Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Homework for Thursday
Please read the following article and write a response in which you identify the main ideas and evidence that supports those ideas. The article is here.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Dostoyevsky Biography
Over the break, please read the following biography of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the Russian novelist. When we return from break we will be reading his novel, Crime and Punishment. Write a response in which you identify the three most important biographical details about his life and explain what you see as their importance in understanding the author. The biography is here.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Welcome to English 8
So begins your final English class in high school. Given that you have few high school milestones to accomplish in this your last semester, we will regard this as a college preparatory class.
The goal of the class will be to help you become more able as a reader and writer of complex texts. In reading, we'll work on identifying important ideas in a text and recognizing the evidence that backs those ideas up. We'll work on improving your skills in making inferences. In writing, we'll make progress in helping you to write responses that get right to the point, are well organized, and use evidence effectively to back up your views. We'll also work on writing that comes to grips with ideas, concepts, or textual details that are less than certain, or present contradictory elements.
We'll accomplish this goal by reading a number of major works of literature. Our first book will be Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a play that has been called the greatest ever written. From there we will read a second work as a class, followed by a third work, in which class members will select a work among several possibilities, and break into groups to read the work of their choice.
Each book will require regular daily reading, which most days will be your homework. You are expected to do the reading and come to class ready to discuss the work, and write responses about it. For each work there will be one to two tests and/or a paper. Pop quizzes occur whenever the teacher (me) gets the sense that students are not reading the material!
The goal of the class will be to help you become more able as a reader and writer of complex texts. In reading, we'll work on identifying important ideas in a text and recognizing the evidence that backs those ideas up. We'll work on improving your skills in making inferences. In writing, we'll make progress in helping you to write responses that get right to the point, are well organized, and use evidence effectively to back up your views. We'll also work on writing that comes to grips with ideas, concepts, or textual details that are less than certain, or present contradictory elements.
We'll accomplish this goal by reading a number of major works of literature. Our first book will be Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a play that has been called the greatest ever written. From there we will read a second work as a class, followed by a third work, in which class members will select a work among several possibilities, and break into groups to read the work of their choice.
Each book will require regular daily reading, which most days will be your homework. You are expected to do the reading and come to class ready to discuss the work, and write responses about it. For each work there will be one to two tests and/or a paper. Pop quizzes occur whenever the teacher (me) gets the sense that students are not reading the material!
Grading Policy
Grades and Attendance Policy
Grades will be based on the following:
Tests/ at home writing and projects: 60 percent
Classwork, quizzes, and homework: 40 percent
Total: 100 percent
IMPORTANT: Grades are cumulative. That means the grades you make now count as much as the grades later in the semester. So it's important to work hard from the very beginning and not dig yourself into a hole in the first weeks of our class. We will use Engrade, an online grading system in this class. I’ll give you information shortly about how to register. You’ll have your own account, where I’ll post grades. Your parents or guardians should be given access to your account.
Responsibility: It is the student’s responsibility to make up work. If you’re absent, you must find out from a fellow student what work was done in class or for homework and get the work to me the following day. No late homework or classwork will be accepted! If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to let me know and arrange for a make-up.
Attendance: You’re expected to be in class every day. Absent notes are required if you are absent due to illness or family necessity.
Tests/ at home writing and projects: 60 percent
Classwork, quizzes, and homework: 40 percent
Total: 100 percent
IMPORTANT: Grades are cumulative. That means the grades you make now count as much as the grades later in the semester. So it's important to work hard from the very beginning and not dig yourself into a hole in the first weeks of our class. We will use Engrade, an online grading system in this class. I’ll give you information shortly about how to register. You’ll have your own account, where I’ll post grades. Your parents or guardians should be given access to your account.
Responsibility: It is the student’s responsibility to make up work. If you’re absent, you must find out from a fellow student what work was done in class or for homework and get the work to me the following day. No late homework or classwork will be accepted! If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to let me know and arrange for a make-up.
Attendance: You’re expected to be in class every day. Absent notes are required if you are absent due to illness or family necessity.
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