COURSE SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH II HONORS: FALL 2015
READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT/READING LITERATURE
Language/Writing/Vocabulary
Focus questions/activities to prepare for EOC
WEEK ONE: August 5-7
The Ancient Middle East (1-18 introductory material)
From Genesis (51-56)
57: 4, 5, 7
Parts of Speech
MLA Review
Benchmark A
WEEK TWO: August 10-14
Psalms 8, 23, 121, 137 (76-80)
81: 1-4
The Prodigal Son, The Talents (82-85)
86: 5, 6, 7
Informational Text: “Drag racer…”
Sentence Patterns
Informational Text (Summary/Analysis/Response)
Vocabulary Test #1
WEEK THREE: August 17-21
Ancient Greek and Roman Literature (101-118 introductory material)
Lyric poems of Sappho (174-178)
179: 1-6
Expressive Text: “Girlfriend blog…”
Subordinate Word Groups
QUIZ #1 on Grammar Basics
Expressive Text (Summary/Analysis/Response)
WEEK FOUR: August 24-28
Carpe Diem (302-304)
304: 2, 3
Critical Text: “3:10 to Yuma…”
*Persuasive Speech (336-7; 478-9)
Clear Sentences I: Coordination, Subordination, and Parallel Structure
Critical Text (S/A/R)
Vocabulary Test #2
WEEK FIVE: August 31-September 4
Literature of India, China, and Japan (345-364 introductory material)
The Mice That Set Elephants Free (382-385)
386: 5
Argumentative Text: “Drinks at 21…”
Clear Sentences II: Disambiguation
Argumentative Text (S/A/R)
WEEK SIX: September 8-11
From The Analects (407-410)
411: 6, 7
Haiku (446-450)
454: Writing a Haiku
*Comparing Literature (480-483)
Clear Sentences III: Emphasis and Variety
QUIZ #2 on Clear Sentences
Vocabulary Test #3
WEEK SEVEN: September 14-18
Literature of Africa and the Middle East (488-502 introductory material)
The African Oral Tradition (504-505)
Why We Tell Stories About Spider (508-509)
The Five Helpers (510)
513: 5, 6
African Proverbs (514-516)
517: 6, 7
Grammatical Sentences I: Fragments and Run-ons
Write a narrative; reading session to share
WEEK EIGHT: September 21-25
From the Koran (541-544)
545: 7
Grammatical Sentences II: Agreement
Argumentation/Research Skills/MLA Documentation
Vocabulary Test #4
WEEK NINE: September 28-October 2
European Literature from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment (584-604 introductory
material)
Introduction to The Divine Comedy (646-648, 664)
**(optional) from the Inferno (649-663)
Grammatical Sentences III: Pronoun Reference
Research/Argumentation/Write an argumentative paper
WEEK TEN: October 5-8
Introduction to The Sonnet in the Renaissance (678-9)
To Helene (683)
684: WRITING
*Comparing Literature (732-5)
*Controversial Issue in an Editorial (726-31)
Benchmark B
Vocabulary Test #5
**END OF GRADING PERIOD**
WEEK ELEVEN: October 13-16
European Literature in the 19th Century (740-755 introductory material)
Russia 1812 (777-783)
784: 9, 12
The Piece of String (795-801)
802: WRITING/Supporting an Opinion
Grammatical Sentences IV: Adjective, Adverb, and Verb Forms
QUIZ #3 on Grammatical Sentences
Informational/explanatory text: Topics and research
WEEK TWELVE: October 19-23
A Problem (813-820)
821: 10
*Analyzing Literature (824-829)
*Presenting a Literary Analysis (830-1)
Punctuation I: The Comma
Prepare and present informational/explanatory research
Vocabulary Test #6
WEEK THIRTEEN: October 26-30
Modern and Contemporary World Literature (839-855 introductory material)
War (862-866)
867: 10
The Hunger Artist (868-879)
880: 9, 10
Tuesday Siesta (956-962)
963: 4, 7, 8
Punctuation II: The Semicolon, Colon, and Apostrophe
Analysis and Homage: “The Temple” (Oates) and “Hush, Little Baby” (Ballard)
WEEK FOURTEEN: November 2-6
The Censors (964-968)
969: 6-10
Dead Men’s Path (995-999)
1000: WRITING
The Train from Rhodesia (1008-1036)
1015: 8, 10
Punctuation III: Other Punctuation Marks
QUIZ #4 on Punctuation
Annotated bibliography
Election Day: Political speeches analysis
Vocabulary Test #7
WEEK FIFTEEN: November 9-13
The Norwegian Rat (1030-1036)
1037: 5, 6
Ocean of Words (1082-1095)
1096: 11
NOVEL UNIT: TBA
Mechanics I: Abbreviations, Numbers, and Italics
Veterans Day: Patriotic poetry
WEEK SIXTEEN November 16-20
Mechanics II: Spelling, the Hyphen, Capitalization
Benchmark C
NOVEL UNIT: CONT’D
Vocabulary Test #8
**Benchmark Assessment Review and Conferences November 24 and 25**
NOVEL ASSESSMENT
***THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS November 25-27***
WEEK SEVENTEEN November 30-December 4
EOC REVIEW: Analyzing Questions and CCS
Word Choice I: Avoiding Wordiness
WEEK EIGHTEEN December 7-11
EOC REVIEW: Strategies for Online Testing, Engaging Difficult Passages
Word Choice II: Choosing Appropriate and Exact Words
QUIZ #5 on Mechanics and Word Choice
***EXAMS December 14-17***