English 11 Syllabus
First Semester Curriculum
All students in English 11 (American Literature & Composition) will have the following assignments and activities in the first semester of American Literature and Composition (AKA English 11). The primary textbook is the McDougal-Littell Literature book, and the teacher will provide other books and readings. All students should use a calendar and consult the EasyGradePro assignment list for information on points and due dates.
Basic Requirements
1. Binder/Notebooks: Handouts, Freewrites, Vocabulary, Notes, Returned Assignments. These binders will be checked quarterly for organization and completeness, and they should be presented at Student-led Parent Conferences. There will be an Opening Documents quiz based on the handouts from the beginning of the year.
2. Daily Journal or Freewrites: Students should write a short paragraph or two on the prompts provided – or their own. There should be at least four entries per week.
3. Weekly Vocabulary Lists: Each week there will be twenty vocab. terms presented. There will be a quiz on 10 of them at the beginning of each week.
4. Newspaper Reading: Students should read the Half Moon Bay Review weekly, and there may be related writing assignments.
5. Miscellany: There will be other occasional assignments that come up based on current events (the 2012 election), notes on videos, the needs of the class, etc.
Unit 1: Native America, Exploration, Colonialism
The Scarlet Letter OR The Crucible: Notes, Study Questions, Test. Students should read an average of one chapter per day (and one on the weekends).
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. The World on the Turtle’s Back, Song of the Sky Loom, and Hunting Song
2. Coyote Stories (both of them)
3. Cabeza de Vaca, from La Relacion,
4. Supplement: Bernal Diaz del Castillo, from Conquest of New Spain
5. William Bradford, from Of Plymouth Plantation
6. Anne Bradstreet, both poems
7. Salem Court Documents, The Examination of Sarah Good
8. Jonathan Edwards, from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
9. possible addition of stories by Stephen Vincent Benet and Kurt Vonnegut…
Film supplement – The Scarlet Letter, related YouTube videos…
Unit 2: Founding Fathers – Revolutionary America
Hand out readings:
1. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (abridged): Notes, Study Questions, Test.
2. Thomas Paine, from Common Sense, the Age of Reason, and/or The Crisis
3. Thomas Jefferson, from The Declaration of Independence, etc.
4. George Washington, from The Rules of Civility
5. Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, etc. Inaugural Addresses
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. Patrick Henry, Speech in the Virginia Convention, Dave Barry, The Boston Tea Party
2. Benjamin Franklin, from Poor Richard’s Almanack
Film supplement – Biography documentaries, related YouTube videos…
Debate supplement – Based on the current events and hot topics.
Unit 3: American Slavery
Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Study Questions, Test
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. Olaudah Equiano, from The Interesting Narrative…
2. Martin Luther King, from Stride Toward Freedom
3. Malcolm X, Necessary to Protect Ourselves
4. Supplement: More King and X readings
5. Supplement: Booker T. Washington, from Up from Slavery
6. Supplement: W. E. B. DuBois, from The Souls of Black Folk
Film supplement – Biography and event documentaries, related YouTube videos…
Unit 4: American Philosophy
Henry David Thoreau's Walden (first, second, last chapters): Study Questions, Test
Supplemental readings: Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, Emerson’s Nature
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Self-Reliance
2. Margaret Fuller, from Memoirs
3. Delbert Earisman, Thoreau, A Hippie in History
Journalism - Publishing
Students should write at least two articles for our school publication. There is a graded process involving peer evaluations, rewrites, and finished products. (So, at least 4 scores)
Essay Writing
Students should write at least four essays on various topics, usually at the conclusion of each literature unit. These will usually be expository or argumentative, and there will be a process of writing and rewriting. (First draft, final copy – so, 8 scores)
Research Paper – “Covert Ops: Scandals and Conspiracies in American Government”
Students will write one research paper and develop a presentation on it. There will be a process of thesis, outline, research, writing, and rewriting. (So, approx. 6 scores)
First Semester Curriculum
All students in English 11 (American Literature & Composition) will have the following assignments and activities in the first semester of American Literature and Composition (AKA English 11). The primary textbook is the McDougal-Littell Literature book, and the teacher will provide other books and readings. All students should use a calendar and consult the EasyGradePro assignment list for information on points and due dates.
