Sophomore English
Introduction and Course Description:
Welcome Students!
No skills you develop at Tucson High will have more impact on your life than those that allow you to communicate effectively. This class will help you develop the ability to read and understand all genres of literature, think critically, write competently, and listen attentively. In turn, you will become young adults who not only possess the capability to achieve academically, but also effect change in the world that surrounds us.
Through hard work, you will become smart and successful users of reading, writing, listening, speaking and critical thinking strategies. You will develop yourselves as individuals who recognize literary terms and structures, as well as appropriate and effective ways to communicate them, as well as your original ideas, through written and oral language. You will become adept at active reading and constructive notetaking, as well as the writing process and invaluable test-taking skills. You are expected to maintain a notebook for class discussions, vocabulary and grammar development, class notes, and text reflections. Your writing will be evaluated for effective word choice, varied sentence structure, and the use of text evidence to support your argument. We will make great strides together in these arenas through the study of the English language and world literature with an emphasis on non-Western literature.
Throughout the year, you will meet our class goals through an array of learning activities, including lecture, independent work, cooperative learning, intensive projects, student presentations, internet and video lessons, and research. These methods will ensure that our approach to the study of grammar, writing, and literature is well-rounded and suitably complex. You can expect more challenging work and a faster pace in advanced courses.
Goals/Objectives:
Students who successfully complete this course will be competent in the following areas:
Grading:
Grades are based on a percentage of accumulated points with weighted categories. Your grade for the first semester is the cumulative grade for first and second quarter; your grade does not start over at the quarter. The grade is a combined grade and not an average of the two quarters. Your grade is weighted and determined by the assignments completed throughout the ENTIRE semester.
Students can expect to earn higher grades only if they complete all assignments excellently (not perfectly) and on time. Skipping assignments or doing them poorly or to just turn something in will inevitably result in mediocre, poor, or even failing grades. All assignments earn points; in general, smaller assignments (daily homework, quizzes, language exercises) are worth fewer points than larger ones (essays, research projects, speeches, etc.). Academic dishonesty earns an automatic 0% and cannot be made up or redone.
Being conscientious is a part, not the whole, of effective effort. The simple completion of assignments will not guarantee you an A or B, work that shows you are using hard work and learning strategies to gain knowledge will!
Grades are available on-line to check at your convenience; it is your responsibility to keep up with class grades. Please remember that it takes time to grade and enter all student work. Grades are entered in Synergy throughout the week. Please see me if you are having problems with the class, the workload, or expectations. Do not wait until you have fallen behind.
Grading scale for the course:
A = 90% - 100% means "Above and beyond"
B = 80% - 89% means "Basically fine"
C = 70% - 79% means "Could've done better"
D = 60% - 69% means "Didn't try"
F = 0% - 59% means "Forget about it"
Category weighting for the course:
40% Project, Essays, and other independent tasks
40% Tests and Quizzes
20% Participation and practice
*Participation includes independent reading, bell work, notes, and class discussion.
Expectations:
The key to success in this class is the awareness that we become smarter through "effective effort." I expect you to understand the following:
You will contribute the necessary time, focus, resourcefulness, use of feedback, commitment, and persistence to developing the strategies that will make you smarter and ensure your success in Sophomore English!
I believe all students can learn, demonstrate concern for others, and choose to act responsibly in the classroom. Together, we will create a classroom environment that supports these habits and encourages mutual respect and cooperation, as well as provides you with opportunities to make positive choices regarding your behavior. You will achieve academically as well as learn to take responsibility for yourselves as members of the learning community at Tucson High School.
The following list of rules and procedures will guide our behavior and help provide you with the time and space they need to excel academically.
Required Materials (you will need these by the second semester)
Rewrite and Retake Policy:
Students will use the writing process on a regular basis and are expected to participate in writing conferences. Students will work together to improve their writing as well as meet with me for revisions. Essays may be revised once for consideration of a higher grade. Students have a week to complete their revisions. Students must have a conference with me regarding their revisions at least one day before revisions are due. The revision will be accepted so long as it was initially submitted on time, a student-teacher conference has taken place, and the rewritten assignment is resubmitted in a timely fashion (no more than 3 days after the assignment was returned to the student).
