Course Syllabus
English IV Honors Syllabus (PDF Version)
Cory McDowell
Classroom Ext.: (704) 296-3088 || 7163
Welcome to Honors English IV!!
Course Overview
In this course, we will begin to study British literature through the examination of texts from the United Kingdom. Students will also be introduced to more analytical/literary writing. As a class, we will examine (through close-reading) the elements of the literature. The goal of this course is to learn aspects of the British culture and language. The course will be intensive and rigorous.
Part of being in an Honors course requires in-depth writing and analysis. My goal is to have all of you college-ready writers. This will involve writing several different types of essays/papers including argumentative, persuasive and compare/contrast.
Note: HN is an honors level course. This course is also available in the Program of Studies at the College Preparatory level. Students earning credit for an Honors level course receive an elevated number of Quality Points for their Grade Point Average. Students choosing the Honors level course should be aware that this Honors level course will include:
- Required extension opportunities that are directly related to the Standard Course of Study. This includes additional content beyond that covered in the College Preparatory level.
- More challenging coursework and assessments. Students will be expected to demonstrate higher levels of understanding for grades.
- Projects and presentations will be more in depth.
- Students will have to focus and study regularly to master the content.
- The expectation that students can move through the coursework at an accelerated pace and students experiencing difficulty should quickly seek guidance from their teacher on how they can be more successful.
Materials
- A composition notebook for daily writing. This will serve as your daybook. You will put handouts (taped or stapled) and your writing in this book. Everything we do on a day-to-day basis.
- Some sort of folder or binder for other papers/handouts
- Pens and/or pencils
- Highlighters (blue, green, yellow, orange)
- Post-it notes for annotations
- Chromebook!!
- Dracula by Bram Stoker - Dover/Thrift edition (Amazon has it for $3.50 or less)*
*If you need help with this, please let me know. I will do my best to help you locate a text.
**We have limited copies of text. Anyone who would be willing and able to purchase any of the books we read will be greatly appreciated.
Resources
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Elements of Literature Sixth Course: Essentials of British Literature. (in-class text)
Learning Platform at Central Academy
Canvas: The majority of assignments will be submitted on our new "learning platform," Canvas. Assignments can be submitted a variety of ways including, uploading files, typing into text boxes, and sharing Google documents/presentations. Students not having used Canvas before should alert the teacher and they will be shown how to submit assignments on Canvas. Individual assignments will indicate which method of submission on Canvas is expected. If students need a refresher or have questions, they can access the Canvas Student Guide for specific instructions. It is the student's responsibility to ensure assignments are submitted on time and to contact the instructor if there is a problem. The Canvas Learning Platform logs every student log-in on Canvas which provides teachers with a list of when students log-in to Canvas using their user id.
Canvas is used to grade assignments as well, however, the grades in Canvas, while accurate to that assignment, are NOT the teacher’s gradebook. The teacher’s gradebook includes categories of assignments that may be weighted differently and may include grades for assignments that did not use the Canvas Learning Platform. Therefore, students and parents should always check their child’s true average on the Parent Portal on Powerschool.
Canvas Calendar will be where I post the pacing schedule for the class. Each day on the calendar is what students are supposed to have read for that day (i.e. If Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Fitt II is on the calendar for October 3rd, it needs to be read for October 3rd's class. It is NOT homework for that night).
EmpowerED
This provides parents with links to online resources and apps that students may access. EmpowerED
Procedures for Class
- Be respectful. To EVERYONE!
- Be prepared. Make sure you are ready when the bell rings. No one has time for shuffling, plugging in Chromebooks, etc.
- Be focused. I think this goes without saying. I WILL call on you to participate if I feel you’re not staying focused and on task.
- Be active. PARTICIPATE in discussions, helping your classmates, asking questions, etc.
- All graded materials NOT submitted through Canvas need to be put in the appropriate tray on the table.
- NO bathroom breaks in the first and last 15 minute of class.
Quizzes/Essays
You will have various quizzes throughout the semester. Quizzes will mainly be reading and vocabulary quizzes. I will never give a quiz unannounced unless I feel that the work is not being done (i.e. half the class decides they don’t want to read when they’re supposed to).
Essays will be of various scope (expository, critical, analytical, etc.) throughout the semester. Rubrics will be provided per essay. We will have several writing sessions, seminars, and peer-review opportunities along with the assignments. ALL essays will be submitted through Canvas using the plagiarism checker.
Late Work
I am not a fan of late work. Late work makes more work for me to do. However, I understand life and things happen. I will accept late work after an absence within two days after your absence. This means ONLY the work you missed on the day you were absent NOT work for the day you come back. Readings will be posted in Canvas daily. If you are absent, make sure you check the readings for the day you are coming back.
Attendance/Tutoring
Attendance is paramount to your success. If you miss a class, it is YOUR responsibility to make-up any work that you missed. As stated above and in your student handbook, you have TWO days to make up work after an absence.
I will offer tutoring on Mondays from 3:30 until 4:30. Our class is big. This will be the time you can see me outside of class for extra help and understanding, or even if you didn’t get a chance to ask a question or get clarification in class. Feel free to stop by even just for 10 minutes.
Grading
This course will be graded on the ten-point scale and will be broken down into four categories:
- Major tests/projects/essays 40%
- Quizzes 30%
- Participation 20%
- Homework 10%
Grading Scale:
A 90 - 100
B 80 - 89
C 70 - 79
D 60 - 69
F 0 - 59
*Grades in PowerSchool marked as a “0” will not be allowed to be made up
*Grades in PowerSchool marked as a “1” will be allowed to be made up within the specified amount of time per the student handbook
Grading Composition: Course work will make up 75% of your final grade; the final exam will make-up 25% of your final grade based on your performance on the North Carolina Final Exam.
Units (preliminary and subject to change)
*Each unit will include vocabulary, written responses (creative and reading responses), and historical background, as well as, other assignments on a weekly/daily basis.
Unit I: The Anglo-Saxon Age (Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Poetry
Introduction to Research Paper/Milestones
3 weeks
Unit II: The Middle Ages (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, selections of Canterbury Tales)
3 Weeks
Unit III: The Renaissance (The Tragedy of Macbeth and Shakespearean sonnets)
3 weeks
Unit IV: The Restoration through the Romantic Period (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)
Project I: Create a Monster
3 weeks
Unit V: The Victorian Period (Dracula by Bram Stoker)
Project II: Vampire Folklore Analysis
3 weeks
Unit VI: The Modern Period (1984 by George Orwell, select poetry)
Research Paper Due
3 weeks
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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