Jamie's Teacher Page

Jamie's Course Syllabus 

Daily School Attributes:

The manner in which we prepare students at Lake Balboa College Prep. is informed by four attributes: (1) Dedicated faculty who will hold themselves to, at minimum, to the same standards as the students we teach; (2) Positive relationships developed and nurtured between and among adults and students; (3) A high level of rigor included in instructional practices via standards aligned and contextually driven instruction; and (4) Connecting positive relationships with effective instruction for positive academy RESULTS!

Course Description:

During this course we will analyze a variety of text types and evaluate an author's craft through the examination of their language choices, use of text structure, and other literary and narrative elements. We will develop claims, and support them through strategically selected citations from the text. As our understanding of narrative elements and literary devices grows, we will incorporate these devices into our own work. We will use textual evidence and well thought out analysis to prove our main ideas in a variety of ways, namely single paragraphs, three paragraph essays, and also five paragraph essays. Through self and peer evaluation we will grow our own writing practice.

Course Competencies/ Learning Objectives:

During the course we will read several novels. We will analyze the text and author’s craft, engage in group discussions, look for themes, write arguments, use textual evidence, produce clear and coherent writing, analyze complex characters, determine meaning of words, write essays evaluating the author’s use of narrative elements and literary devices, present information, have collaborative discussions, and work online in class using Schoology Discussions and Edgenuity.

The novels we will cover during this academic school year are as follows:

9th Grade:

- LORD OF THE FLIES

- HUCK FINN
- ANIMAL FARM - ON WRITING

- CATCHER IN THE RYE
- ROMEO AND JULIET
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

12th Grade:

Student Evaluation:

The grading system for my class at Lake Balboa College Prep. is as follows:

Attendance Policy:

Regular and prompt class attendance is an essential part of the educational experience. Lake Balboa College Prep. expects students to exercise good judgment regarding attendance and absences. Students will accept full responsibility for ensuring their work does not suffer because of absences. All students are expected to attend every scheduled class on time. Exceptions may be made for illness and valid emergencies.

Class Requirements:

Observe the standards and code of conduct needed to be successful in an academic setting.

This means you will:

Show respect for and recognize the feelings and opinions of others, solve problems that arise in purposeful and diverse ways by considering multiple perspectives in the solutions, make productive use of class time that supports task completion, engage in independent decision making when possible, use your own experiences and knowledge of the codes of academic institutions to guide your decisions, use classroom resources, including peers and teacher to support your continued academic growth.

Plagiarism, Cheating, and Academic Integrity:

Plagiarism is the practice of copying words, sentences, images, or ideas for use in written or oral assessments without giving proper credit to the source. Cheating is defined as the giving or receiving of illegal help on anything that has been determined by the teacher to be an individual effort. Both are considered serious offenses and will significantly affect your course grade. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct booklet for additional information.

Methodology:

A combination of lecture, class discussion, presentations, videos, cooperative learning, and problem-based learning will be used in this course. Grades will be determined by the satisfactory and timely completion of assignments. The grade of each assignment is based on the prerequisite given for each assignment. Below is an overview of topic/ units and major assessments/ assignments for this course. Please note dates/timeframes are subject to change and are an estimate.

General Information:

If you do not complete an assignment before two weeks after an absence, you will receive a zero.

It is your responsibility to see what you missed. You should ask me. Do not expect me to ask you. Take responsibility for your own missing work within two weeks of being absent.

If you are having trouble with this class, come to me immediately and I can work with you. If you wait till the end of the marking period, it will be TOO LATE.

I will be available to help you understand so you can be successful in this class.