Students are allowed to retake tests on which they did not do well, but they may not retake any test more than once. Students are not allowed to retake a test the same day as their first attempt. Students must inform me of their intent to retake a test, so a time can be scheduled.
Plagiarism, Cheating, and Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism is the practice of copying words, sentences, images, or ideas for use in written or oral assessments without giving proper credit to the source. Copying and pasting information from the Internet is plagiarism. Cheating is defined as the giving or receiving of unauthorized help on anything that has been determined by the teacher to be an individual effort. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated, and plagiarism is cheating. Both are considered serious offenses and will significantly affect your course grade. Any student who cheats will fail that assignment. In addition, credit will not be awarded to students who “share answers,” “do work together,” or copy. I consider this to be academic dishonesty (cheating). People who allow others to copy as well as those who copy themselves will receive a double-zero grade. I expect you to do your own work during discussions and other cooperative assignments. Do NOT have one person in the group write down answers and pass around the answers for everyone to copy. You need to write down your own answers in your own words.
All written work turned in for a grade must be original or quoted (using quotation marks) and properly cited giving credit to the author. We will be going over this policy and the "how to" of citations during the first weeks of school. Any student who copies directly from the Internet or from another student is in violation of this rule against cheating and is jeopardizing his or her possible success in this class.
Assignments and Homework:
Most assignments will be completed in your Interactive Student Notebook (ISN). ISNs will be collected throughout the year. Other assignments will be turned into the basket marked with your class period. Assignments completed electronically will be submitted through our Learning Management System (LMS). No assignments will be accepted through email. You should expect some form of homework every night. Your homework will depend on what is done in class that day. During the week there may also be quizzes related to the literature discussed in class. In addition to these regular assignments, we will have long-term projects requiring planning and time management on your part to ensure you meet the deadlines. If you need more time or are having difficulty with an assignment, you must speak with me before that assignment is due to avoid late penalties. Homework should consist of one or more of the following:
Attendance and Tardiness:
Your daily attendance and promptness are key to success and a hallmark of effective effort. Therefore, I closely adhere to T.U.S.D. attendance and tardy policies. You cannot expect to pass a class you do not attend, and excessive absences may result in loss of credit in accordance with district policy. When you miss class, you are not just missing the work but all the instruction and discussion that goes with the assignment. We will be working every day, so one absence will set you back.
If students are absent the day of a scheduled presentation (group or individual) and do not contact their group or me to make arrangements for their part, they will receive a zero for the presentation or project.
You are expected to be in your seats with your materials by the time the bell stops ringing. If you are roaming the hall or hanging out in the doorway when the tardy bell rings, you are tardy. Chronic tardiness will result in progressive discipline. You will be reminded to be on time after the first tardy. You will write an explanation that must be signed by your parent or guardian the second time you are tardy. If you are tardy after that, your parents will be contacted again, and you will be referred for further consequences.
Make-up and Late Work:
If you are absent, you may make up your work. You have time equal to your absence to make up the work you missed. This is in accordance with TUSD Board Policy JE-R. For example, if you are absent on Monday and return on Wednesday, your assignments are due on Friday. If you miss a test or a quiz, you must make an appointment to take the test or quiz within one week of your return to school. Any work due the day before or the day of the absence is due the day the student returns to class.
You need to speak with me immediately upon your return since you may not be allowed to make up work once the time allotted by board policy has passed. You are responsible for making and keeping an appointment to take a missed test. You will not be allowed to make up the test if you do not show up for an appointment and do not contact me to cancel your appointment
YOU are responsible for obtaining missed assignments. You should always check the class LMS or www.batesenglish.weebly.com for information on where to find assignments as well as links to assist you with your work. Unless a day’s lesson calls for student-teacher conferencing or progress updates, do not use class time to find out about make-up work or discuss topics outside the current lesson or activity. The beginning of class is not a good time, as I like to start class promptly. Any copies handed out during class are in the blue sorter in the back of the room. Copies and assignments are also in the class notebook. DO NOT announce that you never received the work when I ask for it to be turned in. It is your responsibility to check the in class these as soon as you return from your absence. Do NOT just copy another student’s work. This is academic dishonesty. You are expected to take your own notes and do your own assignments. Copies of all presentations are available electronically and hard copy.
