Welcome to 12th Grade English!
English 12A
Instructor: Christina Lewis
Website: http://lewisla.weebly.com
School e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 269.857.2133, ext. 106
Office Hours: By appointment during Volleyball season
Course Description:
The purpose of English 12A is to prepare you for reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical thinking in the real world. Upon completion of this class, you will have developed the necessary language arts skills to succeed in the college, career, or vocational school of your choice. To that end, you will be asked on a daily basis to engage yourselves in a wide array of activities designed to help you develop those skills. The extent to which you participate in all of these activities determines much of what you will carry with you as you move onwards into the rest of your own life. I sincerely hope that you take advantage of each of these opportunities!
English 12A Outcomes Adapted from the Common Core State Standards Initiative
Habits of Mind:
Students will be actively encouraged to value and develop the following “Habits of Mind” from “A Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing”:
Technology Policy: Since developing skills in the language arts truly requires sustained periods of uninterrupted attention, the cell phone policy will allow for four places that are totally acceptable for your device: your car or home, your locker, the basket by my desk in class, or your pocket. If you decide upon the latter option, please keep it there, and keep it turned off. If not, I will be asking for it, and you will have to pick it up in the office at the end of the day. I’m truly hoping that we can avoid this situation.
Classroom Expectations:
Everybody in the classroom deserves a positive and engaging learning environment conducive to being, thinking, listening, viewing, speaking, reading, and writing. In short, there are just a few general expectations:
Parents: The support of your child’s education is very much appreciated. Significant improvement in reading and writing necessitates diligent effort plus time (measured in months), and this process can be frustrating. I will do whatever I can in order to smooth this transition! One of the most rewarding parts of this class for me is to see the growth of my students’ language arts skills. Please follow Power School and let me know if you have any questions!
Instructor: Christina Lewis
Website: http://lewisla.weebly.com
School e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 269.857.2133, ext. 106
Office Hours: By appointment during Volleyball season
Course Description:
The purpose of English 12A is to prepare you for reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical thinking in the real world. Upon completion of this class, you will have developed the necessary language arts skills to succeed in the college, career, or vocational school of your choice. To that end, you will be asked on a daily basis to engage yourselves in a wide array of activities designed to help you develop those skills. The extent to which you participate in all of these activities determines much of what you will carry with you as you move onwards into the rest of your own life. I sincerely hope that you take advantage of each of these opportunities!
English 12A Outcomes Adapted from the Common Core State Standards Initiative
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences and/or events.
- Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
- Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
- Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
- Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed.
- Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
- Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
- Make strategic use of digital media in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
Habits of Mind:
Students will be actively encouraged to value and develop the following “Habits of Mind” from “A Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing”:
- Curiosity – the desire to know more about the world.
- Openness – the willingness to consider new ways of being and thinking in the world.
- Engagement – a sense of investment and involvement in learning.
- Creativity – the ability to use novel approaches for generating, investigating, and representing ideas.
- Persistence – the ability to sustain interest in and attention to short- and long-term projects.
- Responsibility – the ability to take ownership of one’s actions and understand the consequences of those actions for oneself and others.
- Flexibility – the ability to adapt to situations, expectations, or demands.
- Metacognition – the ability to reflect on one’s own thinking as well as on the individual and cultural processes and systems used to structure knowledge.
Technology Policy: Since developing skills in the language arts truly requires sustained periods of uninterrupted attention, the cell phone policy will allow for four places that are totally acceptable for your device: your car or home, your locker, the basket by my desk in class, or your pocket. If you decide upon the latter option, please keep it there, and keep it turned off. If not, I will be asking for it, and you will have to pick it up in the office at the end of the day. I’m truly hoping that we can avoid this situation.
Classroom Expectations:
Everybody in the classroom deserves a positive and engaging learning environment conducive to being, thinking, listening, viewing, speaking, reading, and writing. In short, there are just a few general expectations:
- Try your best every single day.
- Treat others with dignity.
- Open your mind.
- No hats, hoodies, headphones, or visible cell phones in class.
Parents: The support of your child’s education is very much appreciated. Significant improvement in reading and writing necessitates diligent effort plus time (measured in months), and this process can be frustrating. I will do whatever I can in order to smooth this transition! One of the most rewarding parts of this class for me is to see the growth of my students’ language arts skills. Please follow Power School and let me know if you have any questions!