Junior Honors English Overview and Procedures
Mrs. Thomas
Learn all you can. Allow others to learn all they can.
Practice integrity.
Honors English 11 is designed to be similar to the curriculum at the college level and will be taught in that manner.
Students must be prepared and focused each day in order to be successful in all aspects of the course. Students are
expected to conduct themselves professionally and honorably- in a manner befitting an adult. The end result of
such a rigorous course is the confidence and ability to work at a college level. (and to prepare you for Honors
English 12 )
This course will cover the following elements:
A survey of American thought as it is reflected in literary trends and selections from the time of the Puritans to the
present. We will be considering and writing about the changing core beliefs in the following worldviews: Puritan
(theistic), Cavalier (deistic), Romantic, Transcendental, Realist, Naturalist, Modern, Existential, and Contemporary
(Postmodern). You will be encouraged to consider how the core beliefs of Americans in 2014 reflect past trends of
thinking.
Course Objectives
In this course the following skills will be emphasized:
- A wide range of vocabulary used appropriately and effectively
- A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and
coordination
- Logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence such as
repetition, transitions, and emphasis
- A balance of generalization and specific illustrative detail
- An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining
voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure
Upon completion, students will be able to:
- Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s
use of rhetorical strategies and techniques
- Apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing
- Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience
- Write for a variety of purposes
- Produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a
complex central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary
and/or secondary sources, cogent explanations, and clear transitions
- Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as
stylistic maturity in
their own writings
- Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources
- Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review
- Write thoughtfully about their own process of composition
- Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience
- Analyze image as text
- Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched paper
Writing: The Honors Junior English curriculum requires of its students a mature depth of experience in reading,
writing, and critical thinking skills. The course provides students with the opportunity to examine a writer’s use of
rhetorical devices. The course also teaches students how to read and evaluate primary and secondary sources in
order to synthesize them into original compositions. Honors Junior English also develops student writing skills
through the process of reading and evaluating published works of established authors as well as writing original
essays following the rhetorical modes of narration, description, exemplification, definition, division/classification,
comparison/contrast, cause/effect, and argumentation/persuasion.
Vocabulary: You will gather vocabulary words and literary terms from the novels we read this year as well as study
root words, prefixes and suffixes. Please pay close attention to underlined words and their definitions in the
margins of your anthology. Vocabulary lists for novels will help you to prepare to read intelligently.
Character growth: Since this is an honors class, you will be called upon to exercise your integrity. I expect you to
monitor your own actions, to always deal truthfully, and to learn the most you can in this class. If you have
stressful circumstances that bring the temptation to cheat, please speak with me, so we can work out a way for
your quest for integrity to be successful.
Weighted Grades
Reading/Vocabulary/Writing
Speech/projects
Tests/Quizzes
Final
25%
25%
50%
20%
Supplies
Please bring the following items to class every day:
·
Pens and pencils
·
A binder dedicated to English
·
A highlighter pen
·
Textbook
·
Loose leaf paper for your binder
·
Folder for your binder
Please keep all of your English papers in order as you receive them. If you lose a handout, it is your responsibility
to replace it. If you keep all graded papers and discover a discrepancy between the grade on the paper and the one
in the grade book, when you show me the proof, I will change your grade. It is never my intention to give the wrong
grade, but mistakes do happen. Please watch out for your own welfare on a regular basis.
Work Submission
All work must be submitted in the following manner to receive credit
Drafted Essays
- Typed, double spaced, and written in Times New Roman 12 point font
- MLA formatting including heading and paging
- Submitted both on paper and electronically through Google Drive
Other Assignments
As instructed upon assignment
Google Drive
- students will be working on group projects and conferring with me through Google Drive. This
is a great way to provide one on one instruction and immediate feedback
Late Work
Work is due at the beginning of the class on the assigned due date. Work turned in any later is considered
late and the score will be reduced accordingly. Assignments submitted late but before the next class period will be
reduced to 50% value. After the next class, late assignments will not be accepted. It is the responsibility of the
student to provide late work to the teacher.
If you are absent, please check my website for the work you have missed. Make-up work must be done according
to the number of days you were absent, and I expect you to take care of this without prompting. Please be in
charge of your own success in this class.
If you need help or need to make up a quiz or test, please make an appointment to come to A214 before or after
school. If it works out for you to come during my prep period either day, I will happily write you a pass and work
with you one on one. I am a reasonable person and I care about you and your academic success. Please discuss any
fears or concerns with me.
Classroom Behavior
The major objective is to have all students learn and be successful in this class. No student has the right to
interfere in any way with the teacher’s ability to teach and students to learn.
1. All students are expected to adhere to the rules as stated in the MVHS handbook.
2. Be on time; come to class prepared to work each day.
3. Display respectful behavior towards the teacher and each other.
4. Listen to your peers’ contributions to discussion; if you want to make a contribution,
raise your hand and wait to be called on.
5. Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
6. No harassment of any type is allowed.
7. Save trips to locker, rest rooms, office, etc. for lunch and between classes unless it’s a dire emergency.
8. No profanity is allowed.
9. No grooming is allowed.
10. No food or drinks are allowed.
Printing of Assignments
The teacher will not print student’s work in class. Passes will not be given during class to go to the library
to print; this must be done prior to class.
Email Communication
Email communication in a formal setting such as school is to be written in a professional manner. Emails
that are not composed in a professional manner will not be read.
Email: thomasel@mvschool.org
Voice mail: 812-838-4356 ext.5990
Rooms: A214 and A210
Prep periods: 4th and 6th
http://www.cornell-notes.com/