Charlie Appleby [email protected]
Sports Literature
Game On
Respect Responsibility Prepared
You are responsible for the information detailed in this syllabus. Put this someplace safe and available to use when needed. The calendar and book/movie list is subject to change.
Sports Literature
Game On
Respect Responsibility Prepared
You are responsible for the information detailed in this syllabus. Put this someplace safe and available to use when needed. The calendar and book/movie list is subject to change.
Sports literature will follow the important themes and historical periods through the eyes of athletes and sports. We will read several novels and short stories that have to do with sports but also life and human nature. We will also study several popular sports movies and documentaries. This class will also write sports stories for the school newspaper each month.
Scope and Sequence
3rd Quarter
Great Writing assignment
Opening Questions and reading (Informational)
Writing News articles (all semester)
Weekly articles (informational all semester)
Sexual Harassment
Boston reading
Economics of Sports
Money Ball
Draft
Broke
Informational Reading
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Sports poetry or Poetry about life
Athletic Shorts
Test
Socratic Seminar
Advertising
Presentation
Is it a Sport? (Argument paper MLA)
Calvin Ball
What is an Athlete?
Bracket
4th Quarter
Blind Your Ponies
Theme Paper (MLA)
Miracle
Locker room Pep talk
Speech dissection and analysis (APA)
Best Sports Writing 2010
Socratic Discussion
Comparative essay
Cheating
Gambling
Point Shaving
Drugs
Sports Writing
While this is an English class, and we will write essays, once a month the school newspaper will hold a contest to print the best sports story written by the class. Once a month you will have to attend a sports game, and write a story about the game. We will also write papers and stories about the themes we see in sports in the world, the country and even locally. See more about this on the document entitled “Sports Writing Contest.”
Homework
Since much of the class time will be spent in discussion or watching sports movies and documentaries, much of your homework will be writing and reading based. You will often be asked to come to class with stories and ideas that you secure from the Internet or newspapers. If you do not have access to the Internet or to a newspaper at home then you must make arrangements to stay after school with Mrs. Shanks or myself.
Socratic Seminars
In this class we will hold several Socratic Seminars. These will require you to come to class prepared with talking points about what we have been reading or discussing in class. Please see the attached handout about Socratic Seminars.
Movies
As you can see we will view several videos and movies. If you miss a class where we are viewing a movie it will be up to you to come in and watch what you missed on your own time. Anything that we watch I consider important and will be a part of the tested curriculum.
Tests
There will be tests and quizzes in this class. While I want to make sure that you understand the plot and characters in the books, movies and documentaries we study, only about half of each quiz or test will be asking those questions. At least half of each test or quiz will be looking for an understanding of theme. What are these stories saying about human nature, about life?
Semester Final
While we will not have a comprehensive quarter test, there will be a semester final that will cover all that we read, watch and discuss in the class. I recommend that you have a separate folder or binder for your Sports Literature materials and that you keep everything for the entire semester. That incudes all handouts, tests, quizzes and assignments whether they have been graded or not.
SSR
You will have two SSR book assignments this semester. The first is to read a biography or autobiography of a sports persona, second quarter will be an underdog story, whether sports related or not. You must get this passed by me before you can use it as your SSR book.
Every early out will also be SSR days for the class. This means that you must bring your book and read through the period. Each SSR period is worth 10 points in the grade book and can be made up at home if you are absent. You must only bring a note saying that you read for ½ hour signed by a parent, guardian, or teacher.
Use of Technology
I am a huge proponent of the school’s cell phone use policy. I have witnessed the good that can come from the ability to access information, or to communicate with parents. That being said, if I believe that you are abusing the use of the cell phone I will take it and you can retrieve it at the end of the period. If it happens twice you can retrieve it at the end of the day, the third time the phone goes to the office, and you will have to deal with them to retrieve it. Abuse includes playing games or texting during lectures, movies, discussions, or presentations or viewing inappropriate sites or pictures at anytime.
Rules and Expectations
BE PROMPT
BE PREPARED
BE ON TASK
BE COURTEOUS and RESPECTFUL
BE OPEN, HONEST, and ORIGINAL