Basic Requirements
1. Binder/Notebooks: Handouts, Freewrites, Vocabulary, Notes, Returned Assignments. These binders will be checked quarterly for organization and completeness, and they should be presented at Student-led Parent Conferences. There will be an Opening Documents quiz based on the handouts from the beginning of the year.
2. Daily Journal or Freewrites: Students should write a short paragraph or two on the prompts provided – or their own. There should be at least four entries per week.
3. Weekly Vocabulary Lists: Each week there will be twenty vocab. terms presented. There will be a quiz on 10 of them at the beginning of each week.
4. Newspaper Reading: Students should read the Half Moon Bay Review weekly, and there may be related writing assignments.
5. Miscellany: There will be other occasional assignments that come up based on current events (the 2012 election), notes on videos, the needs of the class, etc.
Unit 1: Native America, Exploration, Colonialism
The Scarlet Letter OR The Crucible: Notes, Study Questions, Test. Students should read an average of one chapter per day (and one on the weekends).
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. The World on the Turtle’s Back, Song of the Sky Loom, and Hunting Song
2. Coyote Stories (both of them)
3. Cabeza de Vaca, from La Relacion,
4. Supplement: Bernal Diaz del Castillo, from Conquest of New Spain
5. William Bradford, from Of Plymouth Plantation
6. Anne Bradstreet, both poems
7. Salem Court Documents, The Examination of Sarah Good
8. Jonathan Edwards, from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
9. possible addition of stories by Stephen Vincent Benet and Kurt Vonnegut…
Film supplement – The Scarlet Letter, related YouTube videos…
Unit 2: Founding Fathers – Revolutionary America
Hand out readings:
1. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (abridged): Notes, Study Questions, Test.
2. Thomas Paine, from Common Sense, the Age of Reason, and/or The Crisis
3. Thomas Jefferson, from The Declaration of Independence, etc.
4. George Washington, from The Rules of Civility
5. Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, etc. Inaugural Addresses
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. Patrick Henry, Speech in the Virginia Convention, Dave Barry, The Boston Tea Party
2. Benjamin Franklin, from Poor Richard’s Almanack
Film supplement – Biography documentaries, related YouTube videos…
Debate supplement – Based on the current events and hot topics.
Unit 3: American Slavery
Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Study Questions, Test
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. Olaudah Equiano, from The Interesting Narrative…
2. Martin Luther King, from Stride Toward Freedom
3. Malcolm X, Necessary to Protect Ourselves
4. Supplement: More King and X readings
5. Supplement: Booker T. Washington, from Up from Slavery
6. Supplement: W. E. B. DuBois, from The Souls of Black Folk
Film supplement – Biography and event documentaries, related YouTube videos…
Unit 4: American Philosophy
Henry David Thoreau's Walden (first, second, last chapters): Study Questions, Test
Supplemental readings: Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, Emerson’s Nature
Textbook: Students should answer approx. three questions at the end of each selection
1. Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Self-Reliance
2. Margaret Fuller, from Memoirs
3. Delbert Earisman, Thoreau, A Hippie in History
Journalism - Publishing
Students should write at least two articles for our school publication. There is a graded process involving peer evaluations, rewrites, and finished products. (So, at least 4 scores)
Essay Writing
Students should write at least four essays on various topics, usually at the conclusion of each literature unit. These will usually be expository or argumentative, and there will be a process of writing and rewriting. (First draft, final copy – so, 8 scores)
Research Paper – “Covert Ops: Scandals and Conspiracies in American Government”
Students will write one research paper and develop a presentation on it. There will be a process of thesis, outline, research, writing, and rewriting. (So, approx. 6 scores)