English 11
3 Credit Hours
Room E114
Mr. Ferris
Contact information: 612-668-9196 or Daniel.ferris@mpls.k12.mn.us
Course Description/Purpose/
Objectives
In English 11, we will continue to work on reading and writing skills by reading more challenging works of literature and study and practice how to write academically.
Reading and Literature
American Literature and Composition will continue to build on the reading and language curriculum established in tenth grade. Throughout this course, students will have opportunities to develop and expand their knowledge of American literature and demonstrate their mastery level of new learning through performance tasks and assessments.
Focusing on the study of American literature, students will develop an understanding of the importance of various periods of literature that characterize and reflect the American experience. They will read, interpret, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structures, themes, and elements of American fiction and nonfiction. Examining letters, journals, diaries, and speeches, students will trace the history of the development of American literature. They will also consider the influence of mythical and classical texts on American authors. Through extensive reading, students will acquire new vocabulary specific to the study of American literature and apply that knowledge in their writing.
Writing
As students in Eleventh Grade English, you will be using many skills you have developed in 9th and 10th grade writing and literature classes, but you will be encouraged to explore topics more critically and to express yourself more fluently in order to become a better writer. Essentially this class will give you writing practice in communicating ideas, feelings and presenting research. Writing assignments will include: research papers, literature responses, persuasive essays, college prep essays, technical writing, speech (written and spoken word), and various forms of creative writing
Speaking and Presenting Students will continue to develop their critical listening skills. Through presentations and interactions with the teacher and other students, they will apply effective speaking techniques in small and large group settings. The viewing standards will enable students to develop media literacy skills through the careful examination of contemporary texts including television, radio, film productions, and electronic media.
Course Outline and
Assessments
Texts
Grading
We will be exploring essential questions throughout the year. The first quarter readings will include A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, and other shorter readings. We will explore the questions: How do cultures respond to oppression and to what extent does oppression affect our relationship with others? Some of the activities will include concentrating on reading skills, such as:
· Using personal response to text as a basis for writing…
· Share and compare personal response to text…
· Compare and contrast characters, setting, ideas, and events from different texts with one’s own experiences.
· Identify examples of distortions, inaccuracies, and stereotypes in texts
· Understand how society and culture influence the behavior of characters…
· Analyze how the text reflects the values of the time and author…
· Apply psychological theories to character’s thoughts and actions
Assessments will include creative and analytical writing, quizzes, and group presentations. These assessments (and others) will be used throughout the year.
The following are expectations that will be applied to all writing.
Conventions of grammar/spelling/punctuation, such as:
· Use conventional syntactical patterns…
· Use conventional spelling…
· Correctly use common conventions of capitalization
· Correctly use punctuation
· Use conventional syntactical patterns in sentences
The second quarter readings will include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Outcast United. We will continue exploring the essential questions dealing with oppression.
Some of the writing genres we will concentrate on during second quarter are:
Persuasive essay writing
· Make inferences; draw conclusions with specific textual references
· Understand cause and effect relationships in text
· Develop purposeful, controlling ideas in writing…
· Use a variety of rhetorical strategies
· Formulate an argument and support it with evidence…
Non-fiction Reading
· Identify purpose for reading , viewing or listening non-fiction materials
· Apply phonic, contextual, and structural strategies to identify unfamiliar words
· Identify biases in author’s views and language
· Identify levels of objectivity and subjectivity
· Show how purpose, point of view, and audience affect text or message…
· Identify and analyze viewpoints about a single idea…
· Understand how presentation of material can be used to shape or limit in formation…
· Analyze reasoning fallacies.
· Identify examples of distortions, inaccuracies, and stereotypes…
· Consider the validity, reliability, and bias of information presented…
The third quarter readings will include Black Boy and Othello and we will start exploring the questions: How do cultural values help define interpersonal interactions and to what extent do different cultures find “common ground”?
One of the writing genres we will concentrate on during third quarter is Academic Writing and it will have an assessment of a paper:
Academic Writing
· Make inferences; draw conclusions with specific textual references.
· Identify and use organizing patterns of text
· (Write, speak, and visually demonstrate for a variety of purposes)
· Present Writing with a strong overall sense of cohesion…
· Use a variety of techniques to provide supporting detail..
· Generate ideas with fluency…
· Elaborate on ideas
· Formulate questions an develop a thesis/hypothesis
· Conduct research using data from in depth field studies.(this applies to ethnography)
· Identify the qualities of one’s own texts that help one communicate effectively…
· Evaluate own peers’ texts…
· Describe progress toward achieving stated standards.
· Use feedback and reflection to evaluate one’s own writing…
The fourth quarter readings will include The Color of Water and The Kite Runner. We will continue to explore the essential questions that were established in the third quarter. Along with the texts, we will explore a variety of skills, including;
Cooperative learning/group process
· Show recognition of others’ ideas
· Respect others’ points of view
· Demonstrate the skills of negotiation
· Ask questions to clarify understanding
· Listen and offer constructive and helpful feedback
· Express differing points of view and opinions in a respectful manner.
· Demonstrate use of creative problem solving…
We will be reading: A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Outcasts United, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Black Boy, Othello, The Color of Water, Kite Runner, and other excerpts and short stories
The Traditional Grading System will be used.
A 100-90%
B 89-80%
C 79-70%
D 69-60%
F 59-0%
The specific distribution is as follows:
Daily Work 15%
Quizzes/Exams 25%
Projects/Papers 40%
Presence/Participation 20%
Prerequisites/Technology Use
The prerequisites include successful completion of any 10th grade course. Students will be using computers on a regular basis for word processing and creative purposes. Laptops, I Pads, and other “reading” electronics are welcome if used appropriately. NO CELL PHONES. All district and school technological rules apply.