PreAP English 10 Syllabus and Class information
Ms. Andrea Meyer
Parent signature and info worth 10 pts. tomorrow only, on attached slip. Keep
info sheet for your perusal and reference.
Overarching Focus of Study: World Literature
Primary Reading Focus: Students will study literature from Latin America, the
Middle East, and Africa in the first semester and from Asia and Russia the second
semester as part of Mingus’s new adoption of the Common Core Curriculum.
Common Core is a nation-wide initiative, designed by teachers, to be “content-rich”
and focus on rigorous writing and reading standards taught through respected
classic works. I am thrilled by this new direction which takes us back to a classic
liberal arts education for all grade levels and all students.
Primary Writing Focus: Analytical, argumentative, and expository writing of various
types. Although the State has not adopted a test yet to replace AIMS and PARCC,
this class will be practicing writing that a PARCC –like test would demand.
Major Papers and texts:
Aug: Read magical realism short stories (Marquez). Write a humorous ode in
the style of Neruda’s “Ode to My Socks.” Socratic seminars over East of Eden
and a choice of four other novels (Their Eyes Were Watching God, A Yellow
Raft in Blue water, Cold Mtn., Secret Life of Bees) with a quest or odyssey as
template.
Sept: Lit analysis of magical realism and metaphor in Marquez’s “Sea of Lost Time.”
Read Underdogs, Borderlands by Fuentes, and Marquez Nobel Acceptance speech
Oct: small documented research paper on Latin –Amer authors
Nov-Dec: Argumentative essay on moral choices as presented in Middle Eastern
and African lit. Read Master Harold and the Boys; Cry, the Beloved Country; the
Illuminated Rumi; Mandela’s Nobel acceptance speech; Gilgamesh. Memorize Rumi
poem and present oral interpretation with an explication of poem.
Jan-March: Read Sound of Waves, Analects of Confucius, Li Po poetry. Write
aphorisms. PARCC –like test practice.
March-May: Read Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Bet by Chekov, Gulag
Archipelago excerpts, “The Twelve” by Blok. Write Observation Report and
Informative/Explanatory essay. Year-end testing.
 Oral presentations and memorization/recitation are included in each
semester as well.
Ongoing study of vocabulary from rigorous Sadlier-Oxford series. PreAP 10 students
will use the senior-level text, level G. Vocabulary tests derive 80% of their points
from students’ ability to use wds. in sentences of their own making. That said, it is
important that students already have mastered basic parts of speech as I advised
them to do over the summer. Identification of parts of speech is a remedial skill
with some time devoted to it in the beginning of the year; however, I will spend
time with more complex points of grammar such as pronoun-antecedent
agreement, semi colon use, parallel structure, and so on.
Other opportunities:
Huntington Library field trip, Pasadena, CA, Oct. Quick weekend trip to hear Edgar
Allen Poe’s short stories performed on the library’s darkened and expansive estate
grounds. The night mist rolls in and actors retell “The Black Cat” and other tales
while we wrap in blankets and sip hot cider. By late Aug. the Huntington Library
website will display more info. Includes a stop at Santa Monica Beach. This trip is a
thrill and exposes kids to rare documents (Bronte and Whitman letters, for ex) art,
botany, and scientific inventions. The Huntington is much more than a library.
*************Classroom Management Information*********************
What I expect from my students:
1. INTEGRITY: I expect students to do their own work, whether or not they’re being
supervised. It is dishonest to turn in homework copied from someone else. Your
sense of integrity and your unique contribution will always be more important to me
than a correct answer on a test. When students are working cooperatively in groups,
I expect commitment and fair play toward group members, and I design my lessons
so that everyone participates.
2. RESPECT: High school people are a noble group. They often help support their
families and themselves. They seek to make themselves and their families proud,
and they often go through difficult personal growth. I respect high school students
and make conscious efforts in class to handle my students with humor, dignity, and
respect and expect the same treatment in kind.
3. MATERIALS: You need another three-ring binder with three dividers and paper, a
pen or pencil every day. Sometimes you will need to bring your textbooks.
4. Only water is permitted in class; no other food or drink, please.
5. BATHROOM: Use the bathroom and get drinks before class. I seldom let
students go once class has begun. To help you manage your time, a 1minute warning bell rings prior to the tardy sweep. I also greet students at
the door every day where they may ask to use the bathroom without being
tardy swept.
6. HOMEWORK: Usually assigned four times a week. I record my
homework on my teacher website.
ABSENT WORK: Accepted in accordance with how many days the
student has been absent (e.g. one day absent means the work is due
the first day back). Student may have to attend office hours or FIT
the first day back. Plan to stay late or come early.
 LATE WORK (the student was in class but didn’t do the work
on time). I give each student ONE Late Work Voucher each 9
weeks that he or she may use to turn in work for full credit if it
is ONE DAY late. After one day, the work is not accepted. You
must have the Late Work Voucher WITH YOU to attach to your
work. If a student does not have any missing assignment, he
or she will earn 5 pts extra credit for turning in the unused
voucher at the end of each 9 weeks.
GRADING SCALE:
90-100=A
80-89=B
70-79=C
60-69=D
0-59=F
Parents, I truly welcome conversation and your inquiries. Please call me at 6347531 x 1117 or email me at andream@muhs.com
We have read and understood the class information sheet for PreAP English 10.
_________________________
_________________________
Student name PRINTED
Student signature
________________________
_________________________
Parent(s’) name(s) PRINTED
Parent signature
_________________________
__________________________
Email address
Phone numbers
Questions or concerns? ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
We have read and understood the class information sheet for PreAP English 10.
_________________________
_________________________
Student name PRINTED
Student signature
________________________
_________________________
Parent(s’) name(s) PRINTED
Parent signature
_________________________
__________________________
Email address
Phone numbers
Questions or concerns?____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________