English IVA Syllabus
Mr. Piper (309) 697-1426
or
Welcome back, I hope that you had a great summer and are ready to be back. I have spent time this summer revising and revamping what we will embark upon this year. First, I did spend time with my daughters, Kayla and Alyssa and son Brenden, and they are all unique little people. I still intend to keep the class as open and free flowing as you will allow it, but I am going to show you the direction-path-that I will walk on. As always, it will be your choice whether to choose to follow, stay behind or be brave and lead the way. Remember that these are all tentative dates and are subject to change depending upon the speed with which we progress through the material—itmaybe slower or faster. The last and biggest motivation that I have for you is this—questioneverything, accept nothing at face value, and be willing to admit to what you do and receive the consequences (be they good or bad) that go along with that action. With that said, here is what I have planned for this semester.
Essays: Each writing assignment is designed to build your rhetorical (communication) skills. Some assignments are sequenced to help you build understanding and knowledge such as the literary analysis, character analysis, book review, and research paper; while others are to build skills and give you experience and documents such as the epic poem, sonnet, college letter, and reading summaries. There will be other writing opportunities as the semester and the year progresses.
Wiki: This section will be a place to explore and develop a different set of writing skills. With the explosion of digital media, you will be expected to know how to write in this medium as well. You will be using the wiki for several different reasons. You will be expected to keep at minimum a weekly blog along with postings to threads and additions to book/author pages, and lastly paper postings for revision purposes.
Group Projects: Students will be placed (or self-selected) in groups from time to time for various reasons to help facilitate learning. Each group will have to show knowledge of the assignment through various means and written reflection.
Lastly, I am open to alternative assignment choices where you present a different yet equivalent assignment to show your knowledge of the content area—remember writing is a key component and should be considered (not necessarily included) in any alternative. This offer does include the research paper (due December 17, 2010).
The Grading Process
The grading in this class will be as follows:
There will be six main types of grades
- Weekly Participation Grade5%
- Assignments8%
- Quizzes12%
- Projects20%
- Essays30%
- Tests/Wiki25%
Total100%
Weekly Participation Grade:
This is a participation grade that will be based upon involvement in class discussions, group work, note taking, bell work, and closing assignment work. Each week will have a total of fifty (50) points. Not working on bell work or closing assignment work will result in a five (5) point deduction per infraction.
The overall point total for all weeks will equal 5% of your overall grade.
Assignment Grades:
These are considered the daily grade type assignments such as grammar handouts or questions from a text. Each assignment will be given a point total (the point totals may differ from assignment to assignment) depending on the amount of work and the difficulty level of the work.
The overall point total for all assignments will equal 8% of your overall grade.
Quizzes:
These are miniature tests over small content areas such as novel chapter quizzes or quizzes over one area of grammar like colons. Each quiz will be given a point total (the point totals may differ from quiz to quiz) depending on the amount of work and the difficulty level of the work.
The overall point total for all quizzes will equal 12% of your overall grade.
Projects:
This is any type of assignment that is encompassing a wide range of material with the student synthesizes into a coherent idea such as a book report, power point presentation, video presentation, or oral presentation. Each project will be given a point total (the point totals may differ from project to project) depending on the amount of work and the difficulty level of the work.
The overall point total for all projects will equal 20% of your overall grade.
Essays:
This is any type of assigned writing that involves a form of any kind such as persuasive, narrative, expository, business letters, reports or creative writing. Each essay will be given a point total (the point totals may differ from essay to essay) depending on the amount of work and the difficulty level of the work.
The overall point total for all essays will equal 30% of your overall grade.
Tests/Wiki:
This is any type of formulaic question and answer sheet where the answers for each question comes from your understanding (using your brain) of a certain subject/material area such as a test over a whole novel or a test over a whole area of grammar-not just one point. This also includes your wiki blogging, threading, and postings. Each test or wiki assignment will be given a point total (the point totals may differ from test to test) depending on the amount of work and the difficulty level of the work.
The overall point total for all tests will equal 25% of your overall grade.
English IVA Syllabus
Mr. Piper (309) 697-1426
or
Writing: Letter to self (Short term goals, Long term goals, Most important to you, One thing wrong with FHS, and One piece of advice) Due Friday (8/20)
Week 1 (8/23 to 8/27)
Writing: Reading summary * (Similar to a book report just much shorter) Due Friday (8/27)
Grammar: Grammar Pretest; Review Parts of Speech; Review Parts of Sentence
Reading:“Beowulf” answer Questions 6, 8, 11, 13 and 14 on p. 78
Week 2 (8/30 to 9/3)
Writing: Literary Analysis over “The Seafarer” Due Friday (9/10)
Grammar:Correct Use of Modifiers
Reading:“The Seafarer” Answer questions 7, 8, 10, 11, 14 on p. 92-3and the writing about lit.
