• English 2 

    2020-2021

    Mrs. Jennifer Moller

    jmoller@marsd.org

    Mr. Mark Brubaker

    mbrubaker@marsd.org

     

    Course Overview

    In English 2 you will read and study American Literature. The class will consist of reading, writing, and critical thinking activities. We are going to explore some of your talent with creative projects and virtual presentations too. By the end of the school year, you will be able to critically analyze the writing style, literary techniques, and themes of works. In doing so you might learn a bit about life and about your own beliefs and ideas as we discuss the characters and themes of literary works.  Through reading, analyzing and discussing you will use and expand on your vocabulary. In doing the above you will be prepared for standardized testing as well.

     

    Course Objectives

    • Read and discuss a variety of text 
    • Fine tune oral communication and written communication
    • Reference literary terms and techniques in your discussion and writing about text
    • Write with fluency
    • Compose narrative, literary analysis, and expository pieces
    • Use evidence based analysis both in oral discussion and written communication

     

    Logistics

    💻 Course Communication 

    Class Announcements 

    All announcements and assignments will be posted on Google Classroom even when I link you to another tool, website, etc.

    Email/Personal Messages 

    Our email addresses can be found at the top of the first page.When writing a message, please follow the expectations below:

    • Include your name, the class name, subject of the message.
    • Be as specific as possible with your question
    • Requests for individual meets should be made through email.

    Note: It may take up to 24 hours to receive a reply during the week and 48 hours on the› weekend. 

    General Questions 

    If you have a question about the course or an assignment, I encourage you to post your question in the Google Classroom “stream.” The stream is visible to the entire class community, so I encourage you to both ask and answer questions there. If a classmate asks a question and you know the answer, please jump in and help them out! You can also email your question or log on for live support during your scheduled live support time.

    Online Discussions and CLass Participation

    Online discussions are an opportunity for you to interact with and learn from your peers. The class will regularly engage in conversations about the course content. You will receive credit for your participation in these academic discussions.

    You are expected to post thoughtful, respectful, and well-written responses as well as verbal responses. You are expected to fully participate in all course activities. 

     

    You are expected to log on for assignments and other posts in the morning and later on for your classes on google meets.

     

     

    📚 Required Texts, Materials, and Online Accounts 

    You will need the following for this course: 

    • A chromebook or computer to access google classroom and other tools such as flipgrid, newsela, commonlit. Your device must have a camera and microphone. Please use this link to address any technology issues you may have.
    • Folder, or binder should you choose to print any materials although this is not required
    • paper, pen/pencil, highlighter 
    • Earbuds/Airpods/Headphones -  to watch class videos, engage in discussions, or listen to audiobook versions of our texts.
    • We will be using either hard copies or online versions of the texts we use.

    📚 Course Topics, Textbook, and Resources

    The objectives of the English class involve mainly skills. We use our texts to develop those skills. The texts we use may change from time to time depending on what skill we need to further develop. 

    • Textbook-Prentice Hall Literature – Penguin Edition - The American Experience -Prentice Hall, 2007; however I will be posting the digital copies of texts to start. 
    • Novels- Night, The Great Gatsby, To Kill A Mockingbird
    • Plays-The Crucible, A Raisin in the Sun, A Streecar Named Desire (if time permits)
    • Short Stories-A variety from the textbook and other sources
    • Poems- A variety from the textbook and other sources
    • Non-fiction-A variety from the textbook and other sources

     

    Online Tools and Materials: comonlit.org, newsela, Flipgrid, learning ally, kahoot, quizziz and others

     

    📝 Grading Policy

    All assignments are graded out of 100. With the following percentages used for marking period averages.  When rubrics are used for assignments it will be provided ahead of time.


    Test/Projects/Essays - 60%

    Journals and Quizzes (may not be traditional quizzes but other types of activities)-20%

    Short Assignments (classwork, discussions, participation, exit slips, reflections)-20% 


    Your lowest quiz score will be dropped; Your lowest short assignment will be dropped but  lowest test scores are not. I do not give extra credit.


