Honors Requirements
The honors option in English is designed to give enrichment and depth to the curriculum for students who are interested in the challenge and who would like to have their efforts recognized on their transcripts.
In the classroom, an honor student takes on challenge assignments related to regular classroom assignments and is an academic role model for other students.
Outside of the classroom, an honor student is always reading challenging works of literature independently and engaging in community activities in reading and writing. (These can by virtual events.) For example:
•plays
-open mics/poetry slams
•author events
•writing workshops
•reading groups
-Oregon Battle of the Books
In order to get honor's credit, a student must do the following, as a minimum:
*Complete 80% of the challenge assignments associated with regular classroom assignments in both reading and writing (Student must keep up with this and submit to teacher before the end of each semester via a folder in Google Drive)
*Attend one play, author event, writing workshop, reading group, poetry reading or slam, etc. each semester. This can be anything related to reading or writing that happens in the community. If you have questions, please ask. Also, see list above. (Student must submit a one page summary/reaction after event)
*Read two books(minimum) independently over the course of the semester. Check with me if you have questions about suitable titles. These need to be challenging titles. As you read, do a dialogue journal for each book. Do at least 20 passages/sections for each book. See this link for explanation- Dialogue Journal.
*Read, summarize and react to two articles that I post on the Twitter feed
OPTION #2:
Some students would like the opportunity to pursue an independent study project, such as writing a longer piece with live feedback. Please come talk to me if you're interested in pursuing your writing/reading on your own terms.
Freshmen Honors
1st semester challenges: (I will continue to add to this list.)
Add figurative language to your name poem
Add a theme to your personal narrative
Write the theme essay for Aristotle and Dante
Read and Discuss "Flowers for the Broken"
2nd semester:
Use similes, metaphors, or some other figurative language in one of the poems who wrote. Highlight the language, telling me what it is
Read "A Spark Neglected" and do a summary and reaction. What is the connection to Romeo and Juliet?
Argument paper vs a plan that the rest of the class will be doing