The grading scale for this class is as follows:
100 – 90 A
89 - 80 B
79 – 70 C
69 – 60 D
Semester grades will be determined by averaging the six-week percentage grades during the entire semester. Writings, quizzes and tests will be worth various amounts of points. Students should keep a running account of the scores they have earned and the total number of possible points. Grades will be posted on a weekly basis.
Extra Credit: There will be one extra credit assignment each six-week grading period that will be worth no more than 25 points. Also each student may turn in his notebook that includes all class handouts, completed student work, essays and notes. This will be worth 25 points each six weeks.
Class Expectations: RBV students demonstrate Good Character on and off campus. Students are Trustworthy and consistently show Respect and Responsibility to themselves and others. They are Fair and Caring in all their actions and model appropriate Citizenship. In this class, students demonstrate these values by following the RBV Academic Honesty Policy found in the student handbook. Students and parents need to be aware of its consequences. Cheating in any form will not be treated lightly.
Career Research: Each junior will complete a resume’, job application, personal statement, career search, research paper and participate in the junior oral exhibition in January.
IB Assessment: Each student will complete the Oral Presentation (10-15 minutes) that is one of the four International Baccalaureate assessments. This is a mandatory assignment regardless of whether the student is in the IB program.
Advanced Placement Test: Much of the year will be spent preparing students to take the AP Language Exam. Although testing is not required, it is strongly encouraged.
PSAT: The first six weeks will be spent reviewing and preparing for the PSAT, which will be given mid-October.
Vocabulary : Vocabulary will be ongoing throughout the year through handouts, literature and exercises.
*Denotes District Core Work
Information in parentheses refers to standards being taught. For complete text of California State Standards log on: www.cde.ca.gov/standards/reading
Summer Reading
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (R 3.3, R 3.5, R 3.9, W 2.2)
Six Weeks One
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (R 3.3, R 3.5, R 3.9, W 2.2)
“Master Harold and the Boys" by Antol Fugard (R 3.8, R 2.5, R 3.5)
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards (R 3.5, R 2.1, LS 1.11)
Hawthorne Short Stories (R 3.5)
Rhetoric: Connotation, tone, appeals, satire, sarcasm, irony
Six Weeks Two
Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (R 3.5, R 3.9, W 2.2)
"The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe (R 3.5, R 3.3, R 2.5)
Transcendentalism: Emerson and Thoreau works (R 3.5, R 3.8, R 3.9)
"The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" by Lawrence and Lee (R 3.8, R 3.9, R 2.4)
Rhetoric: Tone, syntax
Six Weeks Three
Farewell to Arms or The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (R 3.5, R 3.9)
Career Research Paper and Project
Rhetoric: organization, appeals, argumentation
Six Weeks Four
Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (R 3.5)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (R 3.5, R 3.6)
Walt Whitman poetry (R 3.4)
Rhetoric: argumentation
Six Weeks Five
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (R 3.6, R 3.5, R 2.5)
Selected Nonfiction essays – IB orals (W 2.2, R 3.3)
Six Weeks Six
The Crucible" by Arthur Miller (R 3.5, R3.6, R 3.7)
"Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller (R 3.6)
Selected Nonfiction Essays – IB Oral Presentation (W 2.2, R 3.3)
IB Assessment: Every student will complete the Oral Presentation (10 minutes) that is one of the four International Baccalaureate assessments during his junior year. This is a mandatory assignment regardless of whether the student is in the IB program. (LS 2.3, LS 1.4, LS 1.7, R 3.3)
Advanced Placement Test: Much of year will be spent preparing students to take the Advanced Placement Language Exam. This is a three-hour test that consists of 50-55 multiple-choice questions and three essay prompts. There will be numerous nonfiction essays read and argumentative essays written. PSAT – The first six weeks will help students to review and prepare for the PSAT, which will be given mid-October. (R 2.0, R 1.2, LC 1.1)
Grammar/Voc will be ongoing to help prepare students for the SAT II. (ELC 1.1)
Career Exhibition – AP/IB students will complete a career research outline and participate in the Junior Exhibition held in January (R 2.3, W 2.3, W 1.7, W 2.1, W 2.5, LS 1.9, LS 2.1)
The School-wide Learning Results (ESLRS) will be addressed through the variety of nonfiction essays read and analyzed; the analytical and synthesis essays written, and the Junior Exhibition and IB oral presentations.