website:   www.geocities.com/reinsteinalan                        email:  [email protected] 

 

Course Definition  From the 2008-2009 Program of Studies:

Literature and World History is a survey that covers all the elements of English 211, but places added emphasis on world myths.  The course relates Romeo and Juliet to the Renaissance and other issues in history units to more modern works of literature such as The Catcher in the Rye and Of Mice and Men.  Throughout the year, students will work on interdisciplinary projects that will combine historical analysis with usage and composition skills.  Intended for students with good reading and writing skills, the course utilizes works of literature, textbooks, and supplementary sources.  Students will write at least two major research papers, one for World History and one for Literature, following similar research, writing, and revision procedures. (17)

 

Selected course texts: 

Fahrehheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Edith Hamilton’s Mythology

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan

poetry from various sources

 

Materials.

·       Three-ring binder (1 or 1.5 inch spine); five dividers (General Info, Literature, Poetry, Vocabulary, Grammar)

 

Grading.  The final grade for the course is based on four term grades and a final exam at the end of the year. A term grade will be arrived at through a straight point system, with following percentages an approximate ratio of different types of student work:

 

·       WRITING (45%)

o       Personal/creative writing (5)

o       Short essay (500-750 wds)—linked to history (10)

o       In-class essay—MCAS style question and grading (10)

o       Major essay (end-of-term) (15)

o       outside reading response comparison essay (5)

 

·       READING COMPREHENSION (30%)

o       Reading assignment comprehension quizzes

 

·       VOCABULARY (10%)

o       quizzes

o       final test

 

·       GRAMMAR (5%)

o       quizzes; application of learned structures in writing assignments

 

·       HOMEWORK (10%)

o       reading or pre-reading questions or journal reflections

o       grammar/usage handouts

o       outside reading

 

·       EXTRA CREDIT (2%)

o       as much a two grade points may be added to a term score from a variety of extra credit optional assignments

 

GRADING SCALE

A  92.9-100 %    A-  90-92.8    B+ 86.9-89.8    B  82.9-86.8    B-  79.9-82.8    C+  76.9-79.8   C  72.9-76.8  

C-  69.9-72.8    D+  66.9-69.8   D  62.9-66.8    D-  58.5-62.8

 

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

TERM 1

1.     Week of 9/4 (two days—Thurs-Fri)—course intro

2.     Week of 9/8—Fahrenheit 451

3.     Week of 9/15—elements of fiction

4.     Week of 9/22—Gilgamesh

5.     Week of 9/29 (Mon—early release [prof devel]; no school Tuesday—Rosh Hashanah; Thurs—Back-to-School night)—Genesis

6.     Week of 10/6 (Mon—mid-term; no school Thursday—Yom Kippur)—Hamilton’s Mythology

7.     Week of 10/13 (no school Monday—Columbus Day)— Hamilton’s Mythology

8.     Week of 10/20—Mythology

9.     Week of10/27 (Wed—early release [prof devel])—mythology test

10.   Week of 11/3 (End of Term—Thursday)—term 1 vocab test; outside reading essay

 

TERM 2

1.     Week of 11/10 (no school Tuesday—Veterans Day)—Of Mice and Men

2.     Week of 11/17—Of Mice and Men

3.     Week of 11/24 (Thurs-Fri—THANKSGIVING BREAK)—Of Mice and Men

4.     Week of 12/1 (Parent Conferences Tuesday)—Of Mice and Men; essay

5.     Week of 12/8 (Thurs—mid-term; parent Conferences Tuesday)—The Catcher in the Rye

6.     Week of 12/15— The Catcher in the Rye

7.     Week of 12/22 (only two days—Mon-Tue)— The Catcher in the Rye

Week of 12/29—DECEMBER RECESS—

8.     Week of 1/5— The Catcher in the Rye

9.     Week of1/12 (Fri—early release [prof devel])— The Catcher in the Rye essay

10.   Week of 1/19 (no school Monday—MLK Day; end of term—Friday)—Shakespearean sonnet

 

TERM 3

1.     Week of 1/26—Shakespearean sonnet; intro to Shakespeare

2.     Week of 2/2—Romeo and Juliet—Act 1

3.     Week of 2/9—Romeo and Juliet—Act 2

Week of 2/16—WINTER VACATION

4.     Week of 2/23— Romeo and Juliet—Act 2

5.     Week of 3/2 (Tues—mid-term)—Romeo and Juliet—Act 3

6.     Week of 3/9—Romeo and Juliet—Acts 3-4

7.     Week of 3/16 (Thurs—early release [prof devel])—Romeo and Juliet—Acts 4-5

8.     Week of 3/23—Romeo and Juliet—final project

9.     Week of 3/30 (ELA MCAS—Tues-Thurs)—Romeo and Juliet—final project

 

TERM 4

1.     Week of 4/6—Romeo and Juliet final essay

2.     Week of 4/13—Romeo and Juliet final essay

Week of 4/20—SPRING VACATION

3.     Week of 4/27—Romeo and Juliet final essay

4.     Week of 5/4—The Joy Luck Club

5.     Week of 5/11 (Mon—mid-term)—The Joy Luck Club

6.     Week of 5/18 (Math MCAS—Tues-Wed)—The Joy Luck Club

7.     Week of 5/25 (no school Monday—Memorial Day)—The Joy Luck Club

8.     Week of 6/1 (Science MCAS—Freshman—Thurs-Fri; end of term—Fri)—The Joy Luck Club final essay/Linked class final project

9.     Week of 6/8—Review Week

10.   Week of 6/15—Final Exam Week; Friday—last day for students

 

[Week of 6/22—possible final week]

 

 

 

Late Work/Make-up Policy.

