English 10
English 10
Course Description:
ENGLISH 10
Welcome to English 10! This year, we will be doing a lot of important work and reading some interesting books, including the following: Oedipus the King (our starter text for the year), Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Throughout the year, we will also be perfecting your essay and research paper skills. We start in September with a research paper which will count for 40% of the 1st quarter grade. All in all, there is a lot to do this year. So to make it as successful a year as possible, please read the material below carefully.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED EVERY DAY IN THIS CLASS:
· A notebook both for note-taking and for classwork
· A folder for hand-outs and returned work
· A pen (and occasionally, a pencil)
· The text currently being read in class
HOMEWORK AND CLASSWORK
1. Assignments are given regularly, and I expect you to get most of the reading done on your own time. Important due dates are announced in class, posted on the class website and written on the board. It is very important that you make time to read the assigned materials, keep up with all the homework, and study for quizzes and tests. You will lose credit if work is late or incomplete (5% off per day; for major assignments, the penalty stops at 50%, so there is always an incentive to complete major assignments). Also, be aware that while some quizzes will be announced ahead of time (such as vocabulary quizzes), I do give surprise quizzes every now and then.
2. If you are legitimately absent for a quiz, test, or any other work, it is your immediate responsibility to schedule a time with me to make it up within a reasonable time period (usually about one week). If you are illegally absent, you will receive zero points for the work you chose to skip.
3. Class participation is important. Your thoughts and opinions matter, and it helps learning take place when ideas get shared and discussed. For this to happen most effectively, of course, I will require that you are attentive to me and to your classmates. This includes raising your hand before speaking, not interrupting other people, and treating others and their ideas respectfully, even if you disagree with them. I will not tolerate disrespect of anyone in the classroom.
4. Lateness is unacceptable. It cuts into your instruction time, disrupts class, and detracts from a positive learning atmosphere. You will need to make up any work you missed, and repeated lateness will result in detention.
5. Cutting class is unacceptable as well, and will result in detention, contact with your parents, and other penalties as required by the situation. Also, any work missed due to cutting will receive 0 points.
A NOTE ON GRADING
The grading breakdown for the year is simple:
· Writing Assignments: 40%
· Tests: 30%
· Quizzes: 20%
· Homework/Classwork/Participation: 10%
What does this mean for you? Mostly, it means that you should recognize the importance we place on writing (if essays count for 40% of the grade, clearly we think them important). It also means that you should have a lively fear of the consequences of skipping assignments. Skipping essays for a quarter results in an average of no better than D; deciding that you have better things to do on days we have quizzes means you can’t possibly score higher than an B-.
Points are accumulated through vocabulary quizzes and tests, reading quizzes and tests, exams on novels and plays read (these may include complex unit projects or papers), homework grades, in-class assignments, class participation, and classroom behavior. Excessive lateness and unexcused absences will also affect your grade.
HONORS OPTION
Students in English 10 may elect to participate in the English 10 Honors program. Students who achieve a cumulative average of an A or above in English, and who earn an A- on each of three advanced essays assigned during the year, will receive an Honors designation on their transcripts. The advanced essays are not additional course work; they are more challenging options for assignments.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
Plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will result in a grade of zero! According to your school handbook, participation in plagiarism includes:
· Copying any written work, whether in entirety or partially. This includes homework, classwork, labs, or essays, from any source, including a friend.
· Paraphrasing work, whether in entirety or partially, without giving credit to the source.
· Sharing work with another student, unless given explicit permission from the teacher.
BOTH PARTIES, THE STUDENT WHO COPIED AND THE STUDENT WHO SUPPLIED THE WORK, ARE CONSIDERED EQUALLY GUILTY IN PLAGIARISM.