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Wayne County High School English
Department Guide 2009 - 2010
I. Grading
WCHS English Department maintains a consistent policy of grade categories
and percentages for all classes.
A. 2009-10 Semester Grading Protocol for Grades 10-12 English Classes:
Set up Icue with the following four categories and percentages
for each class and each semester:
1. Tests (Portfolio, research, culminating activities, etc.) 50%
• Portfolio grades may include essays, journals, resumés,
thank you notes, business letters, projects, etc.
• Semester Pre-tests and Benchmark (Midterm) tests must
also be recorded as tests (email from Leslie Horton 6/10/08).
2. Quizzes (including vocabulary) 20%
3. Daily/Homework 15%
4. Final Exam 15%
B. 2009-10 Semester Grading Protocol for 9th Grade:
Tests: 40%
Quizzes: 20%
Daily Work: 25%
Final Exam: 15%
Course First Semester Second Last test of
Final Exam Semester Second
Final Exam Semester
9th Post Test EOCT Post Test
Grade
10th Post Test Post Test
Grade
11th Post Test EOCT Post Test
Grade
12th Post Test Post Test
Grade
AP Post Test AP Exam
EOCT Final Exam and Icue: Second Semester (9th and 11th)
Mark the “exempt” column next to each student’s name in the Final Exam category.
The WCHS registrar enters EOCT scores into Icue – not the classroom teacher.
B. Extra Credit Policy:
• Extra credit must be related to English Language Arts.
• Extra credit is not given on an individual basis, nor is it provided at the end of the semester
for passing purposes. Teachers can enter extra credit work in the test, quiz, or
daily/homework category.
Acceptable: Essay or oratorical contests, writing/reading assignments
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Unacceptable: Giving blood, attending a sporting event, concert, or movie
C. Amnesty Assignments:
Amnesty is a WCHS Pyramid of Interventions mandate in all courses in which teachers
(a) provide students a chance to make up designated missed work or (b) offer an
alternate assignment. The administration assigns the date for Amnesty Day for each semester.
II. Syllabus
Teachers provide each student a syllabus which includes:
• Department Grading and Extra Credit Policy
• Class Procedure
• Course Content
• Required Materials
III. Teaching Units, Content Maps, and Other Files
• The Georgia Performance Standards http://www.georgiastandards.org determine the
content for English Language Arts courses.
• Learning Focused Solutions, Inc. www.LearningFocused.com steers teaching strategies.
• 2009-10 Unit and Pacing Guide
• Content Maps: Provide students and primary evaluator with copies of content maps for each
unit of study and for each course.
• The English Department has a folder at the Wayne County Board of Education’s home
page www.wayne.k12.ga.us which contains content maps for all grades and units, as well
as other files. Log on to your email account and then click on “Public Folders” in the
folders window. Scroll down to “WCHS English Department.” Files can be right clicked
and saved to the desktop.
IV. Texts and Novels
• Textbook Inventory: Write your name in any textbook that you keep in your
classroom or issue to students.
• Textbook Cost for 2009 - 2010: $40.00; Novels - $25.00
• Novels: Please refer to the novel list for yearly planning.
Contact me at least two days in advance with the title and the number of books that you
need. I will get them delivered to you by the next day.
• Novels are assigned a grade level and semester in which they are to be taught.
Teachers can assign novels at or below the course level/semester but not above it.
For example, a novel designated for 11th grade is not to be taught at the 10th grade level.
• Independent Novel Reading: If you are planning independent reading of multiple titles in
one class, consider having students check out books from the Media Center.
V. Teacher Editions and Supplementary Materials
All teacher texts and supplementary materials are the property of the
WCHS English Department.
VI. Homework Hotline Site
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Teachers are to update this site weekly with assignments, tests, topics of study, projects, etc.
http://www.yourkidshomework.com/home/
VII. GHSGT/EOCT Test Practice and SAT Prep Course Online Site Information:
• GHSGT/EOCT Test Practice Online Information:
free and accessible from any computer with Internet access.
