• Accelerated English 10

    Mr. Boyt
    Room 1101

    "Tis the good reader that makes the good book" Ralph Waldo Emerson

     

    SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR IMPORTANT LINKS AND DOCUMENTS

    Goals: English10 Pre – AP is designed for the practice and mastery of literary analysis of character, setting, plot, theme, and style using a wide variety of genres of literature.  Pre–AP English 10 is designed to help prepare students for AP classes and for AP testing offered by The College Board. Successful completion of the College Board test can earn students three or more college credits and can save a student up to $15,000 in college expenses. The course will include a survey of literature from America and the rest of the world. We will be looking at: poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and non-fiction prose, as well as a research paper.

    A Very Demanding Course:
    This class will teach critical reading and effective writing, drawing from the following works:
    Othello by William Shakespeare
    Native Son by Richard Wright

    The novels from the summer reading.
    Excerpts of literary merit from a variety of works.

    Honors Credit:
    Your grade is based on Honor points apply for this class. This means your grade point for this class is one full grade higher than the recorded class grade.

    Summer Reading Work:

    Old Man and the Sea by E Hemmingway

    Anthem by Ayn Rand

    Black Like Me by John H. Griffin
    The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost

    This is required by the College Board, the St. Paul School District, and Johnson High School. Before the end of the school year in June you should have received a paper outlining the summer work required. An additional summer work requirement sheet was mailed to your home. If you do not have at least one book read, reconsider taking this course. We will be working with one book you have read during the first part of the quarter and you will be required to write an essay on that book. All summer reading assignments are due by the end of the second week: 9/14/12.

    Grading: The course is graded according to Johnson High School's grading policy.  30% formative assesment (quizzes, journals, class discussions), 60% summative asesment (exams and major papers), and 10% participation. Late work: 10% penalty with or without an excuse and will not be accepted after the end of a given unit of work. 

    A word about plagiarism: Plagiarism is the intellectual theft that occurs when one claims another's work as one's own. If a student copies another student's assignment and puts their name on it, it is plagiarism. If a student copies an author's words without giving that author credit for those words, that is plagiarism. Of course, there are penalties for plagiarism. The plagiarist fails the assignment and is not allowed a chance at revision. The plagiarist will most likely not be allowed into the National Honor Society, but the worst penalty is the damage done to the plagiarist's name and reputation. It is hard if not impossible for teachers not to see the plagiarist's future work and character with suspicion.



    Materials Needed:
    2” binder, loose leaf paper, dividers
    Pens and pencils ALWAYS

    I also recommend a paperback dictionary - American Heritage and Oxford English dictionaries are both very good.

    We all use google and online dictionaries for their convenience, but google's definitions lack the art and care of the good old book dictionaries.


    Expectations: Our classroom will be a comfortable and safe place for all who enter. No one will be allowed to interrupt your learning.  Each of you deserves a place to work that can at times be quiet and peaceful and other times fun and interactive.  I fully expect each of my students to know what is appropriate, and if you are not sure, I will teach you.

    All school rules will be enforced: cell phones must be turned off and out of sight, along with any other electronic devices. No hats or food. These items, along with any other items that interrupt our learning, will be confiscated until the end of class if I see them or hear them.  If a student continues to bring the item to class, it will be given to his or her administrator. Use of cell phones in class is deducted from student's participation score.

    Communication: Please keep in touch with me.  If you are struggling, or if you need more of a challenge, please let me know.  You can feel free to be open with me.  You can also email me any time, especially if you have questions from home.  I hope your parents will do the same! My address is john.boyt@spps.org

    Units for the Course:

    Unit 1:  How do authors develop their ideas?
    Books used: Summer reading novels and non fiction selections
    Major Product/Assessment: Essay comparing and contrasting summer reading novels.

    Unit 2: How does society/circumstances influence a person’s choices?
    Book Used: Native Son by Richard Wright
    Product/Assessment: Research and Presentation on historical context related to novel

    Unit 3: How do writers like Shakespeare use poetic devices to form their work?
    Book used: Othello by William Shakespeare
    Product/Assessment: Literary analysis essay

    Unit 4: How is poetry analyzed?
    Book used: Various selections
    Product/Assessment: Presentation

     Unit 5: How do authors develop a theme and how do we talk about it?

    Books used: various short stories

    Major Product Assessment: Theme essay

    Note: Students should also be prepared for other assessments, such as: multiple-choice unit tests, quarter and final tests, discussions, timed-writing tests, and a variety of individual and group assignments.

     

    HELPFUL LINKS:

    I am sorry for the clutterd unattractive appearance of this. It is not as neglected as it looks.

    Native Son - Housing and Segregation in America - it's still a problem: http://www.opb.org/news/article/living-apart-how-the-government-betrayed-a-landmark-civil-rights-law/

     

    Fairly reliable lit. terms dictionary: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms.html

    Free vocabulary expansion!

    Bring in proof that you've signed up to receive their daily email and I'll give you extra credit! : http://wordsmith.org/awad/

    A link that explains SOAPSTone:  http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/preap/teachers_corner/45200.html

    Got Grammar? http://www.chompchomp.com/menu.htm

    Got apps? Here are five to help with reading and literature:

    https://www.appolearning.com/categories/89?s=1

    Here are five to help with writing and composition:

    https://www.appolearning.com/categories/90?s=1

    Study Vocab with quizlet (search at the site by using Boyt Accelerated 10)

    http://quizlet.com/60128081/vocab-2-flash-cards/

    I encourage you to find the time to read a poem. What to read? When to read it? Check out the following subscription services. They are all free and the best part is you read them if you want to and delete them if you don't. 

    The Poetry Foundation - subscribe on the left: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/features/audio?show=Poem%20of%20the%20Day

    Poets.org: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem-day

    The Writer's Almanac: http://writersalmanac.org/

    Check this out! Read this: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/waiting-room

    Now watch this: http://www.triquarterly.org/issues/issue-147/waiting-room

    That is cool! Can we do that with our ipads?

    Interested in "the scene" Here's a journal that is a nice blend of art, non-fiction, fiction and poetry and it has St. Paul roots: http://midwayjournal.com/

    What English teachers listen to in their "spare time" (I never get to listen to it): http://www.infiniteguest.org/tiny-sense/

    If you're into comic books, check this out: http://studygroupcomics.com/main/webcomics/

    Cool Quotes:

    Helen Vendlar is like a superhero lit critic - I love what she said in an interview about poetry:

    I don’t believe that poems are written to be heard, or as Mill said, to be overheard; nor are poems addressed to their reader. I believe that poems are a score for performance by the reader, and that you become the speaking voice. You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem. You stand behind the words and speak them as your own—so that it is a very different form of reading from what you might do in a novel where a character is telling the story, where the speaking voice is usurped by a fictional person to whom you listen as the novel unfolds.

     

    So go perform a poem today!

     


     

    For Native Son: Housing and Segregation in America - is it better?

    American Icons: Native Son

    Native Son Reading Schedule

    Accelerated 10 15/16 syllabus

    Your Vocabulary List

    Literary Terms List