AHS
English Department Syllabus – Fall 2019
American
Literature and Composition
Mr. Erik Fridborg & Mrs. Lindsay
Civitella
Room 2214
Phone: (770) 975 – 6503 x7012214
Blog: FridborgAmericanLit.blogspot.com
This course is designed for the student who has an
interest in the interpretation of American literature. This examination is
accomplished through argumentative and expository writing. This course
integrates writing, grammar and usage, speaking and listening. It includes a
variety of literary genres: short stories, novels, poetry, drama, and
nonfiction. I will utilize our school blog daily to communicate and provide
resources. Please check out the amazing resources there!
Required Text:
Students will be assigned a consumable textbook that closely aligns with the
Georgia Standards for ELA. Textbook will remain in the classroom, unless
homework is assigned.
Students will also need to obtain a copy of The Absolutely
True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. We will be utilizing
this text to explore the American Dream, graphic novels, and conflict. If you
need assistance acquiring this text, please reach out to Coach Fridborg or Mrs.
Civitella. Students will need this book no later than August 9th.
Grading:
The gradebook will be updated weekly. Formative grades are those where your
student is practicing the
standard(s). Summative grades are those where your student is proving mastery of the standard(s).
Please monitor your student’s progress via ParentVue. Information for login may
be obtained through the counseling office.
A: 100-90 B: 89-80 C: 79-74 D: 73-70 F: 69 and below
We are an EOC course. The grading will
be as follows:
Formative assessments – 30%
Summative assessments – 50%
EOC – 20%
Make-up Policies and Late Work
·
Late work may be turned in for ½ credit (½ of
the actual grade earned) for up to 5 days from the assignment due date. A
zero will be recorded in the gradebook until the assignment is turned in.
On the 6th day, if the assignment is still not turned in, no credit
will be awarded for the assignment.
·
When absent, students are expected to make-up
or arrange to make up missed assignments. Please check our class blog – there
are valuable resources there.
Tutoring: If you
need additional help, please come see me. We can arrange before or after
school, or during Buc Block.
Supplies: Students
will need tools daily to be successful in this course. It is an expectation
that students arrive with:
·
Pencil
·
Blue or black pen
·
Highlighter
·
Spiral/Composition Notebook
Teachers
will provide supplies to complete group projects; however, your students may
prefer their own: scissors, glue stick, markers, crayons, and/or colored
pencils.
Class Rules:
1.
Be in the classroom when the bell rings
2.
Come prepared with supplies to learn
3.
Be respectful of teachers and fellow
classmates
4.
No food or drink
5.
Cell phones remain in backpacks unless BYOD is
announced by the teachers.
Cell Phone
Policy: Allatoona
is utilizing CCSD’s Bring Your Own Device Policy. Students may bring their own
tablet or cell phone as a learning tool, and will only be permitted to use this
when announced by the teacher. If BYOD is not in place during instruction, I
will take up the device and turn it into the front office, as outlined in the
Student Handbook on pg. 16.
Movies and
Media: We firmly believe that multimedia assists in bringing the
literature alive for students. We will be watching film clips of stories we
read, and in some cases, will be watching the entire movie. All movies will
have a subsequent assignment and purpose in their viewing. Please review the
movie permission slip (attached), sign, and return to me no later than August 5th.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
What will
we learn?
Reading *Short Stories – We will read several short
stories in class and for homework. You will be required to complete
assignments aligned with these stories. *Non-fiction and informational texts
– We will read several pieces of informational texts, such as newspaper
articles, biographies and other essays. *Novels – We will read at
least three novels in this course: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time
Indian by Sherman Alexie, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. These novels connect to our unit
themes.
Writing I will give you the guidelines and
rubrics (grading scale) for all of our writings.*Response to literature
– You will be required to write short essays about selected works of
literature. We will write these in and out of class.*Autobiographical
– You will be required to write an autobiography about your life. *Compare
and contrast – You will be required to compose at least one essay in which
you compare and contrast two or more things. *Persuasive – You
will be required to compose a research paper in which you will argue one topic.
*Warm-ups – Students will be writing
daily as their warm up. This may be in the form of journals, literary analysis,
or vocabulary.
We
look forward to working with your child! American Literature is a subject that
we are both very passionate about teaching. We hope that through this course,
your child will explore and enjoy the dynamic stories, writings, and projects
encompassed in this course.
