August 19, 2015

WELCOME TO BRITISH LITERATURE!

AS YOU COME INTO CLASS: • Sit in the seat with your popsicle

name stick. • Make a name tag by folding

construction paper into thirds and writing your first name and last initial.

As we stand in a circle, we are going to play a simple Q&A game.

• STEP ONE: Ask a question. • STEP TWO: Toss the ball (GENTLY) to a classmate. • STEP THREE: The classmate answers the question and

can repeat the question or ask a new (school appropriate) question.

• STEP FOUR: Repeat the process.

THE CATCH: It must be done in your best British accent.

ICEBREAKER FOR BRITISH LITERATURE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMYNfQlf1H8

While you listen to the song, think about these questions:

• Why are we listening to this song? • What do the lyrics of this song mean?

• What does this have to do with our class?

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?

• Why did the people build a barricade? • How long should you stay in a barricade? • What is the symbolism of a barricade?

BUILD A BARRICADE!• Do we need any barricades in our modern

life? If so, what for? • What are some barricades in your life? • How can we make sure we have a safe

British Literature community?

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

COURSE EXPECTATIONS

You have five minutes to complete the following:

You do not have to do these tasks in order.

1.Sign the Social Contract2.Pick up a syllabus for “Western

Literature” 3.Read the syllabus.

UNITS OF STUDY

• Old English Period• Beowulf (Burton Raffel

translation)

• Middle English / Medieval Period

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Burton Raffel translation)

• Renaissance Period• William Shakespeare’s

Hamlet

• Restoration Period

• Essays and criticism

• Romantic Period• Emily Bronte’s Wuthering

Heights

• Romantic British Poetry

• Victorian Period• Charles Dickens’ A Tale of

Two Cities

• Modern Period• James Joyce’s Dubliners

COURSE POLICIES

GRADING POLICY

This class follows the traditional grading scale:

A= 90-100 B = 80-89 C = 70-79 D = 60-69 F = 59 & Below

MISSING & LATE WORK POLICY

Each day an assignment is late, it drops 10%. After 5 days, no late work will be accepted and it will be recorded as a zero.

MAKE-UP WORK POLICY

If you are absent, check my website to see what you missed. You must stay up to date on readings and homework

assignments. It is your responsibility to find out what you missed, make up your work, and advocate for yourself if

you have any questions. You have two days for each excused absence to make up your work for full credit.

FOR MISSING, LATE, OR MAKE-UP WORK YOU MUST COMPLETE A PINK

SUBMISSION SLIP.

COURSE POLICIES

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY This class requires you to do your own thinking. Any

time you use another source and claim it as your own, it is considered academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is

taking another’s work or ideas and claiming them as your own—even if you change some of the

wording. Plagiarism is a serious offense and will result in an automatic zero on the assignment.

SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTBinder: You will be required to keep an organized

binder!Notebook: A college-ruled journal (spiral or bound)

Sticky Notes: You will need these to annotate. Writing Utensils: pens, pencils, highlighters

Always bring the book we are reading to class!

COURSE POLICIES

HONORS COURSEWORK

The Honors coursework is not a separate book or project, but rather a modification of the

assignments the entire class completes. Honors students will have a higher level of

analysis expected on assignments, tests, and essays.

• Separate essay prompts, tests, and projects

• Facilitation of Socratic discussionsThe Honors coursework is not intended to add more work but instead require deeper critical thinking on whole class assignments.

MY CLASS WEBSITE

http://www.skyviewacademy.k12.co.us/skyviewacademy

Whenever you are absent, check my website PRIOR to coming to

class!

WHAT IS CLASSICAL EDUCATION?

AS YOU COME INTO CLASS:• Sit with your groups from

yesterday. • Pick up a hand out called “The

Purpose of Education.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgDGlcxYrhQ

We are going to watch the beginning of a TED Talk featuring John Green as he discusses the relationship

between cartography (maps) and learning.

As we watch, think about these questions: • Why do you go to school?

• Why do you PERSONALLY learn? • WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION?

The ancient Greeks separated the arts into the practical arts, which prepared one for craftsmanship and trade, and the liberal arts,

which were focused on the intellectual and moral

development of individuals.   

CLASSICAL EDUCATION

 Liber comes from the Latin word for “free.” 

Hence, an education in the liberal arts was designed to prepare people to be free thinkers in contrast with a vocational

education which prepares individuals to be skilled workers in a particular, specialized trade.    Schools and families who pursue classical education today are working to

revive a clear understanding of these liberal arts.

CLASSICAL EDUCATION

Classical education is comprised of the seven liberal arts which are divided into the Trivium and the

Quadrivium.  The Trivium subjects are grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric

while the Quadrivium includes arithmetic, geometry, music, and

astronomy.

CLASSICAL EDUCATION

THE TRIVIUM

There are three stages comprising the Trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. At SVA, our primary, elementary, and middle schools are focusing on the learning philosophies listed below in the Grammar and Logic stages through the use of the Core Knowledge sequence and related curriculum. In SVA's High School, you will see a clear focus in teaching philosophy in every subject and elective that is aimed at developing the Rhetoric stage. Rhetoric Stage: High School – students develop and refine the ability to think critically, solve problems creatively, and communicate clearly.

• STEP ONE: Read and annotate Matt Bianco’s “The Purpose of Education.”

What questions do you have? What reactions do you have?

What connections can you make? What are your opinions on the topic?

• STEP TWO: Answer the questions on the back of the article.

Honors may replace one of three standard questions to complete the Honors-specific question.

“THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION”