English+12+2009-2010+Syllabus

__Asian, Feminist, Multicultural Literature and Composition__ Fall Semester 2009
 * 12th Grade English:**

Ms. Karen Taylor //BA English Literature- San Francisco State University// // MA Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment- Walden University//

Words have no wings but they can fly a thousand miles.- Korean Proverb

Welcome to a semester of Asian literature, research, memoir, and some multi-genre exploration. As in the previous years at KIS, Grade 12 English offers an integrated approach to the study of English combining the various language arts skills.
 * //Asian Literature//**: We will examine mostly the top three with Korean, Chinese and Japanese literature. You will be as much the teacher here as I with your obvious experience in culture, history, and literature backgrounds.
 * //Writing//**: Thank goodness you learned MLA last year because this year will build upon those previous skills. You will also be working on memoir, college essay, and at least one formal piece per semester responding to literature.
 * //Research Project//**: Students will produce a completed research project using MLA.
 * //Speaking and Listening//**: We will have many discussions where participation is welcomed and needed. Sometimes students will present on a topic or give a more formal speech.
 * //Independent Reading//**: For each quarter, students will read a book from the given list then do individual or group projects depending on the given assignment.

Participation: This category includes being on time and being prepared for class. But most importantly, this category is about participation in class discussion and activities. The English Only Policy states that you will lose 5% in participation for lack of English in the classroom/ Homework: This includes most assignments concerning vocabulary, grammar, reading, résumés, and blogs. Quizzes: This includes quizzes in vocabulary, reading comprehension and grammar. Please expect a few pop quizzes after the nightly reading.
 * Grading Categories**
 * Formative (blogs, homework, participation, quizzes, etc) 40%**

Writing : This category will consist of all major writing assignments and their drafts that you will complete for the semester, Any formal speeches given this semester will also fall into this category. Tests : You will have at least 1 unit test per quarter Projects: This category includes book projects and other creations geared to explore literature using multiple intelligences. Students will need to read two books outside of class for each quarter. The books need to be selected from the list given to students during the first or second week of the semester. (See handout for more information.)
 * Summative (projects, tests, essays, etc) 50%**

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS: The three P’s should not be hard to remember:
 * Final 10%**

**Prepared** - Be on time. Being consistently late will drop your grade.
 * Read all materials before class and be prepared to discuss.
 * Homework will be collected __at the beginning__ of each class period unless otherwise indicated. For large projects I may have to ask for them by 8:00 a.m. the day of to prevent tardiness to other classes. Please try not to make it an issue.
 * Polite** – this is a reading and writing class. Writing and discussion are hard, difficult and often revealing of ourselves. Be careful of each others’ creations and ideas.
 * Participating** – Discuss, discuss, discuss. Make yourself heard, be thoughtful, work at listening. Comment on others’ papers. You will be receiving participation points. Students could lose points for sleeping in class, chatting when they shouldn’t, being late, speaking in Korean, not volunteering or not actively engaging in classroom activities. ||

LATE ASSIGNMENTS: So your printer doesn’t work and you forgot to e-mail me and yourself the assignment. Oops! NO LATE HOMEWORK will be accepted. For major assignments, late work will receive a maximum score of 75% minus the grade you would have received. All major assignments will be due at 8:00 am on the due date for all classes- regardless of meeting block.

TURNITIN.COM All formal papers will have to be submitted to Turnitin.com by 8 am of the day due or else lose 5% per day.

ABSENCES and TARDIES Please see the student handbook (pg. 18). Students who have excused absences will be given the number of days missed plus one to complete missing assignments. If you know ahead of time (including sports), please notify me and we will work together. It is the student’s responsibility to ask what he or she has missed. Unexcused absences result in a zero. NOTE: As for all classes, it is the student’s responsibility, not the teacher’s, to ask the teacher what was missed when absent.

Also, notice in the handbook the policy concerning tardies. Please take note: on your third tardy of the semester and each subsequent tardy thereafter, you forfeit your scores for that day. Be careful.

BOOKS AND MATERIALS: Classroom Sets of Novels: Readings this semester will include //The Joy Luck Club,// //The Camellias//, //Three Days in That Autumn// and //Diary of a Madman// You will be given a list of books to choose from throughout this year for independent reading, and you will then need to buy a copy of the book at a local book store or online; this will allow students to highlight or write notes in their books and start building personal libraries. Also, you will need a folder or binder to organize what can be a confusing array of papers, your computer on a daily basis, and whatever else you think I missed. Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself. - Chinese Proverb
 * GRADING CATEGORIES**
 * KIS Grading Scale:**
 * KIS Grading Scale:**

A = 93 -100 A- = 90-92 B+ = 87-89 B = 83-86 B- = 80-82 C+ = 77-79 C = 73-76 C- = 70-72 D+ = 67-69 D = 60-66 F = 59 and below


 * If a student’s grade falls below 73% (C-) at midterm or the end of the quarter, I will schedule a parent-teacher conference to address the student’s academic performance. ||


 * Semester Grades:** The final grade at the end of the semester will be cumulative. That means the grades add up throughout the semester. ||
 * Semester Grades:** The final grade at the end of the semester will be cumulative. That means the grades add up throughout the semester. ||

I’m glad to have this opportunity to work with you this year. Please contact me and come see me if you have ANY questions or concerns. 