COLLEGE ENGLISH 11 American Literature and Persuasive Writing
Course: College English 11 Focus: American Literature and Persuasive Writing Teacher: Mr. Matthew Brennan Email: mbrennan@bostonpublicschools.com Website: tbabrennan.weebly.com
Course Description: In Junior English, together well undertake reading, writing and discussions at a level thats usually reserved for students in elite private high schools and affluent suburbs. It will be hard, and you can do hard work. The focus for the academic year will be to develop your ability to analyze and evaluate the chronological development of American literature, while enhancing your critical consciousness to deeply read the word, and the world. Our literary odyssey will include works from various historical eras and represent authors from several regions of the nation. Well read complex texts, write extensive papers, and participate in discussion every day at a college level. Well examine the history of ideas, to trace how Americans have thought about themselves, their world, and their place within itand how historical, political, cultural and economic developments have given shape to American literature; discovering that our notions about life, identity, language, class, and culture have historical roots.
Essential Questions: What and who is an American? What social and political issues led to the formation of American values and the creation, challenging, and re-imagining of enduring myths about America? How does literature create conceptions of the American experience and identity? How are these conceptions represented through distinctive voices and styles in American literature? How does place and time shape an author's work and our understanding of them?
Critical Consciousness: As we develop our analytical skills, well work to transfer them to our understanding of media, culture, power, justice, identity, and equality, in the concrete situations of our daily lives. Just as we can get better at reading the deep structures and meanings of books, we can get better at reading ourselves, our positions in the dynamics of knowledge and power, the historical forces that have brought us to this place together, and the cultures narratives about who we are and where we belong. Together, well discuss forces of oppression and of liberation by connecting what were reading in class to what we know about the story of our own lives, and of situations across the globe. Well dig deeper, and work at many angles to come to know ourselves and our communities in new ways, always struggling toward understandings that can help us improve our lives together.
Course Philosophy: This class is based on an educational philosophy known as constructivism, in which students actively construct their understanding of the subject at hand, rather than passively receiving knowledge. Students play an active role as learners by coming to class prepared to actively engage in discussions. While class discussions are at the heart of the course, I will deliver textual background and analysis; however, students must do original thinking, rather than repeat what theyve learned. Discussions will grow from your ideas on the readings weve done together, which Ill work to deepen and expand. Our conversations will be more meaningful by transferring our understandings to our lives, and the broader world.
Skill Development: Analytical thinking and writing are the most essential skills for college and professional success, and receive the primary focus in Junior English. Students will read difficult texts and write papers that demand original thinking, careful argument, and thorough evidence. Of course, these skills will amount to little if students dont develop the self-discipline to complete assigned readings and assignments on time. Well practice metacognition, to observe and control the thinking that leads to our behaviors around school work. Well work on accountable behavior, mental toughness, and reading and writing stamina. Well do lots of work, because students who keep up with the higher pace of reading and writing in college have a better chance of graduating from college.
Readings: Well practice active reading by making notes on our ideas, in preparation for discussion. Well learn to do close readings that look carefully at the small details of short passages, working to understand how a works local style, thematics and structure shape its broader meanings. Well develop an understanding American literature by reading a range of works. Through diverse readings and analytical approaches, I hope the course will break down any narrow understanding students might have of studying English, and broaden the possibilities of cross-disciplinary scholarship in their futures.
Writing: In junior year, students will work to develop their persuasive and analytical writing, through prewriting exercises, group discussions, vocabulary enrichment, exemplar analysis, teacher coaching, and peer feedback. Well learn to structure our communication for clarity and effective organization. Students will revise their writing, working toward flawless standard English, a wide-ranging and expressive vocabulary, and a variety of sentence structures crafted to develop flow and rhythm in their prose. Well work on rhetorical skills, including tone and voice. Students will reflect on the intended audience of their writing, and fit their style to the purpose of each piece.
Personal Renaissance: No matter how well or poorly students have done in school before, I hope youll look at this year as a chance to begin anew, a rebirth as students, to discover passions in learning that might be pursued through college, and career. Learning in Junior English is about learning to see differently, to see with fresh eyes our selves, and our work together.
C L A S S P O L I C I E S
These policies stand firm at the start of the school year. As the course proceeds, I may need to change them to improve instruction and student performance. Should this occur, youll receive advanced notice.
Core Rule 1. Show respect to each other, the facilities, our materials, and the staff. Core Rule 2. Communicate with me. Come to me before or after class to discuss any issue at all. Core Rule 3. Remember, you can do this. Its sometimes difficult work, so come for extra help when you need it.
