Syllabus—Honors English 12
Laura Bodenmann
Room 302
Planning 4th block
Course Objectives:
• This course is designed to prepare students for the
writing and thinking they will soon do in college
courses.
• Through writing formal and informal essays, we will
focus on strengthening individual writing styles.
• Through the study of selected texts from British
literature, we will analyze literary elements and
interpret various meanings that the texts hold.
Course Objectives:
• Through class discussions and presentations,
we will improve spoken as well as written
communication skills.
• Specific goals for students in twelfth grade
English are stated in the Alabama Course of
Study: English Language Arts.
• Course Prerequisite: successful completion of
11th grade English
• Required Fee: none, though students will be
asked to obtain their own copies of several
texts we study (available online, or at local
bookstores or libraries)
Materials Needed:
• Each day, bring assigned novels as required, English
notebook (spiral or three-ring binder with pockets or
folders), writing utensils, and loose-leaf paper. You
should also bring your school-issued laptop, if you
have one.
Assessments:
• Assessments: Grades are assigned using a
points system. Each assignment has a point
value; your grade for that assignment is
determined by dividing the number of points
you earn by the number of points it was
possible to earn. Overall course average will
be determined by the following percentages:
Assessments:
• Assessments: 65%
(tests, quizzes, essays, research paper)
• In-class work 10%
(daily activities, oral presentations, groupwork)
• Out of class work: 10%
(reading journals, homework)
• Midterm/final exams: 15%
• Notes that you take from lectures and class
discussion will be included on unit tests. A
unit test will cover historical/cultural
information as well as the literary texts, and
will be scheduled when the unit is completed
(units usually span a week or a week and a
half).
Assessments:
• Plagiarism, copying, and cheating will not be
tolerated. If you plagiarize or cheat on an
assignment, you will receive zero points for
that assignment. Any assignment turned in
without a student’s name on it will have
points deducted from the final grade.
Make-up work
• All assignments are to be ready at the beginning of
the class period when they are due; late work of any
kind will not be accepted.
• If you are absent on the day an assignment is due, be
ready to turn it in at the beginning of class on the
day you return. If you are absent on the day of a
test, you will need to make it up on the day you
return, or within three days at most. Tests may be
made up in the school testing center. Make-up work
must be completed within the time allotted in the
student handbook—three days per absence.
Classroom rules
In addition to following all school rules as outlined in
the student handbook, the students will
• 1. Show respect to teachers, peers, and all property.
• 2. Be in the classroom when the tardy bell rings,
ready to begin class activities.
• 3. Bring needed materials to class.
• 4. Leave all gum, food, and drink (including water) in
their lockers.
Discipline plan
• to be implemented for individual students as
needed:
• 1. Warning
• 2. Parent Contact
• 3. Office Referral
• Severe disruptions will result in an immediate
referral to the office.
• Please note that teacher conferences or
tutoring may be scheduled at any time.
Honors English is a demanding class, and, if
students have difficulties, it is better to discuss
them with the teacher sooner rather than
later.
Tentative course schedule
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independent reading, first 9 weeks:
Gulliver’s Travels
Robinson Crusoe
Pride and Prejudice or
Jane Eyre
You will take three quizzes on the novel of
your choice, spread out over the first 9 week
term.
Tentative course schedule
• Week 1: introduction to course; begin first
essay assignment; discussion/evaluation of
summer reading
• Week 2: discussion/evaluation of summer
reading; begin medieval era
• Week 3: medieval era and excerpts from the
Canterbury Tales
Tentative course schedule
• Week 4: Renaissance poetry; begin Twelfth
Night
• Week 5: finish Twelfth Night
• Week 6: 18th century literature
Tentative course schedule
• Week 7: TBD
• Week 8: TBD
• Week 9: midterm exams
Tentative course schedule
• independent reading, second 9 weeks: choose from list of
20th century literature
• 1984, Orwell
• Brave New World, Huxley
• The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood
• Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf
• Howard’s End, Forster
• Till We Have Faces, Lewis
• Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton
• A Passage to India, Forster
• Heart of Darkness, Conrad
Tentative course schedule
• Week 10: Oedipus Rex; research paper
preparation
• Week 11: research week—notecards turned
in daily
• Week 12: class time for writing paper
Tentative course schedule
• Week 13: research paper typing week
• Week 14: research paper due
• Week 15: begin Hamlet
Tentative course schedule
• Week 16: finish Hamlet
• Week 17: novel presentations
• Week 18-19: review research paper errors;
final exams
Tentative course schedule
• Note that this is a TENTATIVE course schedule.
Occasionally a text may be added or deleted.
Some units may spill over into another week,
so we must all be flexible. A typical week’s
assignments may include study questions on
assigned readings, group work and
presentations, informal and/or formal essays,
and unit tests.