English—Reinstein Name:

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

Newton South High School Mission Statement

Newton South High School, a community of students, parents, faculty, and staff

(1) Is dedicated to equality and opportunity for all; (2) Expects integrity; responsibility; and respect for self, others, and the environment; (3) Creates a climate of safety and kindness; (4) Encourages communication and personal connections; (5) Nurtures curiosity, creativity, and a passion for learning; (6) Fosters self-confidence and success for all learners.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES: EXTENDING LEARNING

Each term a student has the opportunity to earn as many as two extra credit points, equal to three term grade points toward the term average. That is, if a student has an 86 average, which is a B, then three extra credit grade points will bring the average to an 88, a B plus. The following is a list of potential extra credit assignments, along with their point values. This list will continue to grow as new ideas come up; if a student with an idea for an assignment not represented below, or in some different form, should see the teacher for approval. Students are free to submit work for extra credit until one week before the close of each term; work submitted later will be applied to following term.

Possibilities:

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

o Reviews—movie, music, concert

Essay from a journal entry
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
Essay/response to outside reading book
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

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.

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.

any artistic representation or reflection of course content

Vocabulary in Action

Make a copy of a vocabulary word found in print—0.2 pts.
Copy down verbatim the word used on TV or the radio (make an enlarged, readable version of it)—0.2 pts

Connected Outside Reading

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

J-Block discussion (0.5 pts.)
Essay (up to 3 pts.)

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

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

Come to J-Block for a short discussion of the film—0.5 pts.)
Write an essay on the connection between the video and the literary work—up to 3 pts.

· OTHER IDEAS: