ENGLISH 11 CLASS POLICIES:
IMPORTANT COURSE CONTENT DESCRIPTION-- This course contains many short stories, poems, articles, and videos (such as TED talks). These vary somewhat from year to year and have been carefully selected to support the curriculum of the class and to help students understand concepts, develop skills, and build deep-learning capacity. Many of the most common texts used are listed below:
"Paths of Hate" -- Damien Nenow
"Hills Like White Elephants" -- Ernest Hemingway "Here We Are" -- Dorothy Parker "Winter Dreams" -- F. Scott FItzgerald "The Story of an Hour" -- Kate Chopin "Nothing Gold Can Stay" -- Robert Frost "Fire and Ice" -- Robert Frost "How It Feels to be Colored Me" -- Zora Neale Hurston "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" -- Randall Jarrell "The Man Who was Almost a Man" -- Richard Wright |
"The Life You Save May Be Your Own" -- Flannery O'Connor
"The End of Something" -- Ernest Hemingway "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" -- Randall Jarrell "Why You Think You're Right -- Even If You're Wrong" -- Julia Galef "Meeting the Enemy" -- Cassie Jaye "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" -- T. S. Eliot "The Yellow Wallpaper" -- Charlotte Perkins Gillman "Self in 1958" -- Anne Sexton "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" -- Ambrose Bierce "The Public Hating" -- Steve Allen |
Selections from other fiction or non-fiction works may be included for rhetorical analysis. Some works will be student-choice.
The class also includes major works such as novels and plays. These may also vary from year to year based on student needs and available instructional time. The most common major works are listed below.
The Old Man and the Sea -- Ernest Hemingway
The Crucible -- Arthur Miller The Glass Menagerie -- Tennessee Williams |
Of Mice and Men -- John Steinbeck
Their Eyes Were Watching God -- Zora Neale Hurston The Great Gatsby -- F. Scott Fitzgerald |
To help students understand some texts on a deeper level, we may watch some segments of the film adaptations. Those films are rated PG-13; however, we will not be watching any segments containing "PG-13" content. Those two films are:
The Crucible (1996)
The Great Gatsby (2013)
The Great Gatsby (2013)
In order to help students learn to navigate and think critically about their media-saturated environment, for part of third term, the class will focus on media literacy. During this time, we will examine and analyze some current and historical commercials, advertisements, news articles/broadcasts, editorials, music, and short video.
We will also be watching the following documentary in its entirety:
We will also be watching the following documentary in its entirety:
The Social Dilemma (2020)
Combining media literacy with literary analysis, we will be watching ONE of the following films in its entirety:
Smoke Signals (1998)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
If you have questions or concerns about the content of this class (or would like to arrange alternate content for your student), please contact me as soon as possible at [email protected].
COURSE DESCRIPTION-- The goal of this class is to build critical capacities in students through providing them with the strategies and skills necessary to improve their English language skill and prepare for AP English and higher education. The class includes the standards set in the Utah Language Arts Core Curriculum with a focus on American literature. The students will be asked to critically analyze and write a variety of functional, informational, and literary texts. Students will be expected to demonstrate and develop 11th -grade-appropriate communication skill in writing, critical and analytical skill in reading texts, creativity in producing original work, collaborative skill in classroom activities, and excellent character and citizenship.
GRADING-- Students must take responsibility for their own grades. Students, in fact, must develop the capacity to assess themselves on a variety of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. COMMUNICATION IS CRITICAL -- Check your grades and attendance regularly, and please see Mr. Saxton PROMPTLY if you have a problem, a question, or need any other class-related assistance.
ALL STUDENTS BEGIN THE CLASS WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT THEY WILL RECIEVE AN "A."
However, the following criteria will affect that outcome:
IN ORDER TO PASS THE CLASS, THE FOLLOWING MINIMAL EXPECTATIONS MUST BE MET:
- ALL assessment assignments must be handed in. If missed in class, work MUST be made up DURING CONSULTATION TIME.
- NEVER academically dishonest (no plagiarism, cheating, etc.)
10 or more absences will result in an "F" (medically excused absences -- "M" in Skyward -- do not count toward this total).
A "D" IS THE MAXIMUM GRADE POSSIBLE IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ARE TRUE:
- Student submitted ANY assessment assignments AFTER the term-end deadline (one week before the end of the term).
- Assignments were NOT completed as assigned (did not meet assignment requirements).
DISENGAGEMENT WILL LOWER YOUR GRADE:
"Disengagement is defined as anytime the student is expected to be engaged in the learning process and is not, or anytime the student is delaying or distracting other students from being engaged in the learning process. This includes, but is not limited to:
- BEING TARDY -- Being even a little bit late delays the start of class for everyone, and being more than a little late means missed information. Please be IN YOUR SEAT when the final bell rings. Being extremely tardy will count as more disengagement.
- BEING DISTRACTED/DISTRACTING -- I know it's difficult to focus sometimes, put away electronic devices, and not chat with friends. However, that's really the biggest part of your job as a student. Also, your distraction often distracts others around you.
- BEING ASLEEP -- I know you're tired. I'm tired. I'm awake. You should be, too.
- USING THE HALL PASS -- Sometimes it's unavoidable, but those times should be extremely rare. You can organize your life around your bathroom needs. I do. If you have a medical or other reason you can't, come see me. Using the hall pass for excessive amounts of time will count as more disengagement.
POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE WILL LOWER YOUR GRADE:
- Assessments are scored on a 1-4 scale. Scores lower than "4" jeopardize your "A," so do your best work on all of your assignments. If you get a score lower than "4," you can redo the assignment after meeting with me (during consultation time) to earn a better score. You can redo assignments multiple times before the term-end deadline. Redoing an assignment that was originally on time does not make the assignment late. Late assignments will be given a lower score.
See the following rubric for how the above will affect your grade:
CLASS EXPECTATIONS-- (see student handbook for school policies) All school rules and policies apply in this class. The main expectation is that students ATTEND CLASS and FULLY ENGAGE IN THE LEARNING ACTIVITIES. That includes refraining from sleeping, using an electronic device, working on classwork from other classes, or otherwise distracting others. It is also the expectation that students will take personal ownership of their learning, behavior, attendance, and choices. It is the students' responsibility to know what they've missed, where their performance is weaker, and what to do about it. I, of course, am here to help.
It shouldn't have to be mentioned in a high school, but students should care for the room and the equipment in it. As a common courtesy, students should not throw/leave trash on the floor, spill food or drink, nor purposefully deface or damage desks, chairs, equipment, or decorations. Students should be sure to put books back on the shelves after use and put the desks back in the rows if they've been moved. In other words, don't be a jerk.
In the event we go online, see HERE.
It shouldn't have to be mentioned in a high school, but students should care for the room and the equipment in it. As a common courtesy, students should not throw/leave trash on the floor, spill food or drink, nor purposefully deface or damage desks, chairs, equipment, or decorations. Students should be sure to put books back on the shelves after use and put the desks back in the rows if they've been moved. In other words, don't be a jerk.
In the event we go online, see HERE.
ABSENCES AND TARDIES-- If a student is absent, that student should utilize consultation time before school at 7:45. DO NOT EXPECT TO USE CONSULTATION TIME IF YOU SHOW UP WITHOUT ENOUGH TIME LEFT TO BE USEABLE. REMEMBER THAT CONSULTATION TIME ENDS AT 8:10. If, for some reason, consultation time is not possible, students and/or parents/guardians can contact me by email to schedule an appointment.
If students come in late, it is their responsibility to guarantee the absences are changed to tardies by signing in with the attendance office or writing their names on the tardy log on my desk. If the absences stay on the roll after class is over, they are likely to stay on the roll forever. Students are responsible for any work/learning missed.
Hall pass use should be EXTREMELY RARE.
If students come in late, it is their responsibility to guarantee the absences are changed to tardies by signing in with the attendance office or writing their names on the tardy log on my desk. If the absences stay on the roll after class is over, they are likely to stay on the roll forever. Students are responsible for any work/learning missed.
Hall pass use should be EXTREMELY RARE.
SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS-- Assignments must be complete and follow the given directions. Incomplete assignments, of course, will only receive partial credit or be returned to the student for revision. Students may revise and improve all submitted work as many times as they would like until they demonstrate mastery or until one week before the end of the term. Please make sure submissions are clearly identified by your actual name (not just email address or screen name). If I cannot determine who submitted the assignment, it will not receive credit. Each assignment will be given a due date. ASSIGNMENTS HANDED IN MORE THAN ONE WEEK PAST THE DUE DATE WILL SCORE A "1" IF THEY ARE COMPLETE. IF THEY ARE INCOMPLETE, THEY WILL STAY MARKED AS A "0." Remember that ALL ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO PASS, EVEN IF THEY ARE LATE, but obviously, overly late submissions will negatively affect final grades. (Some medical, 504, or other emergency exceptions apply -- see Mr. Saxton.) IF ANY ASSESSMENTS ARE HANDED IN DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE TERM, THE MAXIMUM GRADE YOU CAN EARN IS A "D." In the case of any absence, it is the student’s responsibility to find out what work was missed and turn it in on time Plagiarized assignments will be given NO CREDIT and may result in loss of credit for the class (see the school policy on plagiarism).
A FINAL WORD-- I am a teacher, not a substitute. Students should not expect me to be the substitute for their work ethic, their maturity, their integrity, or their personal responsibility. At Timpanogos High School, citizenship and character are expected in addition to academic skill. Maturity, responsibility, and integrity are required from each student. Whoever does the work does the learning, so do some work.
If you (as a student or parent) have questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Thank you, Brian Saxton