Advanced English 10 Course Syllabus 2015 2016

Ms. Pedretti, Room 613

Shawna.pedretti@leusd.k12.ca.us
951-253-7300 ext. 3613
mspedretti.weebly.com

email:
website:

Please join my Remind.com account: remind.com/join/pedretti1

By entering your email or cell phone, you will periodically receive
messages from me. These messages will include homework reminders
and sometimes even extra credit opportunities. Dont skip signing up!
Your parents may join, too!
Course Description: Advanced English 10 is a rigorous, year-long course designed in
accordance with Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and focuses on the
areas of Listening and Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Inquiry/Research. This course satisfies
the A-G requirement for colleges. This course will prepare students for the AP English courses
taken in the junior and senior years, as well as SAT, ACT, and CAASP. The content of Advanced
English 10 will include an extensive study of world literature, ranging from ancient Sumerian
to modern texts. These texts focus on such themes as tolerance, oppression of cultures, and
the power that one person possesses to change the world.
Required Textbook:
o McDougal Littell World Literature
Required Readings (subject to change at teachers discretion):
o The Epic of Gilgamesh
o Fahrenheit 451
o The Iliad
o A Dolls House
o The Ramayana
o The Return of the Native
o Oedipus the King
o Jane Eyre
o Inferno
o Madame Bovary
o Perceval: The Story of the Grail
o A Tale of Two Cities
o The Merchant of Venice
o Things Fall Apart (summer)
o Night
o The Alchemist (summer)
**Additional Selections will also be assigned as time permits
Required Materials:
Every student must have all required materials by the end of the second week of school.
o 3-ring binder to maintain your student planner, handouts, college-ruled paper, and
assignments.
o Blue or black, and red ink pens
o Highlighters: three different colors
o Two composition books (one per semester)
Attendance: Students will be held accountable to the attendance policies outlined in the LHS
student handbook.
Grading Policy: Only those assignments turned in on time are eligible for full credit.
Grading Scale:

100% and above

95% - 99%
=
90% - 94%
88% - 89%
=
85% - 87%
=
80% - 84%
=

=
A
=
B+
B
B-

A+

78% - 79%
= C+
75% - 77%
= C
A70% - 74%
= C68% - 69%
= D+
65% - 67%
= D
60% - 64%
= D0% - 59%
= F
Late Work: Late work will NOT be accepted. Late work is defined as any work that is NOT
turned in on the due date. I will not change this policy for any student, regardless of his/her
circumstances. Due dates are announced well in advance and students are given plenty of
time to complete all assignments on time. Technical/Computer issues are NEVER an
appropriate excuse for not turning in work on time. This policy does not pertain to absences,
please see MAKE-UP policy below for information on absences.
Make-up Work: It is the students responsibility to find out what work needs to be made up
following an absence. The time a student has to turn in make-up work is based on the
following:
o If the work is assigned prior to the students absence, then the assignment(s) is due at
the beginning of class on the day the student returns to class. After this day, the work
will be considered late.
o For work that is assigned during a students absence, s/he has the same amount of time
as the rest of the class: if the class had overnight homework then the absent student
has one day. If the assignment is one the students are given a week or more to
complete, the student will NOT be given extra time.
Online Gradebook: Grades are kept in the Infinite Campus online gradebook. Parents and
students can sign in to Infinite Campus to check updated grades in Infinite Campus. The link to
the Infinite Campus Parent Portal is:
https://ic.leusd.k12.ca.us/campus/portal/lakeElsinore.jsp
Please note:
o Assignments marked with an M are missing this means the student did not turn
in the assignment.
o Blank scores mean the assignment has not yet been graded.
Turnitin.com This is a new program LHS is using this year. All formal essays, and some
other written assignments, will be submitted to turnitin.com by the appropriate due date for
grading. Turnitin.com is a program that scans all written work for plagiarism (see below for
school policy on plagiarism) not only will it catch plagiarized academic sources, but will catch
plagiarized work between students. It is very important for students to turn in their own
original work a students growth cannot be accurately assessed if the work has been taken
from another source.
Plagiarism: Cheating is absolutely not tolerated in this class. Students who are caught
cheating will not be given an opportunity to re-submit the work. The student will be held
accountable to the Lakeside policy for academic dishonesty, which states the following:
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:

1. Plagiarism: intentionally or knowingly presenting words, ideas, or work of others as ones own
work. This includes copying information obtained online without crediting the source, using a
work or portion of a work written or created by another but not crediting the source, or
paraphrasing anothers work without giving credit.
2. Cheating: includes unauthorized cheat sheets, copying from one another, looking at another
students exam, opening books when not authorized, obtaining advance copies of exams, or use
of unauthorized electronic devices.
Academic Dishonesty Consequences:
1st Violation
Fail test or assignment (no credit issued for that test or assignment)
Parent contact by teacher

Possible referral to administration for further action, including suspension from school, possible
removal from class, Saturday School, etc.
2nd Violation
Referral to administration
Suspension from school; parent conference
Possible removal from class with a grade of Withdraw/Fail (WF)

Extra Credit: Extra credit assignments are periodically offered in this class and are intended
to enrich the things that are being studied. Extra credit will always tie into a unit/assignment
that we are working on and will require hard work from any student who chooses to do it.
Extra credit should never be relied on to raise a students grade and will never be assigned for
that purpose.
Silent Sustained Reading (SSR.): Students will be required to complete SSR in class. SSR
will take place every Tuesday and Thursday. Students are responsible for bringing a book
to class so that they can participate in SSR. Students who do not bring reading material to
class will not earn SSR points.

