Syllabus – Conversational English

ldephillips@stmaryhs.org

ldephillips.wordpress.com

Course Overview:

This class is intended to help students improve their English language skills with a focus on reading, writing, listening and speaking in the class room and for everyday purposes.

Extra Help:

I am available in Room 300 until 3:15 for extra help.  If possible, let me know in advance if you are coming.

Textbooks:

Side by Side Plus – Molinsky & Bliss

50 Common Errors – Bob Marsden

Grading Policy:

40% – Class Participation

25% – Class Work

15% – Homework

20% – Quizzes / Special Assignments

Class Materials:

The following materials are required on a daily basis:

1. The textbook (covered)

2. Pens (not pencil)

3. Notebook or Binder (for notes and assignments)

Recommended:

-A translator

-An English dictionary

The consequences for being unprepared for class are:

1^st time (each quarter): warning

2^nd time (each quarter): 1 point off of class participation grade

3^rd time (each quarter): 2 points off of class participation grade

4^th time & after (each quarter):  detention and 2 points off of class participation grade

Lateness:

The consequences for lateness to class are:

1^st time (each quarter): warning

2^nd time (each quarter): 1 point off of class participation grade

3^rd time (each quarter): 2 points off of class participation grade

4^th time & after (each quarter): detention and 2 points off of class participation grade

Homework Policy:

As per school policy, homework will be assigned on a regular basis. Homework assignments turned in late will not receive full credit.

Most homework assignments will be graded using the following scale:

10 (100 %): Assignment is complete and shows thought and effort.

7 (70%): Assignment is almost complete and/or shows a lack of thought and effort.

5 (50%):  Assignment is attempted but not completed.

0: Assignment not attempted at all.

Make-up Work:

Class Work and Homework:

• Class work and homework must be made up within two days of returning to class after an absence.
• In the case of an extended absence (three or more days) see me to set up a deadline to complete the work.

Tests and Quizzes:

• Tests and quizzes missed due to an absence must be made up within two days of returning to class.
• Tests and quizzes need to be made up before or after school, not during school hours.
• If you are in class when a test or quiz is announced, you are required to take that quiz or test on the day that it is given, regardless of absences that occurred in between.
• In the case of an extended absence (three or more days) see me to set up a deadline to make-up a test or quiz.

Syllabus – English 12

ldephillips@stmaryhs.org

ldephillips.wordpress.com

Course Overview:

This course is organized chronologically to present the literature of Great Britain in a historical context.  Areas of concentrations include: the Anglo-Saxon Period, the Middle Ages, the English Renaissance, the 17^th and 18^th Centuries, the Romantic Period, the Victorian Period and the Modern and Post-Modern Periods.

There will be a focus on reading comprehension and analysis of both fiction and non-fiction, various forms of informal and formal writing and speaking in the forms of class discussion and presentations.

Extra Help:

I am available in Room 300 until 3:15 for extra help.  If possible, let me know in advance if you are coming.

Required Books:

Grendel – by John Gardner (summer reading selection)

Othello (No Fear Shakespeare Version) – William Shakespeare

Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

A Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

Textbook: Glencoe Literature – British Literature

Grading Policy:

Test – 30%

Quizzes / Writing Assignments – 20 %

Class Work – 10% Class Participation – 10% Homework – 10%

Projects – 20%

Projects:

Quarter 1: Summer Reading Essay

Quarter 2: Oral Presentation

Quarter 3: Independent Reading

Quarter 4: Research Project

Class Materials:

The following materials are required on a daily basis:

1. A covered textbook or the current novel

2. Pens (not pencil)

3. Notebook or Binder (for notes and assignments)

4. Journal (for Do Now and informal writing assignments)

The consequences for being unprepared for class are:

1^st time (each quarter): warning

2^nd time (each quarter): 1 point off of class participation grade

3^rd time (each quarter): 2 points off of class participation grade

4^th time & after (each quarter):  detention and 2 points off of class participation grade

Lateness:

The consequences for lateness to class are:

1^st time (each quarter): warning

2^nd time (each quarter): 1 point off of class participation grade

3^rd time (each quarter): 2 points off of class participation grade

4^th time & after (each quarter): detention and 2 points of class participation grade

Do Now/Writing Journal:

You will need a separate notebook or composition book to use for Do-Now and informal writing assignments.  Journals will be collected every other Friday and graded as a class work assignment.

Homework Policy:

As per school policy, homework will be assigned on a daily basis.  Homework can include reading assignments which will be checked the next day with a reading quiz or another class activity.  Homework assignments turned in late will not receive full credit.

Most homework assignments will be graded using the following scale:

10 (100 %): Assignment is complete and shows thought and effort.

7 (70%): Assignment is almost complete and/or shows a lack of thought and effort.

5 (50%):  Assignment is attempted but not completed.

0: Assignment not attempted at all.

Make-up Work:

Class Work and Homework:

• Class work and homework must be made up within two days of returning to class after an absence.
• In the case of an extended absence (three or more days) see me to set up a deadline to complete the work.

Tests and Quizzes:

• Tests and quizzes missed due to an absence must be made up within two days of returning to class.
• Tests and quizzes need to be made up before or after school, not during school hours.
• If you are in class when a test or quiz is announced, you are required to take that quiz or test on the day that it is given, regardless of absences that occurred in between.
• In the case of an extended absence (three or more days) see me to set up a deadline to make-up a test or quiz.

