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Final Exam

Commencement Speech 2014

You have been asked to speak at a graduation ceremony next Friday. However, it is not for High School West. You have been asked to speak at the 8th grade moving-up ceremony at one of Smithtown’s middle schools.

Your comments will be brief (1-2 typed pages, 12 pt. Times New Roman), but you should address your audience by talking about their present lives, their future hopes, their dreams, their misconceptions, etc…

You are a valued speaker to this audience because you’ve lived the last four years as a high school student, and you know how you’ve changed since that last day of 8th grade. You know better than anyone the ups and downs that await the senior class of 2018.

Use your personality to make this an informed, insightful, humorous, and memorable speech. Don't let the kids down.

All My Sons (audio)

Go to the link below to listen to Act One of All My Sons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbfZwu69fUk

Chapter 2 of The Manhunt

Please go to the link below to read chpater 2 of The Manhunt.

http://graphics.latimes.com/christopher-dorner-manhunt/#chapter-two

Literary Journalism

"Literary journalism is not fiction--the people are real and the events occurred--nor is it journalism in a traditional sense. There is interpretation, a personal point of view, and (often) experimentation with structure and chronology. Another essential element of literary journalism is its focus. Rather than emphasizing institutions, literary journalism explores the lives of those who are affected by those institutions."
(Jan Whitt, Women in American Journalism: A New History. University of Illinois Press, 2008)


We are going to begin reading a piece of serialized literary journalism based around a series of crimes that happened in Los Angeles during February of 2013. 

The first installment is called "Murder in Irvine."

Please leave a comment/reaction on the blog itself.  Use your first name and last initial only.

http://graphics.latimes.com/christopher-dorner-manhunt/#chapter-one

Time Enough at Last

Please read the short story "Time Enough at Last." for Monday's class.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32633/32633-h/32633-h.htm

Literary Theory and Critical Perspectives

Using your copy of The Story and Its Writer you will be completing a worksheet printed in class.

It can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GslJmtzGjVf5xzhgHJAPO-BJR2U_j3sKSeHdbpNgN3s/edit

Using pages 1779 - 1784  in the text, define each of the critical perspectives on the worksheet grid.

SHORT LITERATURE 2014

I.   OVERVIEW: 

                There is no standard definition of what constitutes short literature. Short stories, essays, poems, and dramas could all fit this definition.  Then, what about newspaper articles, commentaries, research?  Sometimes, they can be short literature, too. 

                The objectives of this course are as follows:

                -Develop your critical thinking through a close analysis of texts.

                -Understand the techniques of short stories, drama, and poetry as they affect and enhance meaning.

                -Develop a unique, fluent writing style that expresses more fully your analyses and your reactions.

                -Improve your verbal communication.

                -Discuss the thoughts and themes encouraged by the short literature genre.

                -Respond and connect to texts in order to draw personal conclusions.

 

                Upon successful completion of this one-semester class, students will be awarded a ½ credit of English, fulfilling half of your senior English requirement.  Short Literature is not for the student who is looking to slack off during his/her last semester of high school.  It is a college preparatory class and student expectations are high.

 

II.  MATERIALS:  Due Wednesday 2/5/14

1.  One notebook (any kind, as long as it is used exclusively for this course)

                2.  Blue/black pen or a pencil

                3.  A pocket folder (any kind, exclusive to this class)

 

III.  CLASS PROCEDURES:  When you enter the room -  

1. Please be in your seat before the bell rings.
2. Look at the white board and/or SmartBoard and begin working on

  whatever tasks might be listed there.

                       3.    Take out the current book, story, worksheet we’re working on.

 

IV.  CLASS BEHAVIOR:

                1. Please come to class on time.  If you must be late, be sure you have a pass.

                2. Please ask for the bathroom/nurse pass only in an emergency.

                3. If you’re absent, you are responsible for completing on time all of the work that you missed.

                  I will not chase you down to remind you of what you should be doing.

