School:
Instructor:
Room #:
School Phone:
Email:
Class Website:
School Year:
Course Title:
Ramsay High School
Mrs. Sonja Nicole Hill, English Department Chairperson
M.A., NBCT (National Board Certified Teacher)
203M
231-7000
screnshaw@bhm.k12.al.us (always available)
www.schoolrack.com/sncrenshaw
2013-2014
IB English 11 (AP English Language/Composition)
Course Description:
IB English 11 is part one of a two-year literature-based course. In the 11th grade year of the IB Programme, we cover Parts I
(World Literature = WL) and IV (Schools Free Choice = SFC) of the official IB English syllabus. It is a rigorous, pre-university
course designed to enable students to explore and appreciate the conceptions, interpretations and experiences of the
world through literature. Students will continue to develop as careful and critical readers of prose written in a variety of
disciplines and rhetorical contexts. They will apply oral and written skills learned in the first course as they write for a
variety of purposes, audiences, subjects, and expectations. During this course of study, students will also become skilled
researchers who will evaluate, use and cite sources according to the guidelines of Modern Language Association (MLA).
Students will spend the majority of their time reading, analyzing texts, and writing essays.
Because it is expected that ALL students in IB English 11 will take the AP exam in May, this course also follows the College
Board’s entrance examination guidelines for Advanced Placement English. The AP English Language and Composition
course is designed to provide students with a learning experience to prepare them for the introductory year of a college
composition course work. “As in the college course, its purpose is to enable students to read complex texts with
understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers.”
(College Board, AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008, p. 6) Students learn to read text closely and analyze it
in depth, both in class discussions and in writing. Students practice analyzing both fiction and nonfiction by taking frequent
in-class timed tests, both objective and essay.
Course Objectives:
 To strengthen note-taking and organizational skills.
 To increase critical thinking and work to make meaningful connections among texts studied.
 To review literary devices / elements and apply them to all literature studied as well as to learn new ways of
approaching literary analysis.
 To increase confidence and skill when analyzing and responding to both prose and poetry.
 To grow as readers and writers over the course of the year.
 To review all grammatical rules of formal writing and apply them to all writing assignments.
 To prepare for all official IB assessments and to complete World Literature and School’s Free Choice Assessments.
Materials:
You should bring the following materials to class each day:
1. Two marbled composition notebook for journals (one black and one colored);
2. A 2 inch three-ring binder with pockets;
3. Loose leaf paper;
4. Writing instruments, including highlighters or colored pencils; and
5. Five tabbed dividers to include in the binder Jump Drive
Texts:
ALL YEAR:
Thomas C. Foster’s How To Read Literature Like a Professor
SEMESTER ONE TEXTS:
1. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (SFC text)
2. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God (SFC text)
3. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Why We Can’t Wait (SFC text)
SEMESTER TWO TEXTS:
4. Henrik Isben’s A Doll House from (WL text)
5. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (WL text)
6. Sophocles’ Antigone (WL text)



I know this reading list can get expensive, and when possible I have considered cost when choosing some versions.
Please let me know if a financial situation makes purchase of these texts difficult.
It is very important that you have your own UNMARKED copies of these books to help you in your original analysis and
annotation of these texts.
While many of you may have ebook readers (Kindle, IPad, Nook) –we frequently refer to specific page numbers in class
discussions, and you must be able to find specific pages quickly and accurately.
Assessments:
Classwork and homework that is turned in must be written in blue or black ink, on the front side of collegeruled, loose-leaf paper or typed.
Class participation is a required part of this course and will count for approximately 20% of each of our units of
literature studied. REVIEW HANDOUT--CLASS PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES.
 In-Class Discussions will comprise much of this grade
o Note that failing to complete a homework assignment or forgetting to bring a book to class will
inhibit your ability to discuss and will result in a zero for that day’s class participation score.
 Out-of-Class Online Discussions will also be required in designated forums in our virtual classroom.
o We will be using this format for specific homework discussions involving all IB English 11
students – not just students in your specific class period.
 I will set specific end times for these discussions, and you will be required to participate
by the set time in order to receive credit.
o We will be using this forum for group assignments and discussions.
o You will also use this forum to enhance in-class discussions.
 If you have an excused absence on a class discussion day, you can earn your class
participation points for that day by creating and responding to discussion topics.
o We will be learning how to use online discussions in a productive and substantive way.
o
Essays and Major Assignments: All essays and major written assessment must be typed using MLA format and
turned in hard copy form. Class assessments will be similar to the official IB assessments and will include both
oral and written responses to literature studied. We will use a couple of different IB rubrics tailored to their
corresponding IB assessments.
REVIEW HANDOUT—ATTENDANCE AND MAKE-UP WORLD POLICY
Note that in case of absence, for major assignments (those given well in advance and typically worth 50 points
or more) your assignment must be submitted by the time your class would normally begin in order to avoid
late penalty. I will be using Dropbox for the first time this year for submission of some major assignments,
others will be uploaded to Edmodo, and still others will be required in hard copy form. When in doubt, email
me a copy of the assignment by your class period, and be sure to look for an email from me to confirm my
receipt of your email. ALWAYS keep a hardcopy of the assignment in your binder.
Official IB assessments to complete this year in IB English 11:
1) Throughout the first semester, you will give brief oral presentations on cultural topics as they relate to
our World Literature texts. You will write an in-class essay on each of the World Literature texts, and
then at the end of first semester, you will revise one of those in-class essays into a paper that will be
externally assessed by IB graders (worth 25% of your final IB score in English). This paper will also count
as your Semester 1 Exam grade, which as you know is 20% of your Semester 1 Average.
2) At the end of second semester, you will give a 10-15 minute oral presentation on one of the School’s
Free Choice (SFC) texts on our syllabus. Each student must have a different topic, and all topics must be
on information that we have not previously discussed in class already. This presentation will be
internally assessed using an official IB Rubric and reported to IB; the score will be averaged with the
Internal Oral Commentary that is completed during your senior year, and the average counts for 30% of
your final IB score in English. Presentation will also count as your Semester 2 Exam grade (20% of
Semester 2 Average).