    Important Guidelines for handing in assignments

    1.  Major Projects, Essays (drafts and revisions)are due on the due date. You will receive ten points off for each day it is late.   

    1. As a general rule short assignments handed in one day late will receive half credit. After one day it will not be accepted. 

    You should reach out to one of us ahead of time if you foresee an issue with turning in an assignment. Always plan ahead and don;t wait until the last minute.


    Plagiarism of any kind is completely unacceptable and will result in an immediate zero for the assignment and an administrative referral.

     

    🙋🏻‍♀️ Attendance Policy

    DAILY attendance will be taken. 

    NOTE: 

    •  Everyday Everyone is responsible for logging 7:20 AM to 7:30 AM for attendance. Think of this as your homeroom attendance.  Then you will be completing assignments and reaching out to teachers for assistance when needed (except Wednesday-see below).
    • Everyone is responsible for logging on during your assigned time in the afternoon  depending on the period you are in. Period attendance will be taken.
    • Wednesday runs differently. Wednesday runs as a half day schedule. Same as the half day when we were in school full time. You log on at 7:20 for homeroom and first period and continue your classes through 8th period ending at 11:19. Then you will work on competing assignments and reaching out to teachers for assistance when needed. Attendance will be taken each period.

    *Accommodations and Modifications will be provided in accordance with the individual student’s 504 or Individualized Educational Plan (IEP).*

     

    Meet Your Teachers!

    *Mrs. Moller

     

    Hi I am Mrs. Jennifer Moller. I have been a teacher since 1997. First teaching in a school in Brooklyn where I was born and later in Matawan Regional High School. I have been teaching here since 2004. This class is my favorite to teach and sophomores are my most favorite grade to teach!!  I was born in Brooklyn and have lived in Queens, Staten Island, Howell, and I currently live in Point Pleasant with my three children (Max, Robbie, and Sophie) and our dog Atticus.  My boys are twins (age 8) and my  daughter is 7 so we have a lively household in which something is ALWAYS going on. During my freetime I love reading, hiking, going to the beach, taking very long walks with  my dog, and exploring new places! One goal I have this year is to start running again instead of just taking long walks-wish me luck! Another goal I have this year is to learn one new online  tool to use with my classes this year. Lastly, I wanted to be an English teacher for as long as I can remember. I went to Manhattan College and majored in English Secondary Education and then went on to New York University to get my Masters Degree in the same thing. I can’t imagine doing anything else even with all the craziness of online school right now. I still love what I do! Oh and we started watching a new favorite show at home-The Madnalorian-my favorite phrase used to be “it is what it is'' to accept any situation and make the best of it. My new favorite phrase is now “this is the way” for the same reasons. If you have ever watched the Mandalorian you know where that phrase comes from! 

    And in case you didn’t know, there is a Mr. Moller at MRHS too!

     

    *Mr. Brubaker

     

    Hi, I am Mr. Mark Brubaker. I have been a teacher for 6 years now at Matawan Regional High School. I started my teaching career at a private special needs school in Chatham New Jersey. I have taught Social Studies and English classes at the high school. I first started as a Social Studies teacher at Matawan but have since moved over to English. I really enjoy American history so English II is a perfect fit for me because I can provide historical context for the various books, plays, poems, and documents we will be reading in English II this year. I don’t have any children yet. But I have two cats and their names are Indie and Salem. When I’m not teaching, I enjoy travelling, trying new foods, cooking, and playing disc golf. Feel free to ask me what disc golf is, I’ll be happy to explain. Also, I love watching all of the Marvel movies. During the quarantine, my wife and I watched all 27 movies chronologically. It took a really long time but was totally worth it.  Overall, my goal for this year is to be  and hopefully sometime in the near future we will be all back in school. I look forward to a great school year.  

     
Last Modified on September 18, 2020