 

V.  GRADING POLICY:

                20% = HOMEWORK/CLASSWORK - All homework handed in on time earns an automatic 100%.  Late (even one period) or incomplete HW will receive an automatic 50%.  HW not handed in receives a zero. You start with a 100/A+ homework average; don’t let it go down.

         

                80% = TESTS and QUIZZES – these include exams, reading checks, essays, etc…All Tests will have double the weight of a quiz.

VI.  Readings (tentative):

                1.  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams

                2.  Selections from the course anthology, The Story and Its Writer

                3.  Multiple handouts of essays and short stories

 

VII.  FINAL ASSESSMENT:

                Your Final Exam is a 3-4 page MLA paper analyzing multiple works by an author of short literature studied in this course.  It, with Q3 + Q4 doubled, counts as 1/5^th of the course average.

VIII. Class Blog – www.rieggershortlit.blogspot.com

                Some of your homework and/or classwork will appear on our class blog.  Please be aware of the address.  Since I am constantly coming across material for this class, the blog is a great way to share and access that material quickly.

STATEMENT OF INTEGRITY  

2012-2013 SCHOOL YEAR

      The English Department of the Smithtown Central School District expects the highest conduct from its students.  We encourage all of our students to work hard and to do their own research and writing for homework, special assignments or projects. Any evidence of plagiarism may result in no credit for the assignment.  Assignments are considered to be reflections of an individual’s work unless otherwise instructed by the teacher. If a student is caught using material that he or she did not create themselves, the student may not get credit for the paper, project, etc.

      Exams and other assessments should be considered opportunities for a student to show what he or she has learned over the course of the unit, semester or year.  During any assessment, if the student is caught using any kind of electronic device (including but not limited to cell phones) or has an electronic device out, the student may automatically fail the exam. Therefore, cell phones and other electronic devices should be left at home or in the student’s locker during exams.   In addition, attempting to give or receive assistance in any form during an assessment may result in a failing grade for all parties involved.

2013-2014 Course Change Policy

According to Superintendent’s Regulation 4710-R, a student’s selection of specific courses involves a commitment to those subjects.  It also involves factors such as staffing and classroom usage that have cost implications. Consequently, a student should consider withdrawing from a course only for the most serious academic and personal reasons, and only after consultation with parents, teacher and school counselor.  Students are expected to continue following their current schedule until any changes are approved.

 

Students requesting schedule changes should access the form located on the Guidance page of the high school website.  Students should use the username and password they utilize when accessing the school computers.  Students requesting a schedule change must adhere to the following timelines:

Semester courses: 

• No changes, except for additions or correction of errors, will be permitted during the first six (6) school days of a semester course.  After this time period, changes will be considered for the next twenty (20) school days. 
• After twenty-six (26) school days of the start of the course, any drop will result in a “W” being added to the report card and final transcript.
• No changes or drops will be permitted after the Friday of the first week of the second quarter of a semester course.
• If a student wishes to pursue a drop it will be strongly recommended that another course be added, if logistically possible and pending course availability.

Under no circumstances may parents/guardians or students request changes to a schedule to:

• Change teachers
• Change lunch periods (unless supported by medical documentation)
• Change to a more convenient and/or desirable period
• Group friends together in the same class

Academic Concerns:

Students demonstrating academic difficulty in a course may request to move from one level of a subject area to a different level.  These changes must take place by the Friday of the first week of quarter three for a full year course or the Friday of the first week of the second quarter of a semester course.  Students moved from one level of a subject to another level of the same subject will receive a final grade based upon performance in the course for which credit will be earned.  Students will receive a “W” on the final transcript for the original course.

 

Full Year Courses	First Semester Courses	Second Semester Courses	Result
9/9/13–9/16/13	9/9/13–9/16/13	1/31/14–2/7/14	No schedule changes permitted
9/17/13-11/8/13	9/17/13–10/15/13	2/8/14–3/14/14	Course changes or drops not reflected on transcript
11/9/13–2/7/14	10/16/13–11/15/13	3/15/14–4/11/14	Course changes or drops result in a grade of “W” on transcript
2/8/14–6/26/14	11/16/13–1/30/14	4/12/14–6/26/14	No schedule changes permitted