Instructor: Diana Shaw
Honors English IV
Office Hours: 1st period
dshaw@wsfcs.k12.nc.us
Course Description: Students in English IV will integrate all the language arts skills gained throughout
their education. The curriculum both affirms these skills and equips the students to be life-long learners.
Students continue to explore expressive, expository, argumentative, and literary contexts with a focus on
British Literature. The emphasis in English IV is on argumentation by developing a position of advocacy
through reading, writing, speaking, listening, and using media. Students will:
 Express reflections and reactions to texts.
 Explain principles inspired by the curriculum.
 Interpret and qualify texts.
 Research and address issues of public or personal concern.
 Create products and presentations which maintain standard conventions of the written and spoken
language
Required Materials: Bring the following to class each day please: 1) pencil/pen, 2) covered text/assigned
reading, & 3) paper/notebook.
Expectations: Be… prompt, prepared, polite, & productive. 
General Policies:
 Late test and quiz coursework will drop 10 points each day it is late. I do not accept late daily
coursework.
 If you’re absent, you’re responsible for obtaining make up assignments the day you return.
 Tardies are unacceptable. They disrupt our flow. Please enter the classroom as quietly & as
politely as possible. Hand me your note & unobtrusively jump into whatever it is we’re doing.
Unexcused tardy policy is as follows:
o 1st & 2nd– Verbal warning
o 3rd– 15 minute detention with teacher & phone call home
o 4th – 30 minute detention with teacher & phone call home
o 5th – Student, parent, teacher, & guidance counselor conference & 45 minute detention
o 6th – Referred to administrator
Grading: Keep all graded work for reference. Grade weights are as follows:
15% Participation (speaking & listening)
20% Daily
25% Quiz
40% Test
Tutoring: See me as soon as you don’t understand or feel lost. I can’t help you if I don’t know you need it.
Fire Drill: Exit left into the corridor. Exit right down the stairs & exit the building. Follow the path to the
left & wait in the parking lot for further instructions.
Tornado Drill: Exit left into the corridor. Exit right down the stairs. Face an interior wall and crouch as
low as possible. Open windows to release pressure.
Honor Code: Students are expected to abide by the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools Honor Code
Policy. Plagiarism &/or cheating will not be tolerated.
Instructor: Diana Shaw
Honors English IV

Office Hours: 1st period
dshaw@wsfcs.k12.nc.us
Honors English IV Syllabus (subject to change)
Vocabulary and grammar are taught in context
 Literary Period: Anglo-Saxon
 Anchor Text: excerpts from Beowulf
 Theme: The Individual and His/Her Community
 Focus: Literary Analysis
 EQs: How do we analyze literature? What elements build strong friendships? What is community
and what are the individual’s responsibilities to the community as well as the community’s
responsibilities to the individual?
 Literary Period: Medieval
 Anchor Text: “The Prologue” and one tale from The Canterbury Tales (student choice)
 Theme: Conflict: Physical and Psychological Struggles
 Focus: Narrative Writing
 EQs: How do writers create memorable, moving narratives? How does conflict shape and define
the individual? How do writers create conflict?
 Literary Period: Renaissance
 Anchor Text: Macbeth
 Theme: Relationships: The Triumphs and Torments of Love
 Focus: Author's Craft
 EQs: How does authorial craft create meaning? Why do relationships bring both pleasure and
pain? How do writers create complex relationships amongst characters?
END OF FIRST NINE WEEKS
 Literary Period: The Eighteenth Century
 Anchor Text: “A Modest Proposal” and excerpts from Gulliver’s Travels
 Theme: Truth: Perception and Reality
 Focus: Point of View
 EQs: How does point of view alter meaning? Are there certain truths that can be considered
universal or absolute? How does perspective shape or alter truth?
 Literary Period: Romantic Movement
 Anchor Text: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
 Theme: Our View of the World and Ourselves
 Focus: Persuasive Writing
 EQs: How do writers use claims to persuade? How does what we know about the world shape the
way we view ourselves? How do our personal experiences shape our view of others?
 Literary Period: Victorian
 Anchor Text: The Importance of Being Earnest
 Theme: Constructing Identities
 Focus: Argumentative Writing and Research
 EQs: How do writers use literature to criticize society? How do writers use claims and
counterclaims to argue? How do writers use technology to create multimedia presentations?
 Literary Period: Modern and Contemporary
 Anchor Text: Literature Circles (student choice)
 Theme: Society: Rebellion and Conformity
 Focus: Text Structure
 EQs: Can individuals overcome their differences? How do individuals express their independence
and desire to rebel? Why do writers create rebellious characters?
 NORTH CAROLINA FINAL EXAM
*Updated 1/11/16, Themes and EQs adapted from http://www.greececsd.org/academics.cfm?subpage=923