English IV On-Level/EOC 2019 Syllabus

Mr. Fish
Room #: 1702 Lilly Center 1st Floor
Office Hours: 2:35 – 4:00 pm Monday - Friday
Office Phone: 832-386-2887
Email: bfish@galenaparkisd.com

Course Description
This English course builds on previous English course work assuming basic skills in literature,
grammar, spelling, theses, etc. English IV focuses on intensive work with authentic texts
(published or on-line) dealing with contemporary and historical matters of different cultures and
issues of identity. Exercises in the classroom on a daily basis and comments on written
assignments will assist in advancing understanding of literature.

Classroom Preparation

I will provide students with a notebook to be kept in the classroom all year. This notebook will
be used in class on a daily basis. Supplies are limited so students need to bring a pencil to class.
Many assignments are handed out to students to be completed in-class or as homework. Please
carry a binder to place these assignments in through an orderly system in order to succeed in
class.

Walking in the Door

Every day we will be working with a Writing Blast where students respond to an image through a
series of sentences. These images will be discussed as a class and often relate to the content we
are going to work on for the class period.

Grading

I will post grades on Skyward. Access them on the Grades Page. The District should issue Parent
and Student logins late August. Make sure to double check all grades and that I have entered
correctly. I want students to succeed!

Category Allocations
a. Daily – Each day student will have worksheets to be assessed. 50%
b. Major – Each student must complete comprehensive assignments 50%
that build off daily exercises.

Grading Scale
Skyward automatically calculates grade scores.

Attendance
Attendance means being 100% present at class meetings. Attendance is taken during the first
three minutes of class by roll call. Students may sit where they want, but try and raise your
hand. Save absences for illness, religious observances, weddings and funerals. Should a serious
illness or family emergency arise that causes you to be absent multiple days, please notify me as
soon as you are able. Regardless of why you are absent, you are expected to turn in all assigned
work. An absent folder will be on the shelf in the back of the room all semester.

Preparation/Participation
Class time will be devoted to active learning as much as possible. Your active participation face
to face, in small group activities, and in general class activities is crucial to your progress in
understandings of literature. It is therefore a graded component in the course. In order to
participate most effectively, you must prepare most activities in advance. Preparation includes,
but is not limited to:
 bring all materials to class (School planner, binders, notebooks, current reading
book and handouts)
 reading assigned texts and thinking about issues addressed
 memorizing new vocabulary for discussions (farce, tragedy, anaphora, allusion,
etc.)
 learning grammar and discussing any difficulties with me
 completing written and oral assignments on time

Partner Evaluation Sections

This is the “effort” part of the student’s final grade and students will pick a different partner
each week to evaluate each other. If the student is never in class whom you are to evaluate,
they will obviously be given a poor evaluation as attendance is conducive to a healthy learning
environment. We will work on them every third Friday at the end of class. These evaluations
should not take up much time. Please do not always give your partner an outstanding grade. If
we have healthy and constructive criticism in the classroom on a private level, everyone will feel
more and more challenged as the semester progresses. Here are some guidelines on how you
should evaluate your partner:
 A: the student has attended all classes, is well prepared, pays attention, regularly
responds to what others say, contributes effectively and does not use put-downs.
 B: the student has no more than one unexcused absence and often volunteers an
opinion without being called on, generally well prepared, recites acceptable answers
when called on and contributes to group discussions.
 C: Student has missed two or more classes, is not sufficiently prepared, rarely volunteers
a comment, offers only minimal responses when called on, rarely responds to what
others say and is usually silent during group work or resorts to put-downs.
 F: Student has a sporadic attendance schedule, prepares nothing for class; never
volunteers, has little to add when called on, distracts other students in the classroom
and responds with a lethargic “I dunno.”

Tutorials

Students who are struggling to pass English IV or who simply want to work on other
assignments/extra credit in a healthy after-school setting should attend my Tutorials every
Tuesday and Friday from 2:45 PM to 4:00 PM. Tutorials are not only a time for individual work –
I can also give further instruction on rhetoric and literary representation through presentations.
I highly encourage all students to attend.

Daily Work

Daily Work is part of a bigger plan to help students scope and sequence major works. All daily
work will be handed in at the end of every period and assessed.

Quizzes
Quizzes are often to be taken in class with no technological tools as aid. Quizzes will deal with
grammar topics as well as course content.

Written Assignments
You will be graded on content (how critically and thoroughly you deal with a chosen topic),
creativity, organization, grammar, comprehensibility, and word choice/range. I will give
feedback on first submissions and you are expected to resubmit each assignment a second time
with revisions and corrections (grammar, style, organization, elaborations). The grade on the
first draft will count 60% of the final grade for that assignment; the revision will count 40%. If
your second submission makes little or no attempt to respond to my feedback, your grade will
reflect that.

Tests
There will be two tests in English IV, a midterm and a final. These tests will deal with material
covered in whatever literature we will be reading at the time. I will provide a study guide for
each test. Each test may vary slightly, but each will contain a reading exam, grammar questions,
and a writing section. In order to prepare for these tests, review work completed with the
handouts given to you throughout the coming weeks. The midterm will be worth 10% of the
final grade and the final exam 20%.
Extra Credit
Extra Credit is for over-achievers. There is no A+ percentage available in Skyward.

Academic Integrity

By law of the Texas Administrative Code Title 19, Part 7, Chapter 247, Rule §247.2, I am not
legally allowed to accept corrupt forms of academic property as stated in Article (b)(1)(F)
Standard 1.6 which reads “The educator shall not falsify records, or direct or coerce others to do
so.”

If I accept and grade a document that was not truthfully written by the student – I will lose my
job. The basic rule here is that any and all work submitted for a grade must be original. Students
must be able to reproduce the document in a controlled environment, if asked. In addition, no
part of an essay may be directly copied from the internet or another source without attribution.
We will be covering MLA citations this semester – but it should feel more like a review than
something new.

Any time an assignment is submitted with whole or parts of an assignment that is not fully your
own work – be it from a parent, a friend, a dissertation on the web – it is academic dishonesty.
There are severe consequences if you are guilty of academic dishonesty. Please consult me if
you are unsure how to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable help with your work
and what is an acceptable or unacceptable submission.