English III

English III is made up of four parts: American Literature, Novels, Grammar, and Vocabulary.  We will be using several of the following books on a daily basis, so please bring all your textbooks to class every day, unless I tell you otherwise.  Usually, when we are reading a novel, we will not be using the literature anthologies.

Books:    The Crucible (1st nine weeks)
                To Kill a Mockingbird (2nd nine)
                Black Like Me (3rd nine)
                Fahrenheit 451 (4th nine)
                Elements of Language (Throughout the year)
                American Literature (Throughout the year)
                Wordskills(Vocabulary) (Throughout the year)

Writing Assignments
1.    Essays or paragraphs are assigned to accompany the literature we read.
2.    You will need to follow MLA Guidelines--you will get a handout on this to remind you how to set up your papers.
3.    YOU MUST DO ALL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS TO PASS this course.
4.    You will always have class time to work on essays, so please use it.
5.    Essays are usually graded on the following criteria: Focus, Support/Elaboration, Organization, Integration, and
       Conventions.  These terms should be familiar to you by now.
6.    Essays are worth 25-50 points.

Quizzes
1.    Expect quizzes on assigned readings in either novels or in the literature textbook.
2.    Literature quizzes will usually be announced.  Vocab and Grammar quizzes will always be announced.  
3.    Quiz types vary from unit to unit.  Most literature quizzes are short answer/fill-in.
4.    If you are absent the day of a quiz, you are EXPECTED to come in during the first available homeroom to get it made up.
       I do NOT like to waste class time on make-up work that should have been done on your own time.
5.    You need to take all quizzes to pass the course.

Tests
1.    I will try to announce tests about one week in advance.
2.    My tests over literature include a mix of questions: T/F, matching, multiple choice, fill-ins, and essays.  I usually try to
       include some kind of extra credit questions, too.
3.    Tests may be worth anywhere from 40 to 150 points, depending on the unit.
4.    You need to take all tests to pass the course.

Class Participation
1.     This is an essential part of the success of this course.  Good class participation could very well put a borderline grade over the top.
2.     This also includes your effort and contribution in group work.