Junior English Grades: 35% = Major Papers 30% = Class Participation and Engagement (combination of class and individual grades) 20% = Assignments (classwork and homework) 15% = Quizzes and Exams
Your grade for the year in this class will equal the statistical average you earn for the course: Each term is worth 20% of your final grade. Your midterm and final will together be worth 20%. You will not pass for simply being a good kid, nor for having tried. You must meet the standards for the course. You can do it. Youll have to if you want to pass.
Reading Quizzes: Periodically, I may start the class a reading quiz on the previous nights reading. I do this so that students know theyll often be held accountable for doing their reading.
Daily participation in Junior English: A large portion of the class will be discussion based; therefore, class participation is critical. Students are expected to read every assignment, and be prepared to discuss their reading with specific textual references, every day. Class participation works on a points system, where each period is worth up to 10 points. Due to the fact that a discussion, by definition, requires more than one person, it is vital that all students contribute to ensure a fruitful and thorough discussion, and therefore student will receive two grades per day, an individual grade and a class grade. The students individual grade will be worth 20% and be based solely on individual effort and engagement. The students class grade will be worth 10% and be based solely on collective effort and engagement. I will meet privately with students, and address the class collectively, throughout the year to discuss performance and potential ways in which to improve.
Participation grades will be based on the following rubric:
9-10 points A student, or class, is extremely engaged and contributes excellent analysis (deep, organized, and concise) with specific references to the reading, demonstrating that he/she/they read skillfully. The comments, questions, and analysis go beyond the obvious. Discussion is fluid. Delivery is engaging.
8 points A student, or class, provides fair to good analysis (some depth, fairly well organized, and somewhat concise) with specific references to the reading. Theres some original insight, but its mixed with some obvious observations. While coherent, comments, questions, and analysis might lose focus. Delivery engages the audience, but has a few problems with tone, volume, articulation, or presence.
6-7 points A student, or class, provides poor to fair analysis (surface observations, unorganized, running on at length or with too few ideas), but still makes specific references to the prior evenings reading. Delivery fails to fully engage, due to problems with clarity, concepts, tone, volume, articulation, or presence.
1-5 points A student, or class, makes unclear contributions to the class discussion. May or may not offer specific references to the reading. Demonstrates that the assignment was not read thoughtfully, or at all. Delivery has serious problems with tone, volume, articulation, or general presence. Or, student fails to contribute.
Note: Points will be reduced if students are late for class without a note indicating that its excused. Come on time. Its the best habit to take to college. A student can also lose points if he/she fails to complete Do-Now assignments, take notes during class, is disrespectful, disruptive, engages in side conversations, sleeps in class, refuses to comply with directions, has an electronic device in use or that goes off. The number of points lost goes on a case to case basis, depending on the severity of the disruption, and the number of prior incidences.
Late Assignments: All major essays must be submitted electronically via turnitin.com. If you have trouble submitting an assignment to turnitin.com, then email it to me. Any work that comes in after the exact time the assignment is due, will be reduced by 10% for each week it is late, and will not be accepted four weeks beyond the assigned due date. The late policy applies to all students, in virtually all circumstances.
Hardship: Every year, several good students have extenuating circumstances that keep them from doing their best. If something comes up, speak with me as soon as possible, or to your guidance counselor if youre more comfortable with that, and we can talk about ways to help you get back on track.
Plagiarism or cheating on any assignments will yield a zero that cannot be redeemed, be it in class participation or a major paper. Students must submit every written assignment to www.turnitin.com, which checks for plagiarism. There is no such thing as a little plagiarism or cheating. Any borrowing from outside sources, other than a standard dictionary or brief paraphrasing of facts (not analysis), is plagiarism. Cite ALL your sources in MLA format. Always form your own ideas.
Materials: Student MUST have a three-ring binder, dividers, highlighters and/or pens (various colors recommended), Post-It notes, and lines paper.
Note taking: Students must take notes during class, whether were in discussion or mini-lecture. Failure to do so affects their participation grade. Students must come prepared with the text were reading, a notebook, and a pen or pencil.
Extra help. Im available most days during my free periods, and during lunch. Just come on by. If you need help after school, make an appointment with me, and well find a time that works best for both of us.
Absences. If the absence is unauthorized by a parent, guardian, the headmaster or the guidance counselor, the student will receive a zero for that day. If a student is absent from a class discussion, he/she will still be responsible for the days materials, readings, and assignments. You must be prepared to participate on the day you return from your absence. All readings and deadlines will be provided in advance, and all assignments and materials will be posted on the class website. Not having class materials or Internet access at home is NOT an expectable excuse. If a student is absent on the day a written assignment is due, that student is still required to submit online, on time. If a student is absent during a required presentation or exam, student will have two days to make up the assignment.
Summary Actively participate, take responsibility for your own education, show respect to each other and to your teacher, communicate openly, take pride in hard work, and come for extra help if you need it. Come every day, on time. If you get off track in your work, think through your behavior, to change your thoughts and your actions. Do these things, and you will succeed in Senior English, in college, and in your career. You can do this.
20142015 Reading List **
American Literature with Mr. Brennan
Year Author Text
Year Author Text
Puritanism 1624 Smith The General History of Virginia 1620 * Bradford Of Plymouth Plantation 1682 Rowlandson A Narrative of the Captivity 1630 Winthrop A Model of Christian Charity 1650 * Bradstreet Select Poems 1680 * Taylor Select Poems 1741 Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God 1693 Mather The Wonders of the Invisible World 1953 Miller The Crucible Rationalism 1733/91 Franklin Richards Almanack / Autobiography 1776 Jefferson The Declaration of Independence 1776 Paine The Crisis, No. 1 1775 Henry Speech to the Virginia Convention 1787 Franklin Speech in the Convention 1773 Wheatley Select Poems 1800 Adams Letter to Her Daughter 1782 de Crvecur Letters from a Farmer 1784 Franklin Remarks Concerning the Savages 1789 Equiano The Narrative of Equiano Romanticism 1819-24 Irving Select Short Stories 1817-66 Fireside Poets Select Poems 1840 * Poe Select Short Stories and Poems 1836-7 Hawthorne Minister's Black Veil / Goodman Brown 1851 Melville Moby Dick Transcendentalism 1836-41 Emerson Nature / Self-Reliance / Amer. Scholar 1849/54 Thoreau Civil Disobedience / Walden 1862 * Dickinson Select Poems 1855 Whitman Leaves of Grass
Note: The focus of this class is depth rather than breadth. While every effort will be made to address all aspects of the syllabus, time constraints, student absences, and unforeseen circumstances may require revisions to the syllabus as the school year unfolds. Therefore, some pieces may be removed or revised.
Realism 1855 Douglass My Bondage and My Freedom 1897-9 Crane The Open Boat / An Episode of War 1890 Bierce An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 1863/65 Lincoln Gettysburg / Second Inauguration 1865-83 Twain Short Stories / Huck Finn 1869 Harte The Outcasts of Poker Flat 1904 Cather The Wagner Matinee 1908 London To Build a Fire 1877 Chief Joseph Fight No More 1854 Chief Seattle Sacred Soil 1851 Truth Ain't I a Woman? 1848 Stanton Declaration of Sentiments 1894 Chopin The Story of an Hour 1892 Gilman The Yellow Wallpaper 1900 Wharton April Showers 1896 Dunbar Douglass; We Wear the Mask Modernism 1915 Eliot The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 1939 Steinbeck from The Grapes of Wrath 1919 Anderson from Winesburg, Ohio 1935 Wolfe The Far and the Near 1939 Auden The Unknown Citizen 1940-58 cummings old sticks; small town 1914-16 Frost Select Poems 1939 White The Door 1955 Faulkner Select Works 1900 * Robinson Select Poems 1922/5 Fitzgerald Winter Dreams / The Great Gatsby 1930 Porter The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Harlem Renaissance 1900 * DuBois Select Poems 1900 * Washington Select Works 1920 * Hughes Select Works 1920 * McKay Select Poems 1920 * Cullen Select Poems 1900 * DuBois Select Poems 1900 * Washington Select Works 1937 Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God 1945 Wright Black Boy Post-Modernism 1963 King I Have a Dream 1965 Malcolm X The Autobiography of Malcolm X 1956 Ginsberg Howl, and Select Poems 1949 Miller Death of a Salesman 1961 Yates Revolutionary Road * ciceria
T E C H B O S T O N A C A D E M Y Course Syllabus, 2014-2015
COLLEGE ENGLISH 11 American Literature and Persuasive Writing
T E A C H E R / S T U D E N T A G R E E M E N T
I, _____________________________________________, have read and understand my expectations and obligations as a student to receive the best possible grade that I can achieve during the 2014/2015 school year in Mr. Brennans English 11 class. If at any time I am concerned with my ability to meet these expectations and obligations, I will discuss my situation and concerns with Mr. Brennan.
___________________________________ _______________________________ ____________________ Student Name Printed Student Signature Date
___________________________________ _______________________________ ____________________ Parent/Guardian Name Printed Parent/Guardian Signature Date