: American Studies (English) will have reading almost every night.
This reading will come from literature we are reading (historical documents, essays, poems, novels, short stories, plays, song lyrics, or newspaper articles). The reading you are given will typically be my idea of what an American Studies student should be able to read in about a half an hour. You are encouraged to take handwritten notes on what you are reading.
: If you have reading due, you may have a quiz to start class. Quizzes will take one of three forms: oral, written, or group. Over the course of a quarter there will probably be an average about one to two quizzes per week, though some weeks there may be three and other weeks none. The good news: If you take notes on the reading you may use those notes while taking a quiz. This only applies to notes in your handwriting. Photocopies or printouts of other people's notes, or highlighted versions of the actual reading, are not permitted; using them will be considered cheating.
Quizzes cannot be made up. Quizzes only relate to that particular class at that particular time. If you have not read the material before the class starts, then you should take the zero out of 10 or
20 on the quiz and spend the time the other students are taking the quiz trying to catch up. If you are not present when the quiz is given, then you will automatically receive a zero out of zero in my grade book, which will not affect your quarter grade at all.
Of course, you can only take a quiz if you are on time for class (or, if you are late, if you arrive in possession of a legal tardy pass from a teacher or administrator). By the way: teachers are allowed to give reading quizzes in any class, even during testing days for other departments, as these quizzes count as homework checks, not formal assessments. If you take more than 7 quizzes in a quarter, as will almost certainly be the case, then the lowest quiz score each quarter will be dropped.
Oral quizzes – the format for these quizzes is based loosely on a “law-school model.”
I will randomly select a name from the roster and ask that student three (or more) questions, moving from the concrete level of understanding up to a more abstract, thematic understanding of the material. All of the students in the room will only have out their notes. Students answering these questions receive a number from 0-10 based on their answers’ degree of accuracy, use of specific evidence and ability to make links with the bigger themes of the course.
Written quizzes – the format for these quizzes is a two-sided sheet of paper. On the front, you will find 4-6 multiple choice questions that test your concrete recall of ideas and details from the reading. On the back, you will find 1-2 bigger thought questions that will need to be answered in a paragraph (at least) and which will push you to make links with the bigger themes of the course. Each side of the page will be worth ten points, for a total that ranges from 0-20.
Group quizzes – sometimes the work you have been assigned is best assessed through the application of what you have read in a small group. In these cases, you will be given a specific task to accomplish together. Each person in the group will take

notes. One of those sets of notes will be handed in for a grade ranging from 0-20 points. Everybody in the group will receive that grade. These quizzes are usually scheduled (but not always) on Tuesdays, the day when we have first period class. If you show up to our classroom after 8:04, you will be expected to do this work but will not earn credit for it.
: There is usually one test each quarter. These tests happen near the end of the quarter, often on the English testing day, and are meant to review the major work we have done during that quarter. They often incorporate questions that ask you to analyze images, historical documents and/or literary excerpts in terms of the bigger themes of the course. These tests will be graded out of one hundred points.
: Unless otherwise stated, all writing assignments are due by 10:00
PM on the date indicated. Most written assignments will be submitted electronically via turnitin.com. If you need to hand in one of these assignments late, you should use your extension sheet. Otherwise, three points a day will be subtracted from the grade that the assignment should have received. These assignments will be graded out of one hundred points.
: For American Studies (English) each quarter counts for 25% of your grade for the year.
Each quarter will include a mix of reading quizzes, writing assignments, group projects, presentations, debates and class participation.
Nothing is more important to the student – teacher relationship than academic integrity. The work you hand in must be your own. You must learn how to use proper citation (we will work with you on this process), and you must always be careful not to even have the appearance of having shared your answers with or copied your answers from anyone.