WELCOME TO SECOND BLOCK HONORS ENGLISH IV
Second Block Honors English IV
Welcome Parents, Guardians, and Students,
Welcome to a new semester at Ashley High School! As your final year with us comes to a close, I look forward to working with each of you to make sure you are successful in Honors English IV. In an effort to stay in contact with each of you, I maintain this website which will be updated daily with assignments, notes, the daily agenda, and any important class information. I will also post instructions and due dates for long term projects, maintain a class calendar, and post class announcements. If a student has to miss a day of class, please remember to check the website for all missed work. If you ever have any questions about our class or your student’s progress, please feel free to call (910-790-2360) ext. 304 or email me (shauna.riggs@nhcs.net). I am happy to answer questions about homework or long term assignments via email (shauna.riggs@nhcs.net) before 9pm.
Each student will be required to use GoogleDocs and Turnitin.com to turn in assignments. Both of these accounts are provided by the school and each student has access to them from any mobile or off site device that has an internet connection including smart phones. This is particularly important for Graduation Project because it provides a digital back up to all student work. If a student does not have access to a computer or the internet, they can checkout a laptop and hotspot from the school's Media Center.
Class Apps
Please understand that every student will be required to use GoogleDocs and Turnitin.com to turn in assignments. Both of these accounts are provided by the school and each student has access to them from any mobile or off site device that has an internet connection including smart phones. This is particularly important for Graduation Project because it provides a digital back up to all student work.
We will also be using the Remind app which allows me to text reminders about assignments and due dates to students and allows students to ask questions through text messaging. Here is that information for each of those:
Remind:
Text @honorsiv2
To 81010
Turnitin.com:
If a student has never used turnitin.com before he/she will have to create a free account. All that is required is an email address and the class code.
If a student already has an account with turnitin.com he/ she needs to log in and add my class
Class ID: 17267071
Password: HonorsIV2
Parents, please also complete this Google Form:
The Class Rundown
In the 11th grade, most students covered a variety of American literature, varying in genre and background as well as grammar, language structure and written expression. This year we will incorporate those skills and build upon them with a study of British literature, English language, culture and social discourse. We will cover several types and periods of literature, taking a critical approach to each of them.
Each student will be expected to actively engage the literature that we are discussing through classroom discussion and daily analytical questions. There will be several formal and non-formal writing assessments, daily readings as well as creative projects.
This is an upper level course and the workload will be rigorous. We will focus on more than just Graduation project. I am available for tutoring before school everyday starting at 7:50 and after school Monday, Wednesday and Friday by appointment. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Please note that students will receive two credits for successfully completing this course. One credit for Honors English IV and one honors credit for Graduation Project.
Major Readings
We will be covering several major works in British literature throughout the semester including:
- Beowulf
- The Canterbury Tales
- Le Morte D’Arthur
- MacBeth
- A student chosen novel
- The Lake Poets
- Excerpts from Virginia Wolfe
- Modern British Poets and excerpts from modern and post- modern novels
- Rhetorical Text and assorted supplemental articles
Major Project
Graduation product is required by New Hanover County as a graduation requirement. Graduation Project requires a faculty advisor, and approved letter of intent, MLA documented research paper, a product that is a manifest of the research, portfolio of all work accomplished, and a final presentation before a board of community members. Each part of the project is integral to the student’s success in completing the requirements for Graduation. Each section of the project in due to me, Ms. Riggs, BEFORE 8:30 AM on the due date. To clarify- ALL WORK TURNED IN AFTER 8:30:01 AM WILL BE CONSIDERED LATE AND POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED ACCORDINGLY.
Graduation Project Due Dates
Letter of Intent February 12, 2018
Rough Draft March 5, 2018
Final Draft April 9, 2018
Final Product April 23, 2018
(Happy Birthday Shakespeare!!!!)
Final Portfolio May 7, 2018
Practice Presentations May 15, 2018
Final Presentations May 17, 2018
GRADING POLICY
Honors English IV
Practice 40%
Performance 60%
Breakdown
Journal- 10%
Quizzes (and writings that are weighted as a quiz) 15%
Classwork (including peer review and discussion) - 20%
Homework (not including reader’s journals) - 20%
Test and Major Writings- 35%
Graduation Project Grading
(separate Honors Credit)
Final Paper 25%
Final Product 25%
Final Portfolio 25%
Final Presentation 25%
The Rules
My rules are simple and I expect each student to follow them every day in my classroom:-RESPECT- Respect is the basis for all rules, in my classroom I expect you to have respect for yourself, your fellow classmates and me. If you do, that respect will be returned to you.
- Be on time- By now students should know the schools tardy policy, parents will be contacted each time that a student is tardy, on the third tardy the student will be written up and given a detention. Be on time, it is disrespectful and disruptive to come in late.
-Do not talk during instruction time, unless a student has been recognized by the teacher- This means that while I am talking, no student should be. There will be times during class when students will be able to interact with other students, but while am talking, students should be listening-
- If a student is absent, the student will have 5 days to make up work. This means the student will have 5 days from the day that he/ she comes back. It is the student’s responsibility to ask what he/she missed while he/ she was gone, if a student does not ask, it is that students fault that he/ she received a “0”. If a student is caught skipping, the student will not be able to make up work.
Supplies
For this class, each student will need paper, pens/ pencils, and 2-inch three ring binder each day in class.
For the Graduation Project portion of the class, each student will also need note cards, an extra large tri-fold board and about 40- 50 page protectors.
Again, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
Thank you and I look forward to working with you all!