Week 3 (9/6 to 9/10)[Labor Day on 9/6 no school]
Writing: Reading summary * (Similar to book report just much shorter) Due Friday (9/11) Literary Analysis over “The Seafarer”Due Friday (9/10)
Grammar: Subject/Verb Agreement
Reading:Ballads: “Sir Patrick Spens” “Bonny Barbara Allan” and Get Up and Bar the Door” Answer questions 4, 9, and 14 on p. 116-7 and choice of extended reading summary
Week 4 (9/13 to 9/17)
Writing: Character Analysis (Motive, Beliefs, Choices, Tone of author, ect.) Due Friday (10/1)
Grammar:Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
Reading:Canterbury Tales “The Prologue”
Week 5 (9/20 to 9/24)
Writing: Reading summary * (Similar to book report just much shorter) Due Friday (9/24)
Grammar:Pronoun Case
Reading:Canterbury Tales “The Prologue” Answer questions 5, 7, and 8 on p. 145 and writing about literature
Week 6 (9/27 to 10/1)
Writing: Character Analysis (Motive, Beliefs, Choices, Tone of author, ect.) Due Friday (10/1)
Grammar: Correct form of Verbs
Reading:Canterbury Tales “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Miller’s Tale” Answer questions 6, 11, 12 and Lit. Elem. 1, 2, and 3 on p. 167
Week 7 (10/4 to 10/8)Homecoming Week
Writing: Book Review over British Author (Yes, you will be selecting your author within the first two weeks of school) Due Friday (10/15)
Grammar:Verb Tense
Reading:“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” Answer questions 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14 on p. 188
Week 8 (10/11to 10/15)[No School Monday (10/11)]
Writing: Book Review Due Friday (10/16); College Admission Letter (Formal Business Style w/ Personal Statement) Due Friday (10/30)
Grammar: Review of nine weeks
Reading:“Le Morte De Arthur” Answer questions 6, 8, 10, 12, and 13 on p. 201
Week 9 (10/18 to 10/22)[No School Friday]END OF NINE WEEKS Wednesday
Writing: Reading summary * (Similar to book report just much shorter)Due Thursday (10/22) College Letter Due Friday (10/29); Start Research Paper Process Due Friday (12/17)
Grammar: Active/Passive Voice
Reading:from Everyman Answer questions 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, and 15 and choice of creative writing or performance on p. 224
Week 10 (10/25 to 10/29)
Writing: College Letter Due Friday (10/29)
Grammar: Parallel Structure
Reading:Sonnets 30 and 75 Answer questions 6, 7, 13, and 14 on p. 258, “1996” Answer questions 7 and 8 on p. 263, and Sonnets 31 and 39 Answer questions 4 and 8 on p. 271
Week 11 (11/1 to 11/5)
Writing: SonnetDue Friday (11/5)
Grammar:Commas
Reading:Pastoral Poems Answer questions 5, 9, and 10 and do Reader Theatre on p. 282, Sonnets 116, 130 Answer questions 4, 5, 9, and 10 on p. 289, and Sonnets 73 and 29 Answer questions 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10 on p. 292
Week 12 (11/8 to 11/12) [No School Veteran’s Day 11/11]
Writing: Reading summary * (Similar to book report just much shorter)Due Friday (11/12)
Grammar:Semi-colons and Colons
Reading:Intro to Shakespeare and Read Act I of Macbeth
Week 13 (11/15 to 11/19)
Writing: Research Paper Due Friday (12/17) I will try to obtain permission for a trip to Bradley Library either this week or the following
Grammar:Underlining (Italics) and Quotations
Reading:Macbeth Act II
Week 14 (11/22 to 11/26) Thanksgiving [No school Thursday or Friday]
Writing: Research Paper Rough Draft Due Wednesday (11/24)
Grammar:Apostrophe and Hyphens
Reading:Macbeth Act III
Week 15 (11/29 to 12/3)
Writing: Reading summary * (Similar to book report just much shorter)Due Friday (12/3)
Grammar:Parentheses and Brackets
Reading:Macbeth Act IV
Week 16 (12/6 to 12/10)
Research Paper Due Friday, December 17, 2010
Grammar:Research Paper Last Minute Questions
Reading:Macbeth Act V
Week 17 (12/13 to 12/17)
THIS WEEK Research Paper Due Friday, December 17, 2010
Grammar: Review Grammar from entire semester
Reading: Finish Macbeth (pick five scenes from each of the five acts to present)
Week 18 (12/20 to 12/24) School Starts Tuesday, Jan. 4
Grammar: Review Grammar from entire semester
Reading: Finish Macbeth (pick five scenes from each of the five acts to present)
Finals Review 12/20
Finals 12/21 and 12/22
*You will write at least five (5) out of the six (6) Reading Summaries for this semester. All reading summaries need to be from a book you are reading from a pre-selected list or an approved book that you are reading. The sixth reading summaries will be used as extra credit. The sixth reading summary will receive up to fifty percent (50%) of the total possible points.