Introduction
to Literature—III Form
Mr.
Dilworth/2014-2015
Overview
This course is designed to
provide you with a basic foundation for literary study in the Upper School. We will read literature from a wide range of
eras and genres. We will begin the year
by reading a selection of modern short stories from the fiction anthology, followed
by Ken Kesey’s classic, counter-cultural novel of the 1960s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. We will finish the first semester with
Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas
Carol. In the spring semester, we’ll begin with Shakespeare’s great tragedy
Macbeth. We’ll follow this with a
unit on poetry from the poetry anthology. Finally, we’ll end the year with a
flex text- right now it looks like it will be Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street. We’ll also be
working throughout the year on vocabulary, grammar and especially writing.
One of the goals of this
course is to give you the tools and the confidence necessary for reading and
analyzing a work of literature. My hope
is that you’ll learn to enjoy reading literature, too, in case you don’t
already. Another goal of this course is
to help you hone your analytical essay writing.
Since this is the single most important writing skill you will acquire,
not just for college but for your entire professional life, we will spend the
majority of our time working on “thesis/support” writing. But you’ll also have plenty of opportunities
to do some creative writing in the various genres we read: poems, plays,
stories, etc. Plus, there will be
regular journal assignments where you’ll have the opportunity to write more
personally about a given topic.
There will be a range of
other assessments, including tests, quizzes, oral and visual
presentations. In any given 2-week
period, you can expect the following:
1
major assignment (essay, creative writing, test)
1
minor assignment (in-class writing, short essay, presentation)
1-2
journal assignments
1-2
quizzes (vocabulary and grammar)
Nightly
reading assignments (and DAILY reading quizzes/rewards)
Frequent
short vocabulary and grammar assignments
As you can see, I vary the
assessments to appeal to different learning styles and to provide an
opportunity for all students to succeed in this class if you work hard and stay
on top of all the assignments. I look
forward to working with you this year!
Fall Semester Books
Short
stories: An Introduction to Fiction, 13th
edition, edited by Kennedy and Gioia
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
Vocabulary:
Wordly Wise 3000, Book 9, Hodkinson
and Adams
Grammar:
Basic Grammar and Usage, 8th
Edition, Choy and Clark
Spring Semester Books
Macbeth,
William Shakespeare, The Sourcebooks
Shakespeare
Poetry:
An Introduction to Poetry, 13th
edition, edited by Kennedy and Gioia
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
Vocabulary:
Wordly Wise 3000, Book 9, Hodkinson
and Adams
GRADING POLICIES
I will use a points system to tabulate your grades. This is done by taking the number of points
you’ve earned during a semester and dividing that number by the total amount of
possible points during the semester. For example, if the assignments during the
semester are worth a total of 1000 points, and you’ve earned 800 points, your
average would be 800 / 1000, or an 80 for the semester.
Here is a table of
approximate point values for each type of assignment:
Major
Writing Assignments (Multi-Draft) 100 points
Minor Writing Assignments 50-75
points
Tests 100
points
Quizzes 5-10 points for reading quizzes
20-25
points for vocabulary quizzes
20-25
points for grammar quizzes
Presentations 25,
50, or 100 points
Homework 10-25
points
Here is a table showing
approximate grade percentages:
Writing Assignments 35%
Tests and Quizzes 30%
Presentations 15%
Homework 10%
Participation* 10%
*Participation
means a lot more than speaking up in class discussions. It also means:
1. Coming to class prepared with books, notebook, and
pen/pencil
2. Listening carefully and following directions
3. Taking good notes
4. Engaging/supporting your peers
5. Meeting assignment deadlines
6. Meeting with teacher for extra help
Here is a table showing what
your EXAM grades are worth:
Final
exam 20%
of full year grade
ASSIGNMENT Policies
1. All work must be completed. A missing essay at the
end of the semester results not in a zero but in an incomplete for the
semester.
2. Unless I say otherwise, assignments are due at the
beginning of class. Failure to comply will result in a 10% penalty, in
accordance with English Department policy.
Technology-related excuses like “My printer wasn’t working” or “I forgot to
email my document to myself” are not acceptable.
3. If you come
to school late, or if you leave school early for sports, etc., you must contact
me in person or by email to make arrangements to make up any missing work.
Failure to contact me will result in a 10% penalty, even on tests and quizzes!
4. If you
are absent from school, check the homework calendar on our class page to find
out what you missed. If you are absent only one day, I will expect you to make
up all work on the day following your return. If you are absent more than one
day, I will discuss a manageable make-up schedule with you, but you must see me
the first day back in order to earn this privilege.
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