Assignments:
I am not teaching a section of American Literature this year. Course
Description / Expectations
Welcome to American Literature!
Throughout the year, you will read poetry, short stories, essays, novels and plays
by American authors. You will also prepare for the spring MCAS examination.
Major Topics:
Literature of the Americas to 1800; American Romanticism 1800-1860; The American
Renaissance 1840-1860; The Rise of Realism 1850-1900, The Moderns 1900-1950; Contemporary
Literature 1950 - Present.
Grading:
Homework (20%); Quizzes (20%); Papers (30%);
Projects and Exams (30%)
Homework:
Students will read all of the necessary material on time. Students will be quizzed
often. Class discussion and work will build on homework assignments; therefore,
if students do not complete homework, they will have great difficulty succeeding
in class. Students who
do not bring in their assignments must write me a dated note explaining the missing
work. The note will be turned in as homework is collected. Sometimes due to computer
problems, sickness, or major projects in other classes, it is not always feasible
for students to complete every assignment. With that in mind, students are allowed
one free homework assignment per quarter, for which they will not be penalized.
(If you are missing more than three assignments in a quarter, I will call home
to discuss the situation with your parents. I want you to do well, and I will
do everything I can to ensure your success.)
Homework assignments will be graded according
to the following rubric and then averaged as twenty percent of the final grade:
NA (Not Acceptable) - Less than 50 percent of assignment completed.
Work is sloppy. = 0%
Check Minus - Less than 75 percent of assignment
completed. Little effort shown. = 50%
Check - Work completed and presentable.
= 100%
Check Plus - Work exceeds expectations. Detail and careful thought
displayed. = 110%
Quizzes:
My quizzes are designed to make sure that
you read. Even if you have difficulty, as long as you read, you should do very
well on the quizzes. I am not out to trick you in any way.
Papers: I will give clear expectations
for each paper assigned. You
MUST keep a disk of your English work. You should also save to your desktop. The
system is designed for your benefit. If for any reason your paper is misplaced,
there will always be a backup copy in the room.
Projects: You will do many hands-on
projects throughout the year. You will also do one major project per quarter.
A successful research project includes the following: paper, works cited, presentation,
poster and handout. We will use the MLA format for research — a format you will
use in most of your college classes.
Exams: We will work heavily with theme
and symbolism throughout the year. While I focus on plot in my quizzes, I focus
on the deeper themes for exams. You must take detailed notes and participate in
class and homework to do well on my exams.
Many of these readings are complex. Class
discussion is often crucial to your understanding of the literature.
Excuses: We
all have computer trouble. I understand that. I also understand that despite your
best efforts, there may be a class where even though you did your paper, you come
in empty-handed due to a computer error. There will be days when you are sick.
Perhaps you have a terrible headache, and even though you make it to school, you
come in without any work. When you leave ORR and go to college, these problems
will still arise; however, you will be responsible for dealing with them. In order
to prepare you for that I have devised the following expectations:
1. You are allowed 1 free homework assignment
per quarter.
2.
Each semester, you are allowed to hand one major project/paper in a day late --
no questions asked.
Remember,
these allowances are designed to help you. If you choose to skip a homework assignment
simply because you don't feel like doing it, you will be out of luck if you have
computer trouble later that quarter. I encourage you to make responsible decisions
and use these rules to your benefit, just as you'll need to do once you get to
college. |
Reading
List
Text: Elements
of Literature: Fifth Course
Major Works: Slaughterhouse-Five
~ Kurt Vonnegut; Portions of The Autobiography ~ Benjamin Franklin; The
Scarlet Letter ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne; Portions of Moby Dick ~ Herman Melville;
Portions of Walden ~ Henry David Thoreau; The Crucible ~ Arthur Miller;
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ~ Mark Twain; The Great Gatsby ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald;
A Moveable Feast ~ Ernest Hemingway;
Fallen Angels ~ Walter
Dean Myers.
Other
Works: Poetry by Walt Whitman,
Longfellow, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Sylvia
Plath, William Carlos Williams, Carl Sandburg, e.e. cummings, Elie Wiesel, W.H.
Auden, and Pat Mora; "The Declaration of Independence" ~ Thomas Jefferson;
"Rip Van Winkle" ~ Washington Irving; "Nature" and "Self-Reliance"
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson; "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" ~ Martin Luther
King, Jr.; "Resistance to Civil Government" ~ Henry David Thoreau; "The
Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" ~ Edgar Allan Poe; "Young
Goodman Brown" ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne; "The Man in the Black Suit"
~ Stephen King; Portions of "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"
~ Frederick Douglass; "The Storm" and "The Story of an Hour"
~ Kate Chopin; "A Rose for Emily" ~ William Faulkner. We will read additonal
essays, short stories and poems as time permits. | |
