Mary Beth Davis

English Teacher

Longmeadow High School

I am a proud product of the Longmeadow Public Schools. I graduated from the Longmeadow school system and live in town with my husband, our two kids, Joey and Lizzie, and our golden doodle, Sammy. I am on my way to becoming a life-long learner and I am excited to share my love of learning.

Education:

Undergrad in psychology and sociology: Connecticut College, New London, CT
Masters in education: University of St. Joseph, West Hartford, CT
Masters in English: Western New England University, Springfield, MA

NAME OF COURSE: Course No. 112: English I (5 Credits), Academic Year 2021-2022

INSTRUCTOR: Mrs. Mary Beth Davis, 413-565-4220 ext. 2393 mdavis@longmeadow.k12.ma.us

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

English 112 is a full year course designed for the student who has demonstrated proficient academic achievement in grade 8 English. Students study literary genres, including the short story, poetry, drama, the novel, and mythology. Also, students study grammar, mechanics and vocabulary in order to improve their written and oral expression. Emphasis is placed upon the development of critical reading skills. In addition, writing instruction is focused on pre-writing strategies, organizing the paragraph, developing the thesis, structuring the three to five paragraph essay, and producing various other types of writing.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Writing: Using writing to build on the skills you developed in eighth grade will be an important component of the course. You will write throughout the year, both formally and informally. Also you will be expected to write both inside and outside of class! Smaller writing activities and assignments will allow you to engage with important ideas and prepare you for larger projects. We’ll put a particular emphasis on strong analytical writing, but you’ll also experiment with more reflective and creative assignments.

Literature: The readings will provide the basis for the development of analytical skills and critical understanding.

Critical Thinking: To be a critical thinker means that you are an active, not passive, learner. You’re not just receiving information; you’re analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing and evaluating. Reading, homework assignments, class discussions and activities, writing assignments and projects will help you build these skills.

Vocabulary & Grammar: Since successful writers need to have a mastery of language, we’ll work to expand vocabulary and develop a better grasp of grammar and essential conventions of writing. Vocabulary lists taken from course readings, literary terms, and MCAS word lists will be covered, and lessons on grammar will be conducted throughout the year. You will be quizzed on a regular basis, and you will be expected to apply what you’ve learned to your own writing.

COURSE OUTLINE

The following is a tentative overview of the literary materials and themes that will be covered throughout the year; the order and the items in this list are subject to change.

Short Stories (various selections)
Poetry (various selections)
Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
Mythology & Epic Poetry: Excerpts from The Odyssey & The Iliad (Homer) and others
Drama: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)

(Note: The study of writing, vocabulary, grammar, and other literary genres will be interwoven throughout the curriculum. Furthermore, students will have a focus on conducting academic research using both primary and secondary sources. )

LEARNING EXPECTATIONS

Be on time and on task
Engage in small group and whole class discussions
Have your cell phone put away and the volume off
Respect yourself, your classmates, our classroom, and me.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

You must have the following items in class every time we meet.

The text(s) and/or book(s) we are reading as a class (these will be temporarily lent to you during the time when books are needed in class)
Chromebook
pen/pencil and paper
Outside reading book
Headphones

GRADING:

Each homework assignment, test, quiz, essay, project, etc. will be assigned a point value. At the end of the marking period, the total number of points earned will be divided by the total number of points available during that quarter. Point totals for each quarter do vary.

During the course of each quarter, you may expect the following types of assignments:

Essays (25-150): Formal essays will be announced at least a week in advance and will be written both inside and outside of class. These papers will be based on the current unit of study. You will employ graphic organizers to help organize your thoughts.
Homework and Classwork (5-30 pts. each): Written homework assignments will always be checked at the beginning of the class period they are due.
Reading/Homework Quizzes (5- 25 pts. each): When you are assigned reading for homework, a quiz based on the reading may be given during the following class period. These quizzes will contain questions about the characters, plot, and setting and measure close reading performance.
Grammar Quizzes (25 pts. each): These quizzes will be announced several days in advance.
Vocabulary Quizzes (25 pts. each): These quizzes will be announced several days in advance.
Tests (75-120 pts. each): There will be a major test at the conclusion of each unit of study to assess comprehension and analytic skills. All major tests will be announced at least one week in advance.
Socratic Seminars (40-70 points): Throughout the year students will be participating in student driven discussion of the text. These can be announced in advance, Students will have a chance to both prepare and assess the seminar, which will be graded separately.
Projects (30-100 pts. each): On occasion, you will be given curriculum-related projects designed to allow for alternative demonstration of your understanding of the course material.
Outside Reading (50 pts.): Once a semester, you will be responsible for independent reading and which occurs mostly outside of the classroom.
Class Participation (60 pts. per quarter): Students are expected to come to class on time and fully prepared, work diligently from bell to bell, refrain from disrupting the class in any way, be respectful of classmates and the classroom, and participate fully and actively in daily lessons. See rubric for method of scoring.

