English IV Course Syllabus

William Penn High School, New Castle, DE

Teacher: Ms. Pfotzer

Office: E-2 Staff Center ~ Room W201
Phone: ​ 302/323-2800 ext. 4201
Hours for conferences: By appointment only
Email: deborah.pfotzer@colonial.k12.de.us
Website: http://mspfotzer.weebly.com

Course Description:

The English curriculum is designed to cover a close examination of British literature, as well as various authors who have
shared and/or opposing viewpoints. Works are studied in their historical, cultural and literary contexts, with emphasis on
theme, tone, structure, diction, style, point of view, and methods of character development as outlined in the Common Core
State Standards CCSS. Students are encouraged to form and share their own opinions, and to support their opinions with
specific evidence from the texts. Students will also produce short and extended writings that demonstrate sophisticated
analytical, evaluative and high-order thinking skills. Since this course was designed for students with post secondary plans,
the course materials will challenge students’ ability to read, analyze, interpret, and evaluation information. In addition,
students will be expected to compose original compositions expressing creativity and opinions and be able to work effectively,
not only independently, but also collaboratively with other members of the class in the completion of group tasks/assignments.
Classroom skill development will also focus on punctuation and usage, topic development and organization, and sentence
structure and word choice. A limited amount of time will be devoted to reviewing grammatical concepts of parts of speech,
sentence parts, punctuation, and capitalization. Students needing remediation in these areas will receive instruction on an “as
needed” basis. The course content is available through Schoology for many of the assignments. Chromebooks are available
in class to complete many of these assignments.

During this course, students are required to complete a ​Senior Project.​ This assignment involves demonstrating mastery of
21st century skills such as researching a chosen topic, incorporating real-world application, and increasing oral presentation
skills. Beginning in the 2nd marking period, students will have requirements leading to the completion of this project. The
senior project will be covered in a separate document.

Course Objectives:

● interact with literature and each other in a scholarly manner

● engage in discussion of the class literature and develop collaborative skills when engaged in group projects and
assignments
● skillfully read diverse literary genres, applying analyzing, summarizing and interpretive skills to demonstrate their
ability to think critically and creatively
● recognize connections between literature and history
● recognize the influence of diverse cultures on literature and the arts
● demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English
● demonstrate their knowledge of and apply conventions of grammar and language usage
● demonstrate stylistic choices and increased maturity in their own writings
● produce an effective research based project demonstrating their ability to examine a chosen topic
using multiple valid sources and incorporating appropriately referenced documents

Course grades - evaluation and Credit

Course grades are calculated on a weighted process: 60% - assessments and 40% - classwork/homework
Final grades are calculated by averaging the four marking period (22.5% each) and a final exam (10%). Late work is assessed
a 15% penalty after the deadline. No work will be accepted after the Friday before the end of the marking period. Grade sheets
are sent home on a 2 week interval for parents/guardians to sign and return.​ ​This class is a ​graduation​ requirement. All
students ​must​ pass this class in order to graduate. Refer to Student Code of Conduct for policy on absences and
plagiarism/cheating.
Prerequisite: Eleventh grade English
Graduation Credit: Required English

Main Course Texts:​ (include but are not limited to)

● Wine to Water​ by Doc Hendley (Marking Period 1 Silent Sustained Reading assignment)
● McDougal Littell Literature textbook (British Literature)
● Excerpts from other texts and other media will also be assigned that follow the content of study and standard.

Technology Use:
Out of respect for your fellow students, your teacher, and the educational process, all technology devices (cell/smart phones,
I-pods) must be powered down and put away, not on the desk or in your hoodie pocket, or on your lap, during class. Failure to
comply will result in a loss of points for some assignments.

Work Format
Students are expected to hand in original work at all times. Students will receive a grade of “0” on any work that appears to
be plagiarized. This would include any work plagiarized from a publication, computer programs, the Internet or the work of
another student with or without his/her permission. Any time a work or author is cited in an essay, including the work that is
the topic of the essay, the passage must be properly cited in accordance with the APA stylebook.

Course Outline

Marking Period 1​ ~ (August 27, 2019 - November 1, 2019)

● from ​Beowulf​, Translated by Seamus Heaney

● Wine to Water by Doc Hendley (silent sustained reading assignment)
● Common Assessment TBA
● Reading Inventory testing
● Common Application Essay

Marking Period 2​ ~ (November 4, 2019 - January 24, 2020)

● Types of Narratives (ballad, medieval romance, allegory, moral tale): from The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey
Chaucer, Translated by Nevill Coghill
● Senior Project Introduction
● Common Assessment TBA
● Reading Inventory testing

Marking Period 3​ ~ (January 27, 2020 - April 3, 2020)

● Satirical Voices: A Modest Proposal - Essay by Jonathan Swift

● Senior Project Phase 2
● Common Assessment TBA

Marking Period 4​ ~ (April 6, 2020 - May 15, 2020)

(Final Exams begin May 18, 2020) (Graduation June 5th, 2020)

● Drama - The Tragedy of Macbeth - William Shakespeare

● Common Assessment TBA
● Reading Inventory testing
Dear Students and Parents:
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