*Assignments are expected to be turned in on time. Points will be deducted from late work. Any assignments turned in after the due date will receive a 50% deduction. Assignments handed in after a week past the due date will not earn credit. Certain assignments such as rough drafts must be turned in on the due date to earn any credit. No late assignments will be accepted after the quarter ends.
*Cases of extreme emergency or extended illness will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Electronic Devices:
Tucson High Magnet School believes in maintaining a safe and effective educational environment for all its students, and we as educators understand that cell phones have great utility, but cell phone use has increasingly become a source of distraction in the classroom decreasing student engagement and time spent on learning. To avoid these concerns, I will be enforcing our District Cell Phone Policy. Tucson High Administration has sent home communication regarding the policy explaining how we plan to create a culture of maximizing student learning by enforcing our cell phone free learning environment in the classroom. We believe this will allow our students to be:
Action Levels
Students who violate the classroom cell phone policy are subject to disciplinary action:
Remember to check online on a regular basis for assignments and announcements. Vocabulary is posted on online at the beginning of the week. More information about the class as well as details on policies, assignments, and other requirements can be found on the class website. Several resources to help you complete assignments can also be found on the website. The website address is listed on the first page of this syllabus.
Curricular Guidelines
The curriculum for this course closely adheres to the Arizona State Standards for reading
and writing, as examined through primarily non-western literature. Studies of non-western writing and culture expand our insight into the world and of divergent philosophies, as well as reinforces our understanding of the common needs of humanity.
Throughout the academic year, students will develop examples of effective timed writing, literary analysis, multi-paragraph essays with documentation and citation, research papers, persuasive essays, and prose or poetry that features imagery and figurative language. These will be stored in your ISN as well as on your TUSD OneDrive.
Instruction will also focus on vocabulary development, grammar skills, and the writing process, especially in terms of literary analysis and the persuasive essay.
Syllabus
This syllabus is subject to change throughout the course of the academic year. Please look for updates and stay on top of class requirements. I will distribute specific plans for individual units centered around geographical regions as we progress. The two books we will be reading are The Secret Life of Germs by Philip M. Tierno and The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
First Semester
West African culture, literature, and research
Middle Eastern culture, literature, and research
Japanese culture, literature, and research
Second Semester
Chinese culture, literature, and research
Indian culture, literature, and research
Europe and the Americas
Welcome Students!
No skills you develop at Tucson High will have more impact on your life than those that allow you to communicate effectively. This class will help you develop the ability to read and understand all genres of literature, think critically, write competently, and listen attentively. In turn, you will become young adults who not only possess the capability to achieve academically, but also effect change in the world that surrounds us.
Through hard work, you will become smart and successful users of reading, writing, listening, speaking and critical thinking strategies. You will develop yourselves as individuals who recognize literary terms and structures, as well as appropriate and effective ways to communicate them, as well as your original ideas, through written and oral language. You will become adept at active reading and constructive notetaking, as well as the writing process and invaluable test-taking skills. You are expected to maintain a notebook for class discussions, vocabulary and grammar development, class notes, and text reflections. Your writing will be evaluated for effective word choice, varied sentence structure, and the use of text evidence to support your argument. We will make great strides together in these arenas through the study of the English language and world literature with an emphasis on non-Western literature.
Throughout the year, you will meet our class goals through an array of learning activities, including lecture, independent work, cooperative learning, intensive projects, student presentations, internet and video lessons, and research. These methods will ensure that our approach to the study of grammar, writing, and literature is well-rounded and suitably complex. You can expect more challenging work and a faster pace in advanced courses.
Goals/Objectives:
Students who successfully complete this course will be competent in the following areas:
- Understand and interpret passages with confidence and increased independence.
- Read carefully, thoroughly, and deliberately to analyze passages.
- Read with careful attention to both textual detail and historical context.
- Reflect on the social and historical values a work reflects and embodies.
- Refine skills in sentence structure, word choice, grammar, and punctuation.
- Exhibit familiarity with elements of literature.
