But
words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling
like dew, upon a thought, produces
That
which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.
Lord Byron
Parkview High School
Course Syllabus
Sophomore Honors English
Spring 2007
Teacher: Susan Henderson
Language Arts Workroom
770-806-3817
susan_henderson@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Classroom Website –
http://www.parkview.net/mainmenu/teachers/shenderson/index.html
Welcome to Sophomore English!
Course Description:
Sophomore
Honors English is an integrated language-arts course. This course includes work in listening,
speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, and research. We will be emphasizing world literature.
Objectives:
Gwinnett County Public Schools 10th Grade
Language Arts Academic Knowledge and Skills.
(Please
see the student AKS book or visit http://gwintranet.gcps.k12/gcps-mainweb01.nsf.)
Units to Be Covered: (The teacher reserves the right to make adjustments
to the curriculum as needed.)
Literature
·
African
literature (Things Fall Apart by
Achebe)
·
Indian
Literature
·
Middle Ages
(Dante’s Divine Comedy: Inferno)
·
Renaissance and
Rationalism
·
Chinese and
Japanese literature
·
Romanticism and
Realism
·
The Modern World
·
Drama
(Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream)
·
Novels (Pygmalion, Cyrano de Bergerac, outside novel of choice)
Grammar,
Usage, and Mechanics
Vocabulary
Writing
·
Descriptive
Writing
·
Narrative
Writing
·
Persuasive Writing
·
Literary
Analysis
·
Comparison and
Contrast
·
Research &
MLA Style Documentation
Texts:
Prentice Hall
Literature: World Masterpieces (Lost book replacement cost is $61.95.)
Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar: Platinum Level (Lost book replacement cost is $55.55.)
Note: The teacher may supplement the material in the
textbooks with various newspaper and magazine articles and video clips.
Required Materials:
·
Blue or black
ink pens, pencils, lined composition paper
·
Journal notebook
·
Binder with
sections to keep vocabulary, literature, composition, and grammar notes
Grading Policy:
90-100 = A 80-89
= B 74-79 = C
70-73 = D 0-69 = F
In
this class, grading will be done on a point system, with assignments having
different point values.
50
% = major assignments (tests, essays, projects, etc.)
30
% = daily grades (homework, class work, quizzes, etc.)
20
% = final exam*
*The
exam for this course will count 20% of the final grade. This will be the GCPS final, which includes a
performance section and an objective section.
Cheating:
Every
assignment submitted for credit is accepted as the student’s own work. It may not, therefore, have been composed,
wholly or partially, by another person or copied, wholly or partially, from a
book, article, essay, newspaper, another student’s paper or notebook, or any
other written or printed source.
Cheating by students is considered inexcusable conduct, and it will not
be tolerated. A zero will be given to
the student for the assignment involved, and parents and administrators will be
contacted.
Make-Up Work:
When a student has an excused absence, he or she must
make up any missed work within five school
days. It is the student’s
responsibility to get the missing assignments and get extra help or
explanations at the teacher’s convenience, before or after school.
The five-day rule does not apply to pre-announced due
dates on assignments such as projects and
essays. In those cases, it is generally expected that
the student would turn in the assignment or take the
exam
on the first day back to school.
A
student must show the teacher the excuse for an absence within two days of
his/her return to school, or the absence is automatically unexcused. Students will not be allowed to make up work
for unexcused absences.
If
a student is absent from this class more than 10 times, he or she will not
receive credit for the course, regardless of whether the absences are excused
or unexcused and regardless of the student’s grade in the class.
Tardy Policy:
Remember: A
student is considered tardy if he or she is not in the classroom when the tardy
bell rings.
Late Assignments:
Ten
percent of the points for an assignment will be deducted for each day the
assignment is turned in late. An
assignment is late if it is not handed in when I ask for it. This means that if a student turns in the
assignment any time after I have collected it, it is late. (A malfunctioning printer, by the way, is not
an excuse for turning an assignment in late.
Students may bring in the document on a disk and print it in one of the
school computer labs.) I do not accept
any assignment that is more than three days late.
Language Arts Department
Composition Standards:
Follow these guidelines for final drafts of edited essays:
·
Papers
should be typed if at all possible.
·
Type
a heading in the upper left corner of the first page, including your name, your
teacher’s name, the name of the course, and the date.
Joe Smith
Ms. Henderson
Freshman English
September 5, 2005
·
Center
and type the title of the paper. Use
standard capitalization rules. Space
once between the title and the body of the paper. Do not underline the title.
·
Double-space
the entire paper, including the heading.
(If you must write your paper by hand, skip lines. Do not leave an extra space between
paragraphs.)
·
For
multi-paged papers, number all pages in the upper right-hand corner. (Using the header function of your word
processor, indicate your last name and page number, beginning on page 1.)
·
Write
or print on only one side of the paper.
·
Use
blue or black ink on lined, loose-leaf notebook paper if you are handwriting
your paper.
·
Edit
your papers carefully. Rules concerning
Standard English apply to all assignments.
·
Take
pride in the overall appearance of your paper!
For in-class essays, you will use the heading and title
described above. However, you will not
be required to skip lines or number pages.
Acknowledgement of Classroom Procedures and Requirements
Ms. Henderson
Sophomore Honors English
______________________________
Student (please print)
______________________________
Class period
I have read and understand the course syllabus, standard
procedures, and classroom expectations.
I agree to follow the procedures and expectations for the class. I understand that there are penalties for not
following the procedures and expectations and that these penalties are to be
determined by the teacher.
______________________________
Student signature
______________________________
Date
We have read and understand the course syllabus, standard
procedures, and classroom expectations.
We further understand that there are penalties for not following the
procedures and expectations and that these penalties are to be determined by
the teacher.
______________________________
Parent signature
______________________________
Date