COURSE SYLLABUS ENGLISH 10A COURSE DESCRIPTION The ...

COURSE SYLLABUS 

ENGLISH 10A 

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

The first semester of 10th Grade English is a literature survey class. The class covers literary terminology, 

vocabulary building, test taking strategies, and several literary genres. This semester, we will utilize 

literature to focus on three central questions: Is there a difference between reality and truth? Can 

progress be made without conflict? What kind of knowledge changes our lives? The course is written to 

Common Core standards and will challenge students to critically think about literature. Students will 

involve themselves in self-assessment as well as in teacher guided practice and assessment throughout 

the class. 

The literature of the class includes selections from Nobel Prize in Literature winners and Pulitzer Prize 

winners. Among the authors and poets included in the class are: Ray Bradbury, W.W. Jacobs, Maya 

Angelou, Langston Hughes, Sandra Cisneros, Rachel Carson, Anton Chekhov, O. Henry, Leo Tolstoy, 

Edgar Allen Poe, Rudolfo Anaya, Mark Twain , James Thurber, and Elie Wiesel. 

COURSE THEMES 

• Reality vs. Truth 

• Resources, Irony and Paradox 

• Progress vs. Conflict 

• Argument and Expository Text 

• Knowledge = Change 

COURSE TOPICS 

Students will develop an understanding of: 

• Theme in fiction 

• Central ideas in non-fiction 

• Making predictions 

• Plot and foreshadowing 

• Author’s perspective 

• Analyzing structure and format 

• Comparing style 

• Cause and effect relationships 

• Conflict resolution 

• Author’s purpose 

• Bias of the author or sponsor 

• Checking the information against reliable 

sources 

• Date documents were created /updated 

• Reliable sources 

• Character and story structure 

• Analyzing the text to extend ideas 

• Comparing points of view 

• Drawing conclusions about theme 

• Drawing conclusions about symbolism and 

allegory 

• Paraphrasing to connect ideas 

• Comparing tone 

• Author’s point of view and purpose 

• Development of ideas 

• Word choice and tone 

• Main idea—expository essay 

• Main idea—reflective essay 

• Follow and critique technical questions 

• Comparing humorous writing 

• Evaluate persuasion arguments and 

rhetorical devices

• Making inferences in character and 

characterization 

• Making inferences in setting 

• Evaluate analytic and interpretive essays 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Upon successful completion of this class, students will be proficient in the following Common Core 

Standards for grade 10: 

1. Reading Literature (RL)- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 

2. Reading Informational Text (RI)-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 

3. Writing (W)- 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 

9a,9b, 10 

4. Speaking and Listening (SL) 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 

5. Language (L) 1, 1a, 1b,2, 2c, 3, 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 5, 5b, 6 

See for full text of standards: 

http://www.scoe.net/castandards/agenda/2010/ela_ccs_recommendations.pdf 

PRE-REQUISITES / CO-REQUISITES 

• English 9 A/B 

• World History A 

Primary Text: 

This course requires the novel: 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 

Supplementary Materials: 

Notebook 

Supplies for course project (will vary)

COURSE METHODOLOGY 

This is an inquiry-based course where you will discover and utilize knowledge of English / Language Arts 

via the lectures, videos, and other readings, and class discussions with other students and the instructor. 

Acting as a facilitator, your instructor will guide you through the process; however, as the learner, you 

are responsible for actively acquiring and constructing knowledge by completing all assigned readings 

and activities. 

Both formal and informal assessment will be used in evaluating your performance throughout the 

course. Informal assessment will include an evaluation of the quality and timeliness of your participation 

in class activities. Formal assessment will involve multiple-choice quizzes, written essays, major writing 

assignments, a midterm, a final exam and a course project. 

COURSE PARTICIPATION OBJECTIVES 

This course for which you are registered is a college preparatory, academically rigorous course that 

covers a semester’s worth of material . As such, it is important that you adhere to the following 

guidelines as you manage your time and commit to successfully completing all required coursework: 

1. The requirements for this course are equivalent to completion of minimum of 90+ hours of class 

instruction at a traditional on-site high school. 

