Literature and Public Speaking
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Welcome
to Literature and Public Speaking
with Ms. Craft in Room 18. This is a fun elective English class that will be
divided into three big units. The
entire Fall semester will be a ÒFilm as LiteratureÓ unit. Students will reinforce their knowledge
of literary devices and story telling elements through the analysis of several movies,
film clips and stills. The class
will learn and use cinematic terms and vocabulary, and students will analyze five
complete films: E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Rocky, North by Northwest, Bend it
Like Beckham, and Whale Rider.
The
third quarter will be ÒAn Introduction to Shakespeare,Ó and we will read and
perform ShakespeareÕs Twelfth Night.
The fourth quarter will be devoted to ÒPublic SpeakingÓ in which students will
write and present various speeches, enjoy improv exercises, and collaborate in group
settings. There wonÕt be too much
work outside of class, so class presence and participation is vital to the studentÕs
success.
Materials
Needed:
1. For excused
absences, make-up work will be accepted per school policy. Students will have the same number of
days to make up an assignment that they were absent.
2. Late work will be
accepted within three days of when it was due for half credit.
I
believe this policy will enforce responsibility and organizational skills,
which are important attributes for students to obtain. It is also the studentÕs
responsibility to find out the missing work from an absence either by meeting
with the teacher before or after school, checking the homework calendar online
or in the classroom, or asking a peer from class.
In the event of a
home-network or printer issue, please either hand-write the assignment, e-mail
a peer the assignment to print out, or come to school early with a CD and use
the library or computer lab to print out the work.
The daily agenda and
homework are accessible from my class website,
and displayed in the classroom.
Make-Up
Exams:
Make-up
times for quizzes and tests are Tuesdays at lunch and Thursdays after school
(IÕll have these hours posted).
There will be no exceptions, unless an appointment with me is made ahead
of time. Make-up tests must be
given no later than the Friday of the week before a grading period. ItÕs up to you to keep track of what
tests youÕre missing.
Class work, quizzes, papers,
and tests will be graded on a point system.
Assignments are placed into
the following categories and weighted as follows:
Homework
15% * Class work 15% * Tests 30 %
* Papers/Projects 30%* Participation 10%
Class
Participation
Class
participation is worth 3 points a day (15 points per week). To receive
full-points, the following must
occur:
Actively participate in
class and always raising his/her hand;
Maintain respect for his/her
peers, teacher, and speaker;
Remain on-task at all
times;
No-talking during
instruction or when a peer is speaking;
Full cooperation and
participation during group activities.
My
commitment to you:
It
will be my goal to establish a safe and caring environment conducive to
learning and exploring new ideas.
Remember that I want you to succeed and will do all I can toward that
end. We will have an incredible
year together, and IÕm glad youÕre in my class. You are welcome to e-mail me with any questions or
concerns. My address is dcraft@jsusd.k12.ca.us. IÕm
looking forward to an exciting school year!