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Mr. Hillis''s Website
Cleveland High School

Welcome to Mr. Hillis's Web Page.   This page has links to your homework for Senior IB English.  Click on the "Course(s)" link in the above menu to find your homework.  Please add this page to your "favorites" and refer to it when you have missed class.  Please review the syllabus for your class (posted below) or email at dhillis@pps.k12.or.us

with any questions about the class. 

 

 

 

 

David Hillis

 

English Department

Cleveland High School

 

503-916-5120 extension 127

 

dhillis@pps.k12.or.us

Course Description

 

This is a pre-university course in literature.  Though we will write across a variety of modes and forms, students will be encouraged to see literary works as products of art and authors as artists whose writing can be analyzed on a number of levels.  Critical thinking skills will be developed through discussion, essay writing and other activities.  A framework for literary criticism will be introduced, though students will continue to engage in independent literary criticism in a manner that reveals a personal response to literature.

 
Objectives: IB Students will demonstrate...

  • A command of the language appropriate for the study of literature and a discriminating appreciation of the need for an effective choice of register and style in both written and oral communication.


  • A thorough knowledge both of the individual works studied and of the relationships between groups of works studied.


  • An ability to structure ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing, in a logical, sustained and persuasive way, and to support them with precise and relevant examples. 


  • Competence in the analysis and evaluation of stylistic decisions (e.g., structure, point of view, word choice, exaggeration) that contribute to the impact of a literary selection. 

  • Skillful integration of textual evidence to develop and support an interpretation of a literary work.

 

 

Expectations:  Students will...

  • Attend class on time, be prepared, and respect others and their right to learn. 

  • Maintain a class notebook and keep track of assignments. 

  • Establish a working e-mail address for the exchange of ideas among classmates. 

  • Facilitate a poetry workshop.

  • Present a ten to fifteen minute oral commentary during third quarter
  • Write a commentary and an essay to be externally assessed in the fourth quarter (IB candidates).

  • Write several memoir chapters.

  • Write personal and literary essays throughout the year.

 

Reading Materials

 

 

Detailed Study                                                                          


Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen                                                       
Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard                                               
Hamlet by William Shakespeare                                           
Poetry: William Blake, Emily Dickinson, and Langston Hughes              

Genre Study: Memoir

 


This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff
Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
Paula by Isabelle Allende     

 

 


Grading Policy

 

Letter grades will be assigned each quarter, based on the traditional percentage scale (i.e. 90-100% A, 80-89% B, etc).  Individual assignments will be assessed according to the criteria given and assigned an appropriate letter grade, A-F.  
 

 

  • 50% Culminating and Interim Assessments/Assignments (Final papers, projects, presentations, tests, quizzes, and other written commentaries).  Late work drops one letter grade.

 

  • 35% Daily Assignments (Class notebooks, writing and oral in-class daily assignments, and homework assignments).  Late work accepted only in the case of excused absence. 

 

  • 15% Class Participation (Involvement in small group and class discussions and commitment to learning goals during class meeting times).  Absences and tardies will lower the participation grade as many in-class activities cannot be "made-up."

 

 

You will continue to be held accountable for the Academic Honor Contract that you signed Junior Year.  This document is in your writing folder.  It is your responsibility to adhere to these principles.

Rewrites

 

In many cases, substantive rewrites may be completed if you or I think the learning outcomes justify it.  Rewrites may potentially earn a 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).  Always turn in the original with any rewrite. 

 

Office Hours

 

If you are having difficulty with the assignments or have a personal emergency, you may set up a conference with me during student tutorial on Thursdays or after school (Tuesday -- Friday).  During the school day, I am available seventh period in room 127.  Contacting me is your responsibility.  If you do not call or set up a meeting, you will not receive credit for late work.


 

A New Bookmark On Your Browser

 

From here, click on “course(s)” in the top left hand corner and then select IB Senior English to see a list of homework assignments and due dates.   Check it often and whenever you are absent.