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Mrs. Mori's English Class

Expectations:

A learning environment cannot be established until certain standards are honored.  Students will be expected to be on time, be prepared to learn, be willing to learn, and be courteous, respectful, and act in an appropriate manner.  Please refer to Classroom Policies for more information.

 

Overview:

We will be building a strong literary foundation by looking at several genres--short stories, novel, drama, poetry and non-fiction.  There will be a variety of short and long writing assignments 

 

· We will start the year by studying short stories and practicing written and oral literary analysis based on literary elements.  We will be reading “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Most Dangerous Game,” “The Interlopers,” “The Scarlet Ibis,” and various other short story selections.  Students will write an original short story.

 

· Our poetry unit will explore different types of poetry writing, analyzing poetry for meaning, and writing poetry.  We will read and write our own poetry, focusing on different forms and meters.  Students will create a poetry project during this unit, and students will be expected to write various literary responses to poetry.

 

· To incorporate drama and William Shakespeare into the course, we will read William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.  Students will study Shakespeare’s time, Elizabethan language, and analyze the play. Students will be expected to memorize a passage from the play.

 

· Our focus novel this year will be To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. As part of our To Kill A Mockingbird unit, students will do research, write a paper, give a presentation on their findings.

 

·  Students will be expected to work independently and in groups efficiently and effectively throughout the school year.

 

·         Reading will be done both in-class and as homework. 

 

·         There will be various oral presentations (research and reading based; individual and group).

 

· We will explore various writing genres using the writing process, including:  journal responses, literary analysis, compare and contrast essays, personal narratives, argumentative/ persuasive essays, expository essays, poetry and creative writing.  Some of the writing work will be completed at home.

 

· Students will be taught and will be expected to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines to format their essays.  

 

· Grammar lessons will include: Greek and Latin roots, usage and conventions, spelling, homophones, homonyms, and in-context rules.

 

· We will watch pertinent films in class.  Some of these films will be rated PG-13.

 

Grading Criteria:

Assignments are graded on a total point scale.  Your grade for each quarter will be the total amount of points earned divided by the total points possible. There will be daily assignments, quizzes, tests, essays, presentations and projects.   All assignments are expected to be turned in on time.  Late work will be accepted, but will not receive full credit.  If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed.  If you miss a test, you will be expected to make-up the test as soon as possible.  Your grade will reflect a zero for all missing work until it is turned in. 

 

 

I am looking forward to spending the year working with the students of Mtn. Home High School!

 

If parents or guardians have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email or phone.