Mrs. Katzman's Home Page

English Department Chair

Lake Zurich High School

English II Honors

Course Syllabus

General Goal

English II is designed to provide a survey of literary forms and interpretations with an emphasis on writing skills.  English II Honors is taught at a more accelerated pace, and, because this is an honors level course, independent reading and writing projects will be assigned.  There will be challenging coursework, discussions, and writing assignments.  Larger assignments will demand you to budget your time wisely. 

There is a key to doing well in this course.  It is summed up in the following quote from Aristotle; "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."  I do not expect you to excel with every objective right away.  My goal for each student is to grow and learn.  Therefore, even if you have taken a quiz/handed in a paper, do not consider it finished.  I allow rewrites on major papers, etc.  Exellence is a habit, as Aristotle said.  It may not happen right away, and it is something that needs to be developed and continued.  Do not get discouraged!     

Objectives

Students will be given the opportunity to further competence in:

·         Specific reading skills

·         Correctly applying grammar rules

·         Interpreting literature

·         Writing and research skills

·         Oral expression and listening skills

Major Texts for the Course (1^st semester)

            Ordinary People by Judith Guest

            A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

            Excerpts from Elements of Literature 4^th course

Major Texts for the Course (2^nd semester)

            To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

            Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

            Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

            The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Late Work Policy

Small, overnight assignments paired with readings will not be accepted late because their purpose is for a discussion/activity in class that day.  They are not useful when turned in late and would just be busywork.  Larger, major assignments will be accepted up to 3 school days late without penalty to the grade.  I believe that your grade should reflect your ability on the assignment, not its timeliness.  Still, work is expected on time.  If a pattern of late work arises, we will have to have a conversation between myself, you, and your parents to form a plan.  Develop good work habits!

 Approximate Assignment Points

The following is an approximate number of points I assign to each type of assignment.  This is a general guideline.

            Small overnight homework/graded discussions             2 points

            Paper outlines/larger homework                                     10 points

            Small paper assignments/quizzes                                     25 points

            Papers/unit exams                                                             50 points

            Research paper                                                                   100 points

Grade Calculation

Major assignments will not be considered finished unless they have earned a “C” grade or higher.  Every one of you can achieve the standards expected, and I will always provide a rubric so you know what is expected from the start.  Assignments that fall below a “C” will be returned with comments on how to improve, and, after meeting with me within 2 days, the redone assignment should be turned in within the next 3 school days (one week total). 

            Lake Zurich High School Grading Scale

                        Grade                           Range                          

                        A+                               97-100

                        A                                 93-96

                        A-                                90-92

                        B+                                87-89

                        B                                  83-86

                        B-                                80-82

                        C+                                77-79

                        C                                  73-76

                        C-                                70-72

                        D+                               67-69

                        D                                 63-66

                        D-                                60-62

This grading scale does not include rounding (i.e. a grade of 89.9% would not be rounded up to a 90% and therefore a grade of B+ would be given).  This is school policy.

Materials

You will be expected to annotate texts.  For this, there are a couple of options.  One is that you may purchase your own copies of the texts we will read.  Before we start a unit, I will show you the version of the text the class will be using.  If you purchase your own text, you may write in it.  If you do not wish to purchase your own texts, you must purchase small post-it notes.  This way you may write on the post-it notes and leave them in your book until the end of a unit.

Please also bring an organized binder, a pencil, a highlighter, and 2 different colored pens.

My Contact Information

            E-mail:  Lauren.katzman@lz95.org

            Phone:  (847) 540-4484

            Office:  E214 (Humanities Office)

Page Sponsor:  Kim Kolze

Webmaster:  Matt Winkelman

Updated:  August 26, 2008