CAS ENGLISH 2
GRADE 10
COURSE SYLLABUS
This syllabus was prepared to provide students taking English 2 CAS (Centers for Advanced Studies) with a statement of grade level
standards, topics to be studied, a pacing chart, course materials, the grading policy, useful technology resources, and sample assessments.
This overview provides parents and students with an understanding of course requirements and grade level expectations. In this course
students are required to use higher level thinking skills to read and respond to texts, to write in a sophisticated manner in a variety of genres,
to present publicly, and to effectively use the conventions of English grammar.
The Centers for Advanced Study (CAS) is a four year accelerated program for gifted students offered in the Pittsburgh Public High
Schools. A Gifted Individualized Education Plan (GIEP) is developed annually which defines the student’s program for the year and includes
goals, objectives, and evaluation procedures based on core curricula, enrichment, community-based experiences, and independent study
projects. The curriculum for each CAS class follows an appropriate sequencing of tasks from teacher-led foundation activities to small group
creative problem solving tasks culminating in independent study projects.
The curriculum, along with the GIEPs of each student, determines the specially designed instruction for each CAS student and
delineates the exact activities for each course. Preparation for Grade 10 assessment, the New Standards Reference Exam, is ongoing along
with preparation for the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.)
STUDENT REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTED LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT
A student taking this course will be expected to:
 complete and submit a proficient or advanced level Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Literacy Portfolio.
 participate in all class discussions.
 complete all assignments and projects.
 define and apply key literary terms.
 analyze and interpret material presented in class and through reading.
 respond orally and in writing to material presented in class and to independent and assigned reading.
 pass quizzes and tests at the proficient or advanced level.
 pass District and State assessments at the proficient or advanced level.
 utilize library resources and technology to complete assignments at the proficient or advanced level.
 attend class in compliance with the District attendance policy.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
SKILL OBJECTIVES
The student will demonstrate the following at the proficient or advanced level:
 Comprehend, explain, analyze, apply, and evaluate concepts and ideas presented in a variety of media.
 Write for a variety of purposes.
 Participate in class discussion by raising questions, evaluating the comments of others, expanding the ideas of others, and taking and
defending a position.
 Prepare and present formal speeches.
 Research a variety of topics, using primary and secondary sources and verifying the accuracy of information.
 Use traditional and emerging technologies to enhance reading, writing, and speaking.
 Evaluate work using criteria established by the State and the District.
CONTENT OBJECTIVES
The student will complete a PPS Literary Portfolio with the following items:
 Response To Text/Independent Reading (Quantity, Range, and Depth – 25 books)
 Response To Text/Research (1 piece)
 Response To Text/Critical Analysis (2 pieces)
 Response To Text/Interpreting Text (2 pieces)
 Literature-based Writing (2 pieces)
 Persuasive Writing (1 piece)
 Narrative Writing (1 piece)
 Informative Writing (1 piece)
 Genre Writing (1 piece)
 Speaking/Informational (1 piece)
 Speaking/Persuasion (1 piece)
 Reflective Essay (1 piece)
John W. Thompson, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
©2004
CONTENT AND PACING GUIDE
SUMMER READING COMPONENT
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Out of This Furnace, Thomas Bell
 The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
CORE READINGS
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
UNIT ONE: WHAT DO YOU VALUE NOW (3 weeks)
 Marty, Paddy Chayefsky
 “Pigeon Feathers,” John Updike
 Maggie’s American Dream, James P. Comer
 “Paul’s Case,” Willa Cather
 “The Lesson,” Toni Cade Bambara
UNIT TWO: PEOPLE WHO VALUE LOGIC AND CRITICAL
THINKING (4 weeks)
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The Nonexistent Knight and the Cloven Viscount, Italo Calvino
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Last Days of Socrates, Plato
Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition (Chapter 24)
UNIT THREE: PEOPLE WHO VALUE FAMILY (7 weeks)
 Nectar in a Sieve, Kamala Markandaya
 Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
 Memory of Kin, Mary Helen Washington
 Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
UNIT FOUR: PEOPLE WHO VALUE FRIENDS (3 weeks)
 All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
 “We Real Cool,” Gwendolyn Brooks
 “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost
 A Separate Peace, John Knowles
 West Side Story, Arthur Laurents
UNIT FIVE: PEOPLE WHO VALUE LOVE (5 weeks)
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“Constantly Risking Absurdity,” Lawrence Ferlinghetti
“Is My Team Ploughing?,” A.E. Housman
“Study of Reading Habits,” Phillip Larkin
“Mirror,” Sylvia Plath
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“When my Love Swears,” William Shakespeare
“Metaphors,” Sylvia Plath
“Progress”
