American Literature syllabus and classroom policies

Miss Craven

Fall Semester 2010

Room A113 katrina.craven@wayne.k12.in.us

Twitter Username: MissCravenBDH 317-244-7545

Welcome to Miss Craven’s American Literature class! I am excited to spend the first semester of
your junior year together! Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the classroom policies
and tentative course schedule so that you have an idea of what lies ahead for you in this course. My
mission is to create a collaborative environment that will allow you to work together to become
critical readers and producers of text through our study of American Literature.

Classroom Policies:
In this classroom, we only have one rule to follow:

Respect
 Respect for yourself.
 Respect for your teacher.
 Respect for the room around you.

I feel strongly that this rule is one that is all-encompassing. With this class comes high
expectations for you as a student—and I expect you to have high expectations for me as
your teacher. I promise to model respect to you on a daily basis, and I expect the same in
return.

Contact with your parent/guardian will happen regularly. I reserve the right to call home
for any discipline or behavior issues that may arise. With that said, I also promise to contact
home for positive purposes. If you do something in class that I find exceptional, I will mail a
note home or make a phone call to your parent/guardian.

Make-up Work

Make-up work will be available upon request. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to
obtain your missing work. Make-up work that is less than a week old is located at the front
of the room in the colored folders, while make-up work that is more than a week old is
located in the cabinets above Ms. Chaney’s desk. Please do not let your make-up work get
away from you! The faster you do it, the faster it’s done. 

Tutoring

I am available for additional help with coursework if needed. Remember: this year there
are no late buses available after school. If you need extra help on assignments, or just
want to stay after school to work, please let me know ahead of time. You may write your
“appointment” on the reminder board or send me an e-mail.
Announcements

Class reminders and announcements will be posted on Twitter! If you’re interested in

receiving updates for the class, request to follow MissCravenBDH. If you don’t already have
a Twitter account, come see me for easy instructions! I would love to have EVERYONE
following!

Tentative Course Schedule

**This schedule is subject to change. I’m providing it to give you a general feel for the
course, but again—nothing is set in stone.

First Quarter:

Native American Literature

Slave stories and narratives

Edgar Allan Poe

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Second Quarter:

Poetry

Transcendentalism with a focus on Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Class novel- The class will have the opportunity to vote between Of Mice and Men,

There Eyes were Watching God, and The Glass Castle

Major Writing assignments: personal narrative and persuasive essay

Grade Weights:
Classwork/Homework 30%

Tests/Quizzes/Projects 40%

Composition 30%

100%
Dear Parent/Guardian,

I would like to welcome your son/daughter to American Literature—their junior level

English class at Ben Davis High School. My name is Katrina Craven, and I will be your
student’s teacher this semester. I am excited to welcome him/her back to Ben Davis for a
productive 2010-2011 school year!

Communication is something I hope to focus on for the duration of this class as we work as
a partnership to enhance your student’s learning. As our first assignment, he/she is to
show you the tentative course schedule and the classroom policies. I ask that you take a
few minutes to read over our plan so that you, your student, and I can start the school year
off on the same page.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your support in your
student’s academic success. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do
not hesitate to contact me at any time.

E-mail: katrina.craven@wayne.k12.in.us

Phone: 371-244-7691 ex 4575

For additional class announcements, you may also follow us on Twitter!

Username: MissCravenBDH

Again, I look forward to spending this semester with your student, and I thank you for
sharing him/her with me! GO GIANTS!

Best,

Katrina Craven

Dear Miss Craven,

I have read the classroom policies and tentative course schedule for American Literature.
My student and I understand what is expected of him/her in your classroom.

Parent signature _____________________________________________________

Student signature ____________________________________________________

Date: _________________________________