English IV
Syllabus: Monstrous Ink, Time Out, & AP English
Mr.
Coon; Fall 2013
I. Goals
A. The goal of these courses is to develop students’ ability to
read, write, and create meanings from a series of related pieces of literature.
Drawing from over British, American, and European literature, our work will
center around a series of related questions; all texts, assignments, projects,
and discussions will help develop our answers to these questions.
1. What
is the best way to tell a story? Does it have to begin at the beginning and end
at the end? Why do some authors choose to deliberately distort or alter the
chronology of the stories they tell?
2. What
makes a monster a monster? Are they necessarily evil? Which monsters are the
most monstrous? Why?
3. What
are the ethical challenges and conflicts faced by characters both human and
monstrous? How do authors use these ethical dilemmas to illustrate their views
of human values and morality? How do these authors use their characters to
illustrate important ideas relevant to human life?
4. How do writers use such techniques as
flashbacks, flash-forwards, cross-cutting, and in medias res in their narratives? What are the artistic and thematic
advantages of such techniques? What difficulties do they pose for readers?
B. Objectives: Through this course, students
will be able to do the following:
1. Knowledgeably discuss core canonical
texts and writers in the Western literature.
2. Identify key developments and sources of
growth and change in the history of the English language.
3. Analyze key elements of writers’ styles,
both orally and in writing.
4. Use new vocabulary words in speech and
writing.
II. Texts
Monstrous Ink
1. The
Curious Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
2. Beowulf, Seamus
Heaney (trans)
3. Grendel,
John Gardner
4. Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight, Simon
Armitage (trans)
5. Dracula,
Bram Stoker
6. The
Metamorphosis, Franz
Kafka
7. Frankenstein,
Mary Shelley
Time Out
1. Slaughterhouse
5, Kurt Vonnegut
2. The
Sound and the Fury, William
Faulkner
3. Beloved,
Toni Morrison
4. Death
of a Salesman, Arthur
Miller
5. The
Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo
Tolstoy
6. Time’s
Arrow, Martin Amis
Advanced
Placement
1. Hamlet, William Shakespeare
2. Gulliver’s
Travels, Jonathan Swift
3. Pride
and Prejudice, Jane
Austen
4. Heart
of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
5. The
Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar
Wilde
6. Selected British and American poetry
III. Additional texts
1.
Vocabulary for Achievement, 6th
course
2.
Oure Faire Englische Tung: A Brief
History of the English Language
IV. The Class Journal (CJ)
An essential part of the class is the regular use of your class
journal. The class journal is a 7½ by 9 ¾ notebook in which you record all the
writing you do during class sessions. The class journal, which never leaves the
room except with my personal permission, will contain examples of the following
kinds of written work:
·
Daily check-ins (inside the front cover of your
daily book), giving yourself credit for arriving in class on time, bringing
your textbook and writing utensil, and doing the reading or other daily
assignment.
·
Take Fives (short 3-5 minute writings) done as
you come in the door while I am taking attendance and organizing that day’s
materials. A Take Five is a mental check-in, often beginning with a sentence
like “Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about . . .” or “I’ve been wondering why.
. .” and containing content which may or may not be directly related to the
content of English class.
·
Passages of the day—brief answers to questions
about short passages of poetry or prose, first written in your daily books,
then shared with the members of your team in round-robin style.
·
Response journals—see instructions below—the
alternative to pop quizzes as a means for you to show your level of engagement
with the assigned reading and help yourself interact with that reading on a
deeper level. RJ entries will be shared with teammates, used as discussion
items, and form the basis for short critical essays posted to your blogs.
·
Closers—2-3 minutes at the end of class, time
for you to process and reflect upon what happened in that day’s class: what was
the most interesting or important thing you learned today? What do you need to
remember from today’s class? What left you feeling confused or with a sense of
incompleteness? What should we be sure to do next time we meet?
Since your class journal never leaves the room, any notes
you wish to take about our discussions or new material should be kept in a
notebook of your own or on your laptop.
Class journals will receive a “process” grade; this grade
complements your work in your discussion teams as the “participation” component
of your performance in the class. I will check your journals approximately
every two or three times during the semester.
Journal grades are based on both quantity and quality:
• Quantity: all entries are present (if you are absent from
class it’s your responsibility to come in during a free and make up the
Response Journal entry), and entries show the effort to answer the questions
thoroughly (rather than writing a single sentence, saying “I’m done” and
sitting there while others write).
•Quality: Content shows a sincere effort to take the
questions seriously and write thoughtful answers which are responsive to the
assigned readings.
Take Five starters:
Lately I’ve been thinking
about . . .
I’ve been wondering why . . .
(Monday) The best/worst thing
about this weekend was . . .
(Friday) I’m looking forward
to/worried about this weekend because . . .
(Morning class) Today should
be a really good/bad day because . . .
(Afternoon class) Today has
been a really good/bad day because . . .
