Introduction

This is a college-preparatory survey course in American Literature. We deal with topics both chronologically and thematically by reading primary non-fiction sources, historical background introductions, and fiction, essays, drama, and poetry. 

There will be reading/note-taking and/or vocabulary homework almost daily. During class, we will have discussions of readings, individual and cooperative tasks, and hands-on, student-created projects as time and space allow. Voluntary participation by all students in oral discussions is crucial. There will be unannounced quizzes on readings due for the day, some collected homework, some homework checked by oral questioning, vocabulary homework and quizzes and some major tests. Papers, oral presentations and take-home tests may also be assigned throughout the semester. Proper citations of research sources according to MLA format; proper sentence, paragraph and essay structure; and correct usage and mechanics will also be included.

Use of technology also plays an important role in the course. Students are expected to use the many web pages I have set up to access study guides and other materials, print them outside of class, and bring them to class as required.

In addition to "college preparation," it is also a course goal to provide students, through our literary studies, tools that they can use in both private life as a person, family member, friend, etc.; and in public life as a citizen. As we are focusing on our country's own literature and culture in this course, the latter is particularly crucial.

I ask that both students and parents/families read over the following course information and fill out and sign the page given to students and return it to me.

General Advice

If something is affecting your performance in my class, TALK TO ME. I have no way of knowing what is going on with you unless you tell me. You MUST take responsibility in this area!

My telephone is 878-4361 (after 5 pm); and my e-mail is pculliton@comcast.net .

My American Literature homepage with important links is <www.jlc.net/~rwright/pages/Americanlit.html>

Set aside enough time to do homework assignments carefully. LOOK AHEAD ON YOUR ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE and plan your time. (Parents: the most helpful thing you can do is be aware of what is on this schedule; ask to see it; ask how the work is going.) Be hyper-organized; we often work with a combination of textbook, paperbacks, handouts, reprints, and study guides ALL AT ONCE, to enrich this class for your benefit. You have to be able to keep all these things straight in your mind. Be prepared and willing to participate spontaneously in class discussions; it is only through these that we can go beyond superficial analysis of literature! Have an awareness of what's going on in this country in terms of politics, social movements, culture, controversies, etc.; read a news magazine / newspaper. Be thoughtful enough to make the leap and apply lessons, themes, ideals, values, etc., from literature readings to your own life, present and future. Be willing to take each graded paper or project and use my evaluation of it to do a better job on the next paper or project.

Requirements

Do not do anything that makes it difficult for others in the class to learn or for me to teach. (Always remember to LISTEN when someone else is speaking, SPEAK UP when it's your turn, and do NOT start side conversations.)

Since you are enrolled in this course, you are expected to do quality work, stay on-task, and participate politely. Our classroom is a safe space for all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, race, or any other characteristic. Derogatory language, name-calling, stereotyping and bigoted slang terms are not tolerated in this class. These actions intimidate, making it difficult for all of us to feel free to be ourselves and contribute. (Although some works we read may contain such language, it is either obvious from the context that the author is condemning, not encouraging, such actions or that the language is a function of the time period in which the work was written.)

Follow the assignment schedules I give you (on handouts or on the board). Work for this class is made clear well in advance. Take all relevant books and handouts home every night, plan your time to allow for glitches, emergencies, etc., and have everything you need with you for each class at the beginning of the block. Keep up-to-date notes both from your own reading and from class discussions / lectures. Most tests and quizzes (except for vocabulary) are open-notebook and not designed to be taken any other way.

You will need to have a LOOSE-LEAF (not spiral-bound), THREE-RING BINDER with some pages of lined paper. I hand out many information sheets, reprints, and Study Guides that need to be saved in an orderly fashion by adding them to your notebook. Bring it to class with you every day along with a writing utensil and the book(s) we are using.

Have a network password for use here at school and means to word-process or type papers at home. Have access to the World Wide Web at least three times a week outside of class (our library, your town library, home, etc.) There will be many times when I will ask you to download study guides from my web page, print them out at home, and bring them to class; if you are unable to print out study guides, you will need to tell me by a date given on your assignment schedule, and I will then print you up a hard copy (though it will probably not have spaces for answers, which you'll have to put in your notebook on a separate page).

Be in class every day. Do not leave class or school early without first informing me and passing in any work due, and do not make a habit of leaving early/coming in late. If you come in late or leave early and miss the class, check in with me and pass in any work due.

Absences/Late Work

Be where you should be in the curriculum at all times. I expect you to do the work regardless of absences (as is detailed in the MRHS Student Handbook). During absences, you are responsible for getting the notes and/or any alterations in the schedule from your study partner and for doing all assignments before you come back to class. I keep a Make-up Work folder at the front of the room on top of the small table below the TV. Any tests or quizzes you miss will be in there, with your last name on them. I will also put in any handouts, worksheets, etc., that your study partner does not take home for you. Check this folder as soon as you come into the room after you miss ANY part of any class.

