COURSE SYLLABUS ENGLISH 10A COURSE DESCRIPTION The first semester of 10th Grade English is a literature survey class. The class covers literary terminology, vocabulary building, test taking strategies, and several literary genres. This semester, we will utilize literature to focus on three central questions: Is there a difference between reality and truth? Can progress be made without conflict? What kind of knowledge changes our lives? The course is written to Common Core standards and will challenge students to critically think about literature. Students will involve themselves in self-assessment as well as in teacher guided practice and assessment throughout the class. The literature of the class includes selections from Nobel Prize in Literature winners and Pulitzer Prize winners. Among the authors and poets included in the class are: Ray Bradbury, W.W. Jacobs, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Sandra Cisneros, Rachel Carson, Anton Chekhov, O. Henry, Leo Tolstoy, Edgar Allen Poe, Rudolfo Anaya, Mark Twain, James Thurber, and Elie Wiesel. COURSE THEMES Reality vs. Truth Resources, Irony and Paradox Progress vs. Conflict Argument and Expository Text Knowledge = Change COURSE TOPICS Students will develop an understanding of: Theme in fiction Central ideas in non-fiction Making predictions Plot and foreshadowing Author s perspective Analyzing structure and format Comparing style Cause and effect relationships Conflict resolution Author s purpose Bias of the author or sponsor Checking the information against reliable sources Date documents were created /updated Reliable sources Character and story structure Analyzing the text to extend ideas Comparing points of view Drawing conclusions about theme Drawing conclusions about symbolism and allegory Paraphrasing to connect ideas Comparing tone Author s point of view and purpose Development of ideas Word choice and tone Main idea expository essay Main idea reflective essay Follow and critique technical questions Comparing humorous writing Evaluate persuasion arguments and rhetorical devices
Making inferences in character and characterization Making inferences in setting Evaluate analytic and interpretive essays LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon successful completion of this class, students will be proficient in the following Common Core Standards for grade 10: 1. Reading Literature (RL)- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 2. Reading Informational Text (RI)-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 3. Writing (W)- 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9a,9b, 10 4. Speaking and Listening (SL) 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 5. Language (L) 1, 1a, 1b,2, 2c, 3, 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 5, 5b, 6 See for full text of standards: http://www.scoe.net/castandards/agenda/2010/ela_ccs_recommendations.pdf PRE-REQUISITES / CO-REQUISITES English 9 A/B World History A Primary Text: This course requires the novel: The by John Steinbeck Supplementary Materials: Notebook Supplies for course project (will vary)
COURSE METHODOLOGY This is an inquiry-based course where you will discover and utilize knowledge of English / Language Arts via the lectures, videos, and other readings, and class discussions with other students and the instructor. Acting as a facilitator, your instructor will guide you through the process; however, as the learner, you are responsible for actively acquiring and constructing knowledge by completing all assigned readings and activities. Both formal and informal assessment will be used in evaluating your performance throughout the course. Informal assessment will include an evaluation of the quality and timeliness of your participation in class activities. Formal assessment will involve multiple-choice quizzes, written essays, major writing assignments, a midterm, a final exam and a course project. COURSE PARTICIPATION OBJECTIVES This course for which you are registered is a college preparatory, academically rigorous course that covers a semester s worth of material. As such, it is important that you adhere to the following guidelines as you manage your time and commit to successfully completing all required coursework: 1. The requirements for this course are equivalent to completion of minimum of 90+ hours of class instruction at a traditional on-site high school. 2. Assignments must be submitted for each unit as they are completed so that the teacher may review and assess your performance. Do not hold your work, you must submit each unit s homework as it is completed, demonstrating weekly assignment completions. 3. You participate regularly in your course to demonstrate not only continued participation, but also completion of all course requirements, including assignments, assessments and class discussion forums. 4. You must complete your individual work and any incident of suspected cheating, plagiarism or collaboration on assignments violates the academic integrity expectations outlined at the time of your enrollment and can result in failure of the course or further action as deemed appropriate. COURSE OUTLINE English 10A Unit Unit Title Assignments / Activities 1 Reality vs. Truth Part 1 Introduction: The Big Question: Is there a difference between reality and truth? Lecture 1: Truth and Reality