ATTENDANCE:

Please see the student handbook regarding the LHS policies on missing class and being tardy to class.

HOMEWORK:

Homework assignments are announced in class and written on Google Classroom.

LATE WORK:

Homework is due at the beginning of the block; if it is completed after this time it is considered late.
Homework will only be accepted one day late during the first quarter.
After the first quarter, late homework will receive a zero. You are still responsible for the material in all assignments.
Papers and projects will go down a full letter grade every school day they are late. (For example, an A paper would drop to a B, if it was 1 day late.)
If you are absent from school, it is your responsibility (not mine) ask for make-up work and/or schedule any make up tests with me after missing a class.
- Before you talk to me, you should always talk with a fellow class member to find out what we covered yesterday, and if there were any class notes.
Students who arrive late to school or are dismissed early are expected to submit work and, if at all possible, sit for tests and quizzes THAT day. It is the student’s responsibility to attempt to make arrangements if these circumstances exist. This pertains to planned events such as doctor’s appointments, athletics, and family activities.
Unless you make other arrangements with me, you have the same number of days that you were absent to hand in or make up missing work (e.g. if you are sick for three days, you have three days from the day you return to make up missing work).

HOMEWORK PASS:

Each student will receive one homework pass for the year. This pass can be used to turn in a paper 1 day late without any grade deduction or in lieu of a 5-point homework assignment. This CANNOT BE USED ON CLASS READING, as it is imperative that all reading is done on time in order to participate in class.

EXTRA HELP

I am always willing to help you if you are falling behind, struggling with concepts, looking to fine-tune your writing skills, or in need of academic assistance of any kind. I am available after school on Thursdays for extra help and can meet at other times by appointment. Please do not hesitate to email or talk with me individually about scheduling an appointment to meet.

CHEATING & PLAGIARISM: Students caught cheating or plagiarizing will be assigned a zero for that particular assignment. Additionally, plagiarized work will result in a referral to the school administration as well as a conference with the student’s parents/guardians. NOTE: Copying another student’s homework or completing work as a group (unless directed to do so) constitutes cheating.

Students will be required to submit writing to turnitin.com, a website subscribed to by the high school.

Name of Course: Course No. 143: English IV (5 Credits), Academic Year 2023-2024 Instructor: Mrs. Mary Beth Davis, 413-565 -4220 ext. 2393 mdavis@longmeadow.k12.ma.us

Course Description:

This is a full-year course designed for the student who has demonstrated excellent proficiency in critical writing skills and academic achievement in English III. This course emphasizes literary analysis, the study of world and contemporary literature and expository writing. Vocabulary study originates from the literature, and grammar study is applied to student essays. The writing of students in this course is essentially grammatically correct, well organized, and coherent. Students have demonstrated excellent ability to read with comprehension and insight and to think critically.

Course Objectives: Writing: Using writing to build on the skills you developed in ninth grade will be an important component of the course. You will write throughout the year, both formally and informally, and students will be expected to write both in class and outside of it! Smaller writing activities and assignments will allow students to engage with important ideas and prepare you for larger projects. There is a particular emphasis on strong analytical writing, but you’ll also experiment with more reflective and creative assignments. All major writing pieces will make use of the revision process—an essential step for any writer.

Literature: The readings will provide the basis for the development of analytical skills and critical understanding.

Critical Thinking: To be a critical thinker means that you are an active, not passive, learner. You’re not just receiving information; you’re also analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing and evaluating. Reading, homework assignments, class discussions and activities, writing assignments and projects will help you build these skills.

Vocabulary & Grammar: Since successful writers need to have a mastery of language, we’ll work to expand vocabulary and develop a better grasp of grammar and essential conventions of writing. Vocabulary lists taken from course readings, literary terms, and SAT word lists will be covered, and lessons on grammar will be conducted throughout the year.

Over the course of the year we will be reading short stories, plays, a novel, and we will complete a research project. The study of writing, rhetoric, vocabulary, grammar, and other literary genres will be interwoven throughout the curriculum.

Required Materials:

You must have the following items in class every time we meet.

