English iv.2ndsemester

English IV- Semester II Syllabus
Materials Needed: Every day, you must bring a writing utensil, paper, and your notes from the previous days.
Leaving the Classroom: Not only is it the school’s rule, but it is also my rule that NO ONE leave the class at any
time unless an emergency arrises. To assure, that you do not leave more than 2 times per semester, I have created
personalized Hall Passes with your name and number on them. You have 2, and you may only use these 2 passes this
semester. You must use one to walk out the door, whether you are going to the restroom, to your locker, to visit the
office, ect. In short, once you enter, you may not exit until the bell rings. (Its only 45 minutes.)
Skipping Class/ Unexcused Absences: Again, I follow the school policy, and believe that you SHOULD NOT be
able to make up ANY work that you miss when you skip class, come in late, or are unexcused. Therefore, I will NOT
allow you to make up tests or any other assignment while you are “unexcused.” If you skip class, then do not even
THINK of asking me to make up something you missed.
Skipping Class: If for ANY reason (smoking, hanging in the hallway, helping another teacher/ administrator, ect.)
you are not in room 20 during your class period, you have skipped class.
2nd Semester Requirements:
MLA Format
You will learn to correctly cite sources from all texts correctly. You will use this knowledge throughout the
remainder of the year.
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The Black Literature Book…
You will be read PG A- A41 and complete a Group Project and Group Presentation over one Time Period in British History.
I The Old English & Medieval Period
II The English Renaissance
III The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
IV The Romantic Period
V The Victorian Period
VI The Modern & Post Modern Periods
GROUP PROJECT: Research your time period, using the internet, your black literature books,
encyclopedias, ect. You MUST cite at least 10 sources of information in MLA style.
1 Write a 200 word explanation of your time period’s NAME. Why is it called the _______ period? Cite your
sources.
2 Make a Timeline of important events that occurred during that time period. Choose one event and write a 200 word
informative explanation about the event: Who? What? When? Where? How? Cite your sources.
3 List 5 writers from that time period and write a paragraph about each writers life and works. Cite your sources.
4 Find one well-known text from this time period, print at least one page of the text, and write a 100 word synopsis
of the text. Then, write 100 words EXPLAINING why it belongs in this time period. Cite your sources.
5 Create a Poster-Size Visual representation of this time period. Every inch of the poster must be colored and you
must write a 200 word explanation of the visual representation: Why does this poster represent your time period?
Cite your sources.
If you have more than 5 people in your group, here are more assignments:
6 Find 5 pieces of artwork from your time period, print an image of each one. Glue these images to a piece of paper.
Choose one and write a 200 word explanation of the artwork, its artists, and how it represents the time period. Cite
your sources.
7 Write a 200 word explanation of the events that caused your time period to end and the next time period to begin.
Cite your sources.
Each group member MUST volunteer to complete 1 of the 5 assignments (1-5, ONLY groups with more than 5 may
choose to complete 6 or 7), complete the assignment, and present their 200 words of intellect to the rest of the class.
EVERYONE must cite their sources in MLA style.
FINALLY, as a group you must create a typed bibliography in MLA style to turn in on the day of your presentation.
How will I grade your work? See RUBRIC below:
For each group member, I will grade the following:
1 Completed Individual assignment (1-5) ____/100
2 Assignment included cited sources in MLA ____/25
3 Presented assignment to class ____/25
4 All components of the Group Assignment were complete ____/25

5 Group completed a bibliography in MLA ____/50
6 All group members were present and working every day ____/25 Or excused from their absence.

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Individual Writing Portfolio:
You must revise 4 pieces from your writing portfolio so that they are publishable.
REQUIREMENTS:
1 Each piece must be typed.
2 Each piece must be revised 2- 3 times.
3 Each piece must be approved for publication by an English teacher (Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Kidwell, or Miss Stafford)
4 Each piece must have been written while the student was in high school.
5 All 4 pieces must be compiled by the end of the 3rd nine weeks.

Portfolio Rubric:
Distinguished Portfolio: 4 D pieces 410/400
Proficient Portfolio: 4 P pieces 300/400
Apprentice Portfolio: 4 A pieces 250/400
Novice Portfolio: 4 N pieces 200/400

Incomplete Portfolio ___/400
50 points for each completed, revised piece
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In Class Reading: PG 1- 31
From Legend to History: The Old English and Medieval Periods
Written Assignments: All written assignments require you to answer questions from texts in the book. You must ALWAYS answer questions
in COMPLETE sentences and you must ALWAYS use the text to support your answer. There are exceptions, because some of the written
work has specific instructions from the text to “write the letter” or “re-write the sentence”. ALWAYS Read and Follow the instructions from
the book!
For example:
1 To what is the speaker constantly drawn?
An acceptable answer: The speaker is always drawn to the sea because he is a lonely seafarer with no human companionship. The only
thing he knows is to talk to and be friends with the sea.
PG # Assignment Due Date
19 Check Your Comp #1-4, Critical Thinking # 1-4, Literary Focus (2 sentences)
23 Check Your Comp #1-3, Critical Thinking # 1-5
26 Reading for Success #1-4, Build Vocab #1-4, #1-5, Grammar & Style # 1-5, #1-2
30 Check Your Comp #1-3, Critical Thinking #1-4
31 Check Your Comp #1- 2, Critical Thinking # 1- 4
In Class Reading: PG 37-70
Focus on Literary Forms: The Epic
61 Check Your Comp #1-4
63 Critical Thinking #1-5, Build Vocab #1-2, #1-6, Literary Focus #1- 3, Grammar & Style # 1-3, #1-2
70 Critical Thinking # 1-5, Literary Connection #1- 4
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
110 Reading Strategy #1-4, Literary Focus #1-2, Build Vocab # 1-4, 1-7, Grammar & Style #1-3

Independent Tale Reading: I will assign you a specific tale, and you are to research the tale, PRINT out the tale, and complete the following
assignment about the tale.
1 Title of Tale__________________ Author of Tale_____________________
2 Describe the author in an organized paragraph (refer to Prologue).
3 Summarize the tale (in your own words).

4 Explain how your tale correlates with the Prologue and the Nun’s Priest Tale. How are they alike? How are they different?
5 Create a Comic that portrays your tale: Draw the characters, color them, and add “speech bubbles” for each scene. Your comic must
consist of at least 5 scenes.
Focus on Literary Forms: Drama
1 Create a list of characters, leaving two notebook lines between each, so that you can characterize each character and keep them “straight.”
362 Critical Thinking #1-6, Literary Focus #1-5
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Novel Reading: Nickel and Dimed
Assignments to come…
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Study of the Short Story
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Independent Research Paper
1 You will choose a topic that interests you, research the topic and create a THESIS about that topic.
2 You will then write a research paper that Analyzes and proves your thesis.
You will write 5 organized paragraphs.
3 You will cite at least 5 sources in MLA format.
4 You will print out at least 2 scholarly articles that support your work.

Research Paper Rubric:
Research paper consists of 5 paragraphs written in the correct format _____/100
All sources are cited in MLA format _____/25
Bibliography is correctly formatted in MLA style. _____/25
Article 1 _____/10
Article 2 _____/10

The research paper is your final, and must be turned in the WEEK before FINALS! Friday at 3pm. All late papers
will receive a deduction of 25 points per day late.

English iv.2ndsemester

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