British Literature CP
Course Syllabus 2013-2014
Miss Odora Davis, Instructor
Email:davisot@spart6.org
(W):864-582-4347 Ext. 2133
Course Description:
Students will read an overview of British literature from the Medieval period to the Modern period. This integrated
study of history will result in an increased appreciation and understanding of the literature of the time, with
emphasis on a variety of prose and poetic genres. Students will write critical and argumentative essays, complete a
research paper, engage in creative writing projects, and make technology-assisted oral presentations. . In addition
to the literature covered, the course includes vocabulary study and practice of mechanics and usage skills. Students
will sharpen their skills in preparation for ACT and SAT test taking, as well as beginning the college application
process with a personal essay.
Text:
The following texts were chosen because they are complex, challenging texts which tend to: make use of ambiguous
language and literary devices; contain challenging context-dependent vocabulary; include embedded, not explicit,
messages and/or meanings; and present difficult concepts requiring independent and inferential thinking.
Unit One: Greek History (1 week)
- Opening Day-Summer Reading Tests/Essays OR Initial Writing Responses
- Begin Portfolio: Assignment One “Identity”
(Note: You MUST keep ALL projects for your portfolio)
- Homer & The Iliad, review of the Homeric Hero
-Unit Test
Unit Two: The Anglo-Saxon Period (2-3 weeks)
- Beowulf & The Anglo-Saxon Hero, The Epic
-Creative Project Due
-Unit Test
- Anglo-Norman Period & Romance Tales
- The Anglo-Normans: The struggle to be King & the introduction of the Knight
- Tristan & Isolde
-Creative Project
-Unit Test
Unit Three: The Middle Ages (4-5 weeks)
- The Middle Ages & Crusades
- Chaucer & The Canterbury Tales Prologue
- Pardoner’s Tale, Wife of Bath’s Tale,
- Major Creative Project-Independent Research on given Pilgrim
-Unit Test
- Arthurian Period
-Research Project & Webquest, Arthurian Legends
-Unit Test
- Sir Gawain & The Green Knight
- Chivalry
-Creative Projects
- Medieval Feast (TBA-If possible)
Unit Four: The English Renaissance (2 weeks)
- Macbeth, Hamlet, & Shakespeare
- excerpts from John Milton’s Paradise Lost
Unit Five: The Restoration and Romantic Period (2 weeks)
- Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal
- selections from Gulliver’s Travels
- excerpts from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience
- Robert Burns, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Unit Six: The Victorian Age (2 weeks)
- poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Matthew Arnold, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Hardy, A. E.
Housman, and Rudyard Kipling; excerpts from Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde(time permitting)
Unit Seven: (2 weeks)
- Novel unit: William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
Unit Eight: College, Military, & Workforce Preparation (1 week)
- Poetry Project (Portfolio Requirement)
- Music & Lyrics Project (Portfolio Requirement)
- College Essays and Applications/Letter of Recommendation/Resume
- Portfolio: This assignment contains work submitted throughout the semester. This assignment will count
NOT only as a UNIT GRADE (counts THREE time), but also as a portion of the FINAL exam for the course (10%
of the FINAL grade)
**** This syllabus is tentative and may be adjusted as needed throughout the semester.
Materials Needed:
Please bring a writing utensil (dark pen or pencil), your textbook (provided by DHS), and a 3-ring binder
with loose-leaf notebook paper to class each day. I recommend that you divide your notebook into the following
sections:
1. Literature Notes and Handouts
2. Writing
3. Tests, quizzes, and projects
4. Miscellaneous
****You will also need a scrapbook for your senior portfolio and 5 small posters.
Classroom Expectations:
1. The teacher and students will work together to learn, understand, and use the course content. You are young adults,
and you understand what acceptable behavior is. No rude or disrespectful behavior to anyone will be tolerated. The
key to our working together is respecting each other.
2. Courtesy and good manners will be expected from you at all times. Be courteous by raising your hand, wait to be
recognized, and then speak. Refrain from speaking when the teacher or another student is speaking.
