Embedded Files
Dear students and their interested adult(s):
Our study of English 11 CP and General will be centered on the Springboard English Language Arts curriculum, continuing what students have done in English 9 and English 10.
English 11 is organized around Reading, Writing, Speaking / Listening, Critical Thinking, My Lexicon (i.e., one's working vocabulary), and College/Career Readiness.
Thusly, this Guidelines and Expectations page will be organized in this manner.
Reading
Learning Targets:
- READING COMPREHENSION - Read and comprehend appropriately complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
- READING INTERPRETATION - Interpret, analyze, and evaluate appropriately complex literary and informational texts.
My teaching philosophy, as it relates to reading: Any and all words that our eyes take in count as reading. Now that our 24/7 lives are filled with text from screens of all types, and anyone can post words to a worldwide audience, reading has never held as much possibility as it currently does. In all its variety of type and variety of delivery, reading well is critical for success in all aspects of life.
Our units are listed below, with either choice novels or required, common texts:
Unit 1: The American Dream
Choice novel, centered around the theme of The American Dream.
Past choices: Of Mice and Men; The Great Gatsby; The Grapes of Wrath; Black Boy; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; Catcher in the Rye; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.
Additional possibilities: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; Invisible Man; The Death of a Salesman
Unit 2: The Power of Persuasion
Required play: The Crucible
Unit 3: American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas
Required novel: Fahrenheit 451
Unit 4: The Pursuit of Happiness
Required text: Into the Wild
Love to read or wish you could read more efficiently? Check out my Just Read. and Read and Succeed Pinterest boards.
Writing
Learning Targets:
- WRITING ARGUMENTS - Write clear and coherent arguments for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
- WRITING INFORMATIVE AND NARRATIVE TEXTS - Produce clear and coherent informative and narrative writing for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
My teaching philosophy, as it relates to writing: "Writing is refined thinking." ~ Stephen King If a person can write well, a person can think well. My hope is that when students leave my classroom at the end of the academic year, they feel at ease yet confident about expressing themselves in words.
My writing feedback loop, explained.
Our units are listed below, with each unit's summative assessment types (formal essay / scene / multi-genre / speech):
Unit 1: The American Dream
Embedded Assessment 1: a definition essay, answering the essential question: "What Does it Mean to Be an American?"
Embedded Assessment 2: a synthesis essay, answering the essential question: "Does America Still Provide Access to The American Dream?"
English 11 Common Assessment: Socratic discussion of our American Dream choice novels
Unit 2: The Power of Persuasion
Embedded Assessment 1: a dramatic scene, looking critically at a contemporary conflict
Embedded Assessment 2: a persuasive speech essay, looking critically at a contemporary conflict
Unit 3: American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas
Embedded Assessment 1: an Op-Ed News project, looking critically at a contemporary conflict
English 11 CP Common Assessment: Literary Analysis of Fahrenheit 451
Unit 4: The Pursuit of Happiness
Embedded Assessment 1: a personal essay, regarding one's own pursuit of happiness / transcendental experience
Embedded Assessment 2: a multi-genre research project, regarding one's own pursuit of happiness / transcendental experience
Love to write or wish you could write with more confidence? Check out my Writing Treasures and Write On, Baby! Pinterest boards.
Speaking / Listening & Critical Thinking
Learning Targets:
My teaching philosophy, as it relates to speaking and listening: Speaking is the non-written version of writing, and listening is the non-written version of reading. Output of thoughts and input of thoughts via these means have just as much value as the written word. These skills need to practiced and honed with as much care as possible before we send our students out into the academic and/or work worlds.
Learning Targets:
My teaching philosophy, as it relates to critical thinking: Being able to think with discipline is crucial in every aspect of life, from driving to learning to parenting to working. English class should train students in the fine art of checking their thinking by checking their writing. English class should do the same with the thoughts and words of others.
My Lexicon (i.e., one's working vocabulary)
Learning Targets:
My teaching philosophy, as it relates to vocabulary retention:
College & Career Readiness
Learning Targets:
My teaching philosophy, as it relates to reading:
Our units are listed below, with either choice novels or required, common texts:
Unit 1: The American Dream
The theme of this unit ties in well to this aspect of the course, in that students have to both define The American Dream, as well as look at it in relation to their own aspirations.
Unit 2: The Power of Persuasion
Argument - in essays or in speeches - play a pivotal role in today's college courses, regardless of the area of study. These same skills are required of students who go into the trades (Why should we buy Product X instead of Product Y?).
Unit 3: American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas
Looking at information sources critically, particularly when the issue is an emotional one, is an adult skill of utmost importance. College and career bound students benefit from this thinking, equally.
Unit 4: The Pursuit of Happiness
Knowledge of oneself, one's motivations, one's potential life path, and specific steps to reach those aspirations combine for this final unit and its last assessment.
Scoring and Classification of Academic Work
Embedded Assessments (EA) 4x
Unit Assessments (UA) 0x (pre-) or 2x (post-)
In-class Work 1x
Independent Work 1x-2x
Academic Initiative 1x
Guidelines for how I score work that doesn't already have a Springboard rubric (check this if you want to do as well as possible on In-Class Work and Independent Work)
Independent Work (formerly known as Homework): In-class Checks
If you have been assigned independent work for my class, it is for one reason: practice in preparation for an upcoming project / assessment of your knowledge.
One of the first things I will do each class is a homework check. At that point, I will assess your understanding of the material that was to be finished at home, and your work will be scored with a plus, check-plus, check, check-minus, or zero.
You must finish the work that has been assigned a zero, or I will be in touch with your parent/guardian about your staying after school with me to finish the work.
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