Syllabus

"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats

Overview

English 9 Regents is a course in which you will study literature, grammar, vocabulary and writing. The vocabulary component is designed in part to help you prepare for the SAT. One goal of this course is for you to improve reading and writing skills to prepare you for higher levels of study. To be successful, you need to participate regularly in (posing useful feedback during class activities) and out of class (homework and assignments.)

Materials

Texts:

-A Writer’s Reference, Fifth or Sixth Edition by Diana Hacker

-Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

-A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

-Vocabulary Workbook*

-The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

*You are required to purchase this in the school bookstore. The bookstore is open during all lunch periods and before school. The price is $8.00. Please let me know if you are unable to purchase one.

Supplies:

Medium 3-ring binder with dividers (Recommended: HOMEWORK, WRITING, VOCAB and NOTES sections)

Looseleaf, college ruled paper

Pens, pencils, highlighters

1 Marble-style composition notebook

Cell Phone/Electronic Device:

IF I SEE THEM, I TAKE THEM. NO TEXTING, NO CALLS. If there is an emergency situation for which you feel it is imperative that you have your cell phone on and active, please let me know AT THE BEGINNING of class and I will consider granting permission.

Grading System

Writing Assignments 20%

(Reflections/Journal) 10%

Vocabulary Assignments 10%

Tests/Quizzes 20%

Homework 20%

Participation 10%

Basic Expectations* 10%

*Behaviors such as frequent tardiness, creating classroom distractions or coming to class unprepared will negatively affect your grade.

Absences

If you are absent, I expect that you will consult a classmate about missed work and assignments. Please see me the day you return for clarification. It is your responsibility to arrange to make up missed work. If you are absent on the day of a test or quiz, be prepared to take it on the your first day back in school. This may be adjusted at the discretion of the teacher.

Late and Missing Assignments

Late assignments will be penalized, but it is always better to get some credit than none at all. In almost all cases, homework will be due at the beginning of class. Major assignments that are submitted late will lose one letter grade per day and must be signed by a parent or guardian after the second day.

Extra Help

My schedule is as follows:

A Days:

Block 1: English 9 R- Room 317

Block 2: Film and Literature - Room 313

Block 3: English 9 RH - Room 317

Block 4: Planning - Room 317

B Days:

Block 5: Planning - Teacher's Room

Block 6: English 9 - Room 317

Block 7: Lunch Duty - Cafe 2 (Early and Middle Lunch)

Block 8: English 9 R - Room 317

If you have study hall or are available for a legitimate reason during my planning periods, I will make arrangements to meet with you if you should need extra help. I am available after school on Mondays and Wednesdays (in 317 and 313, respectively), or by appointment, for extra help.

Extra Credit

Extra help may be requested and granted at the discretion of the teacher. On occasion, literary or cultural events (such as film screenings or theatre events) may be announced in class and will usually involve a written reflection for extra credit points. Details will be provided in class for these events.

Expectations and Integrity

Respect yourself and your classmates. I do not tolerate laughing or blatant disrespect to another person. In this course, you will likely be using direct quotes from text for the first time. While this does take some practice for technique, do not ever, ever, ever plagiarize something. You will find that putting quotes before and after a statement and citing the source makes you a researcher. A researcher is always better than a cheat.

Please refer to the Student Handbook for a more complete description on this issue.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” -Warren Buffett

Online Resources

A web companion to Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference

The Literature Network

This site may be searched by author or title and has many commentaries and reviews.

Helpful Hints for English (and other classes)
http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/ts/stylest.html

This site is a quiz that tells you what sort of learner you are and how to best utilize that. For example, some learners prefer to sit at desks and study quietly while others prefer comfortable chairs where they can relax. The site provides useful tips for each which you can research further, if you so choose.

Special Note:

I understand that it is tempting to come home, drop your backpack, have a snack, watch what you saved on the DVR over the weekend, play the wii, talk on the phone and then maybe do some work later in the night when you’re about ready to fall crash on the couch. Do not do this. My advice would be to try to start your work as soon as you get home, when you’re still fresh. The sooner you get something done, or at least started, the better.

Student Survey

Freshman English 2008-2009

Ms. Catherine Monto

What is your favorite aspect of English class?

________________________________________________________________________

What concerns do you have about English class?

________________________________________________________________________

What are your strengths and weaknesses in academics? Are you comfortable with study skills?

________________________________________________________________________

Do you work? If so, where?

________________________________________________________________________

What are your hobbies/interests in and out of school?

________________________________________________________________________

Is there anything else you would like me to know about you?

________________________________________________________________________

"There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only one you." -Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Dear Parent/Guardian,

It is my pleasure to have your child in my English 9 Regents class. I have discussed, in class, the course information as provided above and have asked him or her to share it with you. Please feel free to contact me during the school year with any questions or concerns that you may have. E-mail is generally the preferred method of communication for me, but you may also leave a message for me with the school if you so choose. On occasion, I may contact you with good news or concerns. If you would like to provide an e-mail address for such a purpose, please do so below. Otherwise, signing this form will entitle your child to a 100 test grade. On Monday, September 8^th, I will go around the room and record your child’s grade and sign the document myself. Thank you and I look forward to meeting you on Parent Teacher Night!

Catherine Monto

Department of English

Cicero-North Syracuse High School

Student Name:____________________________________________________________

Student Signature:_________________________________________________________

Parent Signature:__________________________________________________________

Parent E-mail:____________________________________________________________

Teacher Signature:________________________________________________________

"You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

- Ranier Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet