Texts: Persepolis, Deadly, Unna?,  Of Mice and Men, Macbeth, Holt Elements of Literature, Bookgroups: A Lesson Before Dying, The Alchemist, Lord of the Flies, Night, All But My Life, Night, Maus I & II, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and selected short stories, poems, essays, articles, film clips and more as the pace of the year and the tone of the classroom will alter subsequent reading selections. 

Course Goal:  Sophomore language arts students develop an appreciation for and understanding about ideas and experiences from around the world. Through the lens of cultural encounters, students read a balance of contemporary and classic works—short stories, essays, novels, poetry, nonfiction, drama, and non-print media—that encourages examination of multiple points-of-view. Students work to become effective writers, critical thinkers, attentive readers, and engaging presenters. 

Required Materials: have these with you at all times.

1. A journal (composition or spiral notebook of some kind—personalize it).
2. An organizational structure for homework and notes. (example: a three ring binder).
3. Your text and/or the book we are studying and writing utensils.
4. Your student ID.

Class Procedures/Policies

1. Respect yourself, your classmates, our room, the curriculum, and me.  
2. Plagiarism: Unethical, unlawful, anti-social, anti-intellectual, bad karma, etc. Don’t do it.
3. Late Policy: unexcused late homework will lose one letter grade and will not be accepted beyond one week from the original due date.  Excused absences have two school days to make up any missed work.
4. Please get to class on time.  Unexcused tardies will initially earn detention with me, then referral.  Students with fourteen absences (excused or unexcused) in a semester may not receive credit for the course.  Every three tardies count as an unexcused absence.  
5. I expect a full year’s effort and focus.

Grades

Letter grades will be assigned each quarter based on the traditional percentage (i.e. 90-100% A, 80-90% B, and so on).  Individual assignments will be assessed according to the criteria given in class and earn a letter grade, A-F.  Each quarter is worth 50% of the semester grade and grading during the quarter is weighted.

• 15% Participation: Discussion and Independent Reading Project/SSR.
• 30% Daily Activities and Journal.
• 15% Homework: smaller daily homework assignments.
• 40% Assessments: larger papers, projects, presentations, all quizzes, tests and the final exam.

Extra Credit

One may earn extra credit by attending author readings or school plays.  Students who attend a reading or play should type a page review of the literary experience.  The typed and edited review may be worth up to ten points.  A student may earn up to sixty points of extra credit during a semester of study.  Extra credit is not designed to replace the regular course work, but to supplement and enrich the classroom experience.

 The Writing Program in Comp-Lit 3-4

·        Writing in a variety of modes with an emphasis on the writing process, from high stakes essays, to mid stakes journals, to low stakes free writes.

·        Individually set goals, plan to accomplish them, and regular reflection on the meeting of those goals with the writer’s portfolio. 

·        Good faith, substantive rewrites may be completed if you or I think the learning outcomes justify it.  Rewrites could potentially earn one letter grade up from the original grade, and will be evaluated with either a YES (you addressed the issue(s) adequately) or NO (you did not and the original grade stands).  Rewrites are not the place to begin editing, etc.  Always turn in the original with any rewrite.

·        Journals are awarded points for adequate completion.  You can reserve some journal entries as “private” and I will never read them.  The goal in a journal is to be honest and truthful.  This is not the place for writing for the teacher.  The journal will take many forms in each quarter of work and will be approximately 10% of your grade.

·        Free writing is a strategy I occasionally employ in lessons.  Successful free writing starts and does not stop until the allotted time has elapsed. 

·        Any topic or tangent is acceptable in free writing.  Getting “done” in four minutes is not.  It’s free! These writings will generally not be read, but may be awarded points for completion.

PPS/State Assessments Addressed: Work samples not completed at 9th grade or in other content areas.

         Multiple choice reading/literature test

         Direct Writing assessment

         Narrative/Imaginative writing,

         Expository essay,

         Persuasive essay,

         Impromptu speaking,

         Informative rehearsed speaking

   Persuasive rehearsed speaking

A New Bookmark On Your Browser

A copy of this syllabus is online at http://teachers.yourhomework.com/dhillis. From here, click on “course(s)” in the top left hand corner and then select “Sophomore Composition and Literature 3-4” to see a list of homework assignments and due dates.   Check it often and whenever you are absent.

Hints for Success:

1.    Read the assigned work.

2.    Complete all assigned homework. Failure to do so is most often the source of low grades.

3.    Come to tutorial! Students who take the time and effort to develop a personal discussion with me about their writing usually are the ones who develop the most and are ultimately the most satisfied.

4.    Make our activities meaningful to yourself: Be creative, active, and interested.  If something is uninteresting, find a way to make it interesting.

5.    Mr. Hillis is not primarily responsible for you having a meaningful educational experience:

YOU ARE