2555 Wieneke Road ●●● Saginaw, MI 48603 ●●● 989-791-4330

Syllabus

Grade 11
Course Description

This course aims to teach the culture of the United States through study of its literature in conjunction with the historical times periods in which the writing took place.  The course also aims to reinforce the correct writing formats with emphasis on general essay structure.

Outcomes:

• Be able to interpret fiction and nonfiction and relate it to your personal life.

• Be able to identify various purposes for reading fiction and nonfiction.

• Be able to write a quality essay with an introduction, thesis, body with two or more major points supported by examples, transitions, figurative language, and conclusion.

• Be able to demonstrate quality writing through organization, research, concrete examples, and clear, logical, precise, and simple progression of thought.

• Be able to listen in order to form opinions objectively.

• Be able to read and listen to analyze your personal motivations, beliefs, and goals and to take stances on issues of importance.

Required Texts:

• The American Experience, Prentice Hall, 1999 Edition

• Survival,  T.H. Peek Publisher, 1995

• SF Writer 2^nd Ed., Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. 2002

• The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

• My Antonia, Willa Cather

• A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway

• Our Town, Thornton Wilder

English Department Requirements:

• All major papers must be typed.

• All written work must be completed in ink.

• All written work must be completed on loose-leaf paper on one side.

• All work must be handed in on time.

• No late work will be accepted.

• No extra credit will be given.

• Any form of plagiarism is unacceptable and will result in an automatic zero.

• Required materials are expected in class on a daily basis.

• A notebook is required (continuation of prior years).

• It is your responsibility to see the teacher (at the beginning of the class period) the day you return about missed assignments due to excused absence(s).  Quizzes and tests must be made up immediately on your own time.  Dates for these will be assigned when you return.  Assignments given on the day of the absence will be assigned a later due date.  Work given or due as a result of an unexcused absence or tardy will result in a zero.  Prearranged absence - it is your responsibility to check before the actual absence so that work is completed upon return.

• Participation is required.

• Appropriate classroom behavior is expected.

• Writing Portfolio

• Computer disc required.

Grading:

Various methods of evaluation will be used.  The purpose of this is to give you the exposure and experience to a variety of procedures.  All work given will be assigned point values as determined by their importance.  The total points will determine the final grade.  The quarterly work and semester exam will all constitute a certain percentage of the grade as determined by the student handbook.

Composition Techniques Required:

(Each grade builds upon the prior composition formats that are required.)

• Chapter 3 - Argumentative Paper

• Chapter 5 - Critical Review

Literature Required:

1^st Semester

• Unit I - Beginnings - 1750

• Unit II - A Nation is Born

• Unit III - A Growing Nation

• Unit IV - Division, Reconciliation, and Expansion

 2^nd Semester

• Unit V - Disillusion, Defiance, and Discontent

• Unit VI - Prosperity and Protest