Mr. Skipper dot Com

     Encounters and Advanced Academic English 8 are challenging courses. My goal is to prepare my students for high school. And since I taught high school for twenty years, I know what they should expect. The students who work hard, pay attention, and are successful in these classes will be well-prepared for high school. When you look at the number of my former students who fill leadership positions at the high school and graduate at the top of their class,

you will see that I am correct.

     Don't think that I'm taking credit for their success. Your children are smart and motivated, and I just give them the opportunity to develop and improve their natural skills. 

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Course Description 

            The Advanced Academic courses in English engage students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. The Advanced Academic courses support and prepare students for high school AP English courses and the AP English Literature and Composition exams.

            With advanced college preparation in mind, the pace and rigor of Advanced Academic courses is strenuous. Extra reading and writing assignments are scattered throughout the year, beyond the scope of a traditional Language Arts course. 

            The Advanced Academic courses provides students with a more rigorous opportunity to analyze a variety of literature genres. Students are required to read and analyze both classic and contemporary novels as well as non-fiction selections, participate in thematic units, conduct in-depth research, complete individual and group projects, and write extensively throughout the year. The increased pace of the Advanced Academic courses allows for additional research and creative activities. The emphasis on critical thinking skills prepares students for high school AP English courses and the AP English Literature and Composition exams, which are components of the Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP).

 

Course Expectations

Students continue to develop their reading, writing, and editing skills. They will come to class prepared, complete assignments on time, and behave appropriately for a classroom environment. 

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Class Materials 

Students will need the basic school supplies for class: pens, pencils, paper. You will NOT need a spiral or binder. I have binders and composition books that we will use. 

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You will use glue sticks, colored pencils, high-lighters, scissors, and things like that during class, but I have plenty of those for you to use.