Course Syllabus

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 Welcome to English III Honors

Course Objectives:

           According to the state of North Carolina, "English III is an in-depth study of U.S. literature and U.S. literary nonfiction especially foundatiional works and document from the 17th century through the early 20th century. At least one Shakespearean play should be included."

Primary Learning Goals: What students will be able to do at the end of the semester

1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matter uncertain.
2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
3. Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging or beautiful. 
5. Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
6. Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. 
8. Demonstrate knowledge of 18th-, 19th-, and early 20th-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
9. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.      

 

Materials & Resources:

EmpowerED Family Portal: Provides parents with links to online resources and apps that students can access. 

• Canvas (Learning Platform at Central Academy): Unit modules, assignments, and materials are accessed through our learning platform. Individual assignments will indicate which method of submission on Canvas is expected, if students need a refresher or have questions, they can access 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 the assignment, are NOT the teacher's gradebook. The teacher's gradebook includes categories of assignments that may be weighted differently and may include grades of 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. 

Class Supplies: 

Course Binder with Labeled Dividers

• 3-ring binder
• 1 composition notebook
• highlighters
• blue/ black pens

Students must maintain a course binder for this class. Incomplete binders will adversely affect exam preparation and a student's grade. The binder should include the following sections:

1. Argument: Units 1 & 2
2. Literary Analysis: Units 3-5
3. Research &Synthesis: Unit 6
4. Vocabulary

Daybook/ Composition Notebook

Students must maintain a composition notebook for daily bell ringers.

***** Daybooks and Course Binders will be checked periodically for a grade!!!

TIDY NOTEBOOK = A TIDY MIND!!! 

Classroom Policies:

• No food allowed in class. This is a school-wide policy that is strictly enforced.
• Homework is due at the beginning of the period. According to school policy, students who were absent on the day the work was assigned must hand it in within 24 hours of the student’s return. A student whose absence was not excused or due to suspension must hand in the work on the day of his/her return for any credit. Because homework and process assignments (i.e. rough drafts, etc.) pertain to the lesson of the day, students earn no credit if they do not submit assignments on the due date. Students who miss an in-class assignment or quiz have 48 hours to make it up upon their return; otherwise, they will receive a zero on the assignment. The grade book closes at the end of each six-week period; consequently, late work from the previous six weeks will no longer be accepted, resulting in no credit for the assignment. Students will not pass this course if their work is consistently late, or if they submit the bulk of their work toward the end of the semester. Computer issues are not valid excuses for late

• Any late work that cannot be made up at all is recorded as a 0

  If a student has the opportunity to make up work then, the grade is recorded as a 1 

• Successful students will attend class regularly and on time.
• Consistent attendance is essential for success in this course. If a student is absent 10 or more times during a semester (excused or not), we will have an administrative meeting to discuss the student’s future in the course.
• Successful students will demonstrate skills indicative of quality workers by bringing the required materials, completing homework assignments, participating in class discussions, and respecting the opinions of others.
• All final drafts of major written assignments are to be typed or word-processed and must adhere to the essay format (MLA) unless otherwise specified.
• Cell phones must be turned off during class time. Any cell phone use during class time may result in disciplinary action
• This course is weighted as the following: 10% Daily Work: class work, homework, participation, 20% Minor Assessments: quizzes, presentations, 30% Major Assessments: test, 40% Writings/Essays: essays, timed writings---note that major formal papers will be worth at least double the points of timed writings. SEMESTER EXAM: 25% of semester grade!
• The CATA conduct code will be strictly enforced including Zero Tolerance Policy concerning cruelty, harassment, excessive teasing, discrimination, violence, and intimidation. Foul language, derogatory remarks, and disrespect towards classmates, teachers, and school staff will not be tolerated.
• Cheating and plagiarism on schoolwork will result in a zero on the assignment and could result in disciplinary action. Some assignments must be submitted through Turnitin.com.
• Lack of respect for the property of others (including writing on or defacing desks), and disruptive behavior (including talking out of turn) could result in removal from the classroom an

Tardies will be recorded as unexcused unless an excuse can be verified by staff. Tardies will result in the following penalties:

All students must report to the office when tardy to first period and to class the rest of the day.  Teachers will mark students tardy who are late to 2nd period, 3rd period, and 4th period.  If a student is tardy twice in third period on Cougar Time days (Once before class and once after lunch), then the teacher will mark them tardy one time in Power School and write it up as a minor incident in Educator Handbook for the second tardy of the period.   

1st/2nd Tardy:  Warning from an administrator in the front office (1st period) and the teacher in the classroom (all periods)

3rd Tardy:  Warning from an administrator in the front office (1st period) and the teacher in the classroom (all periods).  The teacher will contact the parent on the third tardy by phone.  

4th/5th Tardy:  Warning from an administrator in the front office (1st period) and the teacher in the classroom (all periods). The teacher will submit a discipline referral to the administration and 1 day ASD with administration.  The administration will contact the parent.  

6th/7th Tardy:  Warning from an administrator in the front office (1st period) and the teacher in the classroom (all periods).  The teacher will submit a discipline referral to the administration and 2 days ASD with administration.  The administration will contact the parent.  

8th Tardy: Warning from an administrator in the front office (1st period) and the teacher in the classroom (all periods).  The teacher will submit a discipline referral to the administration and 3 days ASD.  The administration will set up a parent conference, create a written plan, and possible additional consequences.

The administration reserves the right to modify consequences on a case-by-case basis whenever appropriate. This may include loss of parking privileges. Students arriving on late buses will not be considered tardy

Units:

Units 1 & 2 Argument: "There is within and without the sound of conflict": How do authors use figurative language or rhetoric to advance their point of view or purpose?

Unit 1: Part 1: The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, Chapter 1: "Of Our Spiritual Strivings";

Unit 1: Part 2: "Atlanta Compromise Speech" by Booker T. Washington

Unit 2: "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton"; "From the House of Yemanja" by Audre Lorde

Unit 3-5 Literary Analysis: "O, what a noble mind is here o'er thrown!: How do authors develop and relate elements of a text?

Unit 3: "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning

Unit 4: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Unit 5: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (excerpt from Chapter 3 of the extended essay)

Unit 6: Research & Synthesis: Morality: How do we evaluate what's right and wrong?

"The Storyteller,' "Life isn't Fair--Deal With It," "Morality as Anti-Nature," "What makes good people do bad things?," "Men and Women Use Different Scales to Weigh Moral Dilemmas," "The Kohlberg Dilemmas," "Do Juvenile Killers Deserve Life Behind Bars?," "For Many Returning Vets, 'Moral Injury' Just As Difficult"

An Example of Honors Differentiation in this Course:

Honors level objective	College Prep level objective
Rl.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama by gathering and identifying stylistic elements (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed. Students will analyze their writing and determine the impact of their stylistic choices on the reader.	Rl.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama by gathering and identifying stylistic elements (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed.

 

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