I’m looking forward
to/dreading because . . .
The best movie I’ve seen
lately was . . . .
Lately I’ve been really
enjoying the time I spend . . .
So far I think the new longer
periods are good/bad because . . .
My favorite thing to do
outside of school is because . . .
I will read whatever you write, so don’t describe the fight
you had with your mother/boyfriend/best friend last night unless that’s
something you want me to know about. And of course my confidentiality is
limited by law not to include anything you say that sounds dangerous, harmful
to yourself or others, or illegal.
Response Journals
We often use
reader response journals as in-class activities to accompany our study of
literature. There are a number of different topics you can use in a reading
response journal:
- Copy down a quote from a character and tell why you think it’s meaningful.
- Ask questions about things that confuse you or that you wonder about.
- Describe your feelings about the events.
- Describe your feelings about characters.
- Copy down a brief passage and tell why you think it’s important.
- Describe your favorite part.
- Make a prediction about what will happen next.
- Tell how you would react if you were one of the characters in the story.
- Describe a part that surprised you.
- Does the author use any strong imagery in the story (similes, metaphors, etc.)? Give examples.
- Write down interesting vocabulary words, look them up, say how they add to the passage.
- Talk to the author or a character (or one write of them a letter).
- Draw pictures or create graphic organizers.
Below is a list
of prompt starters:
General Observations
- I noticed…
- I was really surprised…
- What I found interesting…
- The author is saying…
Preference
- I like the way…
- I didn’t/don’t like…
- My favorite part…
Element of the Text is Unclear
- I didn’t understand…
- A question I have…
- I’m guessing that…
- Something new I learned…
- I felt _______ when…
Discuss Surprising Element
- I couldn’t believe…
- I never thought…
Hypothetical Thinking and Predictions
- If I were [character]…
- What I think will happen is…
- What I thought would happen was…
- I think _____ will become important because…
- I began to think…
- I predict…
Personal Connection to Past Experience
- This reminds me of…
- I began to think of…
- I know the feeling…
Imagining
- I can picture…
- I can imagine…
Purposes and Rules
Response journals serve two important and related purposes.
They allow you to experience the readings for yourself, ask your own questions,
and search for your own meanings rather than attend classes where I tell you
what the text means to me while you write it down. They also allow me to see
the evidence that you are reading the assigned texts and thinking about what
you read. Therefore, there are two very specific, non-negotiable rules for a
response journal entry. 1. Entries must include specific references to
pages, lines, numbers, and passages covering the whole text assigned. 2.
Entries that contain only general comments or plot summary without specific
questions, quotes, and references will be assumed to be the product of
Spark-note thinking and are therefore not acceptable and will not receive
passing grades. Finally, for
safe-keeping, your response journals are part of your daily books and therefore
never leave the classroom.
Uses
Reader response journals will be written for at least 5
minutes each day a reading assignment is due. They will be shared, round-robin
fashion, with the other members of your class team. They may also be used to
respond to passages I have chosen for the class to discuss. From there, RJ
(response journal) entries can be used to generate Discussion Items (DI’s) for
either your team or the class as a whole. Finally, RJ entries can become the
basis of short individual critical essays on aspects of the literature. These
essays (approximately 300-500 words depending on your level of ambition) are
posted on your blogs and will receive specific written comments from your teammates
and from me. Thus reading and writing become entwined as basic learning
activities. You read, you write, you discuss, you choose a piece to refine, and
you write further.
We will also use daily books to record our responses to the
passage of the day or the question of the day, to record our thoughts about the
meaning of a short poem, an example of a literary technique, or to think about
poetic or prose style analysis. These brief responses will be shared in your
teams.
(Thanks to Mr. Scott at Hughes Academy for his list of journal starters and to Dan
Kirby and Tom Liner, authors of Inside
Out and my mentors on the use of class journals.)
V. Turnitin.com
In
addition to submitting hard copies of your papers this year, you are required
to submit electronic copies of all papers to turnitin.com. These instructions
will help you submit your papers. Use
your PCDS e-mail address and the same password for turnitin.com that you use
for your account at blogger.com.
• On your web browser, go to
turnitin.com. Register as a new user or login to the personal home page you
created last year. You must give your PCDS e-mail address and a personal
password which contains both letters and numbers to register. Click “student”
as your user type. Give whatever other information may be necessary as you move
through the required fields.
• When you reach your personal home
page, click “join new class.” Then enter a class ID and a class enrollment
password. The name of this class is Class of 2014, the course ID is 6787729, and
the password is seniors2014. Click “submit” when you finish. N.B: You only need
to complete this step once.
• Then submit your paper. When you
click on the class title, you will go to the class history page. Click on the
word “submit” in the middle navigation bar. Enter the title of your paper and
select the assignment with the correct date from the pull down menu.
Assignments are listed by the title of the work and the date an assignment is
due.
