Course Syllabus
Faculty
Contacting Me
As the teacher for this course, I can be contacted in the following ways:
- Name: Sandra Gin
- Office: 225A
- Email: sgin@stgeorges.bc.ca
- Phone: 604-221-1304 ext. 3763
I am available for contact during these times: By email until 6pm, Monday-Friday
Course Description
English 8 focuses on fostering a culture of reading and writing. Students will engage with different genres and forms of literature, such as poetry and prose as well as fiction and non-fiction sources. Students will continue to develop their critical and creative thinking skills while also improving their literacy foundations.
Course Expectations
St. George’s School expects all students at the Senior School to be interested and motivated in achieving their personal best while at the School. We expect students will be engaged in their endeavours, responsible to their studies, classmates and teachers, and demonstrate integrity in their pursuit of learning.
Workload
The workload of this course is expected to be:
Most of the work for this course will be completed during class time. However, at times there will be some reading or writing assigned for homework, up to 45 minutes. Project work will require some time management.
Submitting work
Students in this course are expected to complete work assignments on the date assigned and to submit their work on Canvas.
If circumstances prevent the student from completing a work assignment on the assigned due date, the student must inform the teacher prior to the due date for the work assignment. The teacher will provide a second due date through 5th block system.
Instructional Aims
Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn through the following experiences:
- Increase reading volume and create a culture of reading for enjoyment
- Write daily to experiment in a low stakes environment and create a culture of writing for enjoyment
- Apply reading strategies (contextual clues, phonics, predicting, summarizing)
- Be exposed to a variety of texts, authors, point-of-view and cultures
- Use oral stories to communicate perspectives, values, beliefs, and point of view
- Experiment with and refine language to effectively convey message for audience and purpose (notebook writing, drafting, etc
Learning Outcomes
Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn and be evaluated on the following knowledge and skills:
- Evaluate credibility of provided text by identifying reliability (facts vs. opinions; motivation/purpose; author)
- Speak with appropriate tone, volume, pace, and body language to enhance the message for the given purpose/audience
- Accurately summarize texts using their own language
- Identify and explain how a character’s perspective is different or similar than their own
- Identify organizational features in text and explain their purpose (hooks, thesis placement, spacing/breaks, and paragraph, sentence and punctuation breaks)
- Use organizational features in their writing
- Identify literary elements (characterization, story, structure, metaphor, conflict, theme) and devices (imagery, figurative language) and explain how they contribute to meaning/understanding
- Use literary elements and devices appropriately in their own writing to enhance meaning and understanding
- Use evidence to support claims in argumentative writing
- Use description, dialogue, and action to show not tell in narrative writing
- Craft various texts (opinion pieces, poetry, short stories, argumentative) appropriate for given purpose and audience
- Consistently use proper conventions (syntax, agreement, spelling, and punctuation) for correctness
Assessment and Evaluation
A student's final mark will be determined by evaluation of their ability to demonstrate proficiency in these skills and learning these concepts.
In the English Department, we believe in performance-based assessment tasks that are scaffolded to allow students to apply the knowledge and skills they have learnt and practiced to new texts and tasks. Teachers provide multiple opportunities and, where appropriate, assignment options for students to demonstrate these skills during the school year. Assessments and evaluations are viewed as opportunities to give students feedback about their growth and further development. Summative assessments, such as cross-grade assessments and final exams, are used to create a standard measure across the grade level and to give students an opportunity to independently apply the skills they have learnt over the course of the year.
The school’s academic dishonesty policies and student supports are available online for students and parents.
To accurately depict student skill levels, we assess students using the following major categories: Writer’s Craft, In-Class Writing, Reading and Viewing, and Oral Language. The categories allow teachers to gauge and communicate with a student their areas of strength and areas for growth. Weightings and typical assessments for each category are indicated below:
Writer’s Craft 20%
- Grammar and editing skills
- Take-home assignments and/or multi-day assessments, group or individual
- Selected works from Writer’s Notebooks
- Multiple-literacy representations
- Peer/self-editing
- Metacognitive responses to personal work
In-class Writing 20%
- In-class writing: essays, free writes, stand-alone responses
- Timed responses and performance tasks
- Cross-grades
Reading and Viewing 20%
- Reading comprehension, analysis, and synthesis
- Multiple choice and short answer assessments
- Canvas discussions
Oral Language 20%
- Presentations
- Harkness, debates, discussion-based assessment
- Scene reenactments
- Poetry in Voice
Final Exam 20%
- Reading comprehension
- Analysis/synthesis
- Composition skills
Major assessments for this course include:
- In-class written responses (PEE chains, written responses, essays, etc).
