English IV 2013-2014 Course Syllabus

Course description: Reading, writing, listening, and communicating are the fundamentals of life. No matter if you are becoming the next Derrick Rose or an Attorney at Law, English will determine your success. Do you think Michael Jordan signed any contract without reading and interpreting it first?? This course is designed for you to expand your horizons and ask essential questions in literature. The objective of this course is to read world literature and analyze thematic issues both in discussion and writing format. Contact Information: The absolute best way to contact me is by email. I check my email several times a day and will be quick with a response. My email address is jalbrecht@midland-7.org. If you need to call me please do so at school. The best times to get a hold of me are 7:30 A.M.-8:00 A.M., 10:30 A.M.-11:00 A.M, and 3:30-4:00 P.M. Likewise, if you would like to come see me, the best times are before and after school. I also have created a class blog where I will be adding important information throughout the semester. Please look at it for new updates: http://albrechtenglish.blogspot.com. Materials: Everyday you will need a pencil. It seems simple but I will not lend out ANY pencils this year. You will also need paper for some notes and writing assignments and a place to keep your homework. Lastly, you will be expected to bring the book we will be reading from for that day. Attendance policy: If you are absent it is your responsibility to see me before school the day you return. I will give out NO make-up work during class. Your assignment that was due on the day of your absence will be due on the day of your return. The make-up work will be due the day after you return. If you do not come see me before school, you will receive a 0 on the assignment. It is YOUR responsibility to collect your make-up work and I will not hunt you down to make sure you get it. Late work policy: You may turn in work for a given unit late and receive half credit until the unit test and/or due date of the written assignment. This policy does NOT apply for research papers, projects, or weeklies; these will be given a 0 if they are not turned in on the assigned date. Homework: I will accept homework assignments for half credit until the day of the unit test. Weeklies: I will NOT accept any late Weekly Writing. Essays/Projects: I will NOT accept any late essays or projects. Emergency Passes: Lets face it, emergencies happen. I understand that. However, class time is valuable. You are each given TWO emergencies each semester. I have a list and I will keep track. After two, you will not be allowed to leave class. Weeklies: Weeklies are different for English IV. To receive the highest score possible, you need to choose a current topic, find three relevant articles, incorporate quotes using ICE method for all three sources, AND include a Works Cited Page. These will be worth 35 points and will be between 250-500 words.

Albrecht

English IV

2013-2014

Grading: I do not give grades, you earn them. Your grade in this class will be determined on homework, weeklies, projects, quizzes, tests, and writing assignments. Being that this is a SENIOR course, I reserve the right to give unannounced quizzes. May I suggest keeping up with the reading and asking questions when uncertainty occurs.

EXTRA CREDIT Extra Credit: I do not believe in easy points at the last minute to rise to a passing grade. Instead, I believe extra credit should be doing extra work outside of class to earn extra points. Extra credit will be available in a book study. In order to receive ANY credit for these, you must follow all requirements. I wil also not accept the assignment after the due date. First Semester Extra Credit: You may read the novel Monster by William Dean Howells. After reading the text, you will write a 3 page analysis answering the following question. Race and youth are complex issues that are examined in this book. On page 90, Kathy O'Brien, Steve's defense attorney, says half of the jurors automatically believe Steve is guilty because he is young and black. During the trial, how does Miss O'Brien combat this prejudice and force jurors to look past the color of Steve's skin? You must include at least three specific quotes from the text to support your analysis with correct parenthetical citation. This is worth 30 extra credit points. DUE DATE: December 6, 2013 Second Semester Extra Credit: You may read the novel The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. After reading the text, you will write a 3 page analysis answering the following discussion topic. Discuss the ways in which Atwood presents the significance of the individual versus the state in The Handmaids Tale. You must include at least three specific quotes from the text to support your analysis. This is worth 30 extra credit points. DUE DATE: May 2, 2014

Albrecht

English IV

2013-2014

Course Schedule First Semester: Like everything in life, this schedule is possible to change. However, at this point in time, this is where we are going this semester. Unit 1: Creative Writing Essay Your first large grade in this class will be a 3-4 page creative writing essay. You will be asked to look at a picture and write a creative narrative using sensory imagery, dialogue, and literary devices throughout. Unit 2: Epic Hero Our first official unit of the semester will be studying epic heroes. Several of you may be familiar with epic from The Odyssey. We will be revisiting (or visiting for the first time) the idea of an epic hero and epic poetry. In this unit we will be reading and studying the texts Gilgamesh and Beowulf. There will be several free writing assignments, homework assignments, projects, quizzes, and a unit test for each. It is sure to be epic. Unit 3: World Literature Teach-A-Class Each of you will receive a topic. It is your responsibility to become the expert on the topic. With a partner, you will be teaching a lesson to the class on your topic. You will have to work on this project both in and out of class and have a prepared 40 minute lesson ready on the day of your topic. You will also be asked to create questions for an exam. At the end of the unit, you will have a test over each groups lesson. Unit 4: Research Paper The research does not stop with English III. Each of you will be writing a 5-7 page essay on a current trend in a career of choice. You will be writing about the job description, degrees needed for this occupation, and the current outlook. Unit 5: Dantes Inferno We will be studying the divine comedy of Dantes Inferno. We will follow his journey focusing on allegory and psychology. In this unit there will be several quizzes and a test. Final Exam The final exam is cumulative and will contain questions over all five units.

Albrecht

English IV

2013-2014

Second Semester: The focus of second semester is dystopian fiction. We will be reading three novels. Within these novels there will be homework assignments, quizzes, and tests. At the end of the semester there will be a final writing assignment on all three novels. Unit 1: Dystopian Literature This unit will take the most time out of all of the units throughout the year. I also think most of you will enjoy it the most. We will be asking the question Is it ever appropriate to compromise individuality in favor of a more uniform system? We will be focusing on the genre of dystopian literature and understanding political ideologies and the meaning of individuality in a controlled society. In this unit we will read 1984, Anthem, and The Hunger Games. After we read all three texts, you will be asked to write a literary analysis on the genre and how it is displayed through thematic issues in all the texts. Unit 2: Rhetorical Analysis We will be studying rhetoric and analyzing how this persuasion approach is displayed in famous speeches and in business advertising. You will be asked to analyze a piece of rhetoric and present it to the class. Unit 3: British Literature In this unit, we will study Shakespeares Macbeth and Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales. Final Exam The final exam is cumulative and will contain questions over all five units.

Albrecht

English IV

2013-2014

Student/Parent Agreement I have read and understood this document. I agree with everything in it and I will abide by it throughout this entire year. If I have any questions I will contact Ms. Albrecht at jalbrecht@midland-7.org Signature of student: _______________________ Signature of parent: ________________________ Parent Contact: Best way to be contacted: EMAIL PHONE Date: __________ Date: __________

Email: ____________________________________ Phone Number: ________________________________

Albrecht

English IV

2013-2014