12th Grade English: 2009-2010

August 20, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians:

I would like to welcome you and your child to 12th Grade English at OCSI! Senior year is such an important year, as students prepare and make decisions for their college and career plans after high school. I am excited about having your child in my class, and I am committed to high expectations and standards for your child’s behavior and academic performance as we work together to prepare your child for his or her goals upon completing high school.

Please help me encourage your child to spend at least thirty minutes a night reading. Research suggests that there is a direct correlation between students’ high test scores and the time they spend reading.

Feel free to contact me anytime you have a question or concern. I am always glad to schedule a conference, answer an e-mail, or return a phone call.

Your partner in education,
Ms. Allen Rowe
allen.rowe@ocsi.org
ALRowe1742@yahoo.com

Twelfth Grade English Class Syllabus

Class Name: British Literature
Hour: Period 1
Teacher Name: Ms. Allen Rowe
Room Number: #328
E-mail Address: allen.rowe@ocsi.org or ALRowe1742@yahoo.com
The best time for parents to call me is: 958-3000, from 8-3. Please set up an appointment to see and speak to me.

Course description: As stated on the OCSI Course Catalog, “British Literature is a chronological survey of the literature of England with special attention to the impact of social and intellectual history on literature. Students contrast periods such as Romanticism and Realism and study some of the ideas and events, which shaped literary movements.”

Class Activities: Class activities are designed to develop the students’ communication skills through reading, writing, and speaking. These activities include but are not limited to: reading in class (independently and in groups), writing to examine and explain their thoughts, especially on the subject of literature, working actively both individually and with others, and demonstrating their understanding through tests and projects.

You will need the following materials for this class:
-- A4-sized binder with A4 Loose leaf paper for all assignments, except for journal.
-- B5 or A4 Notebook for journal: must be consistently used. (Obviously, if and when the notebook is full, you’ll buy a new one, but don’t change notebooks every week.)
-- Pens/pencils.
-- IR book, or another novel as assigned by the teacher.
-- Assigned workbook of Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics: McDougal Littell, 2001.
-- Assigned textbook copy of Language of Literature: McDougal Littell, 2001.
-- Assigned textbook copy of Language Network: McDougal Littell, 2003.

Your grade will be based on the following:
Your grade will be determined based on the total number of points earned, from points available, in a given category.
--40% Tests (including written tests, projects, quizzes, others as announced to students)
--40% Papers (including research papers, essays, others as announced to students)
--20% Assignments (including class participation, homework, class activities, others as announced to students)


GENERAL TIMELINE FOR TWELFTH GRADE:
Please note: The schedule below is estimated, and may be adjusted based on class needs, at the teacher’s discretion, at any point throughout the year.

Summer Reading J-Term Reading
A Tale of Two Cities Macbeth

First Quarter Second Quarter
Anglo-Saxon Period (Beowulf) Complete Medieval Period
Medieval Period Renaissance Period
(“Murder in the Cathedral,” (Hamlet)
Canterbury Tales)

Third Quarter Fourth Quarter
Research Papers Poetry Unit (Multiple Periods)
Age of Reason 20th Century Period Novel Unit
Extra Credit Opportunity
(Frankenstein)

The following English categories will be incorporated in to the other units each quarter: journaling, independent reading (IR), vocabulary, grammar, essays, and public speaking.