American Literature I Syllabus
Dear Parents:
Below a reader will find a course description and objectives, supplies,
grading policy, assessment, classroom expectations, and communication with the
teacher. All materials are available at
my main
page. Few handouts will be
given.
Course Description and Objectives:
My students can attain
success in this American Literature I class.
When the semester is over, the students will have an understanding of
some of the literature through about 1855.
Some of the authors we will study are Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The Madeline Hunter
Process Model of Teaching is
used daily. We also work in Gardner’s Theory of
Multiple Intelligences and Bloom’s
Taxonomy.
Supplies:
The student will need the following: pens,
pencils, paper, folder, and highlighters.
Grading Policy:
Grades are calculated on the board approved
grading scale.
93-100 = A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B;
80-82 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = C-; 67-69 = D+; 63-66 = D; 60 – 62 =
D-; 59 – Below = F.
There is no extra credit.
American Literature II Semester Breakdown
I.
First
nine weeks - Unit 1 through Unit 4
1. Unit 1 - In Harmony with Nature
a. The
World on the Turtle’s Back
b. Song
of the Sky Loom
c. Hunting
Song/Dinni-e Sin
d. The
Way to Rainy Mountain
2.
Unit
1 - First Encounters
a. La
Relacion
b. The
Travels of Marco Polo
c. Of
d. Women
and Children First: The Mayflower Pilgrims
e. The
Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
3.
Unit
2 – Between Heaven and Hell
a. To
My Dear and Loving Husband
b. Upon
the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666
c. Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God
d. The
Crucible
4.
Unit
2 – The Right to Be Free
a. Speech
in the Virginia Convention
b. The
Declaration of
c. Letter
tot the Rev. Samson Occom
d. Letter
to John Adams
e. Poor
Richard’s Almanack
II.
Second
nine weeks - ½ of Unit 6 and Unit 7
1.
Unit
Three – Celebrations of the Self
a. A
Psalm of Life
b. The
Devil and Tom Walker
c. Self-Reliance
d. Civil
Disobedience
e. Walden
f. I
Hear
g. I
Sit and Look Out
h. Song
of Myself
i. The
Masque of the Red Death
j.
Danse Macabre
k. The
Raven
l. Dr.
Heidegger’s Experiment
m. A
Rose for Emily
2.
Unit
Four – A House Divided
a. Narrative
of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave
b. An
Occurrence at
c. Letter
to Sarah Ballou
d. A
Mystery of Heroism
e. The
f. Life
and Times of Mark Twain
g. The
Autobiography of Mark Twain
h. Life
on the
i. Epigrams
j.
The Notorious Jumping Frog of
k. The
First Jumping Frog
l. The
Author’s Style
Assessment:
Tests are meant to be an accurate reflection
of the curriculum objectives. Make up
work follows the school policy in the student/parent handbook. A child must show his or her admit slip upon
returning. Once back, the student has
the same number of days missed to make up assignments. Please turn these assignments into the
teacher.
Late work receives a one-letter grade
deduction per day late. All students
need to keep a weekly planner with all assignments written in it, and it will
be checked from time-to-time.
Tests/Writings
Objective multiple-choice tests will be
given. The students will show what they
have learned through tests and writing. In
addition, with papers, the students will be given the following material: a
rubric, a due date, and a location on the web site to use as a reference. I will check their paper against the rubric,
so students can earn a better grade. In
between the date the material was given and the due date, students may submit
papers and have them evaluated without a penalty. Once the paper is graded, if students are not
happy with a grade, they may make corrections, and earn half of the lost points
back. Essentially, students choose their
own grade.
Why Do We Do This? Since writing is a process, a key point in
writing is revision. Even great writers
like Harper Lee rewrite
hundreds of times. By doing this, students
are forced to revise, rewrite, and follow the process.
Classroom Expectations and Guidelines:
Upon entering the room
students are to get into an assigned seat, so I may take attendance. If a student is not in his or her seat when
the bell rings, he or she is late. We
will have assigned seats during the first quarter. During the second, third, and fourth
quarters, students may select seats. The
teacher reserves the right to change seats if necessary. At the beginning of class, I will raise my
right hand meaning class is beginning.
In addition, this signal will be used during the class to bring the
class to attention for things like announcements. When turning in or passing out an assignment,
all paper work will be passed to the side.
Hall passes are available from me. A bathroom pass will be given to a student
once a week (unless there are extenuating circumstances).
All people in the room
are expected to work together to ensure a safe environment. If a student has a question, please raise a
hand; also, if we are working in groups or if another student is presenting a
project, a student is expected to stay on the educational objective. In order to guarantee your child, and all the
students in my classroom, the excellent learning climate they deserve, I am
utilizing the following assertive
discipline plan starting today.
Mr. Marsala’s Classroom Guideline
A student must work to reach the educational
objective for each day.
If a student chooses to
breaks this guideline, the consequences are as follows:
First consequence: Verbal
warning.
Second consequence: A
talk with the teacher and a detention.
Third consequence: A call
home and two detentions.
Fourth consequence:
Parent/teacher conference.
Fifth consequence: An
office referral.
The tardy policy follows
the parent/student handbook.
Computer Lab Procedure:
A student may sit where he or she likes, but I reserve the right to
change seats. Also, a student may listen
to music while typing provided it does not distract from finishing an
assignment; also, he or she must have headphones. A student may not listen to music without
headphones.
Parent/Teacher Communication:
If we work together, the
child will have a better chance at success.
Midterm and quarter notices will be sent and state a child’s
progress. Please feel free to call me at
(440) 933-6290. In addition, I have
established an e-mail address at vmarsa@leeca.org. The phone number and email address shown are
for educational use only by parents/adults.
Student phone calls and/or emails will not receive a response at any
time. As with any email, I can be
reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Papers and Plagiarism: Material may not be copied at
all. If the material is not your work,
it must be attributed to its creator.
Key items to remember
about plagiarism –
You CANNOT use a writer’s exact words without using quotation
marks and the page number where the quote can be found in the text, and a
complete citation in the reference pages.
You CANNOT
simply rephrase another’s words and present the revised version as your own.
You CANNOT
present another’s ideas, no matter how differently it is phrased, as your own.
Disclaimer:
This is not meant to be
all encompassing. As the year
progresses, there may be a need for additional assignments or modifications to
expectations.
Sincerely yours,
Vincent Marsala
Teacher