The Website is: http://www.usatestprep.com
Click on “Member Login” in the right-hand corner.
Username: wayne Student Password: newton21 (Teacher Password: Einstein)
• Official SAT Prep Course On-line Information:
free and accessible from any computer with Internet access.
The website is: www.satonlinecourseschool.com
Students click “Register Now” and enter the student access code which they must receive
from the counselor’s office. The WCHS School Code is no longer the access code.
VIII. Accelerated Classes and Advanced Placement English
• Accelerated English classes are offered in grades 9, 10, and 11.
• Advanced Placement (AP) Literature/Composition is offered in 12th grade.
• The Advanced Placement Test is administered in the spring.
• A satisfactory grade on the AP test can lead to credit/exemption of one or more
college English courses or awarding of elective credit.
• Extra Weight for All Accelerated/AP Classes:
• Honors/Gifted +3
• AP +5
• College Courses +7
IX. Summer Reading for Accelerated and Advanced Placement
• All students in Accelerated and AP classes have a required list of summer reading.
• Students sign a roster to confirm that they have received the list of books.
• Students should have the books read by the first day of school and be prepared for teacher
assignments.
X. Recommending Students for Accelerated or Advanced Placement:
Contact the English Department chair or a guidance counselor about a change in level of
coursework for any student before making the change. Parents must be contacted, as well.
XI. Students Taking Two English Classes in One Semester
Check your class rosters for students whose grade level is above or below the grade level of the
class which indicates the student is most likely taking two English courses.
NOTE: If you have seniors in a 9th, 10th, or 11th grade class, their second semester final grade
must be submitted immediately after they take your final. Enter the final exam grade then submit
through the registrar’s instructions. You can click the exempt box for the rest of the class and
then after they have taken their final, deselect the “exempt” box, enter their grades and submit.
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XII. Scope and Sequence
The Scope and Sequence section is an outline of skills as they are introduced and reinforced
from Pre-K through high school and is located in this notebook.
XIII. Research Guide The MLA Handbook, 7th edition, is the definitive source for documentation.
XIV. Curriculum Notebook
This Curriculum notebook is a guide for English Language Arts teachers and is the property of the
English Department.
XV. ENGLISH DEPARTMENT UNIT PACING CHART 2009 - 2010 (Weeks approximate)
9th GRADE 10th GRADE 11th GRADE 12th GRADE Senior AP FALL
FALL SEMESTER FALL SEMESTER FALL SEMESTER FALL SEMESTER SEMESTER
BENCHMARKS, EOCT BENCHMARKS, BENCHMARKS, BENCHMARKS, BENCHMARKS,
Writing, Grammar, Writing, Grammar, GHSGT, EOCT, Writing, Writing, Grammar, Writing, Grammar,
Vocabulary Vocabulary Grammar, Vocabulary Vocabulary Vocabulary
Unit 1 Unit 1 DOE Unit 1 RESEARCH AP 1
Fiction Fiction Colonial Period (During First Semester) Epic, frame nar.
(DOE Unit 5) (DOE Unit 3) 4 Weeks AP 2 Drama
8 Weeks 9 Weeks Murder in the
Cathedral 3wks
GHSGT DOE Unit 1 AP 3
WRITING TEST Anglo Saxon Texts Macbeth, Hamlet,
2 Weeks 3 Weeks R &G Dead 4wks
Unit 2 Unit 2 DOE Unit 2 DOE Unit 2 AP 4
Nonfiction Archetypes and Age of Reason Medieval Texts Poetry
(DOE Unit 2) Modern Novel 3 Weeks 5 Weeks 4 weeks
5 weeks (DOE Unit 5) 4 weeks
Unit 3 Unit 3 DOE Unit 3 DOE Unit 3 AP 5
Poetry Persuasion and Romanticism and Renaissance Texts Short Story
(DOE Unit 3) Non fiction Transcendentalism Inc. Macbeth 3 weeks
5 Weeks (DOE Unit 1) 8 Weeks 7 Weeks
5 Weeks
DOE Unit 4 AP 6
18th C. and Restoration Novel
3 Weeks 4 weeks
9th Spr. Sem. 10th Spring Sem. 11th Spring Sem. 12th Spring Sem. Senior APSpr.