Characters:
Be able to describe and identify the following characters:

Frankenstein:

Victor Frankenstein
Robert Walton
Henry Clerval
Elizabeth
William Frankenstein
Justine
The cottagers
“The Importance of Being Earnest”:

Algernon Moncrieff
Jack Worthing
Gwendolyn Fairfax
Lady Bracknell
Cecily Cardew

Terms:
Be able to define the following terms and apply to a poem/play/novel:

Alliteration
Tone
Theme
Verbal Irony
Dramatic Irony
Situational Irony
Satire
Frame Story
Dilemma
Climax
Crisis
Dramatic Monologue
Foil

Period of Literature:
Be able to recognize and list characteristics for the following periods of literature:

1. Age of Reason
2. Romantic Period
3. Victorian Period

Poems:
Review the following poems (and be able to describe the tone and theme of each poem):

“My Heart Leaps Up” – by William Wordsworth
“Ozymandias” – by Percy Shelly
“Jabberwocky” – by Lewis Carrol
“To An Athlete Dying Young” – by A.E. Housman

Possible Essay/ Short Answer Questions:

1. Example of irony in “The Importance of Being Earnest”
2. Explain how “The Importance of Being Earnest” is a satire of upper class Victorian society
3. Analyze the theme and tone of one of the poems listed above
4. Describe Victor Frankenstein as a father figure
6. Explain Robert Walton’s choice to turn his ship around and return home at the end of Frankenstein
7. Describe Victor’s decision to create, and then destroy a female creature

We will be reviewing for the final.

We will be reviewing for the final.

**The final copy of the Letter of Advice (with all corrections made) needs to be turned in no later than this Friday (4/14).

Review Guide:

1. Main characteristics of the Victorian era
2. Define the following terms:
satire
tone
theme
dramatic monologue
3. Be able to apply tone and theme to the following poems:
Jabberwocky (p. 858)
To An Athlete Dying Young (p. 888)
When I Was One-and-Twenty (p.889)
4. For “The Importance of Being Earnest” be able to describe the following characters:
Algernon
Jack Worthing
Cecily
Gwendolyn
Lady Bracknell
5. What aspects of Victorian society are being satirized in “The Importance of Being Earnest”?
6. How does the title “The Importance of Being Earnest” apply to the play itself?

Thursday: Review of The Importance of Being Earnest:

Review Questions:

1. Describe the similarities and differences between Gwendolyn and Cecily.

2. Which Victorian values does Oscar Wilde criticize in “The Importance of Being Earnest”?

3. Miss Prism’s rule of fiction is “The good end happily and the bad end unhappily”.  How Does this statement apply to the play?

4. Do any of the characters really learn about the importance of being earnest?

5. Be able to name at least one example of irony from the play.

Friday – Quiz: The Importance of Being Earnest

1. What are Jack’s intentions with Gwendolyn?
2. What does Algernon learn from Jack’s cigarette case?
3. Why does Jack have an alternate identity as Ernest? Why does Algernon need an imaginary friend named Bunbury?
4. Describe the character of Lady Bracknell. What does she believe is important?
5. Why does Gwendolyn love Jack?
6. What does Lady Bracknell mean when she says, “an engagement should come upon a young girl as a surprise”?
7. What is the story of Jack’s “birth”? How does Lady Bracknell react to it?

Act 2

8. What differences do you notice in the characters or setting when the action moves to the country?
9. What is Miss Prism’s rule of fiction?
10. Describe the relationship between Miss Prism and Rev. Chasuble.
11. How did Cecily fall in love with and become engaged to Jack’s brother Ernest?
12. Why do both Jack and Algernon want to be christened?

Act 3

1. What kind of questions does Lady Bracknell ask in order to form an opinion about Cecily? What makes her decide to give her consent?
14. What does Miss Prism reveal about Jack’s parents?
15. Have any of the characters really learned about the importance of being earnest? Explain.

Overview:
Each student will be responsible for selecting and independently reading a novel of his or her choice. Students will then divide the story into significant sections (rather than chapters). On a blank music CD, students will record songs that relate to each section of the story. Each CD must include a front and back cover, as well as an inside booklet that includes a short summary of each song selection and how it relates to the section of the story. Students will then present their finished work to the class.

Guidelines:
CHOOSING YOUR BOOK
Choose a short novel that is based on your reading skill level and that is appropriate for school. Book selections must be approved by Ms. DePhillips by Tuesday, April 13th.

BREAKING DOWN THE SECTIONS
Divide your novel into sections in which significant events occur (not by chapter). There should be no less than 7, but no more than 10 sections.

CHOOSING YOUR SONGS
Choose a song for each section that relates to the emotions and events in that section. On a blank CD, record the songs in the order that the vents occur in the novel. The songs you choose must be appropriate to discuss in school.

CREATING YOUR CD
Create a front cover for your CD that includes the title of the novel, album art, and your name. Also, create a back cover for your CD that includes a list of songs.

DESIGNING YOUR CD
Create a CD booklet which includes a list of each song title and a short summary of the section of the novel that it represents and an explanation of how the song relates to that section.

Grading: 20% of the 4th marking period grade
Your project will be graded on content, accuracy, neatness and your presentation.