Mrs. Jeanne Mayers
English II
Welcome to English II – 10th Grade Literature – This class will focus on reading and responding to world literature, both as a class and independently, writing as a response to literature, presenting literature in a variety of ways, and analyzing how grammar and language play a role in both reading and writing. The class is divided into 5 units, and each unit contains:
• A novel or short story collection that students read independently (on their own) that connects to the reading/writing they are doing in class
• An end of the unit Oral Presentation, based on a project, usually writing or technology based, completed in class
• An essay which goes in a cumulative end of the year portfolio
• A unit test based on class readings and discussions, grammar skills that are covered in each unit, academic vocabulary covered in each unit, and ACT test prep/EOC test taking skills that are covered weekly.
Other grades come from homework, class activities, group work, participation, journals, EOC test preparation practice quizzes, etc. It is very important that you attend class each day. There are no free days in this class. If you miss a day of class, you are missing something important. It is very fast-paced and each day builds on a new skill. In addition, there are lots of group activities, group discussions, and group presentations, which means that if you miss school, than your group suffers. Your classmates do not want a person in their group who is not going to complete his or her part. Every role in group work will be equal, which means that if you do not do your part, you are hurting your group significantly and may be pulled out and forced to work on your own. Others will not be penalized for your laziness. With that being said, I will do anything in my power to help you succeed in this class. It is my goal for you to understand, appreciate, and enjoy literature and writing. In addition, because you must pass an EOC (End-of Course) State Test at the end of the year, it is also my goal to prepare you for this test. Please do not hesitate to raise your hand and ask questions if and when you are confused. There are no stupid questions, and I will never be angry at you for asking questions. It is when you are not asking questions that I begin to worry. ;)
You will need the following materials every day for this class:
• Pens/Pencils – pens must be blue or black only
• Loose-Leaf Paper (either in your binder or notebook pgs. with perforated edges)
• Notebook/Binder – split into the following sections: (class notes, vocabulary, test prep activities,
Writing assignments, handouts/graded papers/etc)
The following pages contain a rough breakdown/outline of the class, unit by unit, with the theme and selections for each unit. At the beginning of each unit – you will also get a day to day outline that has more details on what is going on every day in class, such as activities, workbook pages covered, etc. This will be good for you not only to stay on task but also to see what is coming up, especially if you know you are going to be absent. Remember if you are absent, it is your responsibility to catch up on your missed assignments/notes/etc.
Unit 1: Voices of Modern Culture
Readings/Selections Covered:
Poem: “My Mother Pieced Quilts,” by Teresa Paloma Acosta
Memoir: Excerpt from Funny in Farsi, by Firoozeh Dumas
Poem: “Theme for English B,” by Langston Hughes
Poem: “Where I’m From,” by George Ella Lyon
Poem: “Legal Alien,” by Pat Mora
Film: Clips from Grease, directed by Randal Keisler
Song Lyrics: “Imagine,” by John Lennon
Photography by Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lang, Annie Leibowitz, Norman Rockwell, Salvador Dali, Chris
Van Allsburg, and Shaun Tan
Monologue: “Brace Yourself,” by Debbie Lamedman
Monologue: “The Crush,” by Debbie Lamedman
Monologue: “The Job Interview,” by Debbie Lamedman
Monologue: “The Date,” by Debbie Lamedman
Monologue: “Off the Court,” by Debbie Lamedman
Monologue: “Dinner Guest,” by Debbie Lamedman
Monologue: “Sure You Can Ask Me a Personal Question,”by Diane Burns
Novel: The Pearl by John Steinbeck (Independent Reading)
Portfolio Essay 1:
Argument/Solution Essay on a controversial Global/Cultural Issue
Oral Presentation:
“Presenting Two of My Voices”
Grammar Skills:
Subordinate structures, syntax, reciprocal pronouns, anaphora and parallelism
Unit 2: Cultural Conversations
Readings/Selections Covered:
Art: The Builders, The Family (1974) by Jacob Lawrence
Art: This is a Family Living in Harlem (1943) by Jacob Lawrence
Essay: "Thanksgiving: A Personal History" by Jennifer New
