Ms. Sotello

ERWC: Expository Reading and Writing Course (English 12P)

Fall and Spring Semesters

Course Overview: The goal of this class is to prepare college-bound students for the literacy demands of higher education. Through a sequence of modules, students in this yearlong, literature, and rhetoric-based course develop advanced proficiency in expository, analytical, and argumentative reading and writing. The cornerstone of the course—the ERWC Assignment Template—presents a scaffolded process for helping students read, comprehend, and respond to nonfiction and literary texts. Modules also provide instruction in research methods and documentation conventions. Students will be expected to increase their awareness of the rhetorical strategies employed by authors and to apply those strategies to their own writing. They will read closely to examine the relationship between an author’s argument or theme and his or her audience and purpose; to analyze the impact of structural and rhetorical strategies; and to examine the social, political, and philosophical assumptions that underlie the text. By the end of the course, students will be expected to use this process independently when reading unfamiliar texts and writing in response to them.

Course Content:

Students will complete a series of modules approved by the CSU Chancellor's Office to prepare students for career and college readiness. The course is designed using the ERWC template or "arc" of reading to writing literacy.  All formative and summative assessments are contained within each module.  Therefore, the entire course value is contained within these modules only.  THERE IS NO QUARTER SYSTEM.  Likewise, there are NO MID-TERMS OR FINAL EXAMS. Work may be turned in at any point during the semester for credit.  However, keep in mind that benchmark grades will be posted for progress reports and quarter grades.  Also, since the standards assessed are scaffolded within the lesson template, you will not be able to skip assignments.  You MUST complete assignments in order UNLESS you make contact with your teacher and he or she will excuse you from assignments as needed. 

ERWC addresses all of the CCSS for Grade 12 ELA. Therefore, this course will also satisfy the A-G requirements for English 12 P. Passing both semesters of ERWC with a C or higher is one consideration for CSU admittance, and it is recognized by most Community Colleges and some private UC campuses. No matter your path, ERWC will provide you with the necessary skills to handle rigorous reading materials and provides you with a strong voice in social discussions.

The course design linked below is available for both the Fall and Spring Semesters of ERWC. It is vertically aligned with all levels of English Language Arts for Kern Learn. You should receive the following books upon enrollment: The Tragedy of Othello --Folger edition (Semester 1) and George Orwell's 1984--Signet edition (Semester 2). All other needed texts are provided as PDFs embedded in assignments. Any student who needs a laptop and/or internet can check out a Chromebook and Kajeet hotspot upon enrollment. Contact Jessica Burgin (661) 827-3394 (CTEC facility) or Maria Guillen 661-396-4940 if you need any of these materials.

ERWC Course Design

Each assignment has been labeled with the approximate time for completion. This will help you regulate the time periods you spend on each assignment per day. This class runs synchronously with the school site calendar, so assignments have been paced to take approximately 60 minutes each school day. However, the class also runs asynchronously in that you have one calendar week to complete the assignments within any given school week.

 Minimum Technology Requirements: 

This course is presented in the Learning Management System, Canvas. Students are required to have a desktop computer or laptop (such as a Chromebook) and reliable internet service with large enough broadband to be able to stream medium-range videos (480p resolution). If you have issues with connectivity, you can check out a Chromebook and/or a wifi hotspot from the Kern Learn Office where you enrolled. Call Jessica Burgin at (661) 827-3394 for the West Location (CTEC) or Maria Guillen at (661) 396-4941 at the East location (Discovery). While Canvas is available as an application for both iPhone and Android smartphones, it is not sufficient to complete assignments within the app alone, particularly in the Android format. It is recommended that students access coursework through computers only and use the app only for reading announcements or sending or receiving notifications and communications from the teacher. 

Digital Literacy:

Students must know how to submit and resubmit assignments in Canvas, annotate PDFs electronically if no printer is present, join Google Meet through provided links, and receive and respond to Inbox messages from the teacher. A brief overview called "Strategies for Online Success" is provided as a resource module for students unfamiliar with any of the above. Students may also reference "Academic Help" on the homepage and the navigation bar for help in developing additional skills as needed. Links are also provided throughout the assignments for easy reference.

