Course Description
Welcome to IB English! In this second year of a two-year English sequence, students will continue to examine the ways in which global issues are explored in a wide range of texts from a variety of cultures and times. We will also hone college-level textual analysis skills. Students will read, interpret, write literary and critical analysis, and participate in presentation and discussion exploring both form and function of the works–whether we are in person or in a distance learning system. Because of the nature of the international curriculum, some content may be more mature than in a traditional English 12 course.
Email: Josh.Edwards@bethel.k12.or.us Phone: 541-461-6401 ext. 4193
Texts and Units
| First Semester Liza Donnelly political cartoons Carol Ann Duffy poetry Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman Chilean Arpilleras | Second Semester IO Speech Prep Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates Paper 1 and 2 prep |
Grading
Standards: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language. Grades will be weighted as follows:
- 80% Proofs: This category encompasses all assessments, including final drafts of essays, short stories, poems, reading quizzes, and graded class discussions.
- 20% Preparation: Graded assignments include guided notes, rough drafts, practice quizzes, study guides, and worksheets.
When students are given an assignment, their teacher will specify whether it is an assessment or preparation work.
Proficiency Grading
We will use the following grades on report cards:
- A, Mastery
- B, Proficient
- C, Approaching Proficient
- D, Progressing
- I, Incomplete
- NG, No Grade (no credit earned)
Incompletes must be resolved to receive credit, or they will be changed to an NG.
IB Assessments
| Assessments | Year & Semester | Length% of IB score |
| HL Essay Formal, academic essay that develops a particular line of inquiry of their own choiceTexts chosen can be non-literary bodies of work OR literary works studied during the course – chosen in consultation with teacher.Construct a focused, analytical argument examining the work from a broad literary or linguistic perspective.This task is planned, drafted and re-drafted. | Year 1 Sem. 2 | 1200 – 1500 words |
| Individual Oral (IO) Internally assessed and externally moderatedExtracts from one non-literary body of work AND one from a literary work.Students will offer a prepared response of 10 min, followed by 5 min of questions by the teacher.Students will answer the following prompt: “Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of two of the texts that you have studied.” | Year 2 Sem. 1 | 15min |
| Paper 1: Guided Textual Analysis This paper is externally assessed. Two previously unseen non-literary passages, from two different text types, each accompanied by a guiding question. Students are to write a separate analysis on each passage.Commentaries are separately assessed and then averaged. | Year 2 Sem. 2 | 2h 15m |
| Paper 2: Comparative Essay This paper is externally assessed. It consists of four general questions. Students will write a comparative essay responding to one question.Response is based on two works studied in the course. | Year 2 Sem. 2 | 1h 45m |
Late Work
It is important to stay current in the course. Turning assignments in on time is important for the best learning experience. There will be a two week grace period after the due date on late preparation assignments. Students also have two weeks after the unit ends to complete late assessments without penalty. If there are extenuating circumstances, students must communicate with their teachers.
Plagiarism
All work submitted for this course must be composed by the student for this class. If a student wishes to work with materials they have used in another setting, please see the teacher first to ensure they are appropriately engaging with this material. Although most plagiarism is accidental and can be addressed through increasing the student’s knowledge about proper citation, intentional plagiarism is very serious. In the event that a student passes off someone else’s work as their own, they will first have an educational conversation around what happened and redo the assignment; the second time it happens, they will have a conference and academic contract with the teacher and an administrator.
Finally, all writing must be completed on the Google Docs that are assigned on our Google Classroom page. Copying and pasting writing from outside sources or using AI in any way will be viewed as plagiarism.
Cell Phone Policy
Students learn best when they are free of distractions. In order to honor the student learning environment, cell phones and audio devices are expected to be put away while in the classroom during class time. Cell phones may be used during break, at lunch, during passing periods, and before or after school. The first time a device is taken, it will be returned at the end of the day. The second time an electronic device is removed, the parent/guardian of the student must come in to claim the device. A third occurrence will result in confiscation until the student, parent/guardian, and administrator agree on a contract regarding cell phone usage at school.
Tardy Policy
It is crucial that students are here on-time, every day. To help stress the importance of punctuality, students will sign-in on a computer when they get to class. This will record and time stamp students’ arrival times. If a student arrives more than 29 minutes late, they are marked ABSENT.
This year, WHS is implementing the following tardy policy:
a. THREE tardies during the 9 week period = 1-on-1 conversation with teacher and potential call home.
b. FIVE tardies = teacher call home and talk with Youth Advocate
c. SIX or more = LUNCH DETENTION for each tardy accrued
d. Missed lunch detention = conference with administrator
Food and Drink Policy
Food and drink is allowed in my classroom as long as it 1) IS NOT A DISTRACTION (handing food out, coming late to class with food, excessive slurping and/or crunching) and 2) all food/trash is cleaned up.
Bathroom and Break Policy
No bathroom passes or break passes will be issued the FIRST 10 minutes of class and the LAST 10 minutes of class. Please be sure to take care of all personal needs during passing periods.
Materials
Students will be expected to keep an organized planner throughout the year. If possible, students should also bring multiple colors of highlighters, lined paper, and writing utensils to class each day. Chromebooks will be provided for use in class, but may not be taken home.
Google Classroom
Students may still be submitting some assignments and receiving course information via Google Classroom. However, many assignments will need to be completed on paper and/or in person this year. Students cannot rely on Google Classroom alone to complete the course.
Land Acknowledgement
Willamette High School is located on Kalapuya Ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. Following treaties between 1851 and 1855, Kalapuya people were dispossessed of their indigenous homeland by the United States government and forcibly removed to the Coast Reservation in Western Oregon. Today, descendants are citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon, and continue to make important contributions in their communities, including Bethel, Willamette High School, and across the land we now refer to as Oregon.
