Grading
 The third-quarter grade will be worth 40% of
the semester grade.
 The fourth-quarter grade will be worth 40%
of the semester grade.
 Formative assessments will be worth 25% of
the grade for each quarter.
 Summative assessments will be worth 75% of
the grade for each quarter.
 The final exam, which will be the final draft
of the I-search paper, will be worth 20% of
the semester grade.
Late Work
 I expect assignments to be completed by
their respective due dates.
 Being formative in nature, it is important
that homework assignments are completed
by their respective due dates. These
assignments are used to assess student
progress and guide classroom instruction.
 I will accept certain summative
assessments late, but arrangements to
submit these assessments late need to be
made with me prior to the respective due
dates.
 Summative writing assessments may be
revised, but a revision plan will need to be
submitted and a student-teacher conference
will be required.
Academic Integrity
 According to the OWL Purdue website,
“plagiarism is the uncredited use (both
intentional and unintentional) of somebody
else’s words or ideas.”
 While you are encouraged and sometimes
required to work with your classmates on
assignments, the words you write and
speak must be your own.
 If you use somebody else’s ideas (directly
quoted or indirectly paraphrased) to
develop your arguments and substantiate
your claims, you must give credit to that
person by using proper MLA citations.
 If you copy somebody else’s ideas or allow
somebody else to copy your ideas, you are
plagiarizing.
 If you are caught plagiarizing, you will
receive a zero on the assignment and a
referral to your dean.
 Feel free to collaborate with your
classmates, but do your own work.
Seven Steps to Success
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Smile!
Show up!
Be your own inspiration!
Make a commitment to grow daily!
Put into practice the three A’s of
awesome: attitude, awareness, and
authenticity!
6. Value the process as much as, if not
more than, the final outcome!
Remember, the end does not
necessarily justify the means!
7. Respect yourself and others!
“Watch your thoughts, for they become your words.
Watch your words, for they become your actions.
Watch your actions, for they become your habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
--Anonymous Author
English 122
2014-15
Teacher: Mr. Brad Snyder
Room: C15 (4th Period)
Email: [email protected]
Essential Questions
 How has America been shaped by values and
ethics?
 What is the American dream?
 How can the American dream be fulfilled?
 How has the evolving American culture affected
the concept of the American dream?
 What is my American dream?
 How does my American dream compare with
the American dream?
 How can an understanding of the fundamental
grammar skills improve my writing and
reading?
Essential Outcomes
 Students will be able to consciously examine
their own and others’ roles and responsibilities
in American society.
 Students will be able to apply critical reading
strategies to comprehend a variety of literary
works, including both fiction and nonfiction.
 Students will be able to write with attention to
usage, punctuation, and style.
 Students will be able to write and speak for a
variety of purposes and audiences.
 Students will be able to develop arguments and
substantiate claims with apt and ample
evidence and analysis.
 Students will be able to ethically acquire,
evaluate, and synthesize information from a
variety of resources to communicate ideas.
Learning Targets
 I can apply critical reading strategies (e.g., the
“big six”: connecting, inferring, predicting,
questioning, summarizing, and visualizing) to
comprehend a variety of literary works (both
fiction and nonfiction) written by American
authors.
 I can write and speak for a variety of purposes
and audiences.
 I can use apt and ample evidence to
substantiate claims and develop clear, coherent,
and cogent arguments.
 I can follow the conventions of standard
English grammar, usage, and mechanics when
writing.
 I can write in a unique style and voice.
Learning Targets (cont.)
 I can write with sophisticated diction, sentence
fluency, and sentence variety.
 I can clearly, coherently, and cogently express
ideas in both writing and speaking.
 I can use active listening strategies during class
discussions.
 I can ethically acquire, evaluate, and
synthesize information from a variety of
resources to communicate ideas.
 I can follow MLA rules to format essays and
papers properly.
Units of Study
 The entire semester will focus on the American
dream.
 Literature that will be studied includes The
Great Gatsby, a drama (e.g., Death of a
Salesman, Our Town, or A Raisin in the Sun),
short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
 Students will be asked to complete an I-search
paper and presentation, which will be graded
as the final exam.
 Students will complete ACT English, reading,
and writing activities as well.
Summative Assessments
 Articles of the week (one summative grade at
the end of each quarter)
 Independent reading projects (one per
quarter)
 Literary analysis essay for The Great Gatsby
 Unit exam for The Great Gatsby
 Literary analysis essay for the drama
 Unit exam for the drama
Final exam: I-search paper and presentation
Words of Wisdom from Mark Twain
 “Life would be infinitely happier if we
could only be born at the age of eighty and
gradually approach eighteen.”
 “A man cannot be comfortable without his
own approval.”
 “Don’t go around saying the world owes
you a living. The world owes you nothing. It
was here first.”
 “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether
twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps
learning stays young. The greatest thing
you can do is keep your mind young.”
 “The difference between the right word
and the almost right word is the difference
between lightning and a lightning bug.”
 “What is there that confers the noblest
delight? What is that which swells a
man’s breast with pride above that which
any other experience can bring to him?
Discovery!”
 “Let us endeavor so to live that when we
come to die even the undertaker will be
sorry.”