Sem
BENCHMARKS, EOCT BENCHMARKS, BENCHMARKS, BENCHMARKS, BENCHMARKS,
Writing,Grammar, Writing, Grammar, GHSGT, EOCT, Writing, Grammar, Writing, Grammar,
Vocabulary Vocabulary Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Unit 4 Unit 4 DOE Unit 4 Senior Portfolio Senior Portfolio
Drama Archetypes in Tragedy Realism and Naturalism Resumé, Scholarship Resumé,
(DOE Unit 4) (DOE Unit 4) 4 Weeks Essays Scholarship
5 weeks 6 weeks 2 Weeks essays 2weeks
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Unit 5 Unit 5 Unit 5 DOE Unit 5 AP 7
RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH Romantic Texts 18th c.Essay AP
(DOE Unit 7) Persuasion 3 Weeks 5 Weeks test prep 4 weeks
5 weeks (DOE Unit 6) GHSGT LA TEST AP 8
8 Weeks 2 Weeks Greek/Modern
Theater 5 weeks
Unit 6 Unit 6 DOE Unit 6 AP 9
Technical Writing Nonfiction and Modernism DOE Unit 6 Modern Novel
(DOE Unit 1) Persuasion 4 Weeks Victorian Texts 5 weeks
3 weeks (DOE Unit 5) 4 Weeks AP test prep
4 Weeks 2weeks
Unit 7 DOE Unit 7 DOE Unit 7
Novel Postmodernism and Modern and
(DOE Unit 6) Modern Drama Postmodern texts AP TEST
5 Weeks 5 Weeks 7 Weeks
END OF COURSE END OF COURSE TEST
TEST
XV. Wayne County High School English Department 2009 Required Summer
Reading for 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade Accelerated English Classes and for Advanced
Placement English Literature/Composition Revised July, 2009
Summer reading titles are selected from titles recommended for Accelerated classes by the College
Board and its Advanced Placement testing division.
I. TITLES: READ TWO BOOKS FOR YOUR GRADE LEVEL!!
9th Grade Accelerated English
1. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse – novel
2. The Good Earth by Pearl Buck – novel
3. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers - novel
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10 Grade Accelerated English
1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – novel
2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontё – novel
3. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad - novel
th
11 Grade Accelerated English
1. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton – novel
2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - novel
th
12 Grade Advanced Placement Literature/Composition
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontё – novel
2. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston – novel
II. DIRECTIONS for READING
• You will be tested during the first week of the fall semester.
• Tests may be objective, essay, or a combination of objective, essay and quotes.
• Reliance on Spark Notes, Cliff’s Notes or any other study guide can serve
as an aide but is not a substitute for reading the texts.
III. Suggestions for Careful Reading
Note the following as you read and record questions to ask your teacher:
• A. Setting: location, time period or historical background and importance
• B. Characters: Make a list for each character about appearance, associations with other
characters, social situations, needs, wants, desires, etc.
• C. Character Types/Stereotypes: the orphan, the traveler, the person in disguise, the loner,
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the traitor, the caregiver, the aristocrat, the leader, etc.
• D. Conflicts with family, love, money, beliefs, social status, religion, race, ethnicity, etc.
• E. Recurring symbols: things that are often mentioned such as flowers, colors, objects,
the weather, landscape, animal imagery, etc.
• F. Journeys: rivers, roads, abandoned homes, modes of travel, etc.
IV. Purchase your books before August!
• You may have difficulty finding the titles if you wait until the end of summer since these
selections are popular choices at many schools, both in the South and nationally.
• The following are some responsible purchasing sources on the Internet:
o www.amazon.com
o www.barnesandnoble.com
o www.booksamillion.com
o www.powells.com
o www.walmart.com