12th
Grade English
Course
Description
The
English Language Arts are about how we understand and connect with
ourselves, others, and our world. It is a place where a student
works on thought and expression.
This
course is designed to further acquaint students with the rigors of
College Prep expectations and give them the opportunity to hone the
tools and skills necessary for success in this environment and
beyond.
The
overall theme of 12th
Grade English is an exploration of what we call “British
Literature” but, more than that, it is really an exploration of who
we are, where we come from, and where we want to go.
The
class is organized around units constructed upon a foundation piece
of literature and is augmented by supplementary essays, short
stories, poetry, and other media. Class time will also be focused on
direct writing instruction, vocabulary building, and critical
thinking exercises.
The
Common Core Standards for English Language Arts will provide a basic
framework for instruction.
Classroom
Expectations
Atmosphere:
Learning
is best done in a safe atmosphere built on trust and respect. To this
end, there will be a strict adherence to all school policies. I will
tolerate no disruptions of this atmosphere.
Responsibility
and Organization:
Organization
is a major factor leading to success in a College Prep environment.
At all times, students are expected to have direct access to the
materials they need to succeed. Students are also expected to take
responsibility for their successes and failures and are expected to
problem solve before making excuses. This includes dealing with the
ramifications of missed classes, lost materials, and personal issues.
All
assignments have a due date. Due dates are final
except in extraordinary circumstances or when a prior arrangement has
been made.
Grading:
Grading
is done on a point system. Each assignment is part of a larger
category that it weighted accordingly in factoring a student’s
overall grade.
Final
Unit Projects (essays, tests, presentations, projects) 50%
Daily
assignments (including homework and quizzes) 30%
Classroom
participation 20%
Possible
Core Texts Used in the Class
(this list is not exhaustive and is subject to additions. Not all
texts on this list may be used):
Beowulf
– The Seamus Heaney translation
The
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
Brave
New World
by Aldous Huxley
Waiting
for Godot
by Samuel Beckett
As
noted before, all core texts will be supplemented by works of
non-fiction, short stories, poetry, critical essays, and other media.
Reading: Text
complexity and the growth of comprehension: The
Reading standards place equal emphasis on the sophistication of what
students read and the skill with which they read. Standard 10 defines
a grade-by-grade “staircase” of increasing text complexity that
rises from beginning reading to the college and career readiness
level. Whatever they are reading, students must also show a steadily
growing ability to discern more from and make fuller use of text,
including making an increasing number of connections among ideas and
between texts, considering a wider range of textual evidence, and
becoming more sensitive to inconsistencies, ambiguities, and poor
reasoning in texts.
Writing: Text types,
responding to reading, and research: The
Standards acknowledge the fact that whereas some writing skills, such
as the ability to plan, revise, edit, and publish, are applicable to
many types of writing, other skills are more properly defined in
terms of specific writing types: arguments, informative/explanatory
texts, and narratives. Standard 9 stresses the importance of the
writing-reading connection by requiring students to draw upon and
write about evidence from literary and informational texts. Because
of the centrality of writing to most forms of inquiry, research
standards are prominently included in this strand, though skills
important to research are infused throughout the document.
Speaking and Listening:
Flexible communication and collaboration: Including
but not limited to skills necessary for formal presentations, the
Speaking and Listening standards require students to develop a range
of broadly useful oral communication and interpersonal skills.
Students must learn to work together, express and listen carefully to
ideas, integrate information from oral, visual, quantitative, and
media sources, evaluate what they hear, use media and visual displays
strategically to help achieve communicative purposes, and adapt
speech to context and task.
Language: Conventions,
effective use, and vocabulary: The
Language standards include the essential “rules” of standard
written and spoken English, but they also approach language as a
matter of craft and informed choice among alternatives. The
vocabulary standards focus on understanding words and phrases, their
relationships, and their nuances and on acquiring new vocabulary,
particularly general academic and domain-specific words and phrases.