2. Assignments must be submitted for each unit as they are completed so that the teacher may 

review and assess your performance. Do not hold your work, you must submit each unit’s 

homework as it is completed, demonstrating weekly assignment completions. 

3. You participate regularly in your course to demonstrate not only continued participation, but 

also completion of all course requirements, including assignments, assessments and class 

discussion forums. 

4. You must complete your individual work and any incident of suspected cheating, plagiarism or 

collaboration on assignments violates the academic integrity expectations outlined at the time 

of your enrollment and can result in failure of the course or further action as deemed 

appropriate. 

COURSE OUTLINE 

English 10A 

Unit Unit Title Assignments / Activities 

1 Reality vs. Truth Part 1 Introduction: The Big Question: Is there a difference 

between reality and truth? 

Lecture 1: Truth and Reality

Lecture 2: Plot Structure and Foreshadowing / Flashback 

Lecture 3: Author’s Perspective 

Vocabulary Interactivity 

Readings: 

• The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs 

• The Leap by Louise Erdrich 

• Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox 

• Occupation Conductorette from I Know Why the 

Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 

Assignments include: 

• Literary Analysis 

• Vocabulary 

• Latin and Greek Roots 

• Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 

• Word Study 

• Conventions Practice 

• Narrative Text Writing Assignment 

• Speaking and Listening Activities 

• Reading Skills 

• Abstract and Concrete Nouns 

• Explanatory Text 

Class Discussion 

Project Introduction 

The Grapes of Wrath 

• Chapters 1-5 

• Activities 

2 Reality vs. Truth Part 2 Introduction: Continuing the Discussion: Is there a 

Difference Between Reality and Truth? 

Lecture 1: Writer’s style 

Lecture 2: Conflict Resolution 

Lecture 3: Author’s Purpose 


Readings: 

• Feel the City’s Pulse? It’s Be-Bop Man! By Ann 

Douglass 

• The Newsletter for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival 

• Marian Anderson, Famous Concert Singer by 

Langston Hughes

• Tepeyac by Sandra Cisneros 

• Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket by Jack Finney 

• The Marginal World by Rachel Carson 

Assignments Include: 

• Key ideas and details 

• Synonyms 

• Comparisons 

• Writing style 

• External conflicts 

• Suspense 


• Cause and Effect 



• Pronouns 

• Writing—Narrative Text 


• Antonyms 

• Conventions 

• Writing—Explanatory Text 

• Research and Technology 

Timed Writing: Argument Essay 

Timed Writing: Explanatory Essay 


3 Resources, Irony and 

Paradox 

Grapes of Wrath 



Introduction: Informational Texts 

Lecture 1: Irony 

Interactive Vocabulary 

Readings: 

• Egyptology Resources 

• Texts from the Pyramid Age 

• The Interactive Dig 

• Like the Sun, Truth 

• The Open Window 

Assignments Include:

• Comparing Functional and Expository Texts 

• Vocabulary 

• Irony and Paradox 

Timed Writing: Explanatory Text Essay 



Benchmark Assessment 1 


• Chapters 10 – 13 


4 Progress vs. Conflict Part 

1 

Introduction: Big Question: Can Progress be Made without 

Conflict? 

Lecture 1: Conflict 

Lecture 2: Characterization 

Lecture 3: Literary Analysis 

Lecture 4: Reading Skills 


Readings: 

• A Visit to Grandmother by William Melvin Kelley 

• A Problem by Anton Chekhov 

• The Street of the Canon by Josephina Niggli 

• There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury 


• Using details from the story 

• Characterization 

• Making inferences 


• Reading Skill 


• Sentence Context 

• Conventions: Principal Parts of Regular Verbs 


• Setting 


• Irregular Verbs 

• Writing—Argumentative Text





5 Progress vs. Conflict Part 2 Introduction: Continuing the Discussion: Can Progress be 

Made Without Conflict? 