• After entering your title and
selecting the correct assignment, paste your essay into the box marked “main
text.” (In my experience, the copy and paste method works better than the
upload method. You may, of course, find otherwise). You may ignore the boxes
marked abstract and bibliography unless otherwise instructed. When your paper
has been pasted into the “main text” box, click “submit.”
• Remember to put your digital receipt
number on the assignment before you give it to me. Otherwise your assignment
will be marked late and penalized accordingly.
VI. Participation and attendance
• Class
participation is a crucial part of the course. Therefore, it is imperative that
we all treat one another with respect and behave in such a way as to contribute
to, not disrupt, an atmosphere conducive to maximum learning.
• Participation in class is mandatory.
I understand that the introverts have difficulty speaking in front of your
peers and me; nevertheless, I expect you to contribute meaningfully to class
activities and discussions. Often, these contributions take forms other than
speaking in front of the entire class. For example, the entries in your class
journal are one important way for you to show your engagement with the material
and willingness to exert yourself. The passages you choose or the comments you
put on your bookmarks are another way to show your engagement and active
reading. One more factor is the quality of your contributions to your team
activities. In these ways and through your oral presentations, you show that
you have come to class having done the reading assigned and are prepared to
discuss the material, answer questions, venture informed opinions, and
articulate personal responses.
• Participation grades are assigned as
follows and account for 20% of your grade in the class: "A" students
are fully engaged, on time for class with the necessary books and supplies.
They display obvious enthusiasm for the tasks of the class: reading, talking,
listening, working in a group, thinking about a problem. Their daily books are
thorough, thoughtful, and always kept up to date. They participate in all team
activities and remain on task throughout class. "B" students'
engagement varies slightly, sometimes at "A" level, sometimes not.
"C" students are generally involved but with noticeable lapses. They
may arrive late to class or frequently forget materials. They spend time on
things other than the work at hand: chatting with friends, doing homework for
another class, catching up on sleep, or staring off in space. "D"
students exhibit these behaviors to an even greater degree, becoming a
distraction to the work of the class, having a negative impact on the group's
ability to get its work done, regularly coming to class unprepared.
• Absences and lateness will have
detrimental effects on performance and grades. With longer breaks between
classes, I expect you to tend to personal business—going to the bathroom,
finding your backpack, picking up a paper from the printer in the lab, and so
on—on your own time. Be in class at the beginning of the block and don’t leave.
Lateness will also be reported to the Dean of Students for detention.
VII. Vocabulary
• Two
new lessons in the vocabulary book are assigned for quizzing every fifth class
(5, 10, 15, etc). We will look briefly at the new words two classes prior to
the quiz (#s 3, 8, 13, and so on), so please bring your books to that session.
Quizzes will take place the first 10 minutes of class after “check-in” on days
which are multiples of 5 unless otherwise notified.
• For first semester, we will cover
lessons 1-14; for the second, lessons 15-30. Quizzes will contain all 20 words
from the two lessons. There may be occasional cumulative quizzes as well
containing selected words from a larger number of lessons.
• Missed vocabulary quizzes must be
made up at your earliest possible convenience. After three class days, barring
extraordinary circumstances, missing scores will be entered as zeroes.
VIII. Grading policy
• Grades are determined on a point
system in which each assignment is weighted by the number of points it contains.
Points will be totaled at the end of each quarter and semester and grades
determined in accordance with the percentages contained in your student
handbook.
• Grades from individual assignments fall
into categories weighted approximately as follows: papers and projects (50%),
vocabulary and quizzes (20%), participation, journals, bookmarks, and
attendance (30%).
• Assignments are due at the beginning
of class. Written work turned in during or after class is considered late and
will be penalized. Late work is eligible for a score no higher than 75%,
depending on the quality of the assignment and the degree of lateness. If you
are absent the day an assignment is due, either have a classmate turn it in or
fax the assignment to the Upper School office (602-224-6177).
• Students who miss quizzes or tests
because of excused absence must make arrangements for make-up immediately upon
returning to school. Missing work (quizzes or assignments never turned in or
made up) will result in an incomplete grade for the quarter or semester.
• Any
student who establishes a clear pattern of failing to complete the assigned
reading according to the prescribed schedule will receive a semester grade of D
or F, regardless of that student’s scores on other assignments. Repeated
missing or poor written work, response journal entries which cannot be
distinguished from SparkNotes summaries, or the inability to respond to basic factual information in class will be
taken as signs of not reading.
• All
assignments must be completed in accordance with the school’s honesty policy.
See your handbook for details and be certain you know the difference between
plagiarism and acceptable use of source material.
IX. Contact information
• In person—room
311. Stop by to talk or ask a question anytime I’m free. My schedule is posted on the door of my
classroom. To make up a quiz, go over an assignment, a speech draft, or a
college essay, please make an appointment first.
• By
voice-mail—602-956-0253 x4296
• By
fax—602-224-6177