The text(s) and/or book(s) we are reading as a class (these will be temporarily lent to you during the time when books are needed in class)
Loose-leaf notebook paper
Pens and/or pencils
Charged chromebook
Headphones

LEARNING EXPECTATIONS:

Be on time and on task
Engage in small group and whole class discussions
Have your cell phone put away and the volume off
Respect yourself, your classmates, our classroom, and me.

GRADING:

During the course of each quarter, you may expect the following types of assignments:

• Essays (100-150): Formal essays will be announced at least a week in advance and will be written both inside and outside of class. These papers will be based on the current unit of study.

• Open Responses (25- 50 pts. each): Writing assignments will, on occasion, be shorter in length than the major assignments. These assignments will usually be assigned with several days’ notice, and, like major writings, will be based around the current unit of study.

• Homework and Classwork (5-30 pts. each): Written homework assignments will always be checked at the beginning of the class period they are due.

• Reading/Homework Quizzes (5- 25 pts. each): When you are assigned reading for homework, a quiz based on the reading may be given during the following class period. These quizzes will contain questions about the characters, plot and setting and measure the student’s close reading performance.

• Vocabulary Quizzes (25 pts. each): Periodically throughout each quarter, you will be assigned a list of SAT exam vocabulary words to learn. These quizzes will be announced several days in advance.

• Tests (75-100 pts. each): There will be a major test at the conclusion of each unit of study to assess students’ comprehension and analytic skills. All major tests will be announced at least one week in advance.

• Projects (30-100 pts. each): On occasion, you will be given curriculum-related projects designed to allow for alternative demonstration of your understanding of the course material.

• Socratic Seminars (40-70 points): Throughout the year students will be participating in student driven discussion of the text. These can be announced in advance, Students will have a chance to both prepare and assess the seminar, which will be graded separately.

• Class Participation (62 pts. per quarter): Students are expected to come to class on time and fully prepared, work diligently from bell to bell, refrain from disrupting the class in any way, be respectful of classmates and the classroom, and participate fully and actively in daily lessons. See rubric for method of scoring.

• Research Assignment- Students will be working on a longer research assignment, in which they will be responsible for the research, analysis, citations and formatting of a speech and an annotated bibliography. As a class, these skills will be reviewed and the larger assignment will be broken down into several smaller checkpoints (due dates). As this skill is increasingly important for college readiness, this project will have a significant impact on the quarter grade.

ATTENDANCE:

Please see the student handbook regarding the LHS policies on missing class and being tardy to class.

HOMEWORK:

Homework assignments are announced in class and written on Google Classroom.

LATE WORK:

Work submitting work after the due date, especially papers, is discouraged.
Homework may be turned in one day late for half credit, ONLY if we have not used it in class.
Homework is due at the beginning of the block; if it is completed after this time it is considered late.
Papers and projects will go down a letter grade every school day they are late. (For example, an A paper would drop to an A-, if it was 1 day late.)

If you are absent from school, it is your responsibility (not mine) to ask for make-up work and/or schedule any make-up tests with me after missing a class.
- Before you talk to me, you should always talk with a fellow class member and check out Google Classroom to find out what we covered yesterday, and if there were any class notes.
Unless you make other arrangements with me, you have the same number of days that you were absent to hand in or make up missing work (e.g. if you are sick for three days, you have three days from the day you return to make up missing work).

EXTRA HELP

I am always willing to help you if you are falling behind, struggling with concepts, looking to fine-tune your writing skills, or in need of academic assistance of any kind. Please do not hesitate to email or talk with me individually about scheduling an appointment to meet.

CHEATING & PLAGIARISM: Students caught cheating or plagiarizing will be assigned a zero for that particular assignment. Additionally, plagiarized work will result in a referral to the school administration as well as a conference with the student’s family. Work that is plagiarized mocks the learning process and calls into doubt the integrity of the student. NOTE: Use of artificial intelligence/large language models for any stage of the work process constitutes plagiarism. Copying another student’s homework or completing work as a group (unless directed to do so) constitutes cheating.

NOTE: Copying another student’s homework or completing work as a group (unless directed to do so) constitutes cheating.

Students will be required to submit expository writing to turnitin.com, a website subscribed to by the high school.

Name of Course: Course No. 122: English II (5 Credits), Academic Year 2023-2024 Instructor: Mrs. Mary Beth Davis, 413-565 -4220 ext. 2393 mdavis@longmeadow.k12.ma.us

Course Description:

In this course, we will read and discuss American literature from different genres and time periods. Our work will allow you to hone your close reading and critical thinking skills, and it will also be a chance to use literature as a window for understanding important aspects of American culture and philosophy. You will respond to course readings through class discussions, activities, and writing assignments. There will also be an emphasis placed on building the writing skills you’ve already learned and making more careful and specific decisions to develop writing that is clear, effective, and convincing. Additionally, we will be looking at the process of research throughout the year and you will construct a formal research paper.

