11B English Course Overview

Goals To continue to foster good reading, writing and speaking skills, especially in the area of persuasive/argumentative text. To focus students on particular reading, writing and vocabulary skills which may be needed for their post-high school endeavors, whether college related or work related. To help students achieve the best scores they are capable of on PSAT and SAT tests

Major Course Components Literature Non-Fiction/Informational Texts Writing- including Research Paper (Jr. Theme) or shorter research projects Vocabulary Building Oral Presentation Technology Integration Class Discussion Each of these components is linked to specific CCSS

Plan for the Year Literature for discussion and written analysis PSAT Prep Activities Persuasive speech, written response, and team debate activities Preliminary Jr. Theme assignments/Research Review Jr. Theme Rough and Final Drafts/Research Projects SAT Prep Activities Return to Literature after research units Vocabulary building and grammar instruction activities will be on-going throughout the year, worked into the activities of the other individual units

Possible Literary Works for Study Animal Farm George Orwell Witness Karen Hesse The Crucible Arthur Miller Night Elie Wiesel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger Selected Short Stories from Lit Anthologies

Jr. Theme The preliminary parts of the project will start in the 2nd quarter: topic selection, thesis statement, gathering of resource materials, making of preliminary outline and works cited pages, and rough draft composition The final paper will be due in the 3rd quarter: final draft of 10 page position paper, with cover page and final outline and works cited pages Several exercises/assignments in persuasive/argumentative speaking and writing will occur in the 1st quarter, to help students get prepared to tackle the Jr. Theme project

Grading For 11B 1st and 4th quarters: 60% Quizzes, Tests, Final Compositions 20% Homework and collected Classwork 20% Class Prep and Participation * 2nd and 3rd quarters the Theme work will count 25% on its own, and the other categories will be adjusted so it all comes out to 100% Formative assessment scores will appear in the gradebook but have a weight of 0%