Syllabus

ssackstein@wjps.org
September 10, 2009

Dear Student:

I want to take this opportunity to welcome you to your 10th grade World Literature class at WJPS. I want to invite you to participate in an experience which will create a positive influence in your life.

Our classroom will be a community environment. Everyone's voice and opinion is important and will be listened to and heard. We will treat each member of our community with the same respect that we would all like to be treated with. I will do my best to ensure that everyone’s needs are met. I am here to help facilitate your learning and are looking forward to gaining valuable information and wisdom from you. Being a part of a community is a big responsibility -- I hope you will choose to rise to the occasion!

What we expect:
 Come to class prepared and on time
 Participation in class discussion.
 Completed homework. (This includes all projects and/or drafts of projects and essays)
 Completion of all reading assignments and journal entries
 Respect for the thoughts and feelings of all of your classmates (We work as a team here!)
 Attendance of after school tutoring when you need extra support.

What you can expect:
 Your assignments returned in a timely fashion with comments.
 Our assistance whenever you request it.
 Friendly smiles and fair minds to help direct the class.
 An interesting and exciting class that you can look forward to attending.
 High expectations and constant encouragement (We know you are capable of impressing everyone -- make yourself proud, we know you can!)
 A willingness to accept suggestions to better fit the class to your needs.

I look forward to an exciting and successful year together and to the opportunity to help expand your skills and your horizons.

Sincerely,


Ms. Sackstein



Course Description
This year we will be exploring culture and community through a thematic approach using literature of the world working with your global studies learning. Themes that will be covered are:
1. Voices of modern culture
2. World Mythology
3. Cultural conversations
4. Community
5. Justice
6. Building culture bridges

More specifics here with what we hope to achieve within the Standards…

Course Objectives

By the end of the school year, students are required to have a completed portfolio encompassing the range of work produced throughout the school year. This portfolio will represent and reflect the skills and knowledge learned in accordance with, or in excess of, New York State’s 10th Grade English Language Arts Standards. Each student will select pieces that best represent his/her learning and progress, including evidence of drafting, revision, and reflection. The following pieces should have representation in the portfolio:
• A personal essay
• A narrative piece
• A historical fiction piece
• A research paper
• A persuasive piece
• An informative piece
• A variety of shorter pieces chosen by the students (letters, varying pieces of multi-genre pieces, etc.)
• Success on the English Regent

Course Requirements

A. ELA Content

Reading
Students are expected to read on a daily basis. By the end of the year students should have read 25 books. Evidence of reading may be in the form of reflection, analysis, and critique in the student’s Readers’ Sourcebook, or through other methods of literary response. One recurring assignment will be an independent reading assignment monthly to follow.

Writing
Students are expected to contribute to their Writers’ Sourcebook daily. Entries may include, but are not limited to: brainstorming, outlines, topic searches, reflections, drafts, revisions, free writes, ideas, notes, etc.

Throughout the year, students will write several pieces of writing that go through multiple drafts of content revision. Frequently students will be allowed to choose their own topics, with the knowledge that their choice or subject, intended audience and purpose direct the decisions they make while writing. Students will be encouraged to make connections between published work and their own produced work.

Editing is seen as a separate and final stage in the writing process. Upon completion of the final draft, students turn in all drafts of the piece (with proof of revision) and a reflection on both their writing process and their choices and decisions made in the creation of the work. Numerous drafts are expected. These final pieces will be collected in a portfolio.


Course Scope: ELA
Standard ELA1: Language for Information and Understanding - Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Standard ELA2: Language for Literary Response and Expression - Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
Standard ELA3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation - Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
Standard ELA4: Language for Social Interaction - Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
More specifics can be found at www.nylearns.org


Recommended Reading/Booklist

…more here