- Improve analytical skills.
- Read, understand, and respond to essential content in a variety of nonfiction and fiction texts and documents.
- Build an argument from careful reading, drawing valid inferences of the text under scrutiny.
- Locate, evaluate, and utilize viable sources for research.
- Write using standardized edited American English.
- Conduct and present research both written and orally.
Grading:
Grades are based on a percentage of accumulated points with weighted categories. Your grade for the first semester is the cumulative grade for first and second quarter; your grade does not start over at the quarter. The grade is a combined grade and not an average of the two quarters. Your grade is weighted and determined by the assignments completed throughout the ENTIRE semester.
Students can expect to earn higher grades only if they complete all assignments excellently (not perfectly) and on time. Skipping assignments or doing them poorly or to just turn something in will inevitably result in mediocre, poor, or even failing grades. All assignments earn points; in general, smaller assignments (daily homework, quizzes, language exercises) are worth fewer points than larger ones (essays, research projects, speeches, etc.). Academic dishonesty earns an automatic 0% and cannot be made up or redone.
Being conscientious is a part, not the whole, of effective effort. The simple completion of assignments will not guarantee you an A or B, work that shows you are using hard work and learning strategies to gain knowledge will!
Grades are available on-line to check at your convenience; it is your responsibility to keep up with class grades. Please remember that it takes time to grade and enter all student work. Grades are entered in Synergy throughout the week. Please see me if you are having problems with the class, the workload, or expectations. Do not wait until you have fallen behind.
Grading scale for the course:
A = 90% - 100% means "Above and beyond"
B = 80% - 89% means "Basically fine"
C = 70% - 79% means "Could've done better"
D = 60% - 69% means "Didn't try"
F = 0% - 59% means "Forget about it"
Category weighting for the course:
40% Project, Essays, and other independent tasks
40% Tests and Quizzes
20% Participation and practice
*Participation includes independent reading, bell work, notes, and class discussion.
Expectations:
The key to success in this class is the awareness that we become smarter through "effective effort." I expect you to understand the following:
- This class, the material it includes, and your participation in it are important.
- You can reach our goals through effective effort.
- As your teacher, I am committed to you and your academic and personal progress.
You will contribute the necessary time, focus, resourcefulness, use of feedback, commitment, and persistence to developing the strategies that will make you smarter and ensure your success in Sophomore English!
I believe all students can learn, demonstrate concern for others, and choose to act responsibly in the classroom. Together, we will create a classroom environment that supports these habits and encourages mutual respect and cooperation, as well as provides you with opportunities to make positive choices regarding your behavior. You will achieve academically as well as learn to take responsibility for yourselves as members of the learning community at Tucson High School.
The following list of rules and procedures will guide our behavior and help provide you with the time and space they need to excel academically.
- Treat each other politely and with kindness.
- Treat school and personal property respectfully.
- Follow all school rules and teacher directions.
- Be prepared to use class time as work time.
- Solve conflicts maturely
- Make an effective effort on all assignments and request help if you need it.
Required Materials (you will need these by the second semester)
- Composition Notebook (two containing at least 80 pages)
- Pencils with erasers (don’t forget to buy extra lead if you choose to use a mechanical pencil)
- Sticky notes (different sizes)
- Highlighters in pink, yellow, green. (Post-it now makes highlighters with flags in the cap)
- Two-pocket folder (graded papers and handouts will go in ISN or two pocket folder)
- Book for reading
- 3-ring notebook
- Dividers or folders to organize the notebook
- Assignment sheet or planner
- Standard size, loose leaf notebook paper
- USB drive
- Index cards
- Good collegiate level dictionary
- Black ink pens (for final drafts if you can’t type them)
- Facial tissue
- Pencil sharpener
Rewrite and Retake Policy:
Students will use the writing process on a regular basis and are expected to participate in writing conferences. Students will work together to improve their writing as well as meet with me for revisions. Essays may be revised once for consideration of a higher grade. Students have a week to complete their revisions. Students must have a conference with me regarding their revisions at least one day before revisions are due. The revision will be accepted so long as it was initially submitted on time, a student-teacher conference has taken place, and the rewritten assignment is resubmitted in a timely fashion (no more than 3 days after the assignment was returned to the student).