Acceptable Use Policy:

Please make sure that you download a copy of the student Acceptable Use Policy below to know what is expected in your participation in this online class:

English      Español

Late Work Policy:

The "due dates" set for each assignment have been placed into a pacing guide that will be updated each week. This is only to simulate what would be taught in a traditional classroom during the 55-minute period. It is expected that the work assigned in that week will be finished and submitted by Friday of that week. However, all work may be turned in on the weekend to be graded before grades are updated. 

Because this is primarily an "asynchronous" class, hard deadlines are only for certain assignments:

• First draft essay submissions
• Peer reviews
• Discussion board responses (within 7 days of assignment)

Because these assignments require some synchronicity in order to work with other students, you must turn the assignments in on time in order to demonstrate full speaking and listening skills.  Therefore, if you do not submit the work on time, you do not benefit from working with peers.  The assignment will receive a 15% deduction that cannot be recovered. These assignments will be designated in RED on the home page pacing guide.

All other assignments may be turned in during the assigned semester for full credit.  However, grades will be updated on Mondays.  Students are expected to keep up with the weekly pacing guide located on the home page.     

Writing Labs:

One of the most important steps in completing the arc from reading to writing is the ability to discuss your ideas with others.  While the discussion boards help to serve that purpose, they cannot replace the very necessary step of synchronous discussions with others.  Therefore, there will be a formal writing lab that you must attend either in person at the Kern Learn facility or virtually through Google Meet.  We understand that some seniors' schedules will not allow time for either session; therefore, each session will be recorded and posted for later viewing. You are expected to be prepared to discuss the claims and evidence of the texts for the module.  In some cases, there will be a formal "Socratic Seminar," but in others, there will be more time for one-to-one help from your teacher. You can download this document for easy reference.

This semester's writing lab is scheduled for the following dates:

Wednesday, Feb. 8 (9:30-10:30 am)

Makeup session: Friday, Feb. 10 (10:30-11:30 am)

*In the event you are unable to attend, you MUST make alternative arrangements with your teacher PRIOR to the date of the scheduled lab. 

You will not be penalized for missing a lab, but instructions for how to write the cumulative writing project will be discussed. Both labs will be recorded and posted in Canvas. Therefore, it is expected that students who miss the labs view the recordings. Otherwise, they will miss valuable instruction on how to complete the writing.

Grades:

Within the six modules assigned, there are 5 categories of assignments.  Each is weighted as follows:

• Practice activities/Quickwrites= 5%
• Formative Assessments =20%
• Writing Portfolio = 50%
• Metacognitive Reflections = 5%
• Discussions = 20%

Each assignment will have an attached rubric that will state the assignment weight and the CCSS measured in each.  Each assignment can be revised and resubmitted for a higher grade as many times as you wish.  Keep in mind that the goal is to learn, so you may be asked to resubmit until the standards are met.

In the last week of the semester, the lowest-graded assignment in each of the above grades will be dropped.

Academic Integrity:

Upon entering this program, you signed an academic integrity contract stating that you would submit only your own work.  In this course, your attention to citing sources is particularly important.  While it is the teacher's responsibility to teach proper MLA citation practice, note that the following behaviors are UNACCEPTABLE and can be interpreted as cheating.

*Directly copying and pasting ANY text from the internet that has no reference at all to the original source. 

*Directly copying another student's work and submitting it as your own.

*Knowingly lending your work to another student so that he or she may use it in any way.  (You may discuss the content together, however.)

In your written responses, make sure that you refer to the source in the text AND provide a citation of that source somewhere in the file.

Discussion Boards: 

The other element of the blended class is the need for communication with each other.  Students must be able to demonstrate the ability to understand a different point of view while maintaining respect for the speaker.  It is also necessary to discuss the topics with peers in order to strengthen or define your own stance.  There are many discussion boards within the modules.  There are certain guidelines to follow, not just in terms of netiquette, but for the communication of ideas.  Please refer to the "Discussion Board Protocols" prior to participating in these boards.  

Module Assignments:

The "Course Summary" below is of the assignments for the semester.  You MUST complete assignments in the order they appear on the Modules list. There are designated PAGES that do not appear in the "To Do" list or on your calendar. If an assignment appears as LOCKED, you must go back to the Modules list and determine which pages you still need to view. Your teacher cannot unlock assignments for you.