English III: American Literature

English III: American Literature Olathe North High School Course Syllabus Course Instructor: Address: Phone: E-mail: Plan time:

Mrs. Careth Palmer Olathe North High School 600 Prairie, Olathe, KS, 66061 (913) 780-7140 [email protected] 6th Hour

Course Description:

English III is required for all juniors and must be passed to graduate. This course is a survey of American literature emphasizing critical thinking skills, grammar, vocabulary, and expository, persuasive, and analytical writing. (Program Planning Guide, Olathe District Schools)

Required Text:

McDougal Littell, American Literature, 2008 edition

The following is a look at the year. Each quarter will also contain a writing piece or project to go with each unit. Units may be switched or changed from quarter to quarter depending on the needs of each class. This is an estimated outline for the year.   

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Quarter 1 Native American Unit Puritan Unit Writing will include: compare and contrast synthesis essay, memoir, character literary analysis Outside reading—fiction—free choice

Quarter 3 Twain/Satire Unit Great Gatsby Unit Writing will include: Literary Analysis, Rhetorical Analysis Outside reading—non-fiction—free choice

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Required Materials:  Student ID  Student Planner  Edmodo log in  3 ring binder with dividers (this is must for the class!)  Writing utensils (pencil lead, blue or black ink ONLY)

Quarter 2 Gothic literature Unit Persuasion/Argumentation Unit Writing will include: short story, persuasive essay, argumentative essay, district synthesis essay Outside reading—non-fiction-limited choice Quarter 4 Harlem Renaissance Unit Raisin in the Sun Unit Writing will include: Poetry, Synthesis Essay Outside reading—fiction—limited choice

Expectations: Students are expected to come to class on time and be prepared for learning with all required materials. Students are expected to learn and follow all classroom procedures and standards. Standards include:  Honesty  Respect  Responsibility  Trustworthiness  Standard Social Skills Grading Scale: 90-100 80-89 70-79 60-69 59 & below

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Hallway Passes:  Students are expected to remain in the classroom during the entire period, however per the student and faculty handbook, no student will leave the room in the first 10 minutes or the last 10 minutes of each class (or 20 minutes on block day.)  If a student needs to leave the room, the student MUST have their planner signed by the teacher as a pass. No planner=no bathroom. Trips to the bathroom should occur during the six-minute passing period.  Each student will be allowed TWO free passes for the bathroom per quarter (4 per semester total). The same rule applies to trips to the nurse; while exceptions may occur, they are limited and dealt with on an individual basis. Tardy Policy: Students will be considered "on time" when they are in the classroom before the bell rings. There will be a daily "bell activity" to be completed within the first few minutes of class, so students should be working on the assignment as soon as the final bell rings. Tardies will be handled according to the Olathe North policy listed in the student handbook:  All tardy students will not be allowed to enter the classroom unless they have a tardy pass from the Tardy Table.  Students MUST report to a tardy table once the door to the class has been shut (once the final bell rings).  Failure to do so will result in an unexcused absence and NO work from that day will be allowed to be made up for credit. That means that while you will receive the work, you will be unable to receive credit for it—per Olathe North Student Handbook. Cell Phones and other technology: Per the Olathe North Student Handbook- This includes any and all types of cell phones, MP3 players, CD players, etc.  Use of these items is PROHIBITED during class time. o Uses of phones including texting, checking messages or time are all considered an offense. If the phone goes off, it is considered an offence. o Uses of music players of any kind include but are not limited to: listening to it during class time without permission, listening to it during testing, having it or the headphones visible during any time during class.

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Failure to keep these items turned off and out of sight during class time will result in their confiscation by the teacher (into the purple basket). Phones will be given to the office and you will only be able to retrieve them at the end of the school day from the office.