Students are allowed to retake tests on which they did not do well, but they may not retake any test more than once. Students are not allowed to retake a test the same day as their first attempt. Students must inform me of their intent to retake a test, so a time can be scheduled.
Plagiarism, Cheating, and Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism is the practice of copying words, sentences, images, or ideas for use in written or oral assessments without giving proper credit to the source. Copying and pasting information from the Internet is plagiarism. Cheating is defined as the giving or receiving of unauthorized help on anything that has been determined by the teacher to be an individual effort. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated, and plagiarism is cheating. Both are considered serious offenses and will significantly affect your course grade. Any student who cheats will fail that assignment. In addition, credit will not be awarded to students who “share answers,” “do work together,” or copy. I consider this to be academic dishonesty (cheating). People who allow others to copy as well as those who copy themselves will receive a double-zero grade. I expect you to do your own work during discussions and other cooperative assignments. Do NOT have one person in the group write down answers and pass around the answers for everyone to copy. You need to write down your own answers in your own words.
All written work turned in for a grade must be original or quoted (using quotation marks) and properly cited giving credit to the author. We will be going over this policy and the "how to" of citations during the first weeks of school. Any student who copies directly from the Internet or from another student is in violation of this rule against cheating and is jeopardizing his or her possible success in this class.
- 1st offense will result in a zero on the assignment, student conference, parent contact, and a written warning.
- 2nd offense will result in a zero on the assignment, parent contact, and a written referral.
- 3rd offense will result in a zero on the assignment, parent contact, and further disciplinary action.
Assignments and Homework:
Most assignments will be completed in your Interactive Student Notebook (ISN). ISNs will be collected throughout the year. Other assignments will be turned into the basket marked with your class period. Assignments completed electronically will be submitted through our Learning Management System (LMS). No assignments will be accepted through email. You should expect some form of homework every night. Your homework will depend on what is done in class that day. During the week there may also be quizzes related to the literature discussed in class. In addition to these regular assignments, we will have long-term projects requiring planning and time management on your part to ensure you meet the deadlines. If you need more time or are having difficulty with an assignment, you must speak with me before that assignment is due to avoid late penalties. Homework should consist of one or more of the following:
- Complete and review vocabulary assignments - Vocabulary work must follow the required formats. Templates for these formats will be in your notebooks. Vocabulary is assigned every Monday and due the following Monday
- Independent reading - You are required to read 500 pages each semester with reading checks averaging 65 pages every two weeks
- Grammar practice
- Reduce and review any notes
- Complete reading and writing assignments
- Complete independent practice.
Attendance and Tardiness:
Your daily attendance and promptness are key to success and a hallmark of effective effort. Therefore, I closely adhere to T.U.S.D. attendance and tardy policies. You cannot expect to pass a class you do not attend, and excessive absences may result in loss of credit in accordance with district policy. When you miss class, you are not just missing the work but all the instruction and discussion that goes with the assignment. We will be working every day, so one absence will set you back.
If students are absent the day of a scheduled presentation (group or individual) and do not contact their group or me to make arrangements for their part, they will receive a zero for the presentation or project.
You are expected to be in your seats with your materials by the time the bell stops ringing. If you are roaming the hall or hanging out in the doorway when the tardy bell rings, you are tardy. Chronic tardiness will result in progressive discipline. You will be reminded to be on time after the first tardy. You will write an explanation that must be signed by your parent or guardian the second time you are tardy. If you are tardy after that, your parents will be contacted again, and you will be referred for further consequences.
Make-up and Late Work:
If you are absent, you may make up your work. You have time equal to your absence to make up the work you missed. This is in accordance with TUSD Board Policy JE-R. For example, if you are absent on Monday and return on Wednesday, your assignments are due on Friday. If you miss a test or a quiz, you must make an appointment to take the test or quiz within one week of your return to school. Any work due the day before or the day of the absence is due the day the student returns to class.
