I graduated from Baylor University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education in English  / Journalism. I have been a teacher 24 years and have taught students English Language Arts in grades 6-12. This will by my 10th year to teach at Judson High School. I love dogs and cats, large and small. I like to plant and care for shade and fruit trees. I also enjoy vegetable gardening, bass fishing, and kayaking. Of course, I also enjoy working with young people and  am an avid reader of literature and history.  

Mr. Jackson’s Contact Information is as follows:

wjackson@judsonisd.org

Judson High School: 210-945-1100

Cell / Google Voice #: (210) 881-7882

Mr. Jackson’s Schedule

 1^st Period:  8:45-10:00 a.m.

2^nd Period:  10:04-11:34 a.m.

3^rd Period:  11:38 – 1:42 p.m.

4^th Period:  1:46 3:16 p.m.

5^th Period:  Conference - 3:20- 4:35 p.m.

Tutoring: By appointment or on Tuesday / Thursday from 4:40-5:00 

                          Mr. Jackson’s Expectations, Procedures, and Syllabus for English IV, Room H134

Class Supplies: You will need a folder with pockets and brads, college rule paper, pencils, black or blue pens, and a yellow highlighter. (Don't bring all your supplies up at once.)

Student Supplies: (These supplies will not be kept in the classroom, but students should bring them to class each day.*)

1. We won’t be using a spiral notebook this year because we are going paperless for the most part.
2. Pens or pencils for infrequent filling out of forms.
3. *A folder with pockets and brads to hold and transport important papers on rare occasions.
4. High Lighters of at least 2 colors.

Grading Policy:

Classroom Rules:

Put everything back where you got it.  

Be respectful in thought, word, and action.

          Be kind and try to be happy.

          Be punctual and prepared.

          Try to attend to bathroom business before class*.

          Eat and drink elsewhere.

          Dress appropriately.

   Be responsible for your own learning.

           Be punctual to class and Zoom; log onto Canvas. Check in. 

           Be here, engaged, and off social media.

           Listen with your eyes and ears.

           Be receptive (to new and different ideas and challenging tasks.)

           Ask questions related to instructional content.

           Make use of class time and make time to meet all deadlines.

          Engage in Student Choice Reading as Directed.  (Have materials available. You get to pick, so it should be interesting.)

Textbooks: The class sets of literature books are for class use only. However, we have digital copies this year that will become

                      available to students.

Classwork: Classwork, homework, and projects are expected to be completed on time, but extra time may be granted due to extenuating circumstances. Do not be afraid to ask.

Attendance: Missing one class or more can cause students to fall behind or fail due to missing assignments. The consequence for excessive absences is denial of course credit even with a passing grade.  Avoid being absent whenever possible and make up all missing work upon your return according to district policy.

Contact Information:  My email address is wjackson@judsonisd.org , the school number is (210) 945-1100, and my Google Voice # is (210) 881-7882.

My conference period is 5^th period from 3:10 to 4:26 p.m.  

Judson High School 2020-2021 English IV Syllabus

Textbooks: The British Tradition- Prentice Hall Literature and assorted prose and poetry selections

                      The McGraw Hill Digital Textbook to be Announced

Course Description: This course is designed to promote proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing for students as preparation for post-secondary education. Through the course students will strive daily to demonstrate mastery of the student expectations in listening, speaking, reading, and writing for the TEKS and / or ElPS. Throughout the course, students will read, analyze, and evaluate British and World Literature texts while listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These texts will include prose, poetry, and drama across time. The course is designed to help students determine how literary elements, including development of theme, characters, plot, point of view, setting, mood, sensory imagery, and use of figurative language contribute to an author's message. Through their engagement in reading literature this year, students will also learn to recognize the attributes of good writing and will establish a purpose for their own reading and writing. During the course of instruction, students will write and share their own literary poems, stories, scripts, narratives, and analytical essays. In each of their analytical essays, students will incorporate a controlling idea / thesis statement. Students will review / demonstrate how to effectively use text evidence to support their suppositions when speaking and writing. Additionally, in this course students will analyze, and evaluate nonfiction texts through processes that involve reading, annotating / writing, listening, and speaking. Specifically, they will analyze techniques in nonfiction, reviewing the research paper process in order to continue the process of writing their own properly MLA formatted and documented research papers / reports.

              Academic Vocabulary:

Fiction: author’s portrayal   human condition    external development of characters   internal development of characters  literary devices   plot  point of view   textual evidence   theme  understanding   view   fiction   figurative language    literary elements    setting

Expository: author’s stance   author’s viewpoint  diction   position   style   tone    advance   author’s perspective   author’s purpose  elements  ideas   main ideas  opinion   organizational patterns  textual evidence understanding

Poetry: controlling Images  diction  end rhyme scheme  epic poetry  eye rhyme scheme  figurative language  graphical elements   idea imagery internal slant rhyme scheme  line length   lines   lyric poetry    metrics    mood    paradox    poem    poet    poetic form prosody    punctuation    repetition     rhythm      stanza    tone    word position

Drama: antagonists   archetypes   characters   conflict   dialogue   dramatic irony   monologues   motifs   play(s)   playwright   plot   props protagonists   resolve   scene   scripts   setting   soliloquies   stage directions   themes

Literary Non-fiction: aphorisms   audience   autobiography   biography   diction   epigraphs   historically important speeches    literary devices voice  literary essays   memoir   overstatement  parallel structure  repetition  rhetorical techniques  syntax    tone    true life adventures understatement

Persuasive: circular logic   hasty generalizations    non-sequiturs ad hominem  analogy   appeals to pity   arguments   author’s position / claim author’s purpose authority categorical claims  cause and effect/causality     central argument     comparison     credibility evidence  parallelism

 false assumptions/faulty reasoning   false dilemmas   incorrect premises     leading questions     loaded terms  logical fallacies   perceived audience    personal attacks   political debates rhetorical fallacies  shifts in perspective stated audience   stereotyping   tone  aesthetic effects commentary

Composition: antithesis   organizational schema   parallelism    relevance   reliability   reversed structures   schemes   tropes   validity  ambiguities       consistency of tone    interpretation    irony    nuances   persuasive  rhetorical devices    rhetorical purpose    stylistic devices   thesis statement    controlling idea   drafts   effective conclusions   transitions analogies   analytical essay    contradictory information  effective introductions expository text   grammar   graphic organizers   hyperbole   inverted word order   literary text   logical organization mechanics metaphors

 multiple relevant perspectives   open-ended   outlines   primary sources   quotations   repetition   rhetorical questions  secondary sources  sentence structures   similes   spelling   sustained   transitional phrases transitional words   understatement

Revision: schemes   tropes   consistency of tone   irony  rhetorical purpose   analogies    drafts    

Editing: capitalization complex sentence   compound sentence   compound-complex sentence conventions    drafts   grammar mechanics   parts of speech   functions   punctuation   resources   spelling(s)