Anticipation Guide Statements

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Here are the agree or disagree statements:


1. High school is going to be difficult.

2. I feel a lot of pressure to get good grades.

3. Copying a friend’s homework once in awhile is no big deal.

4. The purpose of high school is just to prepare me for college.

5. If I complete all aspects of an assignment, I deserve an “A.”

6. If you’re popular, school is easy for you.

7. School has nothing to do with the real world.

8. Adults don’t understand what it’s like to be in high school today.

Supplies Needed

English 10 students use a single subject, composition notebook to showcase much of their work for class. Notebooks need to be in class every day! Use a Sharpie to write your name on the notebook and bring it to class every day starting Thursday, September 4, 2008. Fully prepared students also come to class with a pen, pencil, and highlighter.

In fact, you need to bring the following supplies to class on Thursday, September 4, 2008 as a required 3-point assignment:

1 composition notebook

1 pack of two glue sticks for use as a common classroom supply

You may also bring one of the following items for use as a common classroom supply to receive two points of extra credit:

a box of Kleenex

a ruler

a scissors

a pack of markers

a box of #2 pencils

English 10 Expectations

Three words summarize my philosophy of classroom management. They are work, respect, and belong. Read more about each below.

Work: Show up for class—physically and mentally. Your fellow students and I need you here. Your primary purpose here is to participate in your learning and to produce work that contributes to the good of our class community. As Michael Hartoonian, scholar of education and public policy, says, “Work that we do to improve our personal circumstances always affects others. If we do good work, that good radiates to others. Of course, poor or bad work also radiates to others, causing a general decline in the wealth of the community.” Knowledge, which you gain through work, is key to successful citizenship in a multicultural world. To this end, expect homework each night and prepare to speak in class each day. Turn in your assignments on time. If you are absent, find out what you missed, and turn in any missed assignments within two days of your absence.

Respect: At all times, be respectful of scholarship, of yourself, of each other, and of me. The mis-use of cell phones, calculators, or Ipods distract from your learning and the learning of other students and will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to confiscate these items if they are mis-used during class. In addition, we have a mouse problem in the school. Mice infiltrate any classroom where students bring in food or sugary drinks. Water ONLY is allowed in this room. Please, please, please respect my abhorrence of mice in my classroom. We don’t need them running over our feet, up our pant legs, or into our backpacks.

Belong: Foster community by welcoming others. You need to take care of each other, be ready for anything, and appreciate the differences that each person brings to class.

English 10 Major Units of Study

Finding Self: Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Hero Quest: The Odyssey by Homer and Oh, Brother Where Art Thou (film)

Ethical Dilemmas: Antigone by Sophocles and All My Sons by Arthur Miller

Comic Relief: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and screwball romantic comedy films

Cultures Collide: Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Persecution: Night by Elie Wiesel and choice of In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut or The Weight of All Things by Sandra Benitez

Tying it all Together: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Rabbit Proof Fence (film)

Ongoing areas of study:

Visual literacy, including photography, film, and other images
Poetry
Vocabulary
Grammar, usage, and mechanics
Digital Literacies

Some notes about literature selection in our school district:

• Literature that is studied and read as part of a course has been sited for excellence by an independent source. For example, it has won literary awards, received positive reviews by independent book reviewers and/or recommendations from professional organizations.
• Students should read and analyze a variety of literature in print, auditory and visual texts including: Fiction, poetry, drama, short stories and nonfiction.
• Students should study a diverse selection of topics and themes including race, gender, age, economics, and geography through a combination of contemporary and classic selections.
• In grades 9-12 literature is adult, not young adult.

English 10 Course Description

English 10: Classical and Contemporary World Cultures refines the language arts skills of reading, literary analysis, writing, vocabulary development, research, critical thinking, speaking, listening, visual literacy, and digital literacy. Each unit includes a classical work and a contemporary text so that students can explore the connections between the past and their world today, and some selections align with the World History sophomore course so that students can make interdisciplinary connections. Selections include both Western and non-Western texts that reflect diversity in race, gender, age, economics and geography.

Students maintain a blog to create an online learning community that not only extends classroom literary analysis discussions, but also provides an authentic audience to outside reading and writing assignments.

Regular instruction in vocabulary will use both explicit lessons and vocabulary specific to the literature being studied in class.

Intensive writing instruction will help students develop thinking skills and a personal voice. Students will write one formal, typed assessment each quarter for a total of four formal assessments per year. Essay assignments throughout the year will include multiple modes such as narrative, persuasion, and critical analysis. Grammar and usage review will include explicit lessons, but focus on using correct conventions in writing. Writing instruction and assessment will use the Six Traits of writing, rubrics and exemplars. Research skills will be taught throughout the course.

Students will also develop and practice effective speaking skills in individual presentations and group discussions.