Language Arts 11 Syllabus
Major Concepts/Content: Language Arts 11 is a literature survey course that navigates chronologically through the periods of American literature from Native American oral traditions through contemporary works of poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction. Each unit explores a literary movement through a unique theme. Literature of each period becomes the basis of study for models of literary analysis and modes of rhetorical writing. Each lesson engages the student through interactive introduction to concepts and skills, guided practice of those skills and concepts, and an assessment of the student’s mastery.
Major Instructional Activities: Instructional activities will be provided in a general classroom setting, in the
media center and in the school and community environment. Student activities will include, but will not be limited to, writing journals or learning logs; writing expository and critical essays; writing a paper requiring media center
research and other research techniques such as interviewing, observing, or experimenting; responding to each other’s writing with helpful suggestions for revision; taking several pieces of writing through a process that includes
prewriting activities, drafting, peer response, revision, proofreading for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage, and publishing; practicing writing from different points of view for different audiences;
developing speaking and listening skills by responding to literature and to each other’s writing, participating in small and large group discussions, in oral presentations, individual recitations, and dramatizations; studying appropriate
major works of literature intensively in class; reading, viewing, and listening independently to examples of the various genres of literature and responding to that literature; presenting interpretations of literature orally; and increasing
vocabulary through the study of words encountered in reading and through work with the dictionary and the thesaurus.
Major Evaluative Techniques: Students will be evaluated for class participation; blogs; homework on reading and composition assignments; comprehension of literature and vocabulary as measured by objective, essay, and/or oral examinations; and improvement in written composition, especially expository techniques, and oral presentations, with major emphasis on content, organization, logic, coherence, use of evidence and argument, and with secondary emphasis on accuracy in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and usage.
Units will include a combination of activities and assessments and will culminate in either a unit exam or a unit writing project. Students will be encouraged to incorporate media, creative expression, and research into unit projects to prepare them for life outside of the classroom in our out-of-the-box, media-centric world.
Essential Objectives: Upon completion of the Language Arts 11 course, students should be able to:
This course is designed to facilitate student mastery of the Common Core standards and DoDEA's essential objectives. Accommodations and modifications in content, instructional activities, evaluative techniques and essential objectives are implemented as appropriate for students with disabilities in support of their Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or accommodations plan.
Teacher Policies:
Textbooks, Materials and Other Resources: Students are expected to have necessary materials for every class.
In addition, students should have a memory stick—this is essential for organizing a portfolio both at school and for your own use at home of the materials, Power Points, study tools. Students are expected to use on-line webpage for access to additional materials and textbook links.
Grading:
Blogs, Reading Comprehension and Class Discussion Activities: 25%
M/C, Prompts, Quizzes: 25%
Tests and Applied Assessment Prompts: 25%
Projects and Papers: 25%
While late homework assignments are accepted, students should not make this a regular practice. Late homework is accepted up to one week from due date. All projects and papers should be submitted on the due date, unless arrangements are made with the teacher. A late penalty will be applied to projects and papers of 10% of the total points. DoDEA guidelines for planned absences and extracurricular events should be followed.
"Plagiarism Statement: Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or
phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.
"Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material, of course — from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases — but it also includes statistics, lab results, art work, etc. "Someone else" can mean a professional source, such as a published writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, or journal; an electronic resource such as material we discover on the World Wide Web; another student at our school or anywhere else; a paper-writing "service" (online or otherwise) which offers to sell written papers for fee" (http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.shtml). Copying another student’s homework is also plagiarism as is submitting work that you have done for a prior class.
Major Instructional Activities: Instructional activities will be provided in a general classroom setting, in the
media center and in the school and community environment. Student activities will include, but will not be limited to, writing journals or learning logs; writing expository and critical essays; writing a paper requiring media center
research and other research techniques such as interviewing, observing, or experimenting; responding to each other’s writing with helpful suggestions for revision; taking several pieces of writing through a process that includes
prewriting activities, drafting, peer response, revision, proofreading for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage, and publishing; practicing writing from different points of view for different audiences;
developing speaking and listening skills by responding to literature and to each other’s writing, participating in small and large group discussions, in oral presentations, individual recitations, and dramatizations; studying appropriate
major works of literature intensively in class; reading, viewing, and listening independently to examples of the various genres of literature and responding to that literature; presenting interpretations of literature orally; and increasing
vocabulary through the study of words encountered in reading and through work with the dictionary and the thesaurus.
Major Evaluative Techniques: Students will be evaluated for class participation; blogs; homework on reading and composition assignments; comprehension of literature and vocabulary as measured by objective, essay, and/or oral examinations; and improvement in written composition, especially expository techniques, and oral presentations, with major emphasis on content, organization, logic, coherence, use of evidence and argument, and with secondary emphasis on accuracy in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and usage.
Units will include a combination of activities and assessments and will culminate in either a unit exam or a unit writing project. Students will be encouraged to incorporate media, creative expression, and research into unit projects to prepare them for life outside of the classroom in our out-of-the-box, media-centric world.
Essential Objectives: Upon completion of the Language Arts 11 course, students should be able to:
- Use communication skills in preparing for career choices
- Demonstrate research skills necessary to meet demands of post-secondary classes
- Recognize how continued development of communication skills can enhance one’s future career and leisure activities
- Engage in perceptive reading and critical analysis of literature
- Use computer technology, when available, to aid in writing compositions.
- Enjoy literary masterpieces that are the common heritage of all people.
- Write in a clear and personal style.
- Engage in discussions of philosophical questions as revealed in literary works.
This course is designed to facilitate student mastery of the Common Core standards and DoDEA's essential objectives. Accommodations and modifications in content, instructional activities, evaluative techniques and essential objectives are implemented as appropriate for students with disabilities in support of their Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or accommodations plan.
Teacher Policies:
Textbooks, Materials and Other Resources: Students are expected to have necessary materials for every class.
In addition, students should have a memory stick—this is essential for organizing a portfolio both at school and for your own use at home of the materials, Power Points, study tools. Students are expected to use on-line webpage for access to additional materials and textbook links.
Grading:
Blogs, Reading Comprehension and Class Discussion Activities: 25%
M/C, Prompts, Quizzes: 25%
Tests and Applied Assessment Prompts: 25%
Projects and Papers: 25%
While late homework assignments are accepted, students should not make this a regular practice. Late homework is accepted up to one week from due date. All projects and papers should be submitted on the due date, unless arrangements are made with the teacher. A late penalty will be applied to projects and papers of 10% of the total points. DoDEA guidelines for planned absences and extracurricular events should be followed.
"Plagiarism Statement: Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or
phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.
"Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material, of course — from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases — but it also includes statistics, lab results, art work, etc. "Someone else" can mean a professional source, such as a published writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, or journal; an electronic resource such as material we discover on the World Wide Web; another student at our school or anywhere else; a paper-writing "service" (online or otherwise) which offers to sell written papers for fee" (http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.shtml). Copying another student’s homework is also plagiarism as is submitting work that you have done for a prior class.