English IV Syllabus

SYLLABUS 

Instructor: Ms. Casey Daugherty, MS Ed.

E-mail:  casey.daugherty@republicschools.org

Phone: 417.732.3650 Ext. 5137 

Course Texts: All, or some, of the following will be used or referenced throughout the year:

Jennifer Cognard-Black and Anne M. Cognard—Advancing Rhetoric:

The British Tradition, 4^th ed.,

Bauman, Garrett M. Ideas and Details: A Guide to College Writing, 7^th Ed,

Thinking and Writing for the Advanced Student

Paul J. Hunter. Ed.—The Norton Introduction to Poetry

Andrea Lunsford and Bob Connors—The New St. Martin’s Handbook

In-Class Handouts

Tutoring: Monday-Thursday by appointment (before or after school.)    

COURSE OVERVIEW

Closely following the Missouri Learning Standards, students in ENG IV will continue to hone their writing, reading, and oral language skills. This class is designed to recognize that skill in writing follows from students’ awareness of their own composing processes: the way they explore ideas, reconsider strategies, and revise their work. However, the rate, depth, and complexity of material will differ for each individual. Content will focus largely on non-fiction reading and technical writing. Students will analyze their own learning processes and growth as a reader and writer with greater sophistication.

THE SENIOR PROJECT: A particular focus is the Senior Project.  The Senior Project provides for each senior student the forum in which to demonstrate the knowledge gained in twelve years of educational experience. Reading, writing, speaking, thinking, planning and implementation, problem-solving, and use of organizational skills are showcased in the project process. The Senior Project journey begins at the end of first quarter and a student handbook is provided to assist you with this endeavor. The project is student-chosen and learning is self-directed. I am here to help you navigate through what you are learning and offer assistance on your topic. You will participate in three phases of the project: reading and writing about your topic, creating a product that is a natural extension to your learning, and presenting your results to an audience of judges and community members at the Senior Showcase in April. This is the highlight of ENG IV and the culminating event of your high school academic career. 

CONFERENCES: Throughout the year, we will assess your writing goals, reading goals, and growth on Senior Project through individual conferences. These will often take place on workshop days during class, but some will require conferencing before school, after school, or during TAG. Please keep your planner handy in order to write down dates when conferences are scheduled.

HOMEWORK RULES:  Occasional homework is necessary. You will largely be expected to complete the product of your Senior Project outside of this classroom. As well, you will be expected to do a little reading and writing out of class. We will try to accomplish everything necessary in the time provided, but you may find you will develop yourself further as a writer and reader in this class if you spend time outside practicing these skills. Expect an average of 30-60 minutes of homework weekly. If due dates are missed for assignments, you will need to schedule a conference PRIOR to the due date to reschedule. Failure to turn in work will result in a “0” effort grade.

ENG 101/ENG IV BINDER: Your binder is evidence of what you write and read in this class. File all notes, handouts, and special writing assignments in your designated ENG IV binder for periodic assessment and reflection. It is essential that you begin and stay organized with the amount of work we complete during the class period. The binder should be divided accordingly:

·         Table of Contents/Syllabus/Weekly Agendas

·         Warm-up Writing: a collection of your daily freewriting, dated, in chronological order. If you are using a separate journal, you will not need this section in your binder.

·         Writing Workshop: All drafts, dated, and numbered (draft 1, 2, 3, etc.), polished pieces, Dear Reader Letters, and writing records should be kept in this section. This is any writing completed outside of warm-up writing (although some warm-up pieces can be used as first drafts of an essay you would like to polish.) Records and logs should be kept at the beginning of the section closest to the divider tab.

·         Reading Workshop: All mini-lessons, reading letters, and reading logs should be kept in your reading workshop section. Logs should be kept at the beginning of the section closest to the divider tab.

·         Senior Project: You may want to have a separate one-inch or one and a half-inch binder for Senior Project. If not, please block a section in your English IV binder.

ASSESSMENT: Grades are the tool that shows what you have learned. I will be working from a standards-based assessment system, meaning I will use the Missouri Learning Standards (sorry for the teacher talk) to assess for learning. You will receive a copy of the standards, as well as the 4.0 system I use in the next few days and how it translates to the 100 point system here at Republic. When we want to use what we are learning to become better, each of us has a role. Below is a condensed list:

• Ms. Daugherty’s role: 
• I will…
• provide you with deeper insight to improve your growth as a student; 
• help you diagnose and respond to your own learning needs;
• help you write learning targets and goals;
• lead the class in creating common scoring guides;
• offer guided instruction in class to help you improve on future assignments;
• and provide descriptive feedback to you through written notes and conferences.
• Student’s role: 
• I expect you…
• To self-assess your work;
• Track your own progress through detailed records;
• Contribute to setting goals;
• Act upon feedback and assessment results to do better next time;
• and to believe that you can achieve a high level of personal learning.

DETAILS:

• Daily Materials: 3-ring binder, the text and/or novel in use at the time, your warm-up writing journal, your student planner/agenda, a highlighter, and other writing utensils.
• Supplies needed: a 3-ring binder, loose-leaf paper (spiral-bound paper is not accepted for graded work), highlighter, post-it notes. A flash/jump drive is highly recommended, as well as a good dictionary/thesaurus.
• Absences and make-up assignments—any handouts will be placed in the folder for your hour and will have your and will have your name written at the top. If you need help with missed work, please see me before or after school, or between classes. You have three class periods to make up any missed work.
• Rarely will you not be given a due date in advance for major assignments. In addition, you will also know dates of conferences and workshop checks in advance. For this reason and as much as possible, all assignments, tests, conferences and checkpoints are due prior to your absence if you will be missing class for a school function or an excused absence. 

GENERAL INFORMATION:

1. RESPECT all classmates, the school, and the faculty.
2. Bring materials to class. Because class time is limited, you will not be excused to your locker for these items.
3. Manners are important—use them.
4. Bottled water or soda is acceptable in class, but please finish any snacks between classes—nothing disturbs me more than the sound of wrappers and the crunch of potato chips when we are having a few minutes of quiet reading or writing time.
5. Keep our working environment clean, and leave your space cleaner than you found it. Trash left in the classroom will result in loss of classroom privileges.
6. I love music and will often be playing it in class. Personal earphones are acceptable on Workshop days in class or during Warm-up Writing; however, it is respectful to keep the sound low as to not disturb me or your classroom neighbor. I will ask you to turn it down, and if it becomes a problem, you will lose this privilege. Also, it is important to be able to sit where you can see me at all times in case of instruction during an emergency.
7. Please recycle. You will find bins in my room for paper and plastic.
8. Weekly Agenda’s are provided on Mondays. These detail the upcoming lessons and allotted time for reading and writing during the week.
9. Cheating is not an acceptable choice and will not help you improve. All cases will be dealt with in an appropriate manner. See plagiarism policy for further details.
10. Attendance is required. Due to the nature of the course, this class cannot function appropriately without you and your input.
11. Bring your planner and your student ID to class. They both are required before a hall or library pass will be issued. Mostly, your planner will function as an organizational tool.
12. Adhere to all rules and regulations set forth by the Republic R-III Board of Education.