Lecture 2: Plot Structure and Foreshadowing / Flashback Lecture 3: Author s Perspective The Monkey s Paw by W.W. Jacobs The Leap by Louise Erdrich Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox Occupation Conductorette from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Assignments include: Literary Analysis Vocabulary Latin and Greek Roots Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Word Study Conventions Practice Narrative Text Writing Assignment Speaking and Listening Activities Reading Skills Abstract and Concrete Nouns Explanatory Text Project Introduction The Chapters 1-5 2 Reality vs. Truth Part 2 Introduction: Continuing the Discussion: Is there a Difference Between Reality and Truth? Lecture 1: Writer s style Lecture 2: Conflict Resolution Lecture 3: Author s Purpose Feel the City s Pulse? It s Be-Bop Man! By Ann Douglass The Newsletter for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival Marian Anderson, Famous Concert Singer by Langston Hughes
Tepeyac by Sandra Cisneros Contents of a Dead Man s Pocket by Jack Finney The Marginal World by Rachel Carson Key ideas and details Synonyms Comparisons Writing style External conflicts Suspense Reading Skills Cause and Effect Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Word Study Pronouns Writing Narrative Text Literary Analysis Antonyms Conventions Writing Explanatory Text Research and Technology Timed Writing: Argument Essay Timed Writing: Explanatory Essay 3 Resources, Irony and Paradox Chapters 6-9 Introduction: Informational Texts Lecture 1: Irony Interactive Vocabulary Egyptology Resources Texts from the Pyramid Age The Interactive Dig Like the Sun, Truth The Open Window
Comparing Functional and Expository Texts Vocabulary Irony and Paradox Timed Writing: Explanatory Text Essay Timed Writing: Explanatory Text Essay Benchmark Assessment 1 Chapters 10 13 4 Progress vs. Conflict Part 1 Introduction: Big Question: Can Progress be Made without Conflict? Lecture 1: Conflict Lecture 2: Characterization Lecture 3: Literary Analysis Lecture 4: Reading Skills A Visit to Grandmother by William Melvin Kelley A Problem by Anton Chekhov The Street of the Canon by Josephina Niggli There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury Using details from the story Characterization Making inferences Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Reading Skill Literary Analysis Sentence Context Conventions: Principal Parts of Regular Verbs Writing Narrative Text Setting Word Study Irregular Verbs Writing Argumentative Text
Chapters 14-19 5 Progress vs. Conflict Part 2 Introduction: Continuing the Discussion: Can Progress be Made Without Conflict? Lecture 1: Comparing Points of View Lecture 2: Theme Lecture 3: Reading Skill: Drawing Conclusions Lecture 4: Symbolism and Allegory Tides by Joseph D. Exline, Ed D NASA News: Black Water Turns the Tide of Florida Coral by Jay M. Pasachoff One thousand Dollars by O, Henry By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benet How Much Does a Man Need by Leo Tolstoy Civil Peace by Chinua Achebe The Masque of Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe The Garden of Stubborn Cats by Italo Calvino Comparing Expository Texts Comparing Points of View Literary Analysis Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Word Study Reading Skills Action and Linking Verbs Writing Explanatory Text Passive Voice Writing Narrative Text Timed Writing: Analytical Essay Timed Writing: Explanatory Essay
Chapters 20-21 6 Arguments and Expository Text Introduction to analyzing arguments and expository texts Lecture 1: Paraphrasing Lecture 2: Comparing Tone Editorial on the Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall Voices from the Wall The Censors by Luis Valenzuela The Leader in the Mirror by Pat Mora Argumentative and Expository Text Comparing Tones Timed Writing: Response to Literature Timed Writing: Argumentative Text Benchmark Assessment 2 Chapters 22 24 7 Knowledge = Change Part 1 Introduction: The Big Question: What Kind of Knowledge Changes Our Lives? Lecture 1 : Essays Lecture 2: Types of Essays Lecture 3: Tone and Word Choice The Spider and the Wasp by Alexander Petrunkevitch Longitude by Dava Sobel
The Sun Parlor by Dorothy West From In Commemoration: One Million Volumes by Rudolfo Anaya Literary analysis expository essay Reading Skills Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Word Study Writing Expository Essay Conventions Writing a business letter Speaking and Listening Comprehension and Collaboration Chapter 25-26 8 Knowledge = Change Part 2 Introduction: functional texts, humorous speeches, and essays Lecture 1: Technical Directions Lecture 2: Humorous Speeches Lecture 3: Persuasive Writing and Rhetorical Devices How to Use a Compass GPS Quickstart Guide A Toast to the Oldest Inhabitant: The Weather of New England by Mark Twain The Dog that Bit People by James Thurber Keep Memory Alive by Elie Wiesel Nobel Lecture by Alexander Solzhenitsyn Comparing functional texts Comparing humorous writing Persuasive Writing and Rhetorical Devices Reading Skills evaluating persuasion Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Word Study Literary Analysis
