Hutchinson Central Technical High School

Course Syllabus

Course Name: English 1

Instructor: Maureen Sercu            Contact Time: 8:57-9:38         Phone Ext: 1519

Grading Policy
816-3888 (ext. 1519)
Welcome to English I! We look forward to a successful and productive school year. In this class, you will work on becoming a proficient reader, writer, and critical thinker. You will practice close reading strategies, text analysis, organizing relevant evidence, and forming and evaluating arguments.
Course Materials:
BPS device (laptop)
Notebook or folder with loose leaf paper
Headphones (if preferred)
Stylus Pen (if preferred)
Grading Policy:
In order to be successful in this course, it is important that you attend virtual class during asynchronous time with a charged BPS device. During asynchronous class days, please feel free to join the Microsoft Teams meeting at any point in the class period if you have questions or need help. Attendance during asynchronous class periods will be taken based on you clicking LIKE on the Schoology update that day.
Schoology will be used to give assignments, although we will always make you aware of upcoming assignments during live class. Due dates for assignments will be posted on Schoology. If you are struggling or need more time to complete an assignment, please communicate that to us through a Schoology message. We are willing to be flexible during this new journey in teaching and learning.
The course grading policy is as follows:
Classwork – 50% - Feedback and grade usually within 24 – 48 hours
Assessments – 30% - Grade with feedback on how to improve for resubmission usually within 2 – 5 days
Homework – 20% - Grades entered upon completion of weekly goals
Please note that any form of academic dishonesty (plagiarism, copying from websites, or other students’ work) will not be tolerated and will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.



Course Policies:
1) Please arrive to live class on time.
2) Please have somewhere to take notes for yourself (either a notebook or Word document).
3) Please use the RAISE HAND feature on Teams if you have a question or are responding to a question.
4) Please be respectful to your classmates and teachers and use academic language.
Below you will find a breakdown of texts, standards, assignments and expectations for each marking period. These are subject to change as the new system and schedule of virtual learning may make it necessary to add or delete texts and/or assignments. You will always find directions, expectations, and due dates in Schoology. Questions or feedback may be provided through Schoology or email at any time.

Course Outline
Plan ahead! Expectations for Module 1...
Identifying Central Ideas and Argument Writing
Subject: English I
Dates: 1st Marking Period
Focus Standard(s): By the end of Module 1, students will be able to:
• Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences.
• Determine one or more central ideas in a text and analyze its development.
• In literary texts, analyze how complex and/or dynamic characters develop, interact with other characters, advance the plot, or develop a theme.
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings. Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning, tone, and mood.
• In literary texts, consider how varied aspects of structure create meaning and affect the reader.
• Introduce and organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions.
• Establish and maintain a style appropriate to the writing task.
Required Texts (All texts are on Schoology): Students will be required to read:
• “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” by Karen Russell
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• Letters to a Young Poet: “Letter 7” by Rainer Maria Rilke
Assessment(s): During the 1st Marking Period, students will be required to complete the following:
• Two column notes for “St. Lucy’s”
• District Benchmark Assessment (Essay): “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”: Analyze Claudette’s development in relation to the five stages of Lycanthropic Culture Shock.
• Two-column notes for Romeo and Juliet
• District Benchmark Assessment (Essay): Identify a specific phrase or central idea in paragraphs 4–9 of Rilke’s “Letter Seven.” Analyze how that phrase or central idea relates to one or more characters or central ideas in Romeo and Juliet.
• Spark Video on Tragic Hero
• Additional Quick-writes throughout Module as needed to assess understanding of texts
• Lexia PowerUp Weekly Goals
Plan ahead! Expectations for Module 2...
Understanding authorial choices
Subject: English I
Dates: 2nd Marking Period
Focus Standard(s): By the end of Module 2, students will be able to:
• Determine a central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details.
• Analyze how two or more texts address similar central ideas in and compare the approaches the authors take.
• Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
• Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, and manipulate time create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
• Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.
Required Texts (All texts are on Schoology): Students will be required to read:
• “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
• “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” by Emily Dickinson
• Oedipus the King by Sophocles
• “America’s Obsession with Crime” by Walter Mosley
• “How Bernard Madoff Did It,” by Liaquat Ahamed
• Text-based video “$50bn Ponzi Scheme - How Madoff Did It.”
Assessment(s): During the 2nd Marking Period, students will be required to complete the following:
• DBA #2 (Essay): Identify a central idea shared by one literary text and one informational text. Use specific details to explain how this central idea develops over the course of each text and compare how the authors' choices about text structure contribute to the development of this idea.
• Additional Quick-writes throughout Module as needed to assess understanding of texts
• Lexia PowerUp Weekly Goals
Plan ahead! Expectations for Module 3...
Developing strong research skills to evaluate and write arguments
Subject: English I
Dates: 3rd Marking Period
Focus Standard(s): By the end of Module 3, students will be able to:
• Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
• Write arguments that:
1. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
2. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
3. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
4. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
5. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
Required Texts (All texts are on Schoology): Students will be required to read:
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• 1st, 4th and 14th Amendments
• Japanese-American Internment
• Additional research articles relevant to your topic
Assessment(s): During the 3rd Marking Period, students will be required to complete the following:
• 2-Column Notes for Fahrenheit 451
• DBA #3 (Research Paper): How far should the government go to protect its citizens? Choose a current event and argue whether the government is going too far or not far enough to protect citizens.
• Additional Quick-writes throughout Module as needed to assess understanding of texts
• Lexia PowerUp Weekly Goals
Plan ahead! Expectations for Module 4...
Analyzing texts to write arguments
Subject: English I
Dates: 4th Marking Period
Focus Standard(s): By the end of Module 4, students will be able to:
• Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
• Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Required Texts (All texts are on Schoology): Students will be required to read:
• The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Assessment(s): During the 4th Marking Period, students will be required to complete the following:
• 2-Column Notes for The Other Wes Moore
• DBA #4 (Essay): Students explore how expectations, environment and choices impact the life of both the narrator and the other Wes Moore.
• Additional Quick-writes throughout Module as needed to assess understanding of texts
• Lexia PowerUp Weekly Goals