Syllabus English 10

Fall Semester

1. Writing Unit (8-9 weeks)

• Students write narrative and evaluative paragraphs.

• Students employ the following orders of arrangement in their writing: logical, chronological, spatial, and order of importance.

• Students identify main ideas, topic sentences, tones, orders of arrangement, audience, and purpose in sample writing.

• Students edit and proof-read.

• Students write at least two persuasive essays.

• Students use all steps of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising editing, and publishing.

• Students employ all six components of the AIMS Writing Rubric.

2. Poetry Unit (4 weeks)

• Students read and analyze model poems.

• Students write poems.

• Students acquire and use new literary terms as they pertain to poetry.

• Students analyze the author's use of literary elements.

• Students analyze the author's use of figurative langauge.

3. Short Story Unit (4 weeks)

• Students read short stories in English 10 textbook:

  “Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin

  “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?” by Tim O'Brien

  “Geraldo No Last Name” by Sandra Cisneros

  “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing

• Students analyze the author's use of literary elements: theme, point of view, characterization, setting, and plot.

• Students analyze the author's use of figurative langauge: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbolism, allusion, and imagery.

• Students compare and contrast the illustrations of the same theme in two different literary genres.

4. AIMS Prep Lessons (on-going throughout semester)

• Students complete reading and writing lessons and quizzes in Study Island.

• Students complete lessons and quizzes in Coach and Buckle Down AIMS Prep Workbooks.

5. Accelerated Reader

Students will read AR books.

Students will earn points each quarter based upon their reading level and upon reading for 30 minutes daily.

6. Fall Semester Final

Students will take a comprehensive final worth 15% of their total semester grade.

Spring Semester

1. Non-Fiction Reading (3-4 weeks)

• Students read the following selections from the Holt-Rinehart English 10 textbook:

-- “from Into Thin Air”

-- “R.M.S. Titanic”

-- “No News from Auschwitz”

-- “Hair” from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

• Students acquire and use new vocabulary in relevant contexts.

• Students read fluently.

• Students employ strategies to comprehend text.

• Students identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the purpose, structures, and elements of expository text.

2. AIMS Review (2-3 weeks)

• Students will take practice Writing and Reading AIMS Tests, especially focusing on writing and comprehending literary text from the first semester

3. Greek Mythology (last 3 months of school)

• Students will learn the major figures in Greek mythology.

• Students will read portions of the following myths:

  “Jason and the Golden Fleece”

  “The Odyssey”

  “The Iliad”

• Students will read Edith Hamilton's Mythology.

• Students will trace the hero's journey in several myths.

• Students will find allusions to Greek mythology in contemporary culture.

4. Spring Semester Final

• Students will take a comprehensive final worth 15% of their total semester grade.