Welcome to English 11!

English 11A (Trimester 1)

Ms. Johnson
Ann.Johnson@anoka.k12.mn.us
(763)506-8562

Course Description

            In English 11, the major focus is American Literature, but aspects of both literature and composition will be covered.  Students will develop their writing skills by using a writing process to complete multi-paragraph essays that attend to purpose, audience, development, structure, and style.  Students will also continue to refine their research, documentation, and persuasion skills. Students will use their knowledge and understanding of literary techniques and rhetorical devices to comprehend, respond to, interpret, and evaluate fiction and non-fiction selections.  

In addition to the history of American Literature and the traditional canon that expresses the shifts in our culture, the Grade 11 curriculum provides a clear presentation of the importance of marginalized cultures.  As a way to help students identify with all dimensions of the American literary culture, the curriculum will begin with an initial assignment to explore the dreams Americans possess by examining some important values in contemporary America.  After initial work with contemporary culture, each of the collections will include work which asks students to explore the “dreams” of members of the primary literary movement and those of members of marginalized cultures of the period as demonstrated in their writings.

Units of Study:

Tri A

• Encounters and Foundations to 1800 (Puritanism and Rationalism)
• American Romanticism:  1800-1860 (Romanticism and Transcendentalism)
• Rise of Realism:  Civil War to 1914 (Realism and Naturalism)
• Critical Reading; Persuasion; Public Speaking; Research; MLA style/citation; Synthesis, On-Demand Writing

Tri B

• The Moderns:  1914-1939
• Contemporary Literature:  1939-Present
• Research Writing; Research; MLA style/citation; Synthesis; On-Demand Writing

Course Outcomes:

Literary Skills:  Students will be able to identify and analyze the elements of literature, style, figurative language, and rhetorical devices; they will understand and apply techniques of persuasion; they will identify and analyze several genres of literature; and they will identify and interpret elements of poetry and poetic sound techniques.

Critical Lenses:  Students will use the Reader Response, Historical/Biographical, and Cultural lenses (among others) to respond to, evaluate, and interpret literature.

Writing Skills:  Students will use a writing process including multiple drafts, revision, and editing skills to reach a final product; they will write and speak in a variety of genres and for multiple purposes; they will use an expanded research process to find and analyze sources, work with online libraries and search engines, create a hierarchy of ideas, and refine a thesis; students will use appropriate support and evidence, create coherence through effective organization and transitions, effectively use reflection, and will meet specific criteria of MLA format in style and citations.

Speaking Skills: Students, through, seminar, will learn to have thoughtful interchanges with classmates. Students will respectfully listen to the thoughts of others and effectively share their own interpretations of complex texts to better understand the complexities of fiction and non-fiction and gather meaning. Students will also utilize effective delivery during their speeches.

Grammar/Vocabulary Skills:  Students will learn and appropriately apply (or avoid) parallel structure, passive voice, antecedents, subordinating conjunctions, sentence combining, and subordinate clauses.  Vocabulary instruction will be combined with literature.

Materials (Need to have along every day!!):

• A three-ring binder or folder for notes, handouts, etc.
• Loose leaf paper or a notebook exclusively for this class.
• Pencil or pen, ink must be an easily readable color.

English 11 Grading Policy

Grades will be divided into the following categories: 

Formative Assessments: 10%

Summative Assessments: 80%

Final Test (essay and objective) 10%

Grades will be posted on A-H Connect and updated (minimally) weekly. If you do not have access to A-H Connect please see me before or after class to discuss missing work/grades. I DO NOT DISCUSS GRADES/MISSING WORK DURING CLASS TIME.

Late Work Policy

Daily Work:  50% credit

*Writing Assignments/Tests & Quizzes/Speaking/Projects: 10% per day late (up to 30% off)

Seminars:  cannot be made up if you were in class but chose not to speak (or were not prepared).

*Major assignments, even if you are gone on the due date, are still due on that day.

Other Notes About Grading:

• The use of a cell phone/unauthorized electronic device during a period where an assessment is given (test/quiz, etc.) will be considered cheating regardless of the intention, resulting in a zero for the assessment and referral to the office for possible disciplinary action.
• Plagiarism or any type of academic dishonesty will result in a zero. Proper citations must be used in all written work.