Academic English IV Syllabus

Materials Needed:

8 clip folders

A packet of college-ruled notebook paper

Blue, black, or purple ink pens (several of them)

Liquid paper or other form of writing correction

Ries’s Class Resource (www.mrries.blogspot.com) : I have a website for my classes. Everyday, I will post whatever homework is assigned, so now you will have a place to double check your assignments. You may also send me emails at the following address: mr.ries@gmail.com .

The First Nine Weeks:

You will participate in the following assignments:

You will write three essays in class; you will then choose your favorite of those three, your peers will review it, and you will revise it out of class and hand it in to be graded. The essays will be based on prompts provided by me.

You will learn, review, and be tested on grammar rules and constructs.

We will read and discuss Night by Elie Wiesel. You will keep notes on your reading and our discussions in a clip folder that will be collected at the end of the unit and graded.

You will write a literary analysis paper on Night out of class.

You will research and write a persuasive essay on a socially relevant topic using MLA style for the citation of sources.

The Second Nine Weeks:

You will participate in the following assignments:

You will write three essays in class; you will then choose your favorite of those three, your peers will review it, and you will revise it out of class and hand it in to be graded. The essays will be based on prompts provided by me.

We will read and discuss the novel, 1984 by George Orwell. You will keep notes on your reading and our discussions in a clip folder that will be collected at the end of the unit and graded.

You will write a literary analysis paper on 1984.

We will read and discuss the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. You will keep notes on your reading and our discussions in a clip folder that will be collected at the end of the unit and graded.

You will write a literary analysis paper on The Catcher in the Rye.

The Third Nine Weeks:

You will participate in the following assignments:

You will review the elements of poetry and take a test on those elements.

We will read and study several works of British poetry; they are listed below:

“Nature That Washed Her Hands in Milk” Sir Walter Raleigh
“Sonnet 29” William Shakespeare
“Sonnet 30” William Shakespeare
“Sonnet 116” William Shakespeare
“Holy Sonnet X” John Donne
“To the Virgins to Make Much of Time” Robert Herrick
“On His Blindness” John Milton
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” Thomas Gray
“The Tyger” William Blake
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” William Wordsworth
“When I Have Fears” John Keats
“Porphyria’s Lover” Robert Browning
“The Hollow Men” T.S. Eliot

You will keep notes on our discussions of these poems in a clip folder. That folder will be collected at the end of the unit and will be graded.

You will take a test on poetry and its elements at the end of the unit.

You will also write an essay on the poems. Details of this assignment will be forthcoming.

We will read and discuss the following British narrative poems:

Beowulf Anonymous
Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge

You will write analysis essays on each of these works. Both will be in-class writing.

You will read the Canterbury Tales and participate in the group project known as The Chaucer Files. Details on that assignment will be on a need-to-know basis.
You will read the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley out of class and write a reaction essay on it.


The Fourth Nine Weeks:

You will participate in the following assignments:

We will review the elements of a short story and the importance of satire.

We will read and discuss the following short stories and non-fiction:

“Araby” James Joyce
“The Rocking Horse Winner” D.H. Lawrence
“A Modest Proposal” Johnathan Swift
“Meditation 17” John Donne

You will write a comparison/contrast paper on the two short stories and a literary analysis essay on each of the essays.

We will read and discuss the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. You will keep notes on your reading and our discussions in a clip folder that will be collected at the end of the unit and graded.

You will write a literary analysis essay on the play.

You will read the play Othello by William Shakespeare out of class and write a reaction essay to the play. You may also read Macbeth or King Lear and write an essay for extra credit.

We will read and discuss the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding. You will keep notes on your reading and our discussions in a clip folder that will be collected at the end of the unit and graded.

You will write a literary analysis paper on Lord of the Flies.

Quizzes: Quizzes on readings or discussions may come at any time. Be prepared at all times. The point value of quizzes will vary depending on the magnitude of the quiz.

Ries Points: Each day you are in my class, you will receive +1 Ries Point just for showing up. If you come to class unprepared, however, (no pen or paper or book) your Ries Point will not be awarded that day. At the end of the nine weeks, Ries Points will be added to your grade total as bonus points. If you have a medical absence, you will still receive your points. You will also receive Ries Points on the days I am absent. Ries Points cannot be made up.

Final Note: This course includes very few bonus points. Bonus points are a gift from me to you. If you prove unworthy of this gift, you may have all or some bonus points taken away at my discretion.

***The contents of this syllabus are subject to change at my discretion.***