- Reading for understanding and analysis
- Oral presentations
- Various projects
We anticipate adjustments may be made throughout the year due to the extenuating circumstances we are facing. Any adjustments will be posted here and discussed as a class.
Both the school’s assessment expectations and supports that teachers provide can be found online. Academic dishonesty to any degree is not acceptable.
There are a variety of academic supports available at St. George’s for students. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the range of supports available to them which include:
- Faculty support
- 5th Block
- Head of Grade
- Student Success Centre
- Personal Counselling
First Peoples Principles
We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are honoured to live, work, and play on this land together.
As part of contribution to reconciliation, this course makes First Peoples Principles of Learning visible in class by:
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
- Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge.
- Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.
- Learning requires exploration of one’s identity.
- Learning involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and/or in certain situations.
Literacy/Numeracy
This course makes literacy/numeracy visible by using the following comprehension tasks and strategies:
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This course embeds literacy practices within every lesson. Students will be asked to demonstrate understanding through comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation tasks. They will also be asked to share ideas using oral, written, and visual communication.
Learning Resources
Resources that will be used as part of this course include:
- There are no textbooks for this course; however, the books students will read (dependent on teacher) are listed below:
- Him Standing by Richard Wagamese (provided at school)
- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (provided and online)
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (provided at school)
- Independent reading novels
- Various short stories, poems, and texts given out by teacher
- Summer reading novels
Canvas Information
Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.
- canvas.stgeorges.bc.ca
- For Canvas, passwords, or any other technical support contact the SGS Service Desk.
- 604 221-3654
- Sr Room 121
- SGSServiceDesk@stgeorges.bc.ca
St. George's School Student Code of Conduct
St. George’s School shares a proud tradition as a learning community committed to both academic excellence and character development. We strive for growth within our personal lives while maintaining respect for and contributions to the broader community.
The purpose of the Student Code of Conduct is to ensure that
- A safe, caring, and productive teaching and learning environment exists.
- We maintain appropriate balances among individual and collective interests and responsibilities.
- There is clarity around standards and expected student behaviour at school, in the community, and online through social media.
- We encourage and practice environmental stewardship.
The core values which provide the foundation for the Student Code of Conduct are:
- Empathy
- Humility
- Integrity
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Resilience
Conduct Expectations
- I commit myself to strive for honourable behaviour in my daily life, according to the standards as set forth by the School. I will try to be faithful to my parents, my School, my friends, and myself.
- I will avoid bringing any ill-repute to the School at any time, including evenings, weekends, or over any school break or holiday.
- I will comply with all school policies as they relate to upholding the standard of excellence of St. George’s School at all times.
- I understand, accept, and will respect all of my school-related commitments and responsibilities.
- I will arrive to school on time and attend all classes, assemblies, practices, rehearsals, and field trips as outlined by my teachers.
- I will obtain necessary permission to leave class or school.
- I will take pride in my personal appearance.
- I will be dressed appropriately at all times for all events as outlined by the School.
- I will abide by the grooming rules as outlined in the Standards of Dress and Appearance section and always observe the accepted standards of personal hygiene.
- I will behave in a way that always brings credit to the School, with integrity, empathy, respect, and humility.
- I recognize that the taking of tests and exams requires an exemplary standard of honesty and will not misrepresent myself by cheating, copying, or plagiarizing.
- I recognize that integrity is a clear expectation and that borrowing of possessions of others without their consent is stealing.
- I will care for all property, whether it is public or a peer’s personal possessions.
- I will avoid disruptive behaviour at all times, and will strive to treat all others with great respect.
- I will adhere to the School’s policies regarding the appropriate use of technology, including online communication, electronic devices, and the internet.