You need to speak with me immediately upon your return since you may not be allowed to make up work once the time allotted by board policy has passed. You are responsible for making and keeping an appointment to take a missed test. You will not be allowed to make up the test if you do not show up for an appointment and do not contact me to cancel your appointment
YOU are responsible for obtaining missed assignments. You should always check the class LMS or www.batesenglish.weebly.com for information on where to find assignments as well as links to assist you with your work. Unless a day’s lesson calls for student-teacher conferencing or progress updates, do not use class time to find out about make-up work or discuss topics outside the current lesson or activity. The beginning of class is not a good time, as I like to start class promptly. Any copies handed out during class are in the blue sorter in the back of the room. Copies and assignments are also in the class notebook. DO NOT announce that you never received the work when I ask for it to be turned in. It is your responsibility to check the in class these as soon as you return from your absence. Do NOT just copy another student’s work. This is academic dishonesty. You are expected to take your own notes and do your own assignments. Copies of all presentations are available electronically and hard copy.
*Assignments are expected to be turned in on time. Points will be deducted from late work. Any assignments turned in after the due date will receive a 50% deduction. Assignments handed in after a week past the due date will not earn credit. Certain assignments such as rough drafts must be turned in on the due date to earn any credit. No late assignments will be accepted after the quarter ends.
*Cases of extreme emergency or extended illness will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Electronic Devices:
Tucson High Magnet School believes in maintaining a safe and effective educational environment for all its students, and we as educators understand that cell phones have great utility, but cell phone use has increasingly become a source of distraction in the classroom decreasing student engagement and time spent on learning. To avoid these concerns, I will be enforcing our District Cell Phone Policy. Tucson High Administration has sent home communication regarding the policy explaining how we plan to create a culture of maximizing student learning by enforcing our cell phone free learning environment in the classroom. We believe this will allow our students to be:
- Engaged in classroom activities and assignments
- Less dependent on electronics to do classwork
- Less likely to engage in conversations around bullying
- Less likely to be distracted and procrastinate on assignments in class
Action Levels
Students who violate the classroom cell phone policy are subject to disciplinary action:
- First Offense - students violating the policy a first time are given a verbal warning and asked to place their device in their backpack or purse.
- Second Offense w/in same class period – security or Dean is called & student violating the policy a second time will be escorted with said phone or electronic signaling device to Security Office, at which point the device will be locked in a secure area; however, the student’s parent will have to pick up the cell phone or electronic signaling device from the Principal’s Office. (T150). See Student Code of Conduct for appropriate additional consequence.
- Ongoing non-compliance – students violating the policy multiple times within the same class will have a Parent-Teacher and Administrator conference and to revisit the GB Policy and plan to resolve the violation.
Remember to check online on a regular basis for assignments and announcements. Vocabulary is posted on online at the beginning of the week. More information about the class as well as details on policies, assignments, and other requirements can be found on the class website. Several resources to help you complete assignments can also be found on the website. The website address is listed on the first page of this syllabus.
Curricular Guidelines
The curriculum for this course closely adheres to the Arizona State Standards for reading
and writing, as examined through primarily non-western literature. Studies of non-western writing and culture expand our insight into the world and of divergent philosophies, as well as reinforces our understanding of the common needs of humanity.
Throughout the academic year, students will develop examples of effective timed writing, literary analysis, multi-paragraph essays with documentation and citation, research papers, persuasive essays, and prose or poetry that features imagery and figurative language. These will be stored in your ISN as well as on your TUSD OneDrive.
Instruction will also focus on vocabulary development, grammar skills, and the writing process, especially in terms of literary analysis and the persuasive essay.
Syllabus
This syllabus is subject to change throughout the course of the academic year. Please look for updates and stay on top of class requirements. I will distribute specific plans for individual units centered around geographical regions as we progress. The two books we will be reading are The Secret Life of Germs by Philip M. Tierno and The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
First Semester
West African culture, literature, and research
Middle Eastern culture, literature, and research
Japanese culture, literature, and research
Second Semester
Chinese culture, literature, and research
Indian culture, literature, and research
Europe and the Americas
The First Two Days of School
- Reflective writing on learning environments
- Fill out information cards
- Define in context thinking maps
- Stories with Holes (Ask your child about this)
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Week 1
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Week Two
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Week Three
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