Advanced English 10 Assignment Categories

The work in English 10 falls into one of the following categories and each is explained in depth
below. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Unit Portfolios
For each unit of study, students will submit all activities and assignments in a final unit
portfolio. Units typically cover periods of 3 6 weeks.
o Portfolio Unit Sheets will be distributed to each student at the start of each unit.
Unit sheets will:
Outline all assignments to be included for scoring
List assignment point values
o Portfolios require
Students to save and organize their work
Students to independently manage their time to complete work by the due
date
Writing Assignments
Written assignments come in two forms: 1. Informal writing and 2. Formal writing.
o Informal writing includes journals, quick writes, reflections, and discussion
summaries.
o Formal writing includes process papers, which require students to write multiple
drafts, engage in peer editing, and minimize spelling and grammar errors.
Tests/Quizzes
Tests and quizzes will be administered throughout the year to assess student progress.
Performance Tasks
Performance tasks will be administered twice per semester and will require that
students apply the skills they have learned during class. These may be projects,
essays, or exams.
Homework

Homework will be assigned weekly. Regular weekly homework assignments will include
annotation and analysis, vocabulary, and reading.
Additional homework will be assigned as necessary.

Class work
Class work includes
o Any work completed during class time that is not part of a larger
assignment/project (unit portfolios, writing assignments).
o Warm-up assignments
o Participation
Independent Book Projects
Students will be required to read two novels per semester outside of class.
Students will complete an assignment for their chosen novels (assignment sheet to
follow).
Students will be assessed the day the project is due this counts as a test grade.
Independent Book Projects require that students
o Choose novels that they would prefer to read.
o Read independently and manage the time they have to complete the project.
o Analyze the novel and participate in informed discussions.
Participation
Points are earned on a daily, weekly, per unit basis.
Lost participation points cannot be made-up.
Absences affect participation points.
Participation includes: being in your seat with materials out when the bell rings;
engagement in the lesson; participation in group and class discussions/activities; and
time on task.
Parent/Student Signature Page
Please initial next to each important class policy and provide contact information at the
bottom of the page. If you have any questions about any policy, please contact me via email
or send a note with your student.
.
Late Work: Late work will NOT be accepted. Late work is defined as any
work that is NOT turned in on the due date. I will not change this policy for any student,
regardless of his/her circumstances. Due dates are announced well in advance and students
are given plenty of time to complete all assignments on time. Technical/Computer issues are
NEVER an appropriate excuse for not turning in work on time. This policy does not pertain to
absences, please see MAKE-UP policy below for information on absences.
.
Make-up Work: It is the students responsibility to find out what work
needs to be made up following an absence. The time a student has to turn in make-up work
is based on the following:
o If the work is assigned prior to the students absence, then the assignment(s) is due at
the beginning of class on the day the student returns to class. After this day, the work
will be considered late and will not be accepted.
o For work that is assigned during a students absence, s/he has the same amount of time
as the rest of the class: if the class had overnight homework then the absent student
has one day. If the assignment is one the students are given a week or more to
complete, the student will NOT be given extra time to complete the work.
.
Turnitin.com This is a new program LHS is using this year. All formal
essays, and some other written assignments, will be submitted to turnitin.com by the
appropriate due date for grading. Turnitin.com is a program that scans all written work for
plagiarism (see below for school policy on plagiarism) not only will it catch plagiarized

academic sources, but will catch plagiarized work between students. It is very important for
students to turn in their own original work a students growth cannot be accurately assessed
if the work has been taken from another source.
.
Plagiarism: Cheating is absolutely not tolerated in this class. Students
who are caught cheating will not be given an opportunity to re-submit the work. The student
will be held accountable to the Lakeside policy for academic dishonesty, which states the
following:
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:

3. Plagiarism: intentionally or knowingly presenting words, ideas, or work of others as ones own
work. This includes copying information obtained online without crediting the source, using a
work or portion of a work written or created by another but not crediting the source, or
paraphrasing anothers work without giving credit.
4. Cheating: includes unauthorized cheat sheets, copying from one another, looking at another
students exam, opening books when not authorized, obtaining advance copies of exams, or use
of unauthorized electronic devices.
Academic Dishonesty Consequences:
1st Violation
Fail test or assignment (no credit issued for that test or assignment)
Parent contact by teacher
Possible referral to administration for further action, including suspension from school, possible
removal from class, Saturday School, etc.
2nd Violation
Referral to administration
Suspension from school; parent conference
Possible removal from class with a grade of Withdraw/Fail (WF)

.
Advanced English 10 Assignment Categories: I understand the
assignment categories as outlined on the previous page. Assignments that are not submitted
on time will earn a score of zero and will have a negative impact on my/my students overall
grade.

Parent/Guardian Name

Student Name

Parent/Guardian Email

Parent/Guardian Phone Number

Required Reading:
Students may, but are not required, to purchase their own copies of novels. Purchasing the
required novels will allow students to practice annotation for each piece we read. Annotation
helps students analyze the reading by providing an opportunity to interact with the text
directly. The list below includes titles that you may want to consider purchasing for your
student. All the titles can be procured at Barnes & Noble Booksellers and/or Amazon. Used
copies are perfectly acceptable (and my personal favorite). Please note that while we
endeavor to cover each of the novels listed, we may not get to each one, so you may not want
to purchase all of the books at once at the start of the year, waiting until the book is assigned.
Class sets of the novels will be available to all students during the period of study. Choosing to
purchase copies of the novels is a decision for your family to make; it is not required and will
not affect your grade or your success.
Oedipus the King by Sophocles

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Night by Elie Wiesel
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare