HONORS ENGLISH 10 MISS TAYLOR KANE Back to School Night

Welcome! First, THANK YOU for taking the time to come meet me and walk two days in your student’s shoes! On an index card, please write your name, your student’s name, your , and any questions you have or things you’d like me to know about your student! An overview of our (brief) time together: About Me and Communication Course Overview and Course Goals/Objectives What a Typical Class Looks Like Grading and Phoenix What We’ve Done So Far What’s to Come Edmodo—Feel free to join our community!

About Me… Bachelor of Arts in English with concentrations in Secondary Education and Theatre Arts at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Areas of concentrated study: British Literature, Medieval Literature, Shakespaere, Photojournalism, Theatre Education, Digital Literacy, Multi-Modal Writing, Creative Writing (Fiction and Poetry) Prior teaching experience includes work with the Duke University Talent Identification Program which holds classes for gifted and talented middle and high schools students, Substitute Teaching grades K-12 in a variety of subjects, and Honors English 9 th and AP Language/Composition 11 th at a Performance and Visual Arts Magnet School in North Carolina. First year at Loudoun County High School. I teach 3 sections of Honors English 10 and 2 sections of Photojournalism I, II, and III. I also advise and manage the Lord Loudoun Yearbook and the LCHS Novel Institute (up and coming!). Miss Kane:

Course Overview and Objectives Course Description: This course will focus primarily on a survey of British Literature from the Anglo-Saxons to the Modern Age. Students will engage in critical reading, analysis, study of vocabulary, grammar, literary terms and devices, and writing instruction. Students will be expected to complete weekly writing assignments as well as read pages of our selected text per class meeting. Course Objective: The main goal of this class is to prepare students for the language demands of English 11 Honors, AP English, and college level courses. Students will be required to participate in thought-provoking discussions upon the completion of each text.

A Typical Day in Class… We start with a Warm-Up of either writing, grammar, or reading instruction. These are done independently in the students’ daybooks. We then go over the work together and either share in small groups or with the class as a whole. Some entries are more reflective and personal, so we do not share those aloud. “Team Meeting”—What’s the game plan for the day, what’s the homework, what’s upcoming? Daily Lesson (led by me) on Writing, Reading, Grammar—this varies dependent upon what progress we have made. For example, we might do an exercise together on our class text or students may have an introductory lecture to the contextual material. Independent Work and/or Group Work—Students will then work to process and apply the material that was taught Individual/Group/Class Presentations or Discussions to reinforce/apply the material Writing or Research in Computer Labs, Libraries, on laptops

Grading and Phoenix Grading for this course will be two-fold: Formative Assignments (daily and weekly work) which lead up to Summative Assignments (comprehension and final understanding markers). All assignments will be graded on a “point system” with Formative Assignments serving as 0% of the final grade and Summative Assignments serving as 100% of the final grade. While Formative Assignments do not necessarily “count” towards the final grade, successful completion is imperative to ensure mastery of skills in preparation for Summative Assessments. An overview of types of assignments and their characterization is as follows: Formative Assignments—0% of weight Homework, short writing assignments, draft completions, peer reviews, journals, all Daybook activities (grammar, warm-ups, quick-writes, etc), and weekly reflections Summative Assignments—100% of weight Quizzes, Tests, Group and Individual Projects, Final Essays/Writing Projects Honors Assessment: Per the LCPS policy, all Honors English 10 students will complete an Honors Assessment Portfolio which we will work on throughout the year and will be due during the second semester. This assignment includes: The Big Question Essay Project and a Writing Reflection.

What We’ve Done So Far An introduction to the course British Literature Cultural Guessing Game! An overview of our yearly theme: IDENTITY Identity Mapping and Webbing Draft 1 of the “Where I’m From” Poem with the help of slam poet Rudy Francisco Introduction of Quarter 1 Independent Reading Project and Vocabulary Unit #1 Currently: Diagnostic Tests for Writing, Grammar, and Reading These scores will appear in Phoenix once all students have completed. They are DIAGNOSTIC and do NOT count towards the final grade. They are merely a marker for where the student stands at the beginning of the course.

What’s to Come? LITERATURE: Quarter 1 Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, “The Wanderer” I.R.P.—British Fiction (novel, play, short stories, or poetry) Quarter 2 Frankenstein I.R.P.—Nonfiction Literature Quarter 3 Shakespearean Sonnets and Macbeth I.R.P.—Dystopian Literature Quarter 4 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass I.R.P.—Student Choice from “Student Libraries” WRITING/OTHER: Daybook Entries Daily (Formatively checked at random) Daybook Summative Checks (3 per quarter) Vocabulary: SAT Words, Greek and Latin Roots/Affixes, Words pulled from our assigned texts Writing: Daily, Reflective, Journalistic, Ekphrastic, Analysis, Research, Timed Writing, Persuasive Class Discussions/Debates/Socratic Seminars The Big Question Project (Quarter 3) Ongoing Writing Portfolio Multi-Genre Projects Technology, technology, technology! Social Media Profiles, PSAs, Websites, Blogs, etc

Join Our Classroom Community! Edmodo: Create a free parent account! Access Code: pph4es I will always upload all notes/handouts/presentations/etc to Edmodo for viewing at anytime. This is also where I will keep updates on homework and due dates for assignments.

Thank you! Please write any questions or comments/concerns you have on the index card you picked up on your way in! My contact information: Availability for conferences: Please and we can set one up in-person or over the phone! Suggested Donations: Tissues Hand Sanitizer Sticky Notes Have you purchased your yearbook? If not, consider purchasing one today before the price goes up on September 18 th !