Beaver Dam High School Syllabus
Department: English
School Year:
Course: English 11A
Grade Level: 11th Grade
Required Materials: Notebook and writing
utensil
Course Resources: School supplied texts and
workbook
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: English 11A is a semester-long course that is required of all 11th graders. The
curriculum of this course is guided by the Collections textbook. Collections is a compilation of a variety of
predominantly American literature (including fiction and non-fiction alike). This textbook is focused on
developing skills required of all students, as per the Common Core State Standards.
Each unit will begin with an “anchor text” and end with a performance task that will serve as an opportunity
for students to demonstrate their understanding of their skills in Language Arts. There are also other
supplementary resources to provide students with the practice that they will need to be successful.
Units Covered:
 Coming to America (Anchor Text: Historical Account by William Bradford from Of
Plymouth Plantation)
 Building a Democracy (Anchor Texts: Public Document by Thomas Jefferson, The
Declaration of Independence and Public Document from the Founders from the United
States Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights)
 The Individual and Society (Anchor Texts: Poem by Walt Whitman from “Song of Myself”
and Argument by Joyce Carol Oates “Against Nature”)
Summative Assessments:
 Quizzes
 Tests
 Projects
 Formal Writings (essays)
Courses at BDHS
run in a flexible
schedule format.
See selection to
right for this
course’s format:
One-Term 90
Routine Assessments:
 Daily work (including discussion)
 Short Answer Response
 Demand Writings
Two-Term 45 X
School-wide Grading Procedures:
Assessments 85%
 Formative (Assignments) 30% (of Assessment grade)
 Summative (Assessments) 70% (of Assessment grade)
Cumulative Final 15%
All-Year 45 ☐
Other ☐
Make-up Policy for Summative Assessment: The student may redo the summative assessment
one time within one week after completing all formative tasks, and necessary additional learning. It
is the student’s responsibility to advocate for this opportunity and make the necessary arrangements.
Participation: Participation is expected and will be a grade assessed at mid-term and at the end of
term.
Cumulative Final: At the end of the semester, there will be a cumulative final exam. Students will
not be allowed to retake this assessment. This will comprise 15% of the semester grade.
Late Work: Unless you have an IEP that stipulates that you get extra time, I will dock 10% of your
grade for every additional day that an assignment is late. I will, however, not go below 50%
(provided that the assignment was done with some effort).
Classroom Policies/Expectations:
 No food or drink in the classroom (with the exception of bottled water)
 No cell phones or iPods are to be used (you will be expected to remove your
headphones/ear buds) without teacher approval
 Be considerate and respectful of peers and staff
 Be proactive about making up missing work
School-wide Grading Scale:
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
98-100
93-97
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
C+
C
CD+
D
D-
Contact Information:
77-79
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
Teacher Name: Janet Shumaker
Teacher Email: shumakerj@bdusd.org
Teacher Phone: 885-7520 x2149
Teacher Website:
Beaver Dam High School
500 Gould St.
Beaver Dam, WI 53916
www.beaverdam.k12.wi.us
(920) 885-7520