·      Assignments turned in after the date due may receive one grade lower (for example, from a B to a C) and after one week has passed, two grades lower (from a B to a D).  If you are absent for an excusable reason and are unable to turn in an assignment on time, you have until the day you return to school to hand in the assignment.  Afterwards, the same policy applies.  Special circumstances must be discussed with the teacher. In the case of an excusable delay, please be sure to have a short parent/guardian explanation accompany the paper.

 

·      If you miss a class, you are responsible to find out about work missed, the evening’s homework, and be prepared the following day.  Weekly assignment schedules will be given to each student as well as be available on the class website.  Please email any concerns or questions.

 

 

·      If you miss the explanation of an assignment because of an excusable absence, you are still responsible to complete the assignment by the given due date.  In some cases, you may be given an appropriate extension.

 

If you miss a quiz or exam because of an excused absence, you have one week from the day of your return to school to make up the test.  If you do not take the make-up the quiz or exam within the given time, you may receive an F.  Special circumstances must be discussed with the teacher.

 

Attendance.   You are expected to be in class, on time every day.  If you are late, you must bring a note from a teacher, counselor, nurse, or house secretary; otherwise, it will be considered an unexcused tardy.  Three unexcused tardies equal one class cut.  A first cut results in a J-block detention with me.  For subsequent cuts, your housemaster assigns administrative detentions.  Three cuts or a total of nine absences (excused or unexcused) in a term results in a failing grade (N) for that term.

 

·      Excused Absence.  If your absence from class is excused, your name will show up on the attendance list as either absent, tardy to school, dismissed early, or on an attached list from a teacher with an appropriate explanation.

 

·      Unexcused Absence.  If you are not in school and neither a parent nor guardian has called in to the house office, you will be listed in attendance as AbsUn.  I will record this as an unexcused absence and schedule a detention.  The absence may become excused only with a blue note from the house secretary and then no detention is necessary.  It is your responsibility to bring a blue note promptly, within a week of the absence.

 

·      Class Cut.  If you miss a class but that same day are present in homeroom, your name will not show up on the daily attendance sheet, and it will be assumed that you have cut the class.

 

EXTRA CREDIT POSSIBILITIES

 

·       Writing—as much as 0.5 points for each type-written, double-spaced page of writing —on any topic (but written exclusively for English extra-credit, not for another course).  Here are some suggestions:

o       Reviews—movie, music, concert

o       Essay from a journal entry

o       Essay about a personal or important experience  (This can be about anything—an important lesson from soccer practice, why you love your dog, a meaningful political cause

o       Essay/response to outside reading book

o       Any creative writing

§       Poetry  (0.5 pts per poem)

§       Short stories

·       using course vocabulary words

·       imaginary scenes from the course literature

·       modernized myths

§       personal/creative essays from important experiences or memories

§       vocabulary story—put as many vocabulary words you can into a plausible (or outlandish) story

o       Letters—0.5-1 pt.

§       Personal

·       Thank you letter to a person who has helped you at some time and has no idea how much he/she has influenced you

·       Letter to a Veteran or spouse, expressing appreciation for his or her service and/or sacrifice

§       To the editor or a newspaper

§       Complaint to a business

§       To a political representative

 

·       Artwork/Poster/Room Decorations—up to 1 pt.

o       posters for the room

§       scenes from course literature

§       interesting quotations from authors

§       public grammatical/mechanical errors

·       find a mistake made in a publication and bring it in or present  the mistake as a small poster—0.5 pts.

o       any artistic representation or reflection of course content

 

·       Vocabulary in Action

o       Make a copy of a vocabulary word found in print—0.2 pts.

o       Copy down verbatim the word used on TV or the radio (make an enlarged, readable version of it)—0.2 pts

 

·       Connected Outside Reading

o       Choose for your required outside reading a book connected to either the history or English side of the course—1 pt.

§       Examples—Homer’s Iliad or The Odyssey; a book on Oriental philosophy; any books by authors read in the English course; any history of the periods studied in the world history class; any additional Shakespeare play.

 

·       Additional Outside Reading

o       J-Block discussion (0.5 pts.)

o       Essay (up to 3 pts.)

 

·       Memorize a poem and recite it (approx. 0.5-pts. for each 50 words)

o       Recite the poem before the class—additional 0.2 pts.

 

·       Go to a play (0.5 pts.).  Go to a school play or a professional play and present the program as evidence.

 

·       Perform in a play (1 pt.)  Perform in any of the school drama productions—or anything outside of school and come in one J-Block to discuss the experience.

 

·       Join any of the school publications (yearbook, newspaper, literary magazine) (1 pt.).  Come to J-Block for a discussion of your experience.  (This is good for each term.)

 

·       See a video related to course literature

o       Come to J-Block for a short discussion of the film—0.5 pts.

o      Write an essay on the connection between the video and the literary work—up to 2 pts.