TEXTBOOKS, RESOURCES, AND DOWNLOADS
Texas Write Source, EMC Mirrors and Windows Connecting with Literature, The Princeton Review AP English
Literature and Composition 2013, PH Lit online, lexile.com, globalschoolnet.org, theapple.monster.org,
pearsonsuccessnet.com, United Streaming Videos, Pearson, news-web pages, materials from best practice
exemplar lessons, discipline literacy, College Board resources, and Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts.
COURSE DESCRIPTION and OBJECTIVES:
The purpose of English IV is to help students develop the rhetorical and close reading skills necessary for effective
communication and comprehension in a variety of contexts. It will focus on two main components: critical reading
and composition with embedded grammatical development. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how
these areas are holistically connected.
Products will include essays with vocabulary & grammar skills embedded in the writing which most often uses the
literature as a springboard for the writing. Grammar is taught as a function of writing and focuses on sentence
structure and syntax.
Material will be presented in a variety of ways including but not limited to independent study, project based
learning, interdisciplinary assignments, cooperative learning, literature circles, collaboration online, lecture, audio,
film clips, & other technology based instruction. Classroom discussions will often allow students to participate in
Socratic dialogue.
Students will also practice literacy skills with weekly activities such as open-ended responses, text connections,
four-square charts, sentence stems, syntactical imitation, vocabulary enrichment, annotations, reference charts,
timed writes & other comprehension strategies taken from best practices.
Each six weeks, students will complete one major writing assignment with all the process pieces from pre-writing
to publishing. They will cite textual evidence to support their ideas. Students will learn the effective use of rhetoric
including controlling tone and a voice appropriate to the writer. A writing portfolio/folder is required to keep the
writing assignments from each six weeks. Each process piece will need to be in the portfolio beginning with the
pre-write, 1st draft, revisions & edits, 2nd draft, teacher conference, and the final draft of the essay. Revision
workshop will include peer and self-editing, ratiocination, clocking, grammar check, sentence pattern count, and
other editing strategies to improve the essay. Students will develop logical organization, enhanced by specific
techniques to increase coherence in all writing assignments.
STRATEGIES
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Dialectical Journals, Cornell Notes, Reader/Writer Notebook
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Discussion, Academic Talk, and Socratic Seminar
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Literature Circles
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Project Based Interdisciplinary Assignments
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Vocabulary & Literary Terms Notebook, Flashcards, embedded grammar review of key concepts
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Writing as a Process, Revision Workshop (New Jersey Writing Institute Strategies), timed responses
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Critical reading, annotations, close reading, syntax imitation, syntax analysis chart (AP Vertical teams
Guide for English, by College Board)
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Media literacy, online technology projects through globalschoolnet.org
COURSE INFORMATION & GRADING
My evaluation of your work, both in and out of class, is less important than your own perception that you are
making progress and becoming increasingly expert as a user and interpreter of language. My objective in assessing
your work will be to inform you of your strengths and weaknesses as a reader and writer throughout the year. I will
also ask you to examine your own work in terms of both style and substance.
Grades will be weighted as follows:
25% SSR, literacy skills warm-ups, book talks, book reports, annotations, reading comprehension checks
25% Grammar & vocabulary assignments, daily participation and discussion
50% Tests and essays, writing process portfolio with essays from pre-writing to publishing, weekly timed writes
REQUIRED READING
Students are required to purchase their own copies of these books so they may highlight and annotate assigned
readings. If this situation creates difficulty, please contact me and we will work out a solution on an individual
basis. Other reading selections will be taken from textbooks or printouts provided in class, but this is the list of
readings that need to be purchased. Because CSA works on a half-day schedule, students will need to complete
the majority of their reading outside of class. Students will be expected to read carefully approximately twenty to
thirty pages each night they have a reading assignment.
1st Semester
The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer
Macbeth
William Shakespeare
British Poets (1550-1650)
Marlowe, Milton
American Poets
Bradstreet, Edwards
Non-fiction
Various authors
2nd Semester
Against Interpretation: And Other Essays
Susan Sontag
Framing 21st Century Social Issues
Various authors @ www.routledge.com/books/series/SOCISS/
British Poets
Tennyson, Keats, Byron, Shelley
American Poets
Emerson, Thoreau, Frost, Millay
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad
Lord of the Flies
William Golding
YEAR AT A GLANCE (YAG) Scope and Sequence
1st Semester
1st Six Weeks
Exploring Frame Tales, Epic Prose
Reading Focus:
Beowulf, Grendel excerpts (John Gardner)
Canterbury Tales excerpts (Geoffrey Chaucer, late 14th century)
Writing Focus: Students will compose an analytical essay that engages judgments about a work's artistry and
quality. For example, an essay examining Chaucer’s ability to masterfully record life during Medieval times would
be acceptable.