Satire: "Us and Them" by David Sedaris
Film: Clips from Bend It Like Beckham (2003), directed by Gurinder Chadha
Article: "Matrimony with a Proper Stranger" by Miguel Helft
Poetry: "Father and Son" by Tomasz Jastrun
Essay: "Where Worlds Collide" by Pico Iyer
Memoir: from Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez
Art: The Builders, The Family by Jacob Lawrence
Art: This is a Family Living in Harlem by Jacob Lawrence
Essay: "An Indian Father's Plea" by Robert Lake (Medicine Grizzly Bear)
Satire: from Dave Barry Does Japan by Dave Barry
Essay: "Going to Japan," from Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
Short Story: "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
Portfolio Essay 2:
Writing A Synthesis Paper (Group Essay)
Oral Presentation:
Power Point Presentation on Essay
Grammar Skills:
coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, word choice in writing, verbs as other parts of speech, participial phrases, gerunds, simple/compound/complex/compound-complex sentences, transitive and intransitive verbs, subjunctive forms of verbs, restrictive and non-restrictive clauses
Unit 3: Community
Readings/Selections Covered:
*Novel: Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
Illustrated Books of Folk Tales
Poetry: "Prayer to the Masks," by Leopold Sedar Senghor
Poetry: "The Second Coming," by William Butler Yeats
Interview: "An African Voice," by Katie Bacon
Portfolio Essay 3:
Writing a literary analysis of a novel
Oral Presentation:
Comparing Cultures (Group Presentation)
Grammar Skills:
Pronouns (personal, demonstrative, possessive, reflexive, interrogative, reciprocal, indefinite, relative), formal and informal diction, verb moods (indicative, imperative, subjunctive), clauses (noun, adjective, and adverb), review common punctuation marks
Unit 4: Justice
Readings/Selections Covered:
Drama: Excerpt from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare
Editorial: "Time to Assert American Values"
Article: "Rough Justice," by Alejandro Reyes
Proclamation: Declaration of the Rights of the Child
Speech: President Mandela's Statement on International Children's Day, by Nelson Mandela
Essay: "School's Out for Summer," by Anna Quindlen
Article: "An Immodest Idea," by Anna Mulrine
Editorial: "Comment," by Pat Lancaster
Article: "Germany Divided Over Hijab," by Andreas Tzortzis
Article: "An Unfair Dress Code?"
Song: “What’s Going On?” by Marvin Gaye
Movie Clip: Mighty Aphrodite directed by Woody Allen
Testimony: "Religious Expression," by Nashala Hearn
Speech: Excerpt from "On Civil Disobedience," by Mohandas K. Gandhi
Letter: Excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail," by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Informational Text: "Kohlberg's Six Stages of Moral Reasoning"
Essay: "One Word of Truth Outweighs the World," by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Art: Guernica, by Pablo Picasso
Article: "Guernica: Testimony of War"
Photo Essay: "Children Behind Bars," by Steve Liss
Drama: Antigone, by Sophocles
Nonfiction: Excerpt from Making Comics, by Scott McCloud
Portfolio Essay 4: Persuasive Essay
Oral Presentation: Creating a Living Text / Photo Essay
Grammar Skills:
Prepositional phrases, active voice, varied sentence starters, parallel structure, reciprocal pronoun review
Unit 5: Building Cultural Bridges
Readings/Selections Covered:
Song: "I Need to Wake Up," by Melissa Etheridge
Film: The Day After Tomorrow, directed by Roland Emmerich
Online Video: "Global Warming 101," by National Geographic
Film: Life in the Freezer: The Big Freeze, directed by Alastair Fothergill
Film: March of the Penguins, directed by Luc Jacquet
Film: The Eleventh Hour, directed by Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Peterson
Interview: "DiCaprio Sheds Light on 11th Hour," by Scott Roxborough
Speech: "Inhofe slams DiCaprio and Laurie David for scaring kids in two-hour Senate speech debunking
climate fears," posted by Marc Morano
Article: "Global Warming: No Urgent Danger; No Quick Fix," by Patrick J. Michaels
Article: "Jeremy Clarkson and Michael O'Leary Won't Listen to Green Cliches and Complaints about Polar
Bears," by George Marshall
Declaration: Excerpt from United Nations Millennium Declaration
Article: "A Roaring Battle Over Sea Lions," by Bill Hewitt
Article: "Stay of Execution for Sea Lions at Bonneville Dam," by the Humane Society of the United States
Portfolio Essay 5:
Comparison/Contrast Essay
Oral Presentation:
Group Skit
Grammar Skills:
Review anaphora, punctuating quotations, pronoun agreement, subjunctive mood of verbs, punctuating restrictive and non-restrictive clauses