Wheaton North High School: Sophomore English I
Sophomore English I: SPRING 2014
Mrs. Delacruz
Room: 306
Patricia.Delacruz@cusd200.org
Personal Extension: 3068
"Education is not
preparation for life;
education is life itself."
- John Dewey
Course Overview: Welcome to your Sophomore English class! This course is designed
to engage you in the process of exploring, developing, and mastering essential literacy
skills that will equip you to be an articulate critical thinker and thoughtful community
member.
Student Expectations:
- All Students, All Assignments: If an assignment is not complete on the due date,
your learner characteristic grade will be impacted. The learner characteristic
grade is worth 15% of your total grade. However, you can still receive a grade that
accurately assesses your performance on the assignment. This means that you
must communicate with me about late or missing assignments.
-
Communication/Accountability/Preparation:
 Please make it a habit to check my teacher page (within Wheaton North’s
English Department website). You will have a reading and assessment schedule
for each unit. Unit schedules will also be available online on my teacher, as well
as updates and resources covered in-class.
 It is your responsibility to check your schedule and/or email me when you
have concerns about assignments or assessments, especially when you are absent.
 Check StudentVue for grade updates. Formal grade print-outs may only be
provided once in the semester.
-
Excused Absences: You have two days for every excused absence to turn in your
missed assignment. Please check the absent work files in our classroom and ask
me before or after class if you have additional questions.If you are aware of work
assigned and assessment dates prior to an excused absence, you are responsible
for handing in that work or making up the assessment upon your return.
-
Unexcused Absence: You will receive NO credit for any work/ assessments
missed.
- Rewrites & Retakes: Revised writings and test corrections will often be required
during the semester. However, beyond the required revisions and corrections, you
are encouraged to take advantage of a rewrite and retake opportunity. You may
rewrite any writing assignment and retake any test during the course of the semester.
Rewrites and retakes must be completed within two weeks of receiving back feedback
or test results.
Required Supplies:
 Binder: You must have an English only binder with the following sections –
(1) Notes, (2) Vocabulary/Grammar, (3) Reading/Texts, (4) Writing, (5)
Schedules/ Miscellaneous
 Flash Drive: Keep a flash drive with you for papers and projects.
 One notebook solely dedicated for our class, loose-leaf paper, one highlighter,
pens (there is no pencil sharpener), post-its, and 100 notecards.
 Supplies are due by the following Monday after the first week of school.
 Student-Purchase Books: ONE student purchase book will be required each
semester. The book title will be announced in class.
Wheaton North High School: Sophomore English I
Grade Distribution:
- 20% Final
- 15% Homework, Classwork, Quizzes, Informal Discussions (formative assessments)
- 50% Formal culminating assessments, projects, essays, tests (summative assessments)
- 15% Learner Characteristics (please refer to community norm section below for
description of learner characteristics)
Community Norms: These norms define LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS. Our class
will continue to define more learner characteristics as the semester
progresses.
- Every voice is valuable in our classroom. There should only be
one speaker at a time. Do not interrupt your peers or me when we
are speaking. No one should interrupt you.
- Presence: Your presence (mentally and physically) is essential to
your success and our class community. You should be alert and
attentive during our class time. You will receive THREE passes in a semester.
Beyond these three passes, your absence during class is impermissible. There will
be no bathroom or water fountain trips beyond your THREE passes, unless it is
an emergency.
- Communication: As we work together this semester, we will be
building a community. Ideally, this will be a healthy and collegial
community. I encourage you to communicate with me if you have any
questions, concerns, or thoughts that you may not have shared in class.
I will always make time for us to communicate if you are in need of
support. I also expect communication in the event of extended absences
or unexpected circumstances that may impede your presence and
progress in class.
- Communal Respect: Respect your peers, our classroom time, and me. You will
receive one warning in a period. Any inappropriate questions, comments, talking
with neighbors at unsuitable times, extraneous electronic devices, and standing
up in class at inopportune times will warrant a warning. Beyond this one
warning, you will receive a reflection essay assignment on the inappropriate
behavior and the ways in which you can learn from this behavior and its
consequences. This essay must be a minimum of 300 words, typed in MLA
format. This reflection essay will be due the following school day. Failure to
submit this reflection essay may result in a detention, further communication
with guardian(s) and/or a referral to the Dean’s office.
Unit Outlines: Listed below are anticipated goals, activities, and texts for this 2014
spring semester. These elements are subject to moderate changes as this curriculum
outline is a fluid document that will be influenced by the class community.
Unit 4: Joining the Conversation
 Formal Culminating Assessment: Formal argumentative essay that reflects the
process of selection, organization, and analysis of researched texts and the application of
this analysis to support an argument on a thematic question of the unit.
 Essential Thematic Questions:

Why do authors create a conversation with their opponents?
Wheaton North High School: Sophomore English I

What are the effects of joining a conversation rather than creating a
monologue?
 Essential Skill-Based Questions:

How do you create a conversation with your opposition in your writing?

How can you listen carefully to another person’s argument?

How can you concisely summarize another’s argument?

How can you critically examine an opposing argument to respond to it?
 Possible Texts:
Informational Texts: “Your Trusted Friends” chapter from Fast Food
Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser; “Is Football
Immoral?”; “Books Make You a Boring Person” by Christina Nehring; “Don’t
Blame the Eater” The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2002; Room for Debate opinioneditorials from The New York Times

Media Excerpts: Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Waiting For Superman,
SuperSize Me, Bowling for Columbine, Forks Over Knives, Merchants of Cool,
An Inconvenient Truth, Capitalism: A Love Story, WalMart: The High Cost of
Low Price, Why We Fight, Sicko, Killing Us Softly 4, America The Beautiful and
TED talks

Unit 5: Human Nature
 Formal Culminating Assessment: Formal argumentative essay
that reflects the process of selection, organization, and analysis of
researched texts and the application of this analysis to support an
argument on a thematic question of the unit.
 Essential Thematic Questions:
 How do members of a social group impact your human
tendencies?
 How do you identify different aspects of human nature through text?
 How can you demonstrate positive human nature characteristics through
community involvement?
 Essential Skills-Based Questions:
 How do different authors use various methods or argumentation to support a
claim?
 How do you summarize an author’s argument effectively without plagiarism?
 How do you challenge opposing arguments to develop your own claim/stance?
Possible Texts:
 Poems: “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins
 Informational Texts: Zimbardo’s article on the Milgram Experiment, Banality of
Heroism, Alfie Kohn’s article on human nature, Steven Pinker’s Decline of
Violence
 Novel: The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
 Media Excerpts: Steven Pinker: Decline of Violence, Banality of Heroism clips
from heroicimagination.org, TED Talks.
Wheaton North High School: Sophomore English I
Unit 6: Finding Home
 Formal Culminating Assessment: Formal narrative that reflects the process of
selection, organization, and control of language to convey a personal story that helps to
define his/her understanding of home.
 Essential Thematic Questions:




How does your cultural and social background influence your identity?
How do different authors define their own identity?
What figures and places have significantly contributed to your identity?
How does your worldview influence your decision-making?
 Essential Skills-Based Questions:
 How do authors use language to reveal the purpose and tone of their writing?
 What is the relationship between purpose and medium (the author’s chosen
vehicle of expression)? In what ways can we use medium to achieve a desired
effect?
 Possible Texts:
 Books: House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros; Divergent by Veronica Roth.
 Poems: “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg; “Kitchenette Building,” Gwendolyn Brooks.
 Informational Texts: Excerpts from following: Devil in the White City, Erik
Larson; Celebrating the New World: Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,
Robert Muccigrosso; Boss, Mike Royko; Chicago: City on the Make, Nelson
Algren; City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America,
Donald L. Miller; & Legendary Locals of Wheaton, Keith Call; & Stuart Dybek’s
“Introduction” to Chicago Stories: Tales of the City, edited by John Miller;
“Kitchenettes,” from Encyclopedia of Chicago
 Essays: “The Cubs Fan Paradox: Why Would Anyone Root for Losers?,” Bill
Savage & “Never a City So Real,” Alex Kotlowitz;
 Media: TED Talks, “Interview with Sandra Cisneros”.
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I have reviewed the course syllabus with my child and he/she understands the
classroom expectations and policies.
___________________________
(Guardian’s printed name)
__________________________________
(Guardian’s signature)
I have read the course syllabus and classroom policies. I am aware of my
responsibilities and will seek clarification when I am unsure of expectations.
___________________________
(Student’s printed name)
__________________________________
(Student’s signature)