- I will avoid any possession, use, or distribution of alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cannabis and illicit drugs or related paraphernalia, weapons, replica weapons, or any other dangerous or illegal items or substances.
- I will demonstrate responsible use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices.
Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity means honesty and responsibility in scholarship. It is the commitment and obligation of all students, faculty, parents/guardians, and administration to ensure that all academic work stems from the student’s own efforts. Academic Dishonesty erodes the ethical climate of honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness, and trust in our school community. At St. George's School, Academic Dishonesty to any degree is not acceptable. In addition to any other consequence, students found to have engaged in Academic Dishonesty shall not receive a mark for work that is the result of Academic Dishonesty.
Academic Dishonesty includes any conduct with the intent to gain an unfair advantage in connection with an academic assessment. Academic Dishonesty can occur in many ways. Common forms of Academic Dishonesty include, but are not limited to, cheating, falsification, plagiarism, and tampering.
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Cheating occurs when an individual undermines the integrity of an assessment (including homework and other assignments, reports, projects, quizzes, tests, exams, or other forms of performance evaluations). Examples of cheating include:
- Copying any part of an assessment;
- Allowing others to copy any part of an assessment;
- Improperly giving or receiving assessment information;
- Using unauthorized resources for or during an assessment;
- Submission of the same assessment more than once; and/or
- Skipping classes to avoid an assessment.
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Falsification: occurs when an individual has changed information in order to make one believe something that is not true. Examples of falsification include:
- Falsifying research findings, whether in laboratory experiments, field trip exercises, or other assignments;
- Alteration or falsification of academic reports or other academic records for any purpose;
- Submission of false credentials;
- Making false representation on an application for admission; and/or
- Requesting the extension of a deadline or delaying the taking or sitting of an assessment citing reasons known to be false, including submitting false documentation supporting that request.
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Plagiarism: occurs when an individual submits or presents the work and/or idea of another person as his or her own, in essence lying. This includes the copying of images, sound, video, and other forms of intellectual property. Examples of plagiarism include:
- Lack of recognition given to the original author for phrases, sentences, and ideas of the author incorporated in a paper or project; and/or
- A portion of a document is copied from an author, or composed by another person, and presented as original work of the student.
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Tampering occurs when individual has interfered with information for the purpose of academic gain. Examples of tampering include:
- Unauthorized access to, use of, or alteration of computer data and information;
- Gaining academic advantage by using technology that inhibits the use of the resources by others;
- Damage to or destruction of library or laboratory resources; and/or
- Willful or negligent damage to the academic work of a fellow student and/or teacher.
Academic Supports
There are a variety of academic supports available at St. George’s for students. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the range of supports available to them which include:
- Faculty support
- 5th Block
- Head of Grade
- Student Success Centre
- Personal Counselling
Bullying
St. George’s School does not tolerate bullying. Students are prohibited from bullying.
Bullying is conduct that is unwelcome to others, including other students and faculty members. This includes conduct which a reasonable person knows, or ought reasonably to know, is unwelcome to the recipient. Unwanted physical contact, verbal abuse and threats, unwelcome remarks including jokes, innuendo, or taunting (in verbal, written or digital form) about a person’s body, race, gender, attire, (perceived) sexual orientation, or religion are all forms of bullying. Other examples of bullying may include but are not limited to:
- Physical violence such as hitting, pushing or spitting at another student;
- Interfering with another student’s property, such as by stealing, hiding, or damaging it;
- Using offensive names when addressing another student;
- Teasing or spreading rumours about another student or their family;
- Belittling another student’s abilities and achievements;
- Writing offensive notes or graffiti about another student;
- Unreasonably excluding another student from a group activity;
- Ridiculing another student’s appearance, way of speaking or mannerisms; and/or
- Misusing technology (internet or mobiles) to hurt, intimidate, embarrass, or humiliate another person.
Anyone who is the target of bullies is encouraged to report the bullying and not to suffer in silence. Speaking out and reporting bullying ensures the School can appropriately address the bullying and may help prevent other students from future bullying.
Students are required to:
- Refrain from engaging in any kind of bullying;
- Intervene to help support any student who is being bullied, unless it is unsafe to do so; and
- Report to a member of faculty, staff, or administration any witnessed or suspected instances of bullying.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|