PROJECTS

ENGLISH 11 Projects: Presentations 15 minutes – DUE: 10/05

Options: PowerPoint or include a video or audio component
(if you use video – I want to you recreate a story, essay or poem and perhaps create a documentary overview of the time; if you use audio I expect a dramatic reading such as the Huck Finn CD)

Things needed for your project:

• A time line for your period with a list of events and/or literary works published during this time
• A list of authors and/or works from the period
• Make a list of common themes and characterization of the work written in this period
• Pick three authors, read something by them and summarize the material to share with class. Include at least two different genres.
• Perform an excerpt of a piece, or a poem, for the class. This can be done on the video tape or with the cd. This should be done without script.
• Include at least five photos/paintings – this can be incorporated into the PowerPoint or Video Production. These images should be of either authors or places associated with the time and material
• Personal reflection: what did you like about the period and literature (1/2 page or more).
• A group handout and activity about the period (this could be a simulation – play or a collection of games, or a game.

GRADING: THIS IS A PROJECT GRADE

Use of PowerPoint, Video or CD: 20 points
Time 15 minutes 20 points
Time Line 5 points
Common Themes 10 points
List of Authors/Materials 10 points
Summaries of Pieces 10 points
Performance 20 points
Images 10 points
Reflection 5 points
Group Activity 20 points

TOTAL 130 points

Please note that you’ll be required to do research and that I expect outstanding presentations. You’re teaching the class.

PERIODS:

* Native American to 1700 (stay on East Coast—remember you can discuss Oral traditions vs. written traditions here; perhaps you can include interviews???) and
Pre-Colonial (includes memoirs of explorers, the founding of early settlements including Roanoke, Jamestown, Plymouth)

• Colonial (1650-1750: Includes Salem Witch Trials, Puritan Religious Sermons, early American Poetry, etc.)
• Pre-Revolutionary War (1750-1770: includes Ben Franklin, French and Indian War; you could even use a book like the LAST OF THE MOHIGANS.
• Revolutionary War: 1775-1783; Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Reeve, John Adams, etc. You can look at APRIL MORNING.)


It’s okay to use material written about your time period as additional information but don’t attempt to use it written in the time period. Example: LAST OF THE MOHIGANS by James F. Cooper was written in the 1820s but its setting is the French and Indian Wars in New York. Cooper was not a Pre-Revolutionary War writer; he was a romantic writer of the early 1800s.

Vocabulary Words

Vocabulary words are due Thursday. You quiz on Friday will include rules on grammar: commas, colons and semi-colons.

SAT Vocabulary Words

Callous
Capricious
Cajole
Censure
Catalyst
Caustic
Capitulate
Celestial
Catharsis
Carping

HOMEWORK

Read "The Iroquois Constitution"

HOMEWORK

HOMEWORK

Post two more literary devices by tomorrow.

HOMEWORK for MONDAY

Finish 2nd drafts of your Satirical Essay: "A Modest Proposal to Increase the Student Count at Skagway School".

Hills Like White Elephants

Be prepared to act out your scripts on Tuesday! Have a great weekend.

Wergild and Wyrd

Wergild, part of the warrior code and translated roughly as "man price", is the amount of money a person or family could accept in place of vengeance if a relative was killed. It was an agent of peacekeeping, a very important concept in a world ruled by honor, a world were the code meant that you needed some sort of retribution.

For more information on wergild go here.

English 11

English 11
Course Syllabus: 2009-2010
Instructor: Mr. Fielding
Phone: 983-3604
Email: fieldingkent@hotmail.com

Course Description: American Literature

Emphasis: The accelerated development of critical literary skills and devices to use in the analysis of works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. The writing of formal essays, research papers, and creative fiction and poetry.

The primary purpose of English 11 is to provide an opportunity for students to expand their critical thinking and writing skills by focusing on some of the challenging material of American Literature. The course is similar to English 10 in the dissection of literature in the pursuit of analysis but the class will cover more material and the expectation of the student’s performance is much higher. We will also look at the history of American Literature and explore themes that are unique to the American Experience such as The American Dream.

We will build on the foundation established in English 10 for composing literary, persuasive, and reflective essays, and to produce an original research paper. Additionally, students will utilize proper writing conventions appropriate to their learning level. To accomplish this, students will actively read from an extensive selection spanning all literary genres, analyze these works, develop original theses, and share their ideas in formal compositions (persuasive, reflective, and analytical), class discussions, and oral presentations.

In other words the class will dissect literature (and literary genres) at the roots—for the roots beneath the tree are extensive and only by understanding those roots can one understand the entire tree. We will look at literature as an investigation, an exploration, an adventure. We will examine genres and themes and we will share our ideas, interests and findings by discussion and writing essays, poetry, and fiction and by doing research to find out more.

Texts: The Great Gatsby, Huckleberry Finn, The Scarlet Letter, Death of a Salesman, poetry and short story selections from Literature and Language Arts Textbook, and selections from Walden.

JOURNALS/BLOGS

Students will be required to keep a blog throughout the year. This blog will be your journal writing for the year. In this blog/journal will be reading reflections, lists of literary devices found in stories and novels, creative assignments that correspond with readings, pre-writing exercises, analytic writing.

NOTE: I read every journal entry and you will lose points for skipping entries or not following directions. If you do not understand an assignment please ask.

GRADES:

Tests – 25% of overall grade
Papers—25% of overall grade
Projects—20% of overall grade
Quizzes, class work, homework—20% of overall grade
Journals/Blogs—10% of overall grade

Scale:

100- 93 = A
92.49- 90 = A-
89.49- 87 = B+
86.49-83.00 = B
82.49- 80.00 = B-
79.49-77.00 = C+
76.49- 73 = C
72.49-70.00 = C-
69.49-67.00 = D+
66.49- 63.00 = D
62.49- 60 = D-
Below 60 = F

Late Work: Mark down 10% per day. You are expected to turn in work on the deadlines due.

Required Materials:

1 Spiral Notebook (use as a journal)
1 Pocket Folders (to keep handouts, note guides, returned work)
1 Binder with loose paper

General Guidelines:

1. Be prepared when class begins. It is imperative that all pencils are sharpened and materials are ready when the bell rings.
2. Class discussions should be conducted in an orderly and respectful fashion.
3. Do not talk when I am talking.
4. I dismiss you, not the bell!
5. You may choose you own seat, but I reserve the right to assign seats or move you if I see the need.
Respect others and their property. This respect extends to remaining quiet during announcements, directions, lectures, and presentations. If you are talking someone else might not be able to hear.