try to schedule other activities outside the school calendar.

Tardy Policy:

Being on time to class is a respect issue. I make a point to treat my students with respect, and showing up on time is one way for students to return that respect. If you have a hard time getting to class on time, I’ll probably give you a hard time. If it continues to be an issue, you’ll be referred to the Student Advisor. PLEASE BE ON TIME TO CLASS!!!

Enough rules! Welcome to American Lit 2X!

I have read and understand the expectations, grading and tardy policies of Ms. Threet’s American Literature class:

Student ______Date______

Parent______Date_____

(Please sign and return this page.)

Honors American Literature Course Map

Second Semester Overview
The Human Spirit and the Natural World: The Transcendentalists: Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, Dickinson, Dillard
Read, write, discuss, explore
Film “Dead Poet’s Society”
Creative Project: Transcendentalist Poster Contest
Black and Blue: The American “Other” and the personal narrative: The Harlem Renaissance, American existentialism
Invisible Man: Ralph Ellison, Louis Armstrong, Jazz, Blues, Hip-hop
Read write, discuss, explore:
The “other” women: Hurston, Cisneros, Walker, Tan, Angelou
Writing: The personal essay
Focus on Writing: College Level Research Paper
Research strategies, planning and note-taking, source evaluation and source citation, editing and revision
Disillusion, Defiance, Discontent: The 20th Century Poets: Eliot, Pound, Williams, H.D., e.e. cummings, Auden, Stevens, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Hemmingway,
Read, write and discuss.
This Land is Your Land:
Sandburg, Guthrie, Dylan
Read, write, listen, sing and discuss
Independent Novel Project: The American Dream vs. The American “other”- contemporary perspectives.
Develop writing portfolio of critical and creative perspectives.
“The Bookseller’s Day”