Timed Writing: Argumentative Text Timed Writing: Explanatory Text Essay Benchmark Assessment 3: Final Exam Finish reading the novel Final Essay 9 Course Project All students are required to complete a course project and it is recommended that students work on their course projects each week. The final project will be due at the end of the course. COURSE PROJECT OPTIONS English 10 A Students will choose one project from the list below: 1. Photo Gallery: Find Depression-era photographs of rural farm workers, as in the work of Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange. Look for photos of contemporary migrant workers in the United States from recent periodicals. Try to find pairs of photos that echo or contrast with each other in subject or spirit. Be able to discuss the photographs you show, and point to details that explain why you chose them. Create a presentation to exhibit this gallery and submit it to both the dropbox for credit. 2. Explore the historical period of the 1930s by creating posters that provide in-depth information on what was happening in the following artistic disciplines: music and jazz, theatre, painting and sculpture, photography, and dance. Submit these posters in the dropbox for credit. 3. Write a scene in which you put Tom Joad on trial for murdering a man with a pick handle. Write the dialogue and perform the parts of the characters who testify. The scene can be written or acted out in a presentation. Submit your final scene to the dropbox for credit. 4. Write a newspaper article describing the eventual fates of any of the Joads alive at the novel s end: Tom, Noah, Connie, Al, Ma, Pa, Rosasharn. Use your imagination but base your story on what you know about your subject from the novel. Submit your final article to the dropbox for credit. 5. Imagine you are a government official reporting on the conditions of California migrant workers during the Depression. Write a report on what you find among the workers at one of the stops
along the Joads journey: Sallisaw, Santa Rosa, Needles, Bakersfield, Weedpatch, or the cotton camp. Explain the causes of the situation in your report and offer practical solutions. 6. Host a screening of Nunnally Johnson and John Ford s movie version of The at your home with family and friends. Lead a discussion afterward about the novel and differences between the novel and the film. Develop a list of interview questions you will ask the attendees after the film (please get this list approved ahead of time by your instructor). Interview your friends and family. and summarize this experience. Submit all of your documentation to the dropbox for credit. ACADEMIC HONESTY The following are forms of academic dishonesty. These practices will not be tolerated. Plagiarism: Plagiarism consists of using another author's words without proper identification and documentation of that author. Plagiarism takes the form of direct quotation without the use of quotation marks and/or documentation, or paraphrasing without proper identification and documentation. The fabrication of sources, or the act, deliberately or unconsciously, of passing another author's work off as your own are also considered to be plagiarism. Falsification: Falsification consists of deliberately changing results, statistics, or any other kind of factual information to make it suit your needs. It also consists of deliberately changing a source s intent by misquoting or taking out of context. Multiple submission: If you wish to turn in the same work or use the same research, in whole or in part, for more than one course, you must obtain permission to do so from all instructors involved. Failure to obtain this permission constitutes academic dishonesty. This course is a chance for you to explore your own creativity. GRADING POLICY Final Grades for this class will be based on your performance, participation in all class activities, group discussions, unit assignments, course projects, and benchmark exams. HOW YOU WILL BE GRADED Grade Skills A Demonstrates excellence in grasping key concepts; critiques the work of others; provides ample evidence of support for opinions; readily offers new interpretations of discussion material.
B C D or F Shows evidence of understanding most of the major concepts; is able to agree or disagree when prompted; is skilled in basic level of support for opinions; offers an occasional divergent viewpoint. Has mostly shallow grasp of the material; rarely takes a stand on issues; offers inadequate levels of support. Shows no significant understanding of material. CLASS DISCUSSION RUBRIC Initial Posts Score 3 2 1 0 Initial Response Response completely addresses the prompt with a well--- developed paragraph of at least five to seven sentences. Response adequately addresses the prompt with a paragraph of five to seven sentences. Response somewhat addresses the prompt with a paragraph less than five to seven sentences. Responses to Classmates Response Does not Address the prompt. Or No response. Score 2 1 0 Follow-up posts Responses are Thoughtful and create discussion. Responses only agree Or disagree with no Thoughtful discussion. No response given And: One response given to two classmates. And/or: Only one response to One classmate. *If there is more than one prompt, students must reply to all prompts. All prompts are worth a total of 5 points. Scoring is detailed above. SCHOOLWIDE LEARNER EXPECTATIONS NUVHS students will be
Engaged Learners Critical Thinkers Effective Communicators Global Citizens