01 Syllabus

Hello! In this Literature class, we will be reading great literary novels and interacting with them in several different ways. We will ask critical questions, discuss major ideas in class, write creatively, and learn relevant literary elements. The class hopes to create a love of reading, a personal connection to texts, and a deeper understanding of the art form.

I am very excited to meet you all, and if you have any questions throughout the year, feel free to come talk to or email me any time!

Three main keys of this class:

• Critical discussion about readings

• Creative connection to readings

• Understanding of literary elements relevant to reading

Grades will be calculated on a ten point scale:

90 - 100 = A

80 - 89 = B

70 -79 = C

60 - 69 = D

00 - 59 = F

If you are struggling with the homework or not understanding anything in class, come talk to me or email me—I'm always happy to help and we can certainly figure something out!

Absences:

• We complete a lot of work in-class, and as I see you only 1 day per week, this time is invaluable. Most days, class will include graded activities. If the class is missed--even for excused absences--that grade will show up as a zero. However, these grades can be made up within 2 weeks of class by completing a writing assignment of my choice that relates to the in-class work. Email me within one week of the missed class to ask what make-up assignment can be completed.

Late Homework:

• Due to the nature of this class, late homework will quite negatively affect you on a practical level. Without the work being done on time each week, there may be little for you to discuss and you will likely miss the discussion grade.
• You can still turn in homework up to one week late for ½ credit or within one day for full credit (you’ll still probably miss the in-class discussion grade).

Homework:

• Homework will be posted each week at worldlit-options.blogspot.com.

• If it is not posted, I may have had technical difficulties without realizing it (sometimes I will post but the internet will not actually send it through. It happens occasionally). Feel free to email me and I will repost as soon as possible.
• Every assignment should be typed up and printed out for class in the following format:

Times New Roman; 12 pt. Font; double spaced; 1/2-1” margins

Including a header at the top left that reads:

◦ Student name

◦ Teacher name

◦ Class name

◦ Date

Including a title

• Every assignment should be saved on the computer in a folder specifically for this class. Typing and saving assignments will make revising papers much easier and will help clear up any situations of lost papers.

Bring to class:

• Homework
• Pen/pencil
• Notebook/Paper

Book List:

• We may not get through all of these books, but they are all on the list as options.
• All of these books are frequently read as high school classic literature that is important for college-bound students to know.

Book	Author
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines	Thomas Foster
Night	Elie Wiesel
The Book Thief	Markus Zusak
Things Fall Apart	Chinua Achebe
Siddhartha	Hermann Hesse
The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini
The Joy Luck Club	Amy Tan
Love in the Time of Cholera	Gabriel García Márquez
Oedipus Rex	Sophocles