EnglishTenClassSyllabus

Welcome to Sophomore English!

Course Description:
The Grade 10 Informational and Literary texts are designed using common core anthologies,
Collections and The Language of Literature, and other sources. A large portion of the work is
devoted to reading, rereading, discussing, and writing about the selections in order to develop
responses to the units overarching questions. In order to focus these readings, each unit is
designed around three overarching questions that help students develop interpretations of the
text. General comprehension questions and text-specific guiding questions help students
comprehend and interpret text, while additional questions are included to support analyses of
each authors style.
Throughout the units, students will read, talk about, write about, and write like the text, while
keeping a Reader/Writer Notebook to capture their work. Each unit concludes with a
culminating assessment.

InstructionalDesign:
The design of the units is based on the Common Core Curriculum. The resulting lessons
exemplify the following ideas:

Close reading is a central component of most of the reading selections.

Rereading is a fundamental part of the way good readers deal with challenging texts.

Reading, writing, thinking, and talking are interrelated processes that support students
understanding of texts, development of complex ideas, and creation of original texts.

Language use and language choices, including grammatical choices, need to be explicitly
highlighted and discussed so that all learners can understand the choices they have when they
and others are making meaning in writing.

Oral language and proficiency for English learners develop faster than their academic literacy
skills and need to be taken into account at all stages of their learning.

Discussion is an essential part of rigorous and effective intellectual work. For discussion to
work well, participants must stay anchored to the texts under consideration, and must have the
opportunity to try out ideas in a setting that values community and that demands rigor and good
thinking.

Learning as apprenticeship to read, write, think, and talk invites students to act and be treated
as members of a community of practice and learning.

COURSETEXTS
Thenovelswewillbereadinginclassare:

TheHouseonMangoStreetSandraCisneros
FrankensteinMaryShelly
MacbethWilliamShakespeare
ThingsFallApartChinuaAchebe

SchoolSupplies
Studentsareexpectedtohavethefollowingmaterialsinclassdaily:

Twocompositionnotebooks;spiralboundnotebooksareNOTrecommended.
Oneinexpensive,smallsizedthreeringbindertostorehandbooks,thegrammarworkbook,and
looseleafpaper.
OnelargeKleenexbox
OnebottleofHandSanitizer.
COURSETIMELINE

Quarter1
August:ClassPoliciesandProcedures,WritingandScoringofECR/BCR,Introductionto
ReadingStrategies,TheWritingProcess
September:ElementsofFictionVocabulary,PlotStructure,ConflictinaStory,PartsofSpeech,
ParagraphStructure
October:SettinginaStory,MoodinaStory,DrawingInferencesfromWriting,Elaborationand
AddingDetailstoWriting,SentenceStructure
Quarter2
November:ElementsofPoetryVocabulary,RhymeSchemeinPoetry,TheSpeakerofaPoem,
PoetryInterpretation,UsingPhrases(Grammar),SentenceRevision
December:ThemeofaStory,UsingClauses(Grammar)WritingaCharacterSketch,Writing
CompleteSentences,AdaptingStyletoAudience,PersonalNarrative,AuthorStudy:Edgar
AllenPoe
January:EpicPoetry,LiteratureResponseWriting
Quarter3
January:ElementsofNonfictionVocabulary,PersonalMemoirs,NonfictionNarratives,Process
Explanations(Composition),LiteratureResponseWriting(Cont.),UseofVerbs
February:AnalyzingSpeeches,Autobiography,ComparisonContrastEssays,Opinion

Statements,SubjectVerbAgreement
March:AuthorStudy:SandraCisneros&MayaAngelou,MakingInferences,ToneandDiction,
ResearchReports

Quarter4
April:ElementsofDramaVocabulary,DramaticConventionsandDramaticIrony,Using
Modifiers(AdjectivesandAdverbs),ResearchReports(cont.),Capitalization
May:TheElizabethanEra,ShakespeareanDrama,Punctuation,AnalyzingtheMedia,Test
Preparation
June:NovelStudy,PersuasiveEssay,FinalExam
LONGTERMPROJECTS
Mostlongtermprojectswillbebasedonthenovelorplaybeingstudied.
Grading Policy
Category

Brief Description

Percentage

Class Work

This category includes all

work begun and/or
completed in class, class
discussions, group
activities, student journals,
warm-ups, and other
assigned tasks.

25 % of quarter grade

Homework

This category includes

work completed outside of
the class setting: assigned
and independent readings
and/or accompanying
tasks, written assignments,
and practice exercises.

25% of quarter grade

Assessments

This category includes

quizzes, long-term
projects, short and long
essays, tests, and
culminating assessments.

