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Course description:  prerequisites: Freshman English 1-2
Sophomore English engages you in reading, writing, listening, thinking, and speaking.  Through modern and classic texts, you will use different lenses to examine your world.  You will be asked to question: Your own life, the lives of others, your implicit biases, and underlying meaning and truth. You will develop an appreciation for and understanding about ideas and experiences that are not your own. Together, we will read a balance of contemporary and classic works of both text and visual media: short stories, essays, novels, poetry, nonfiction, drama, and non-print media.  

Possible texts this year:

• Fahrenheit 451
• Ricochet River
• The Alchemist
• A Gathering of Old Men
• Macbeth
• Breaking Through
• A Raisin in the Sun

Habits of Learning
I am committed to a respectful, inclusive learning community and take seriously acts of carelessness or hostility that undermine our safety or ability to learn.  I expect you to:

• Be on time and be prepared
• Use your “small device” with maturity and discretion.  [a full description of “cell phone use” is outlined later in this document]
• Refrain from using obscene, derogatory or otherwise disrespectful language
• Be honest at all times.  Plagiarizing or copying any materials or ideas not your own is unacceptable.
• Own your own behavior.  We all make mistakes.  We are all flawed, and we are all righteous.  However you choose to be in the world, take responsibility for it.

Materials and Supplies Required Everyday
You will be given a two-pocket folder that stays in the classroom where you can keep handouts and writing
Please bring your own writing implement and paper and whatever text we are working with at the time

Grading and Assessment
See "grading" page for a full description of skills-based/proficiency grading

Sophomore English skills/learning targets are the following with each representing 20% of your grade:

• Reading Comprehension [did you read it and did you understand it]
• Academic Register and Literary Analysis [recognizing literature as an art form and being able to describe how and why the writer creates]
• Grammar and Conventions [punctuation, word usage, vocabulary]
• Creative Writing [giving voice to your ideas in words]
• Academic Scholarship and Project Management [on time, prepared, work done, contribution to class, etc]

Assignments:  some assignments are focused on one skill area while others speak to many skills.  A comprehension quiz from a reading is asking students to demonstrate that they have read and understood the material.  [Reading Comprehension skill].  Conversely, a written analysis of a novel is asking the student to demonstrate a command of formal, academic writing, interpretation and analysis, reading the text and subtext of story.  [Reading Comprehension AND Academic Register AND Grammar and Conventions]  

What you will see on your work and what you will see in Synergy
6-7 = Highly Proficient,    4-5 = Proficient,    2-3 = Developing Proficiency,     1 = Insufficient evidence to determine skill

Revisions:  (with a few exceptions) each assignment can be revised once.   Revisions MUST be accompanied by the original, evaluated work to establish the revision process.   If, for any reason, you are unclear about an assignment or require additional time you MUST communicate with me prior to the due date.