Syllabus

Page history last edited by Scott Wertsch 2 years ago

English 12: “Perception is Everything”

Instructors

Ms. Linder D154 Vikki.Linder@anoka.k12.mn.us

Ms. Mork B121 Linda.Mork@anoka.k12.mn.us

Ms. Omernik B121 Sarah.Omernik@anoka.k12.mn.us

Ms. Thielen B121 Chelsie.Thielen@anoka.k12.mn.us

Mr. Wertsch B 122 scott.wertsch@anoka.k12.mn.us

Course Website

www.cphsenglish12.pbwiki.com

Course Description

The overall goal of Senior English is to prepare you for post-secondary education and provide a bridge between your previous high school English experiences and future academic challenges.

The instructional units introduce and explore literary theories and multiple perspectives. Throughout the year, students are introduced to Reader Response, Formalist, Archetypal, Cultural, Marxist, Feminist, Historical and Psychological criticism. Applying new perspectives to both familiar and unfamiliar texts enables students to consider carefully the concept of truth as it is presented in literature, film, nonfiction texts, and drama.

Students will also be given extensive practice in exploring the writing process: generating writing topics, using primary and secondary research, drafting, revising and editing as they complete four major papers which will prepare them for future writing experiences.

Course Goals

I. Reading and Viewing Texts

Students will be able to:

figure out the point the author is trying to make.
identify examples or language from the text and evaluate whether or not they are convincing.
know how to examine conventions such as setting, character, plot, theme, and imagery, and identify patterns in those conventions.
understand that lenses are tools for exploring different perspectives and use them to analyze texts.
think about how an author’s culture or the historical period might have influenced his/ her ideas.
adjust their reading for a variety of purposes and a text’s level of difficulty.
figure out an unknown word by the context of the rest of the sentence, or by looking it up later.
take notes identifying main ideas and questions they have about those main ideas.
think about the assumptions underlying their own beliefs, and be willing to consider how their opinions may be viewed from the perspectives of others who may not agree with them.

II. Writing

Students will be able to:

know what prewriting strategies work best, and use them to develop their ideas and organize their thoughts before they start writing.
construct paragraphs with effective topic sentences and create logical connections between the ideas in their paragraphs.
focus all of their ideas for an essay into a single clear thesis statement.
develop their ideas effectively in an essay: break down ideas into individual points and put those points in an order that will support a thesis.
use evidence to support ideas and connect evidence to a thesis.
think about the purpose and audience for writing, and adjust their writing style to match both.
identify places where ideas need to be expressed more clearly and make substantial changes that improve their overall essay.
proofread their writing in order to catch and correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, or sentence errors.

III. Research

Students will be able to:

use the library and Internet to find appropriate sources, and know how to evaluate the quality of those sources before they use them.
understand what plagiarism is, and know how to use and credit outside sources appropriately in their own work.
use a documentation style to credit sources, and understand why it is necessary to do so.

Course Materials

• Notebook/folder/writing utensil—Bring every day!

• Pocket portfolio folder to be kept in class

• Access (either at home, school or library) to a word processing program and the internet. You will need to provide copies of your typed drafts for peer review and conduct on-line research.

Course Overview

I. Introduction to Multiple Perspectives/Critical Lenses

II. Reader Response Criticism

Texts: from Tuesdays with Morrie

from When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

Paper #1: Personal Essay

III. Formalist Criticism

Texts: Short story: “Eleven”

Drama: Oedipus Rex

Poetry: Selected poems

Graphic novel: Persepolis/ American Born Chinese

Film: A River Runs Through It

Paper #2: Research Paper

IV. Archetypal Criticism

Texts: “Saint George and the Dragon”

from The Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell)

Star Wars clips

Hamlet

Satire film clip selections

“Gravestone Made of Wheat”

V. Cultural Criticisms: Post-Colonial, Marxist, Gender

Texts: Young at Heart

“To Be a Slave”

“Letter from Birmingham Jail”

People Like Us: Social Class in America clips

Roger and Me

Media analysis selections

Paper #3: Ethnography

VII. Historical and Psychological Criticisms; Post-Modernism

Texts: The Things They Carried

Paper #4: Literary Analysis Paper

Independent Reading

In addition to our work inside the classroom, students will receive daily work credit for independently reading texts of their choice.

Grading Breakdown

Daily work/quizzes/independent reading: 20%

*Portfolio papers: 50%

Tests 30%

* All major papers must be completed satisfactorily in order to pass this term.

Grading Scale

Letter grades in this course reflect the following:

A Achievement is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet requirements

B Achievement is significantly above the level necessary to meet requirements

C Achievement meets the basic requirements in every respect

D Achievement is worthy of credit even though it does not fully meet the basic requirements in every respect

F Performance fails to meet the basic requirements

Grades will be available on A-H Connect after major assessments have been evaluated by the instructor.

Attendance/Deadlines

Consistent on-time attendance is crucial to your success in this class. Late daily work will not be accepted. Required papers will be lowered one letter grade per late day. You have two days to make up tests and quizzes because of an excused absence. Additional extensions must be arranged with the teacher before an assignment is due. If you are absent on a day that film is being viewed, it will be your responsibility to watch the film before/after school or rent and view the film from home.

Participation

Class participation, in all its appropriate forms, is expected. It can be overt, characterized by verbally contributing to large group discussions and small group activities, assignments or projects. It can be covert, characterized by active mental engagement: listening, note-taking, attentive and courteous viewing. Sleeping or any posture which can be interpreted as sleeping, will have a significantly adverse effect on your participation grade.

Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty

Cheating will result in failure for the assignment or test. This includes copying someone’s test, using notes on closed book quizzes, plagiarizing, submitting another’s work as yours, and working in pairs or groups for an individually graded assignment.

Respect

As seniors, you will be treated as young adults and our expectation is that you will act accordingly. There is one main tenet in this course and that is to respect everyone and everything in our classroom. By following this and the other general building policies, everyone’s experience will be enriched.

We look forward to working with you this semester!

Sincerely,