50 % of quarter grade

OTHERPOLICIES
Attendance

Classbeginspromptlywhenthebellrings.
Ifastudentistardytoclasswithoutapass,itwillbeconsideredunexcused.Theschool
procedureforreportingexcessiveunexcusedtardinesswillbefollowed.
Ifastudentisabsent,he/sheisexpectedtobringanexcusenoteonthefirstdaythathe/she
returnstoschool.Withoutthenote,theabsencewillbeconsideredunexcused.Schoolwide
procedureswillbefollowedfordealingwithunexcusedabsences.
StudentswhosetardiesorabsencesareunexcusedwillreceiveaZEROforanyworktheymiss
orfailtoturninontime.Lateworkduetounexcusedtardiesorabsenceswillnotbeaccepted
andthestudentwillreceiveazeroforsuchwork.
IDandCellPhone/ElectronicDevicePolicy
StudentsarerequiredtoweartheirIDstoclassandhavethemvisiblydisplayedeveryday.
FailuretowearIDsproperlywillresultinimplementingschoolwideproceduresforsuch
violations.
StudentsmustTURNOFFtheircellphoneoranyotherelectronicdevicesbeforeenteringclass.
Suchdevicesmustremainturnedoffduringthewholeclasstime.
Studentsareprohibitedtouseacellphoneorelectronicdeviceduringquizzesandtests.Usinga
cellphoneoranelectronicdeviceisconsideredaformofcheating.Astudentseenusinga
cellphoneorelectronicdeviceduringaquizortestwillreceiveazero.
Homework
Unlessstatedotherwise,homeworkisduethenextdaythatclassmeets.
Studentsareentirelyresponsibleformakingsurethattheyaccuratelycopythehomework
assignmentsfromthechalkboard.Failuretoaccuratelycopyhomeworkcannotbeusedasan
excusefornotcompletingthehomework.
Studentsarenotallowedtoturninincompleteormissingassignmentsinthelasttwoweeksofa
quarter.
Discussionsorcomplaintsofmissing,incomplete,incorrectlyrecordedoranyothercomplaints
whatsoevertodowithhomework,projectsorclassworkwillbelimitedtoworkbelongingtothe
currentquarterorworkdoneinthepastonemonth.Undernocircumstanceswillworkdonein
thefirstandsecondquartersbeopenfordiscussioninthefourthquarter.
ParentsarestronglyurgedtomonitortheirchildrensprogressonSchoolMax.Parentsneedto
checktheirchildrensgradesonSchoolMaxONCEaweek.
Studentswhocopyotherstudentshomeworkassignmentswillreceiveazero.Similarly,
studentswhoallowotherstudentstocopytheirhomeworkassignmentswillreceiveazero.

ContrabandItems
Contrabanditemsareitemsthatarenotallowedintheclassroom.Theseincludecellphones,
portableCDplayers,MP3playersorIpods,portablevideogamesystems(likeGameboys),
PDAs,playingortradingcards(baseballcards,PokemonorYugiohcards,etc.)orgambling
paraphernalia(suchasdice)andanyelectronicdevicesasspecifiedbyschoolrules.

Inthecasethatanycontrabanditemsarefoundintheclassroom,schoolwidepoliciesfor
dealingwithsuchitemswillapply.
Hatsareconsideredacontrabanditem.Theyarenottobeworninclass,withtheexceptionof
headgearwornforreligiousreasons.Anyhatsworninclasswillbeconfiscated.

FoodandDrink
Food,drinksareallowedinclass.Pleasebecarefulofspills.

PlagiarismandCheating
Plagiarismistakinganotherpersonsworkandpresentingitasyourown.Thisincludescopying
homeworkassignments,copyingfromwebsiteswithoutacknowledgement,buyingorusing
internettermpapersites,usingessaywritingservices,allowingyourparentstowriteyourpapers
orcompleteyourhomework,orcopyingfromatextbook,encyclopediaorotherreferencework
withoutacknowledgement.
Plagiarismisconsideredstealinginthisclassandwillnotbetolerated.Studentswho
plagiarizewillreceiveazeroontheassignment.
Studentscaughtcheatingonanexam,testorquizwillreceiveazero.

StudentConductDuringTestsandQuizzes:

Toensurethattestsandquizzestrulyrevealastudentsmasteryofmaterial,studentswill
nottalk,confer,exchangenotesoractinanymannerthatcouldleadtotheexchangeof
informationduringtestsandquizzes.Astudentwhoviolatesthisconductwillbeawardeda
zeroonthatparticulartestorquiz.Similarly,astudentwhodisruptsatestingenvironmentin
anymannerwillbeawardedazeroonthatquizortest.
**TheStudentCodeofConductwillbeenforcedatalltimes**

CutalongthislineandreturnthesignedsectiontoMrs.Milnesclass
I/we,theundersigned,havereadandfullyunderstandMrs.Milneclassexpectationsandgrading
policies.
Printstudentsname
Signature.

Date..
PrintParents/GuardiansName..
Signature..
Date