11th Grade Syllabus

Course Description

In 11th grade, English students will be challenged to think critically about texts that relate to the human condition and primarily the American Experience.


This course will go beyond simple comprehension of a literary work’s guiding features, plot, characters, and themes. Students will begin an in-depth study of literature in a variety of genres. Students will break down texts, annotate, analyze, and evaluate the effectiveness of the writing.


Students will generate and respond to questions about the literature read.

Why did the event happen?

How does the structure of the plot both reinforce commonly held archetypes and break the mold with creative storytelling?

How did the author develop the character to tell the story and reinforce their message?

What was the author’s intended message(s) and how well was the message developed?

Students will interpret the story’s messages and explain how the messages apply to the time period in which it was written and to the 21st century American Experience. Students will determine how the author used specific literary elements and word choice to enhance the overall theme and artistry of the literary work. Students will develop a critical and analytical understanding of the evolution of the American Experience as presented through literature, poetry, and informational text both written in and about the time period and texts we are studying. In addition, we will compare texts across genres, time periods, and themes to look for critical issues related to the human condition. The texts we study help students see how each period in American life was portrayed through the eyes of those experiencing, studying, and writing about that life.


Grading

Students will receive a grade based on the total points that they have earned.  Daily work, essays, homework, and independent reading are given the most weight in the the gradebook.   Most daily work is worth 50 points a day,  essays usually are worth around 200 points, and independent reading is worth a point  a page.  (See reading policies for how reading credit is rendered.)  

Students are expected to put in a full effort with their work.  Most daily works will be given credit primarily based on the effort put in.  Some daily works, all the homework  and essays will be graded based on the quality of the work.  There is a very steep penalty for half-hearted efforts.   Usually only five points are given for low-effort work.  Students who get these scores will be given a opportunity the first time to redo the work.  Students who repeatedly do this will not be given such an opportunity.

Students who want to improved their grade on an essay can request a writing conference during tutorial.  After being given input, the student will be given a chance to rewrite the essay.  This is allowed only for work that is turned in on time.  The rewrite must be completed within a week from when the assignment's grade was rendered, and a month before the end of the semester.  


Late Work and Being on Task

Teachers have an average of 170 students under their instruction.   Grading late work is more time consuming than grading work that was turned in on time.   In addition, students are given expectations that prepare them for the future.   Training students to respect deadlines is one of the steps in the maturity process.   

Late work is accepted up to two weeks after the due date.  Such late work must be accompanied with an hand written piece of paper that has a five-sentence paragraph explaining why the work is late and another five-sentence paragraph explaining why it is important to follow deadlines.   Late work turned in without these explanations will not be graded.  Students who are ill, absent or have a teacher accepted explanation may turn in work late without penalty and without any such notes of explanation.

A pile of last minute work will not be accepted at the end of the semester.  Teachers must be given reasonable time to grade the work and record the results.