Lecture 1: Comparing Points of View 

Lecture 2: Theme 

Lecture 3: Reading Skill: Drawing Conclusions 

Lecture 4: Symbolism and Allegory 


Readings: 

• Tides by Joseph D. Exline, Ed D 

• NASA News: Black Water Turns the Tide of Florida 

Coral by Jay M. Pasachoff 

• One thousand Dollars by O, Henry 

• By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent 

Benet 

• How Much Does a Man Need by Leo Tolstoy 

• Civil Peace by Chinua Achebe 

• The Masque of Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe 

• The Garden of Stubborn Cats by Italo Calvino 


• Comparing Expository Texts 

• Comparing Points of View 





• Action and Linking Verbs 

• Writing Explanatory Text 

• Passive Voice 


Timed Writing: Analytical Essay 

Timed Writing: Explanatory Essay 


Grapes of Wrath



6 Arguments and 

Expository Text 

Introduction to analyzing arguments and expository texts 

Lecture 1: Paraphrasing 

Lecture 2: Comparing Tone 


Readings: 

• Editorial on the Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin 

Wall 

• Voices from the Wall 

• The Censors by Luis Valenzuela 

• The Leader in the Mirror by Pat Mora 


• Argumentative and Expository Text 

• Comparing Tones 

Timed Writing: Response to Literature 

Timed Writing: Argumentative Text 


Benchmark Assessment 2 


• Chapters 22 – 24 


7 Knowledge = Change Part 1 Introduction: The Big Question: What Kind of Knowledge 

Changes Our Lives? 

Lecture 1 : Essays 

Lecture 2: Types of Essays 

Lecture 3: Tone and Word Choice 


Readings: 

• The Spider and the Wasp by Alexander 

Petrunkevitch 

• Longitude by Dava Sobel

• The Sun Parlor by Dorothy West 

• From In Commemoration: One Million Volumes by 

Rudolfo Anaya 


• Literary analysis expository essay 




• Writing Expository Essay 

• Conventions 

• Writing a business letter 

• Speaking and Listening Comprehension and 

Collaboration 



• Chapter 25-26 


8 Knowledge = Change Part 2 Introduction: functional texts, humorous speeches, and 

essays 

Lecture 1: Technical Directions 

Lecture 2: Humorous Speeches 

Lecture 3: Persuasive Writing and Rhetorical Devices 


Readings: 

• How to Use a Compass 

• GPS Quickstart Guide 

• A Toast to the Oldest Inhabitant: The Weather of 

New England by Mark Twain 

• The Dog that Bit People by James Thurber 

• Keep Memory Alive by Elie Wiesel 

• Nobel Lecture by Alexander Solzhenitsyn 


• Comparing functional texts 

• Comparing humorous writing 

• Persuasive Writing and Rhetorical Devices 

• Reading Skills—evaluating persuasion 



• Literary Analysis

Timed Writing: Argumentative Text 



Benchmark Assessment 3: Final Exam 


• Finish reading the novel 

• Final Essay 

9 Course Project All students are required to complete a course project and 

it is recommended that students work on their course 

projects each week. The final project will be due at the end 

of the course. 

COURSE PROJECT OPTIONS 

English 10 A 

Students will choose one project from the list below: 

1. Photo Gallery: Find Depression-era photographs of rural farm workers, as in the work of Walker 

Evans and Dorothea Lange. Look for photos of contemporary migrant workers in the United States 

from recent periodicals. Try to find pairs of photos that echo or contrast with each other in subject 

or spirit. Be able to discuss the photographs you show, and point to details that explain why you 

chose them. Create a presentation to exhibit this “gallery” and submit it to both the dropbox for 

credit. 

2. Explore the historical period of the 1930s by creating posters that provide in-depth information 

on what was happening in the following artistic disciplines: music and jazz, theatre, painting and 

sculpture, photography, and dance. Submit these posters in the dropbox for credit. 

