Course Syllabus
Course Description and Grading Period Breakdowns
English IV is a course that seeks to integrate the standards of reading, writing, viewing and representing, and speaking and listening. Students will work to comprehend and produce a wide variety of texts, including traditional works of literature, practical and persuasive forms of communication that involve speaking and listening skills, and the use of appropriate technology and media forms. The course will emphasize the communication and critical thinking skills necessary to enable students to deal effectively with multicultural and ethnic diversity in a rapidly changing world.
The overall average for each semester breaks down as follows:
• the 1st/3rd Nine Weeks counts as 40%,
• the 2nd/4th Nine Weeks counts as 40%, and
• the Midterm/Final Exam counts as 20%.
Grading Scales and Percentages
The grading breakdown per nine weeks is as follows:
Tests 30%
Daily* 25%
Quizzes 25%
Essays / Projects 20%
*The Daily grade category includes classwork, homework, the notebook, and participation in class (i.e., bringing your book to class; having your folder, binder, and materials; being alert and participatory; etc.).
Special Equipment Required
- An open-mind.
- A three-ring binder at least 1 inch in width
- Five dividers for the binder
- A two-pocket folder with brads in the center
- First period should have a RED folder.
- Second period should have an ORANGE folder.
- Fourth period should have a GREEN folder.
- Fifth period should have a BLUE folder.
- Sixth period should have a PURPLE folder.
Special Instructions
We will have daily bellwork assignments that will be recorded in the above-mentioned two-pocket folder. These assignments are part of the daily grade category and will be assessed randomly throughout the nine weeks. If a student is absent, s/he MUST get the bellwork from a classmate and will be held responsible for doing so.
Course Outline
Throughout the course of the year, we will read and examine many extraordinary pieces of literature from the United Kingdom and around the world. The course begins with the Anglo-Saxons and end with the 20th Century. The following is a brief outline of the major pieces and historical time periods and when we will be working with them.
Fall Semester:
• Beowulf
• Grendel (outside reading novel by John Gardner)
• “The Seafarer”
• “The Battle of Maldon”
• The Canterbury Tales
• Sonnets
• The Elizabethan poets/dramatists
• Macbeth
Spring Semester:
• The Restoration – Various poems, essays, and reflections
• The Romantic Poets – (i.e., Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, etc.)
• The Victorians – (i.e., Tennyson, Kipling, Housman)
• The Twentieth Century – (i.e., Thomas, Hardy, Auden, Yeats)