“Sound and Sense,” Alexander Pope
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“The Good Morrow,” John Donne
“Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night,” Dylan Thomas
“Those Winter Sundays,” Robert Hayden
“The Toys,” found in Sound and Sense
July’s People, Nadine Gardimer
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“That Time of Year,” William Shakespeare
“A Noiseless Patient Spider,” Walt Whitman
“Gift”
Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane
 “I’m a Fool,” Sherwood Anderson
 Laughing Boy, Oliver La Farge
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
“The Apple Tree,” John Galsworthy
“My Last Duchess,” Robert Browning
“Let Me Not to Marriage of True Minds,” William Shakespeare
“My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun,” William Shakespeare
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“Living in Sin,” Adrienne Rich
“Brooklyn Love,” found in Sound and Sense
UNIT SIX: PEOPLE WHO VALUE WEALTH, POWER, AND
HONOR (7 weeks)
 The Tragedy of King Richard III, William Shakespeare
 Billy Budd, Herman Melville
 A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt
 “Base Details,” Siegfried Sassoon
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The Miser, Jean Baptist Moliere
“To an Athlete Dying Young,” A.E. Housman
“Barter,” Sara Teasdale
The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey
Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
“Dulce et Decorum Est,” Wilfred Owen
UNIT SEVEN: PEOPLE WHO VALUE SELF ESTEEM (5 weeks)
 Pygmalion, Bernard Shaw
 “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost
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If You Could See What I Hear, Tom Sullivan
My Fair Lady, Lerner and Lowe
“Portrait of a Girl with a Comic Book,” Phyllis McGinley
Harlem “A Dream Deferred,” Langston Hughes
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COURSE MATERIALS
COMPANION TEXTS
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCE
Great Modern Short Stories, Bennett Cerf, ed.
Television Plays, Paddy Chayefsky
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, A. Conan Doyle
Webster’s New World Dictionary, David B. Guralnik, ed.
Critical Thinking, Anita Harnadeck
Kaleidoscope, Robert Hayden, ed.
Pittsburgh Memoranda, Haniel Long
Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: A Study Text, John R. Nickerson
The Art of Short Fiction, Barbara Panwitt, ed.
Sound and Sense, Laurence Perrine
A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas
Night, Elie Wiesel
A+LS, The American Education Corporation
Internet Explorer
Library Databases
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Office
Microsoft PowerPoint
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SAMPLE ASSESSMENT ITEMS
Preparation for Grade 10 assessment, the New Standards Reference Exam, is ongoing.
NEW STANDARDS REFERENCE EXAM READING
Reading/Multiple Choice
Why does the author call the ear “the
ultimate audiovisual aid”?
a. The students vividly recall the
moment he removed his glasses.
b. The students could see that he
only had one ear.
c. The ear was the only thing the
students would look at.
d. The ear helped the students
understand physics.
NEW STANDARDS REFERENCE EXAM
WRITING
Reading Constructed Response
Question
Writing/Conventions
A textbook editor is considering the two
poems that you have read for an
anthology of poems and stories for
high school students. Write an essay
in which you compare and evaluate the
poems for this editor. In your essay,
explain your criteria and give reasons
and specific examples to support your
reasons for including or excluding
these poems in the anthology.
Narrative Prompt
Many times in life we avoid experiences
because we are afraid to do them or dread the
thoughts of a negative experience. Other times
we have no choice and must do what we dread
the most. In some instances our worst fears are
realized, but more often we learn that our fears
were justified. Write about an experience you
dreaded but discovered was not nearly as bad
as you expected.
As you write, be sure to
 clearly state your opinion as to
whether or not these poems should
be included in the anthology.
 support your answers with
information from the text.
 include your own ideas and
understanding.
 write neatly and clearly.
As you write your paper, remember to
 write to show that this experience was not
as bad as you expected.
 include specific reasons, details, facts, and
examples to develop your narrative.
 present your ideas in a clear and logical
order, including an introduction, body, and
conclusion.
 use a variety of words and well-constructed
sentences.
 correct any errors in spelling, punctuation,
capitalization, and usage.
GRADING POLICY
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the assessment of communications performance is consistent throughout the District. Therefore,
assessments used for evaluations are chosen on the basis of quality, authenticity, and relationship to the instructional process. Each assessment
evaluates what has been taught, modeled, practiced, and reviewed. Results of any assessment are used to inform and reform instructional practice.
Student ratings are based on a variety of assessments that give all students the opportunity to succeed regardless of their particular learning styles.
As students are assigned various tasks and assessments, they are made aware of how the work is to be evaluated, so when they receive a grade
they understand what it means, how it measures what they know and are able to do, and what they need to do to improve.
In order to be consistent, the following percentage scale is used to determine a grade:
Percentage Range
Grade
Level of Performance
90 – 100%
A
Excellent
80 – 89%
B
High
70 – 79%
C
Satisfactory
60 – 69%
D
Minimal
0 – 59%
E
Unsatisfactory
Each report period is independent, but the final grade is cumulative, including the final examination. Within each report period, a student
receives a minimum total of ten grades per report period, including homework. Students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their
abilities in all four communications strands (Reading/Comprehension, Writing/Conventions, Vocabulary, and Speaking) in order to meet the
State and the District standards.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
Plagiarism is a serious act of academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated. Students must cite all work that is not their own. This
requires students to give credit for (to cite) any and all information used as the basis for their papers, speeches, and projects. A works cited
or bibliography must be used whether information from secondary or primary sources is summarized, paraphrased, or quoted.
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PENNSYLVANIA COMMUNICATION STANDARDS, GRADES 9 - 12
The degree of academic rigor of the required reading, writing, and speaking assignments increases each year.
Academic
Standards
1.1
Learning to Read
Independently
Content Focus
Purposes for Reading
Word Recognition Skills
Vocabulary Development
Comprehension and Interpretation
Fluency
1.2
Reading Critically in
All Content Areas
Detail
Inferences
Fact from Opinion
Comparison
Analysis and Evaluation
1.3
Reading, Analyzing,
and Interpreting
Literature
Literary Elements
Literary Devices
Poetry
Drama
1.4
Types of Writing
Narrative
Informative
Persuasive
1.5
Quality of Writing
Focus
Content
Organization
Style
Conventions
Learning Indicators
Teachers of English 2 CAS will teach, challenge, and support every student to realize his/her
maximum potential and to work toward mastery of the knowledge and skills needed to do the
following:
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Demonstrate fluency and comprehension in reading.
Locate resources for assigned and independent reading.
Read 25 books a year including four different genres; five different authors; and four books in the
same genre, by the same author, or on the same subject.
Build vocabulary by reading widely and deeply, utilizing knowledge of root words, and learning words
from real life experiences.
Utilize the dictionary and thesaurus as tools for acquiring new vocabulary for writing and speaking.
Demonstrate sophisticated vocabulary usage in writing and speaking.
Analyze and interpret both fiction and nonfiction including public documents.
Recognize, explain, and evaluate essential ideas in texts.
Support assertions with textual evidence.
Assess the validity of texts based on context.
Evaluate the author’s strategies.
Connect new ideas from reading to prior knowledge.
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Read and understand essential content of informational texts and documents.
Differentiate fact from opinion and essential from nonessential material.
Support assertions with coherent arguments, textual evidence, and proper references.
Evaluate text organization and content in relationship to author’s purpose.
Use and understand a variety of media and evaluate the quality of the products produced.
Produce work in at least one literary genre that follows the criteria of the genre.
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Read, understand, and respond to a variety of literary works.
Understand, analyze, compare, and contrast literary elements used by a variety of authors including
characterization, setting, tone, plot, etc.
Understand, analyze, and compare and contrast literary devices used by a variety of authors including
sound techniques (rhyme, rhythm, etc.), figurative language (personification, simile, etc.), and literary
structures (foreshadowing, flashback, etc.).
Read, understand, and analyze literacy elements and devices in poetry and drama.
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Write “portfolio worthy” narrative pieces, such as short stories, plays, and poems.
Write complex informational pieces, such as research papers, analyses, evaluations, and essays.
Write effective persuasive pieces.
Follow the criteria of the genres.
Assess writing using teacher and student constructed evaluative tools.
Write a personal resume.
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Write with a sharp, distinct purpose and focus.
Write detailed content appropriate for the topic.
Establish and sustain a logical order throughout the piece.
Demonstrate use of sophisticated vocabulary and knowledge of the stylistic aspects of composition.
Use precise language.
After considering original purpose and audience, revise to improve style, word choice, sentence variety,
sentence structure, and subtlety of meaning.
Edit writing for correct use of the conventions of standard English.
Present and/or defend written work for publication.
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1.6
Speaking and
Listening
Listening Skills
Speaking Skills
Discussion
Presentation
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Listen critically to others and evaluate what is said.
Listen critically to selections of literature and synthesize and evaluate the main concepts through
discussion and in writing.
Use appropriate skills for formal presentation.
Use appropriate skills for discussion and participate in small and large group meetings, panels,
conferences, and interviews.
Use media for learning purposes by utilizing it to complete class assignments and projects.
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1.7
Characteristics and
Functions of the
English Language
Word Origins
Variations
Applications
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Describe the influence of historical events on the English language.
Analyze how differences in language are a source of negative or positive stereotypes among groups.
Explain and evaluate the role and influence of the English language within and across countries.
1.8
Research
Selection
Location of Information
Organization
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Select and refine a topic for research
Locate research materials using appropriate sources and strategies and verify the accuracy of
information.
Organize, summarize, and present main ideas from research.
Use traditional and emerging library technologies to locate sources for research.
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