Course Objectives:

Writing: You will write throughout the year, both formally and informally, and you will be expected to write both in class and outside of it! Smaller writing activities and assignments will allow you to engage with important ideas and prepare you for larger projects. We’ll put a particular emphasis on strong analytical writing, but you’ll also experiment with more reflective and creative assignments and make use of the revision process—an essential step for any writer.

Literature: The readings will provide the basis for the development of analytical skills and critical understanding.

Course of study/class readings (tentative):

Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye
Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun
Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing
Alexie’s A True Diary of a Part Time Indian
American short fiction and poetry

LEARNING EXPECTATIONS:

Be on time and on task
Engage in small group and whole class discussions
Have your cell phone put away and the volume off
Respect yourself, your classmates, our classroom, and me.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

You must have the following items in class every time we meet.

The text(s) and/or book(s) we are reading as a class (these will be temporarily lent to you during the time when books are needed in class)
Charged Chrome Book
Pen/pencil and paper
Outside reading book

GRADING:

During the course of each quarter, you may expect the following types of assignments:

Essays (25-150): Formal essays will be announced at least a week in advance and will be written both inside and outside of class. These papers will be based on the current unit of study. You will employ graphic organizers to help organize your thoughts.
Homework and Classwork (5-30 pts. each): Written homework assignments will always be checked at the beginning of the class period they are due.
Reading/Homework Quizzes (5- 25 pts. each): When you are assigned reading for homework, a quiz based on the reading may be given during the following class period. These quizzes will contain questions about the characters, plot, and setting and measure close reading performance.
Grammar Quizzes (25 pts. each): These quizzes will be announced several days in advance.
Vocabulary Quizzes (25 pts. each): These quizzes will be announced several days in advance.
Tests (75-120 pts. each): All major tests will be announced at least one week in advance.
Projects (30-100 pts. each): On occasion, you will be given curriculum-related projects designed to allow for alternative demonstration of your understanding of the course material.
Socratic Seminars (40-70 points): Throughout the year students will be participating in student driven discussion of the text. These can be announced in advance, Students will have a chance to both prepare and assess the seminar, which will be graded separately.
Class Participation (60 pts. per quarter): Students are expected to come to class on time and fully prepared, work diligently from bell to bell, refrain from disrupting the class in any way, be respectful of classmates and the classroom, and participate fully and actively in daily lessons. See rubric for method of scoring.
Research Assignment- Students will be working on a longer research assignment, in which they will be responsible for the research, analysis, citations and formatting of a speech and an annotated bibliography. As a class, these skills will be reviewed and the larger assignment will be broken down into several smaller checkpoints (due dates). As this skill is increasingly important for college readiness, this project will have a significant impact on the quarter grade.

ATTENDANCE:

Please see the student handbook regarding the LHS policies on missing class and being tardy to class.

HOMEWORK:

Homework assignments are announced in class and written on Google Classroom.

LATE WORK:

Work submitting work after the due date, especially papers, is discouraged.
Homework may be turned in one day late for half credit, ONLY if we have not used it in class.
Homework is due at the beginning of the block; if it is completed after this time it is considered late.
Papers and projects will go down a letter grade every school day they are late. (For example, an A paper would drop to an A-, if it was 1 day late.)

If you are absent from school, it is your responsibility (not mine) to ask for make-up work and/or schedule any make-up tests with me after missing a class.
- Before you talk to me, you should always talk with a fellow class member and check out Google Classroom to find out what we covered yesterday, and if there were any class notes.
Unless you make other arrangements with me, you have the same number of days that you were absent to hand in or make up missing work (e.g. if you are sick for three days, you have three days from the day you return to make up missing work).

EXTRA HELP

CHEATING & PLAGIARISM: Students caught cheating or plagiarizing will be assigned a zero for that particular assignment. Additionally, plagiarized work will result in a referral to the school administration as well as a conference with the student’s family. Work that is plagiarized mocks the learning process and calls into doubt the integrity of the student. NOTE: Use of artificial intelligence/large language models for any stage of the work process constitutes plagiarism. Copying another student’s homework or completing work as a group (unless directed to do so) constitutes cheating.

NOTE: Copying another student’s homework or completing work as a group (unless directed to do so) constitutes cheating.

Students will be required to submit writing to turnitin.com, a website subscribed to by the high school.