Welcome! Here you will find the basic expectations for our class.
Term: Fall and Spring 2010-2011
Class time & Location: Gulf Shores UMC on Mondays 12:30-2:30. Additional work will be required throughout the week.
Credits: 1 high school credit
Instructor: Michelle Sanford
Course fee: $200/yr due in complete by August 10th or can be broken up by quarters or semesters. No refunds will be given for students who drop after Dec 1.
Materials Required:
• 3 ring binder with dividers: One section for notes, one section for writing, one section for grammar and one section for journaling.
• Pens or pencils.
• Access to home computer/printer is encouraged.
• Books:
o “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville (optional-can be read online or printed but is quite long)
o Literature a Portable Anthology 2nd ed. ISBN 0-312-46186-0 (optional- contains Bartleby and 2 other short stories)
o The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
o Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
o The Chosen by Chaim Potok
o A Separate Peace by John Knowles
o To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Course description: This course is a high school literature course that will concentrate on the analysis of literature from the 1800 and 1900s. Students will learn to read closely and then to convey a clear analysis of what they’ve read in written form. In addition to this different, rhetorical modes of writing will be explored such as definition, description, compare/contrast, and cause and effect. One term paper written in the MLA format will also be completed. In preparation for standardized testing, grammar and sentence structure will be reviewed.
Additional vocabulary work is to be assigned by the parent.
Student expectations: I expect all students to participate as fully as possible in class and outside of class through our website. Through discussion we will all learn and enjoy our reading and writing at a deeper level. I hope everyone feels free to express their opinion and to be received respectfully by others.
o Respect others in class and on the blog.
o No talking when others are talking or during writing periods.
o No cell phones are allowed to be on during class. Parents can reach me with emergencies through my cell 979-3099.
o Books must be read in the time they are assigned. You are wasting my time and yours if you do not keep up with assignments. There are many life lessons to be learned through reading, and the affect of these lessons can not be obtained through reading Cliff Notes. I hope everyone will enjoy the accomplishment they feel from tackling and understanding a difficult work.
o Keep up with journal work. It’s a part of your grade.
Attendance policy: please let me know ahead of time if you will be absent.
Grades: 90-100% = A;
80-89% = B;
70-79% = C;
60-69% = D;
59% and below = F
• Class/website participation: 5%
• Journal assignments: 5%
• Term paper: 20%
• Writing assignments/quizzes/projects: 70%
Late work: Unless excused by me due to traveling or severe illness, 5 points will be taken off for each day an assignment is turned in late.