Because students are required to take a class every block of every day, there are no free periods during the day to make up work other than during our class. Absences will inevitably result in your learning less from this class, both because of material missed on the days absent and because you must afterwards spend class time making up tests and quizzes, thus missing more class time. One exception to this is if you have an Academic Assist block in the Resource Room during which you can take missed tests and quizzes.

You must have a study partner who will bring things home to you when you are absent and discuss what went on in class, and for whom you will do the same. Most materials such as books, handouts and study guides are given well in advance of when you will need them; usually, your study partner will have only to e-mail you or talk to you on the phone.

Full credit is granted only for those take-home assignments passed in during class on the due date. Classwork, quizzes and tests are granted full credit only if they are done on the same day the rest of the class does them. An exception will be made only in this case: if you have an admit slip from the office on the day you return to class after an absence or late entry. If the adminstration is doing things this year the way they did last year, a yellow slip means the absence will count towards the limit of ten; a purple slip means that it will not count. Either color will enable you to make up tests or quizzes missed without a penalty and turn in any homework due for full credit. You must present the slip or note to me of your own accord at the beginning of class on the day you return. You must then pass in any work due and take your tests/quizzes from the Make-up Work folder and complete them then and there in class. There are special procedures outlined in the Student Handbook for taking any time off from classes for reasons other than illness; please read these carefully and follow them. If you miss a class or part of a class due to lateness to school or dismissal from school, you will also need a yellow or purple admit slip, not just a green tardy slip, to be able to make up work for full credit.

The MRHS Student Handbook states that you may not make up any work missed as a result of an unexcused absence from a class; realizing that a student may occasionally forget to bring in a note to the office immediately after an absence, I may let you take the test or quiz or pass in your work and accept the excusal note the next day. I may also grant partial credit for some late work, depending on the circumstances; three calendar days from the due date is the limit, however, and penalties will range from 10-25 percentage points off the grade per day if the late work is accepted at all. You may never hand in late assignments whose answers we went over in class while you were present, of course.

Tests and quizzes must be taken with the rest of the class regardless of previous absences as well. You will need to contact me to ask for an exception if you were too ill to prepare for a test or quiz. Do not wait until you are sitting in class to try to discuss this sort of thing; that's much too late!

ALTERNATE ASSIGNMENTS ARE SOMETIMES AVAILABLE. Come see me if for some reason you didn't do one thing (that counts once) and want to substitute another in its place. I may also ask you if you want an alternative. The work you are given to do will as comparable as possible to what you missed. You may do this a maximum of 3 times.

If you are on a field trip and you have a MAJOR (counting 3 times or more) piece of work such as an essay or take-home test due that day, please FIND ME and give me the paper before you leave. Never just come a classroom and leave work on my desk. OR, put the work in a large envelope with my name on the outside and give it to Mrs. Shannon, asking her to put it in Ms. Culliton's mailbox. (Keep a photocopy!) Otherwise, it will be considered late. Anything else may be passed in the day after a field trip, and tests/quizzes taken the next day in class, with no penalty.

If you are going to be dismissed during a class, tell me before class starts so I can give you anything that I may be passing out later in the block. Do not simply get up and leave in the middle of class. This is rude and inconsiderate, not to mention disruptive.

If you know you are going to be absent from class, please tell me beforehand and I will see to it that you have all you need to keep up (give me a few days, though, if possible!). You MUST complete the work I assigned you while you are out, passing it in upon your return. This will avoid your having to miss class to make-up work during the block.

If your class is held block 2, it may sometimes be shortened or canceled for some or all people. It is still your obligation to do the reading and writing assignments on the schedule independently; we will discuss them as time allows.

In case of snow days or other cancellations, move the assignment schedule for READING assignments up one day.

Grading Policy

All assignments will be given various "weights"--that is, grades for some will count once (brief quizzes, homework checks, etc.), some will count twice (short tests, in-class exercises), and still others will count three, four, or five times (major papers, projects, etc.). Class participation in discussions will be counted at the end of each quarter as 20 percent of the marking period grade. The formula, then, is as follows:

4 (average of grades on work done during the quarter) + (class participation grade)

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The class participation grade will be based on my impressions of your contribution to class discussions throughout the quarter and on any other in-class activities not graded separately.

School policy dictates that the final examination will count as 20 percent of the course grade, though may consist of a final essay or project taking place over the last several days of the course, as well as what is done in the "exam block":

2 (1st quarter grade) + 2 (2nd quarter grade) + Final Exam Grade

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I/We have read the above Course Handbook.

Student's name (print): __________________________ Student's signature: ________________________________

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Parents: Please e-mail Ms. Culliton with any questions regarding this Course Handbook. We can communicate with you on a regular basis via e-mail-- unlike the telephone, which is not readily available at school and is rarely private. Please provide the following information if at all possible:

Parents' e-mail (print):________________________________________

Student's e-mail (print):________________________________________

Telephone # day: __________________ eve: ___________________ Mailing address: