Course Syllabus: English 10
Ms. Lueck-Room 226
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This full-year course in American literature will include study of the traditional canon and of a diverse selection of preand post-World War II literature from various cultural groups.
Interspersed with study of American literature, students will also refine and extend their skills of composition and
language use. This course continues the sequence of language and composition skills started in the prior grades.
MISCELLANEOUS/OTHER:
Effective this year, exam exemptions are eliminated, and rather than counting as a percent of the overall semester grade,
the exam will be a final assessment that allows students one more opportunity to demonstrate mastery of benchmarks.
Exams are not eligible for re-take.
COURSE BENCHMARKS
Students will be assessed using the following benchmarks/standards:
1. READ: Comprehend, analyze, and interpret print and non-print informational and literary texts to develop an
understanding of themselves and the world.
2. WRITE: Write for a variety of audiences and purposes to discover and communicate their ideas clearly and
effectively, while developing their own voice.
3. RESEARCH: Research, evaluate, and synthesize information from print and non-print texts to extend their
learning.
4. LANGUAGE: Use language appropriate to purpose and audience in speaking and writing, developing a command
of the conventions of Standard English.
5. ORAL: Participate effectively in a variety of oral exchanges, presenting ideas clearly and appropriately and openly
receiving and evaluating others’ ideas.
UNIT AND ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE
In this course, units will focus on time periods and the American literature of that time period. Each unit will include
reading and writing activities, focus lessons, discussions, writing and reading workshop, and sharing opportunities. The
following outline is intended to serve as an overview of the units that will be covered in this course. This outline may
need to be altered slightly as the year progresses to accommodate the unpredictable. Typically, each unit will culminate
in a common summative assessment.
First Semester
Unit Two
Early 19th Century (Romanticism and
Transcendentalism)
Unit One
Early American
Literature
Late
19th
Unit Three
Century (Realism and
Naturalism)
Second Semester
Unit Four
Research
Writing
Unit Five
Early 20th Century (Modernism, Harlem
Renaissance, and American Drama
TEXTS AND MATERIALS
Unit Six
Late 20th Century (Postmodernism and
Contemporary Literature)
Potential Texts (in addition to the Mirrors & Windows text).
Ceremony, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, The Red Badge of Courage, Bless Me Ultima,
Into the Wild, The Great Gatsby, In Our Time, Ethan Frome, Of Mice and Men, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Grapes of
Wrath, The Glass Menagerie, Our Town, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Animal Dreams.
GRADING POLICIES
In this course your grade is determined by your mastery of the Course Benchmarks. [See above.] The teachers who
teach this course have collaboratively agreed that the skills and concepts identified in the benchmarks are so important,
so foundational, that all students must learn them. You will have multiple opportunities throughout the semester to
show mastery of each benchmark, as they are assessed over time. At the end of the semester, the final score for each
benchmark will be determined by averaging the three most recent summative assessment scores. Your semester grade
will be the average of all the benchmark scores.
Please also note that you must ATTEMPT every single summative assessment in order to pass this course. That being said, if you are missing a paper from
January when the end of the year comes around, it is grounds to fail you. This is a rigorous course that requires multiple assessments and projects to ensure
you are learning the material. DO THE WORK.
EVALUATION OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE
Assessments – both formative and summative – communicate student mastery of benchmarks. To be academically
successful, you need to understand exactly how your benchmark mastery is being assessed. Rubrics help with your
understanding in this area by clarifying expectations of benchmark mastery. Below are the descriptors for the four levels
of benchmark mastery. This set of descriptors informs the four-point rubrics that teachers create – often collaboratively
– for their courses.
4 (A) Students consistently demonstrate thorough mastery of grade level or course benchmarks in new or
extended contexts.
3 (B) Students consistently demonstrate adequate mastery of grade level or course benchmarks in familiar
contexts.
2 (C) Students demonstrate partial mastery of grade level or course benchmarks in familiar contexts.
1 (D) Students inconsistently demonstrate a partial mastery of grade level or course benchmarks in familiar
contexts.
INC (Incomplete) There is insufficient evidence of student work at this time to provide a grade. An unresolved
incomplete eventually defaults to zero.
HOMEWORK AND FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Homework and formative quizzes are not calculated directly into your grade, because they are considered practice.
However, they are scored and recorded in the PowerSchool gradebook, because they are essential preparation for
success on summative assessments, and they provide timely feedback on your mastery of benchmarks. To help you
succeed in this course, homework will be assigned and reviewed regularly, and you will take formative assessments from
time to time to monitor your learning.
RETAKE POLICY
You may retake summative assessments, such as tests – or sections of the tests – because they are high-leverage
demonstrations of essential learning. Teachers have collaboratively agreed that the skills and concepts related to
summative assessments are so important that all students must learn them. Failure to learn them hampers further
learning. For a summative assessment – or a section of a summative assessment – to be retaken, a number of conditions
must be met.
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A student consults with his or her teacher to determine what teaching and learning are necessary to successfully
retake the summative assessment.
o The teacher’s responsibility is to provide whatever types of feedback and reteaching are necessary for
the student to succeed.
o The student’s responsibility is engage fully in the relearning process by making up missed work,
completing additional practice, and reflecting on the learning process
The teaching and learning must take place during the retake window, typically ten school days after the student
and teacher have met.
All relevant assignments in the unit leading up to the summative assessment must be completed. If they were not
completed before the initial summative assessment, they must be completed during the retake window.
A student may be required to complete corrections on related previous formative assessments.
STUDENT ACCOUNT ACCESS
In order to support clear communication between you and all your teachers, the school district has created accounts for
students on the new website [http://www.wauwatosa.k12.wi.us]. You should have received an email this summer from
the district with a personal activation code and instructions how to set up your account. If you did not, please let me
know. All students are expected to activate these accounts as soon as possible.
TEACHER CONTACT:
If you have any questions or need help outside of class, I am available in Room 226 during most of the school day and
before school [usually from 7:30] and after school until 3:30. You may email me at lueckst@wauwatosa.k12.wi.us,
although one-on-one meetings are usually best. Do not hesitate to come in if you have any questions or need some
extra help.