Life Skills English 12
Class Goals: To develop fundamental mastery of thinking, speaking, writing, listening, and
reading through the study of British Literature.
Assessment Method: We will be using standards based assessment to determine each student’s
individual grades. Students will be assessed through writing assignments, oral
exams, projects, and other summative activities. As we progress through British
literature, we will focus on 5 standards each 9 weeks. Each standard will be 20%
of their grade, and their level of mastery of each standard will determine the grade
for that quarter. Every assessment will be graded on a 5 point scale that correlates
to a traditional letter grade and numerical average:
5 = clear mastery (90-100/A); 4 = some signs of mastery (80-89/B);
3 = some understanding (70-79/C); 2=little understanding (65-69/D);
1 = no understanding yet or incomplete (0-64/F).
Each assignment will be given a +/- rating if it is a strong or a weak example of that
category’s criteria. A very strong essay or test may be a 5+ = 100%. A good example of clear
mastery would be a 5=95%, while a test that just barely shows mastery would be a 5-, or a 90%.
Students will have ample opportunities to demonstrate mastery before moving on to the next set
of standards. Once a student gets a consistent grade of 5 or 4 for that standard, I will average the
highest grades of that standard to create a numerical grade: 5+ , 5+, and 5 = 98%, while 4, 4-,
and 4- = 82%.
After the 9 weeks is over, if a student did not get a 4 on a particular standard, I will
continue to retest them to try and raise them to a consistent 4 or 5 for that standard, and then
adjust the grade of the previous 9 weeks accordingly.
Syllabus
1st quarter: Beowulf and the Anglo Saxons
2nd quarter: The Canterbury Tales and Medieval Life
3rd quarter: Romanticism
4th quarter: Modern British literature and culture