Advanced English IV British Literature

Ms. Cheatum

2006-2007

Rm. #5

cheatumd@unity.k12.il.us

Description of course

Welcome to Advanced English IV. There will be a considerable amount of reading. Reading assignments can be as much as 35 pages per night while we are reading novels and plays, so expect to spend a lot of time reading. We will be writing various amounts of essays including two (2) research papers. You also will be giving 5-7 speeches first nine-weeks.

Expectations

I will treat you as much as a college freshman as possible. Therefore, I expect that level of behavior from you. I am not giving you a list of classroom rules, but rather general information about the class. Because you are still in high school, there will be some guidelines (those are listed later).

Like college classes, all essays and research papers will be completed outside of class. These papers are to be typed or computer generated, double spaced with one-inch margins, 12 font, Times New Roman type only, and have a cover sheet. If you do not have access to a computer at home, that is not an acceptable excuse. You may not have a computer in you dorm next year, so you will have to go to the library or the computer lab to work on your papers. You will need to arrange your time to get to a computer in order to hand in the assignment. See me if you need help with this.

Anything that is handed in as written work will need to be completed in blue or black ink. In today’s society, businesses and professionals use pen. You can however, use anything you want to take your notes. I will not grade anything that is not done in blue or black ink.

Like a college course, late work will not be accepted. If an assignment is due and you are in school for any part of the day even if it is not this class, you are responsible for getting that assignment to me that day. If you are absent from school, the UHS policy will stand for make-up work. It is your responsibility to get any work that you missed from a classmate. I do not re-teach my class; however, if after you received the notes and information, and you still need help, I would be happy to sit with you and help you. All make-up tests are essay.

The UHS attendance policy will be followed for semester exams. If you must take the exam (or if you choose to) it will count as 1/10 of your semester grade.

General information

Advance Senior English may well be the most important class you take to prepare you for college. First of all, this class will specifically prepare you for three (3) of your freshman courses. As freshman, whether it is at a four year university or a two year junior college, you will be required to take a composition course. Because of that, we will emphasize writing as one of the major components in this class. The second course that you may be required to take is a literature course in which you will be expected to analyze stories, plays, novels, and poems. This requires you to be able to recognize several literary devices and to discuss their uses in literature. Our study of British literature will prepare you for this approach to literature. Finally, the third course you may be required to take is a speech course. Therefore, speech is the third element included in this class.

Generally speaking, this class will help you in several non-English courses in college as well. You can anticipate in other classes you will be asked to write papers and give oral presentations. The professors in these classes will not facilitate that knowledge to you.

Guidelines

<>You will need some supplies—a binder, pens, loose leaf, folder with prongs, memory stick etc.
<>It would be nice if you could bring in one box of Kleenex for cold/flu season
You will not be allowed to leave the room for any reason except with a pass signed by me in your planner. You allotted 3 per semester
My detentions are served from 7:45 am - 8:15 am <><>
You will be graded accordingly if you write with abbreviations/e-mail talk
<>You will need several packs of sticky notes
You will need to make sure your name is on everything

Reading List

1st Nine Weeks--The History of England/Heroism

Giving Informative Speeches

History of England: Middle Ages

Renaissance

Restoration

Romantic Age

Victorian Age

Twentieth Century

Informative Speeches

“Beowulf”

from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight