Syllabus+ELA+12

Syllabus 12 Instructor: Subah Khawaja ELA 12 English Credit: .5 Credit / Semester School Phone: +973 1772-7828 Email: subah.khawaja@eu.dodea.edu Office Location: Room 114

Enduring Understandings During the course, our work will be guided by these Enduring Understandings:

Communication enables us to gain and share information about self, others, and the world. Communication can influence or be influenced by society and environment. Communication influences understanding and relationships among diverse cultures/groups.

Effective communication requires the use of conventions. Elements of communication forms can be combined and manipulated to express ideas and create effects. Audience and purpose influence choices in content, style, and organization. Writing, reading, and researching are processes used to construct new understanding and meaning.

People use analysis to look deeply into ideas in order to fully understand their meaning and structure. People use arguments to persuade, establish credibility, clarify beliefs, solve problems, and test ideas. People use narrative to preserve history and personal identity, and interpret the past.

Essential Questions and/or Learning Targets During the course, our work will be guided by a set of Essential Questions, such as: How is identity constructed? What is the American Dream? How does literature and other media express life experiences? How is the writer’s point of view expressed in written work?

Throughout the year, students will work towards mastery of our goals: Making Meaning from Texts & Creating and Presenting Texts. They will read texts for a variety of purposes, write in a variety of forms for different audiences/purposes, communicate ideas clearly and effectively, and use interpersonal skills to work with others.

Content Outline and Assessments Common Texts for English 12 may include selections from the following: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, 1984 by George Orwell, Frankenstien by Mary Shelley and selections from Holt Elements of Literature, Essentials of British Literature. Vocabulary and grammar will be ongoing throughout the year.

Films: When films exist that help us to understand topics studied by the entire class, students will view them. Most films incorporated for viewing by the entire class bear unrestricted ratings. However, many were filmed when another rating system existed. Let me, then, be clear: I select films carefully. All films used, regardless of rating, have special relevance to this curriculum. Parents may request alternate viewing assignments if they feel that the material is inappropriate for their individual child. If that occurs, an alternate assignment will be created.

Assessments are designed to evaluate the following types of skills in communication:

Reflection: as appropriate in response to literature and/or discussion Personal response: as appropriate to the readings and ideas/techniques/approaches are raised Creative writing: short stories and poetry that explore the themes present in texts Persuasive writing: papers of varying length that represent and support a point of view Oral response: as appropriate in response to literature and/or discussion

Grading and Final Exams Students’ work is graded according to a criterion-referenced point system, meaning that assignments are graded based on set criteria, assigned a point value, and given a weight in the online grade book. These three factors vary depending on the size, time and inherent level of difficulty within the assignment. At the end of each grading period, percentages are converted into letter grades. Students and Parents are expected to track grades using ASPEN.

Students’ final grades are determined by averaging the points in three categories: Major Assignments, Daily Assignments/Homework, and Oral Work/Participation. These categories are described below:

Category Grade Weight General Description

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS

50% These include (but are not limited to) anchor tasks, essays, narratives, projects, portfolio pieces, unit and final exams, and prepared individual or group presentations.

Major assignments assess a student’s mastery of a core concept or skill. Major assignments must be completed to standard in order to pass the course.

Students will always have the opportunity to redo a major assessment not completed successfully the first time if the first assignment is submitted on time. It is the student's responsibility to arrange for this in a timely manner. At the end of each semester, I will set a final “drop dead date” for the completion of all work. There is no extra credit work in this course. Major Assessments will be identified by the instructor and rubrics will always be provided.

HOMEWORK DAILY ASSIGNMENTS

25% These include (but are not limited to) journals, vocabulary work, silent reading, note-taking, grammar/punctuation review, quizzes, short writing responses, and daily reading assignments.

Homework and daily assignments are intended to help students maintain focus while reading and to generate material for thoughtful discussions. The usefulness of these “exploratory” assignments is lost after we have had a chance to review and discuss them in class. Thus, no late work is accepted in this category unless the student has an excused absence.

ORAL WORK / PARTICIPATION

25% This includes (but is not limited to) book talks, class discussion participation, seminars, small group discussions, presentations, postings on the online discussion board (see additional handout if applicable) and being prepared for class.