3. Respect the privacy of the teacher and other students. Do not go through other’s belongings including books,
notebooks, book bags, or purses. Do not take anything off the teacher’s desk without permission.
4. Each student will help maintain a pleasant classroom environment. Put all waste paper in the trash can. Do not move
desks or turn the lights off without the teacher requesting you to do so. Do not sit on desk tops or lean back in chairs.
Do not write on desks, in books, other furniture, or board. No horseplay, punching, shoving, or hitting is allowed.
5. Disruptions will not be tolerated. Do not tear paper, pass notes, or attend to personal grooming in class. NO PHONES,
IPODS, OR OTHER ELECTRONICAL DEVICES will be permitted in class. You will need to sharpen your pencils, gets
books, and paper before the tardy bell rings. Take care of all business before entering the classroom including but
not limited to using the restroom, going to lockers, or speaking with other teachers before the tardy bell rings. Hall
passes will ONLY be issued for EMERGENCIES.
6. Be in the classroom and in your seat ON TIME. Excessive tardiness will result in detention and will negatively impact
the classroom participation portion of your grade.
7. Do not leave your desks until the teacher dismisses you…This means I dismiss you not the bell.
8. Homework will be checked randomly for completion and accuracy. Occasional short pop quizzes will be given to
determine if reading homework has been completed. Cheating or using another student’s work is unacceptable and
will result in a zero for the assignment.
9. Personal conversations about personal/extra-curricular activities unrelated to the current class activity are YOUR
BUSINESS. Do not discuss it during class time.
10. Profanity will not be tolerated.
11. No food or drink will be allowed in the classroom.
12. Class participation is a part of your final grade, and following classroom procedures will enhance your participation
score. Do not miss out on an easy opportunity to excel in any aspect of your grade.
13. I want every student to do well in this class, and I will do anything within reason to help you reach this goal. If you
need to review, extra help, or discuss your grades, I will be available before school, during lunch, and after school.
Extra credit opportunities will be given for students who wish to improve their grades on a few instances at the
discretion of the teacher.
14. Bring Miss Davis one shiny apple every day!
Make-Up Work
It is solely the student’s responsibility to ask for any make-up work. All work must be made up within five days, if
the absence is EXCUSED. Should an assignment be given before the absence, of which the student is aware, the due
date will not change. If the student returns to school on the day that a previously assigned paper/project/test is
due, then it must be taken/turned in on that date. If the student is absent on the day the day an assignment is due,
then it must be turned in on the day he/she returns (this includes tests). Important note: If a student comes to
school on the day that an assignment is due, but checks in or out before/after coming to class, then the assignment
is still due on that day. It is the student’s responsibility to get assignments to the teacher. When a student returns to
school after an absence, the five day make-up period begins that day. Students should be aware that the five days
continue to count, even if the student does not come in for another five days. Late work will be penalized one letter
grade for each day it is late including the weekend. Make-up work will only be accepted for excused absences
unless otherwise noted by the teacher.
Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism is the use of the ideas or words of another without giving credit to the source. Students must cite any
source, published or unpublished, when any ideas, words, or information being used were taken from that source.
This includes all materials available on the Internet. Turning work in that is plagiarized, in whole or in part, will
result in a zero for the assignment without opportunity to revise
Grading Scale: The grading scale is a POINT-BASED SYSTEM. Your final grade for the course will reflect the overall
total points you earn during the semester. A total of 500-1000 points can be earned during each unit. Test,
quizzes, essays, class work, homework, class participation, and projects for each unit are included in the point
based system.
A=93-100
B=85-92
C=76-84
D=70-75
F=69 or below
NOTE: We approach the syllabus at a pace which ensures students gain as much knowledge as possible. This class
focuses a great deal on discussion, reading, creative circles, and projects. The syllabus can and will change to
meet the needs of the class. It is at the discretion of the teacher to make necessary changes.