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Socratic Seminar
2nd Six Weeks
Exploring Poetry and Drama
Reading Focus: Macbeth William Shakespeare
British Elizabethan & Metaphysical poetry: 1558-1625
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Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe 1592),
Paradise Regained, (John Milton 1671), and
Macbeth William Shakespeare
Writing Focus: Students will select a literary device such as structure, style, tone, theme/motifs, characterization,
symbolism, irony, etc…and develop an essay that explores this device in relation to the pieces of literature. For
example, an essay on the motifs of blood and darkness in Macbeth would be acceptable.
3rd Six Weeks
Analyzing Non-Fiction
Reading Focus:
American poets and famous essays, speeches, & early writings
American literature 1650-1750 Puritan/Colonial Literature:
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Poetry Collection, Anne Bradstreet and other colonial writers
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741) Jonathan Edwards
Writing Focus: Students will write and interpretive essay that incorporates documentation of textual details that
address the use of figurative language in the selections we have read this six weeks.
2nd Semester
4th six weeks
Synthesizing Informational & Procedural Texts, Non Fiction, British poets
Reading Focus:
Non-fiction selections such as literary essays, speeches, editorials, journals, memoirs, autobiographies, biographies

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
Against Interpretation: And Other Essays, Susan Sontag-contemporary American
Framing 21st Century Social Issues: http://www.routledge.com/books/series/SOCISS/
British Poets (1785-1820)
Tennyson, Keats, Byron, Shelley
Writing Focus: Students will write an essay that explores the social or cultural context of contemporary issues that
will be discussed in tandem with the essays we will read from both American and British authors.
5th Six Weeks
Inquiry & Synthesis through Research, American Poets
Reading Focus:
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (British 1902)
Robert Frost, American poet (1874-1963)
Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet (1892-1950)
Writing Focus: research paper (synthesis essay)
6th Six weeks
Evaluating Merits of Argument
Reading Focus:
Lord of the Flies, William Golding-English author
World Poetry
Writing Focus: persuasive/argument essay- “What is the true nature of man? Is he inherently good or intrinsically
evil? Support your thesis with evidence from the text (Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness) as well as
contemporary examples from current events and other sources.
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Socratic Seminar at the end of the six weeks.
MAKE-UP ASSIGNMENTS AND LATE WORK
It is the responsibility of each student to take care of make-up work following an absence. Most assignments can
be completed at home with the exception of timed writes, SSR, and comprehension checks, and tests.
Late work will be assessed a penalty of 30 points the 1st day late, 40 points the 2nd day late, and no work will be
accepted after the 2nd day.
Refer to Parent/Student handbook for other policies.
SUMMER READING
There is a separate handout with details.
SILENT-SUSTAINED READING
Each student will need to select a high interest book (fiction or non-fiction) to use as their silent sustained reading
book (SSR). Each Friday we will begin with SSR for 15 minutes followed by a writing activity to reinforce certain skill
sets from the major ELA target strands. The book should be slightly above their current reading/lexile level.
The focus of the SSR book need not be on the classics but rather of building critical reading and literacy skills that
will enable students to be well-equipped for challenging reading and classic literature in higher ed. With that being
said, classics are always a viable choice for reading. A minimum of one (1) SSR book each semester is required.
CLASS EXPECTATIONS
“ It's too much to expect in an academic setting that we should all agree, but it is not too much to expect discipline
and unvarying civility.”
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Students are expected to be seated when entering and begin quietly preparing their materials for
instruction. Class will begin immediately at the bell.
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Students are expected to bring their materials to class each day.
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Respectful behavior and accountability for one’s actions is expected at all times.
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Students will listen when others are speaking whether it is the teacher or another student. Interruptions
or talking while another is speaking is unacceptable.
COMMUNICATION & CONFERENCING
I believe that frequent & open communication between students, parents & teachers is essential to your child’s
success. I encourage both parents & students to keep the lines of communication open which means bringing all
questions or concerns directly to me so I can clarify.
If you would like to have a parent conference, please request a time you are available through email & we can
coordinate a meeting that will be convenient for both of our schedules. Conferences should be scheduled in
advance.
MATERIALS
Bring all materials every day. Some students like to decorate their folders with their names, pictures, art work or
inspirational quotes which should be school appropriate.
Students are asked to use dark pen for their work. I would also suggest colorful flags, highlighters, and sticky notes
to make the reading more interactive.
1.
Required reading texts/ excerpts with annotations,
2.
SSR Book with an notations (high interest choice),
3.
Writing Portfolio (3 essays per semester with all process pieces) 1” binder,
4.
Reader/Writer Notebook (daily literacy skill warm-up, notes, self-generated vocabulary, dialectical journal
entries, syntactical imitation, handouts, quizzes, etc…)