Make-up Work: Making up classroom activities is the responsibility of the student, not the teacher. First and foremost students are expected to use Edmodo to learn what they missed upon an absence. If you haven’t checked Edmodo first, then please do not ask me what you missed as my question to you will be if you have checked Edmodo. When a student is aware of an upcoming absence, he or she is encouraged to consult the teacher and complete the work before the absence (if possible) or have it completed no later than the day the student returns to class. If the absence is unplanned, students must first consult Edmodo. If further explanation or handouts are needed, students should see the teacher (after doing the above FIRST). Due dates for make-up work will be handled according to the Olathe North policy (you have two days to make up work for every day missed). AN UNEXCUSED ABSENCE WILL RESULT IN A 0 FOR THE ASSIGNMENT FOR THE DAY—NO EXCEPTIONS!!! Per student handbook: “Students are expected to fulfill long-term assignments as originally scheduled.” That means that if you are gone on a due date for an assignment that was assigned a week in advance, it is due that day despite your absence. Failure to turn in a long term assignment on the due date will mean the assignment is LATE and can only receive late points. If you are absent on a long term due date the following are acceptable ways to turn in your assignment.  Post on Edmodo to me or E-mail by end of your hour with me  Have parent/guardian turn into office before end of your hour with me  Have a friend in the same hour give to me  And of course, you can always hand it in early if you know you will be gone Late Work: The purpose for assignments in the classroom is student learning. Therefore, students are expected to turn in ALL work. If the work comes in after the deadline: o A late assignment form must be filled out completely and stapled to the late assignment o Students will automatically receive a half credit score with feedback from teacher. The only exception to this rule being large assignments. On large assignments 10% will be taken off the earned score for each day it is late up to 50% off the earned score. o Late assignments will only be accepted until two weeks after the original due date. Plagiarism Policy: As defined in the Olathe District School Secondary Handbook, plagiarism is defined as “when an individual uses another person’s ideas, expressions, or writing as if they were his/her own.” Examples of this include:  Erasing your friend’s name from an assignment, writing your name instead, and handing in the assignment as if it were your own  Quoting someone else’s research without including proper source documentation  Paraphrasing someone else’s ideas without including proper source documentation  Taking a paragraph, or even a whole essay, from someone else and changing a few words and phrases here and there before turning it in as your own work  Copying someone else’s assignment or test OR even splitting the work and copying Consequences for plagiarism are as follows:  If the offense is blatant, the student will earn a zero for the work and a parent conference will be called to determine the next step.

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If the offense is unintentional as the result of faulty documentation, the student will have the opportunity to redo the assignment which may result in a lowered score. If the offense is copying someone else’s work, both the student who shared his or her work AND the student taking the answers will be penalized with a zero on the assignment as well as a parent conference to determine the next step.

Housekeeping Issues: th  Only water in a bottle is permitted in class—even during 4/5 hour lunch class. If you have food of any kind or pop in class, you will be asked to throw it away! These rooms have new carpet and we will keep them looking nice!  Be prepared when you come to class. Bring your notebook every class period.  Upon dismissal from the classroom throw away any trash and check to make sure you have all of your belongings—do not leave anything of yours as my room is not your locker and I will not be responsible for anything you leave behind.  DO NOT WRITE ON THE DESKS. If you do, you will receive a detention in which you will be required to clean all the desks in the room after school.  Abide by all school and district policies, rules, and expectations.  Be responsible and follow all instructions carefully.

FAILURE TO SIGN AND RETURN DOES NOT NEGATE ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR CONSEQUENCES FOR ANY INFRACTION OF THE POLICIES LISTED WITHIN THE SYLLABUS.

I ______________________ (printed student name) have read and understood the procedures and guidelines presented in my English class syllabus. I understand that I am responsible for all material contained in my syllabus whether it is in my possession when an infraction is incurred or not.___________________ (sign) ______________ (Date)

I ______________________ (printed parent/guardian name) have read and understood the procedures and guidelines presented in my child’s English class syllabus. I understand that my child is responsible for all material contained in his/her syllabus whether it is in his/her possession when an infraction is incurred or not.___________________ (sign) ______________ (Date)

Return this page only, signed, to receive 20 points in class.