Oral work and participation requires that a student is present in class. It is difficult to make up an oral presentation or redo a group discussion. Again, no late work is accepted in this category regardless of the type of absence (excused or unexcused). Students should see me if they anticipate being absent on the date of a presentation – I may be able to reschedule the oral work.

At the end of each Semester, students must complete the English 12 final exam. Students will receive ample information about, complete review activities for, and/or be provided with study guides for these exams.

Final letter grades are determined using the school-wide grading scale:

Percentage scale B+ = 87-89% C+ = 77-79% D+ = 67-69% A = 93-100% B = 84-86% C = 74-76% D = 60-66% A- = 90-92% B- = 80-83% C- = 70-73% F = 0-59%

Scholarly Responsibility / Attendance Due to the fact that English courses are heavily discussion and seminar based, consistent attendance is crucial to a student’s achievement. More than five (5) unexcused absences in a semester will lead to an “I” (Incomplete) grade because of insufficient evidence to support assigning that student a grade. Teachers are not required to allow students to make up missed assignments and/or discussions when they have an unexcused absence.

Late Work/Make Up Policy If daily written work assignments are missed because of an excused absence, students will be given one class day to make up the work for full credit. If work is turned in more than one week late, it will receive no points/credit. If daily work is missed because of an unexcused absence, the student cannot receive points or credit for that work. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange to make-up missing work. Due dates are absolute unless prior arrangements have been made.

Common School Expectations Students are expected to follow all school rules which are stated in the Bahrain student planner and online at our school website, http://www.bahr-ehs.eu.dodea.edu/

Materials Needed for Course Students will need to have a 3-ring binder for this class or a section in a binder reserved solely for English. To collect materials needed for final exams, I strongly suggest students have either a composition notebook or spiral journal to write their daily work in. I will supply a folder for classroom use that will hold works-in-progress and completed assignments. Students will also need to have college-ruled lined writing paper, blue or black ink pens, and an email account or jump drive. At times, other supplies may be necessary for projects – advanced notice will be given in these cases. It is essential that students bring all materials and the current text to class every day in order to receive participation points.

Other Information

Format / Turnitin.com:  All work done in class should be in neat and legible writing and completed on clean notebook paper.  All written work prepared outside of class must be typed, Times/Times New Roman font size 12, double-spaced, and spell-checked. Work that is not spellchecked and proofread will be returned, ungraded (and due dates will not be extended). If you are unable to print your work from home, you must print your assignment from the Library before our class period begins.  The English Department uses Turnitin.com as a resource for grading all major assignments; you are expected to open an online account and submit work to this website prior to the due date. Work is considered LATE if it is not submitted to Turnitin.com by the due date.  Keep copies of your assignments on a jump drive because you often will be expected to revise.  When you use a computer, be advised that failure (software or hardware) is inevitable. Back up early and back up often. Save all files to an e-mail or jump drive as well as to the hard drive. Printer failure is not an excuse for failing to turn in an assignment on time. If your printer should fail you must bring in the file on jump drive, print it in the library.

Personal and Academic Honesty: I will enforce the Bahrain School policy on Personal and Academic Honesty that appears in the student handbook. Students who turn in undocumented work products (in any form) will be charged with plagiarism and receive a zero for the assignment.

Behavioral Expectations: Electronic devices should not be used during the instructional time of the school day; evidence of it will result in an a three page essay of why it should not be used and confiscation for that day. Students must treat themselves and others with respect. The following things have no place in our classroom: rudeness; degrading/harassing remarks or acts; abusive behavior. They will not be tolerated.

Tardy Policy: We begin right after the bell rings, so it’s important that you arrive to class on time.

Bathroom Trips: Keep these to a minimum by going to the bathroom before class begins. Sign out on the clip board; and know that constant regular trips will be noticed.

Sensitive Materials: One of the goals of English Language studies is to expose students to a variety of perspectives and cultures within society. Thus, it is possible that students may read or be exposed to something that they might find objectionable. We encourage students to individually discuss with us the diverse perspectives of world views to broaden our thinking.

Strategies for Success: Any student, regardless of prior experience and skills, can be successful in this class if he or she actively participates and seeks out assistance as necessary. I am available to work with any student who is struggling during my planning period (4) on A Day, or after school (by appointment).