Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High

School
65 Pleasant Street, Upton, MA 01568
Ms. Small 508-529-7758 ex. 2514 ksmall@valleytech.k12.ma.us
Website: https://bvtsmall.weebly.com

Course Syllabus: College Prep English I

Overview
The English Department strives to provide a coordinated and integrated English program that
nurtures intellectual capabilities and fosters an understanding that learning is a lifelong process.
The curriculum provides students with communication competencies through the writing process
and through oral presentations. In addition, we offer formal approaches common to areas of
fiction, non-fiction, technical, and business writing. Students read the works of various noted
authors for analysis of style, form, and historical significance. We encourage an appreciation of
literature as a source of enjoyment, social commentary, inquiry, and critical analysis. Students use
open-response questions, various sources of information, and appropriate techniques in the
refinement of their critical thinking and research skills.

Course Description
101

CP English I

Credits: 2

Level: 3

This course prepares students for a four-year college program.

This course is an introduction to written and oral communication. Students write compositions for
a variety of purposes: description, narration, and exposition. Emphasis placed on the writing
process develops greater proficiency in sentence and paragraph development. Written and spoken
vocabulary expands to express a developing thought process. Readings include the short story,
novel, and poetry.

Basic Texts
Grant, Wiggins, et al. Prentice Hall Literature. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Hall, 2012. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
Steinbeck, John. The Pearl. New York: Penguin, 1992. Print.
Standard English Department Assessment Categories
Tests, Projects, and Essays
40%
Academic Coursework
30%
Quizzes
30%
Final Course averages will be based on the whole-number grade reported on report
cards for each term plus the final exam grade, if applicable. (T1 x .30) + (T2 x .30) + (T3
x .30) + (FE x .10)

Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High

School
65 Pleasant Street, Upton, MA 01568
Ms. Small 508-529-7758 ex. 2514 ksmall@valleytech.k12.ma.us
Website: https://bvtsmall.weebly.com

Course Syllabus: College Prep English I

Late Work
All work must be submitted at the beginning of the class period on the day it is due.
Missing homework will result in a zero grade for that assignment. Late work (e.g.,
essays, projects) will be penalized ten percentage points per day at the teacher discretion.
Absences
Students have ten calendar days to make up missed tests and quizzes. A zero will be
recorded in IPASS until the missed test or quiz is made up. Absentees must take the
initiative to acquire and complete missing work by contacting the teacher, another
student, or checking the class website (https://bvtsmall.weebly.com). Suspended
students will be administered make-up assignments in accordance with the policies
dictated in the school handbook. Other extenuating circumstances will be evaluated on a
case-by-case basis by the individual teacher.
Discipline
All discipline issues will be handled in accordance with the school handbook discipline
code.
Notebooks
A one subject notebook is required for all students. Notebooks must be kept in the
classroom and maintained in an organized fashion.
All handouts, notes, assignments and returned quizzes should be maintained in a binder.
Plagiarism & Cheating
Plagiarism=Failure!!!! No excuses, no exceptions. Plagiarism is
stealing or borrowing someone elses work or ideas and presenting
them as your own. Using a document or part of a document written by
another student is plagiarism. Buying an essay from one of the
services that sells such documents is plagiarism. Using a document
published on the Web is plagiarism. Having someone else write an
essay for you is plagiarism. If you plagiarize, you will fail the
assignment, your parents and the administration will be contacted, and
you will be subject to other disciplinary action as outlined on page 53
of your Student Handbook. Plagiarism is both stealing and cheating.
Both acts are unacceptable.