Matthew Talken
Sophomore English
Class Description: Sophomore English is a year-long English course designed for sophomores that will involve the study of culture and thought from the pre-modern era, including the Ancient Greeks all the way to the post-modern era, including post-Holocaust writings. In this class, we will study a variety of short stories, the Greek drama Antigone, excerpts from the Roman epic The Aeneid, Arthurian legends, a Shakespearean play, the non-fiction text Night, and other texts. This class also focuses on the teaching of composition as well as regular grammar exercises.
Required Materials: Students are expected to have the following supplies with them each day as needed. Some of these items may not be required on a daily basis. If this is the case, I will give you notice as to when you need to bring those items.
- Adventures in Appreciation text (purple book)
- The Brief English Handbook
- SHG Research Manual (2008 Version linked here, newer versions available for sale at the school)
- Writing Utensil (pencil or blue or black ink pen)
- Loose leaf paper
- A 3-ring binder or a notebook and folder (binder preferred)
- (Recommended, not required) A flash/thumb drive with at least 1GB of space.
Other items may become necessary as the year goes along. If I require you to bring something beyond this list, I will give you as much notice as I possibly can to allow you to get the required materials.
Grading: Grades will be tabulated according to the grading scale found in your handbook (full scale is on pg. 5). Grades will be posted at least once every other week. I will try to post grades more often in situations where a major grade has just been entered. Assignments will receive points as follows: major grades (tests, projects) will receive anywhere from 50 to 100 points; daily work will typically receive anywhere from 5 to 25 points based on difficulty and length of assignment; quizzes will typically receive anywhere from 5 to 25 points as well, based on difficulty and length of assignment; participation will be a quarterly grade and will be approximately 20 percent of your quarter grade (and will be added at end of quarter)
Simple Grading Scale
93 to 100 percent A
85 to 92 percent B
77 to 84 percent C
70 to 76 percent D
Anything lower F
Expectations:
1) Know your handbook. Most of the rules listed below are in the handbook and are simply restated here due to their great importance.
2) Be on time. When the bell is done ringing, you are expected to be in your seat with all your required materials, with your notebook out working on the bellwork.
3) Be respectful to me and to your peers. The nature of English classes is that there is a lot of class discussion. You will be respectful of other people’s comments and opinions, even if they seem strange to you. Furthermore, the information I’m presenting to you is important, and you should act as though it is. Having one’s head down, doing your personal grooming, passing notes or talking to your neighbor sends me the message that you think what I’m saying is not valuable and is disrespectful to me. Also, know and understand the sexual harassment policy, which is outlined on pages 15-16 of your handbook.
4) Dress Code. I will check that you’re in compliance with our dress code, and if you are not, you will be asked to get in compliance and possibly be given a detention. Just make it easier on everyone and be compliant. (Page 14 of handbook for more details)
5) Homework. Expect around 30 minutes of homework a night. This could be an assignment you’re turning in, or simply reading. If you’re asked to read, you are expected to do a “close reading” as is outlined in your purple textbook. Also, for tests and larger projects, please don’t wait until the night before to begin. Space these things out and they’re easy.
6) Other policies you are expected to review in your handbook:
Academic Dishonesty policy (pg. 6)
Attendance (pg. 8-10)
Hall Passes (pg. 11)
Code of Conduct (pg. 12)
Respect for Property (pg. 15)
Cell Phone Policy (pg. 19)
Last Addendum!
For some units of this class, we will watch a variety of film and television clips as well as utilizing content from the internet. A few pieces will be either rated R (film standards) or TV-MA (television standards). These clips are always very directly connected to the curriculum, and the clips we watch will be very targeted towards furthering understanding of a text. Two examples include watching a clip from the movie The Matrix when studying Greek philosophy and watching a clip from the HBO television series Band of Brothers when reading the non-fiction novel Night that deals with concentration camps. When we view these, it will be posted on the lesson plans for the week that are available every week on RenWeb. While these film and television clips are excellent for furthering student understanding by giving a visual representation, students can be excused from class and given an alternative activity if the student or parent finds any of the content to be objectionable.
