2024-2025 Syllabus
English 11
Instructor: Mrs. Taylor
Course Location: Dover High School Room 200
Email: stephanie.taylor@doverschools.net
Course Description
This course is geared towards developing students’ comprehension and analytical skills. Students will read several works of both fiction and non-fiction throughout the year and will prepare for the End-of-Course ACT exam.
Course Goals
• Build critical reading and analytical skills
• Produce writing that is clear, insightful, organized, and mechanically correct.
• Thoroughly prepare students to achieve on the ACT exam.
Classroom Policies and Procedures
Cell Phones - Cell phone use is not permitted on Dover High School's campus. See handbook for disciplinary action.
Classroom Procedures -
Please remain seated in your assigned seat through the duration of the class period. If you need any assistance or have a specific need that would require you to leave your assigned seat please ask before you do so.
You will be required to fill sign out before leaving the room for any reason.
You are not allowed to keep any supplies/textbooks/binders in the classroom.
Due to the majority of our assignments being online, you will need to have your computer charged and ready for use everyday.
Classwork Policy - Late work will be accepted for half credit one week after the due date that is listed in eSchool by the teacher. After the one week grace period, the student will receive a zero. Extenuating circumstances will need to be brought to the attention of the teacher.
KINDNESS Policy - Rude or disrespectful comments towards the teacher or other students will not be tolerated. If a student makes a rude or disrespectful comment, they will be required to say two genuinely nice things about the person the comment was directed towards. Our new philosophy will be “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” All students are expected to be kind and respectful towards others in the class.
All students are expected to follow all rules and procedures listed in the student handbook.
Course Units
This year we will be utilizing Pearson’s myPerspectives curriculum. The end of each unit will culminate in a performance-based assessment focused on writing. The following curriculum outline serves as a guideline to help students prepare for class discussions and assignments.
Unit One: Words That Shaped a Nation
Essential Question: What is the meaning of freedom?
Major Works(s): Declaration of Independence, Preamble to the Constitution, Bill of Rights, American Revolution: Visual Propaganda
Performance Based Assessment: Argument
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Unit Two: The Individual and Society
Essential Question: What role does individualism play in American society?
Major Work(s): Dickinson Poetry, Whitman Poetry
Performance Based Assessment: Personal Narrative
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Unit Three: Power, Protest, and Change
Essential Question: In what ways does the struggle for freedom change with history?
Major Work(s): ‘Second Inaugural Address’, from What to the Slave is the Fourth of July, Perspectives on Lincoln, Ain't I a Woman, The Story of an Hour
Performance Based Assessment: Informative Essay
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Unit Four: Grit and Grandeur
Essential Question: What is the relationship between literature and place?
Major Work(s): from Life on the Mississippi, The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, A White Heron
Performance Based Assessment: Explanatory Essay
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Unit Five: Facing Our Fears
Essential Question: How do we respond when challenged by fear?
Major Work(s): The Crucible, Farewell to Manzanar
Performance Based Assessment: Argument
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Unit Six: Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales
Essential Question: What do stories reveal about the human condition?
Major Work(s): 'Everything Stuck to Him', 'Everyday Use', ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’
Performance Based Assessment: Narrative