3. Write a scene in which you put Tom Joad on trial for murdering a man with a pick handle. Write 

the dialogue and perform the parts of the characters who testify. The scene can be written or acted 

out in a presentation. Submit your final scene to the dropbox for credit. 

4. Write a newspaper article describing the eventual fates of any of the Joads alive at the novel’s 

end: Tom, Noah, Connie, Al, Ma, Pa, Rosasharn. Use your imagination but base your story on what 

you know about your subject from the novel. Submit your final article to the dropbox for credit. 

5. Imagine you are a government official reporting on the conditions of California migrant workers 

during the Depression. Write a report on what you find among the workers at one of the stops

along the Joads’ journey: Sallisaw, Santa Rosa, Needles, Bakersfield, Weedpatch, or the cotton 

camp. Explain the causes of the situation in your report and offer practical solutions. 

6. Host a screening of Nunnally Johnson and John Ford’s movie version of The Grapes of Wrath at 

your home with family and friends. Lead a discussion afterward about the novel and differences 

between the novel and the film. Develop a list of interview questions you will ask the attendees 

after the film (please get this list approved ahead of time by your instructor). Interview your friends 

and family. and summarize this experience. Submit all of your documentation to the dropbox for 

credit. 

ACADEMIC HONESTY 

The following are forms of academic dishonesty. These practices will not be tolerated. 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism consists of using another author's words without proper 

identification and documentation of that author. Plagiarism takes the form of direct 

quotation without the use of quotation marks and/or documentation, or paraphrasing 

without proper identification and documentation. The fabrication of sources, or the act, 

deliberately or unconsciously, of passing another author's work off as your own are also 

considered to be plagiarism. 

Falsification: Falsification consists of deliberately changing results, statistics, or any 

other kind of factual information to make it suit your needs. It also consists of 

deliberately changing a source’s intent by misquoting or taking out of context. 

Multiple submission: If you wish to turn in the same work or use the same research, in 

whole or in part, for more than one course, you must obtain permission to do so from 

all instructors involved. Failure to obtain this permission constitutes academic 

dishonesty. This course is a chance for you to explore your own creativity. 

GRADING POLICY 

Final Grades for this class will be based on your performance, participation in all class activities, group 

discussions, unit assignments, course projects, and benchmark exams. 

HOW YOU WILL BE GRADED 

Grade 

A 

Skills 

Demonstrates excellence in grasping key concepts; critiques the work of others; provides 

ample evidence of support for opinions; readily offers new interpretations of discussion 

material.

B 

C 

D or F 

Shows evidence of understanding most of the major concepts; is able to agree or disagree 

when prompted; is skilled in basic level of support for opinions; offers an occasional 

divergent viewpoint. 

Has mostly shallow grasp of the material; rarely takes a stand on issues; offers inadequate 

levels of support. 

Shows no significant understanding of material. 

CLASS DISCUSSION RUBRIC 

Initial Posts 

Score 3 2 1 0 

Initial Response Response 

completely 

addresses the 

prompt with a 

well--- 

developed 

paragraph of at 

least five 

to seven 

sentences. 

Response 

adequately 

addresses the 

prompt with a 

paragraph 

of five to 

seven sentences. 

Response 

somewhat 

addresses the 

prompt with a 

paragraph 

less than five to 

seven 

sentences. 

Responses to Classmates 

Response 

Does not 

Address the 

prompt. 

Or 

No response. 

Score 2 1 0 

Follow-up posts Responses are 

Thoughtful and create 

discussion. 

Responses only agree 

Or disagree with no 

Thoughtful discussion. 

No response given 

And: 

One response given 

to two classmates. 

And/or: 

Only one response to 

One classmate. 

*If there is more than one prompt, students must reply to all prompts. All prompts are worth a total of 5 

points. Scoring is detailed above. 

SCHOOLWIDE LEARNER EXPECTATIONS 

NUVHS students will be…

• Engaged Learners 

• Critical Thinkers 

• Effective Communicators 

• Global Citizens

COURSE SYLLABUS ENGLISH 10A COURSE DESCRIPTION The ...

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