Hi there! It’s Tuesday again, so it’s time for some more teaching resources.
As promised, today I’m sharing my full course outline/curriculum for English 10 Pre-AP. But first, in case you missed it, make sure you check out my post on English 9 and – in particular – some of the background on the courses I teach from last week HERE. (Some of those details are pretty relevant in terms of understanding how I structure my class and what I teach, etc.)
Now, here’s a look at what I teach (in order) in tenth grade:
Last week, I got a few questions about how often I update my plans from year to year and as the year itself progresses. The answer is – A LOT!!!
I create a blank chart (like the one above) very early in the year for the next school year and start making notes/changes as I go. That way, at the end of the year, I have something I can look back on to see what worked well and what I want to do differently the next time around. I also give student surveys at the end of the year (see my post on those here) that help me determine what I will teach and how I will structure the course in the future. What you are looking at above is my updated plan for the 2014-2015 school year based on my notes and ideas from last year.
I do share the outline with my students (and their parents) via my course syllabus at the beginning of the year, but I always make the disclaimer that things are *subject to change at the teacher’s discretion. For example, last year I had planned to teach Animal Farm in ninth grade and had it on my syllabus. BUT, thanks to snow days and other unforeseen circumstances, we never got to it. So, I simply moved it to this year’s schedule for tenth grade! (I actually think it fits better with the other works we read in tenth grade anyway.)
I like to have some kind of plan so that I know where I’m going when I start (a road-map if you will), to keep me on track, and to help make sure I cover everything. BUT, a big part of being a (good) teacher is being able to adapt and make changes as necessary. I also think I’d be kind-of a bad teacher if I was always doing the same thing year after year after year. So, this is ALWAYS a work in progress for me!
Any tenth grade teachers out there? I would love to hear some ideas about how you structure your class and what you teach!
E