Ms. Gokturk
vgokturk@portnet.k12.ny.us
516.767.5870
Ms.
G’s calendar: www.checkthesite.com (also known as www.surfturk.com)
Mythology Course Description
& Requirements
Mythology
is an introductory course with a focus on the ancient Greeks. You will also be
introduced to some world myths from ancient cultures such as
Required Materials (Besides
the obvious: a brain + a writing utensil)
A Compact/Slim Journal (for ALL class notes and journal
entries)
A
Folder or Binder with Hole-Puncher (for handouts)
Loose-leaf
Paper (for quizzes or class assignments; please NO spirals)
Have
TWO of the following: Floppy Disk, Memory Key, Burnable CD, or an Active Email
Account
Reading Menu [We will
select from the following list]
Reference:
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology & Bernard
Evslin’s Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of
the Greek Myths
Plays:
Euripides’ Medea and/or The Bacchae, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and/or Prometheus Bound, Aristophanes’
The Lysistrata, etc.
Modern
Interpretations: Films, Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion
, Daniel Wallace’s Big Fish
Units
Introduction
(Timeline, Types, & Archetypes)
World
Myths (
Greek
& Roman Myths (Creation, Etiological, Eschatological)
Greek
& Roman Plays
Heroic
Sagas (Odyssey, Illiad, Aeneid)
Interpretations
of Myths: Theories and Treatments
The
Modern Myths
What am I Expected to
Produce?
Grading Rationale
40%
= Projects
25%
= Quizzes
15%
= Discussion [see rubric] & Lab Grade [see rubric]
20%
= Homework/Class Work
Extra
credit opportunities exist only for
those who have completed all of the required
work.
ABOUT PROJECTS
·
Projects
are generally long-term writing assignments.
·
Your
notebook will also be collected once a term for a project grade.
·
Late projects will lose five points a day.
Projects will most likely not be accepted after two weeks. Due dates still apply even
if you were absent. Please see below in “Absences.”
·
Make
it a habit to check www.checkthesite.com (AKA www.surfturk.com) daily for due
dates!
·
All
projects will be required to be submitted to www.turnitin.com or receive heavy
penalties.
HOMEWORK
& CLASS WORK
·
HW
is due the class session after it was assigned unless otherwise noted. Even
if you are absent, you have access to www.checkthesite.com (AKA
www.surfturk.com), so unless you were really ill, you should make all genuine
attempts to complete the assignment.
·
Late
homework will either not be accepted or will lose points. [Late is
anything after the start of the class.] Usually, it is NOT accepted.
·
HW
and class work will be graded on a "point" system; each assignment
will be worth 5, 10, 20 or more points.
·
Make
it a habit to check www.checkthesite.com (AKA www.surfturk.com) daily for
assignments, due dates, explanations. “I didn’t know” never works here. [I am
available every morning before school to let you in the lab if you do not have
Internet access at home.]
DISCUSSION: CLASS
PARTICIPATION AND PREPAREDNESS
·
Participation
& discussion entails a number of elements, not just speaking up in class.
It includes a positive attitude,
discussion participation, questioning, listening attentively, punctuality,
enthusiasm, attitudes towards others, being
prepared for the day’s lesson/discussion, focus on task, adding to the
learning community, and note taking.
·
You
will be given a discussion grade (1-4 points) for selected class sessions. This
grade is non-negotiable and is based on the Discussion Rubric. The same applies
for the Lab Grade [see handout].
ABSENCES
·
If
you are absent it is YOUR responsibility to:
o
Contact
a friend from the class to find out what you missed; be sure to get the class
notes for that day! Don’t forget those notebooks will be graded!
o
Check
www.checkthesite.com (AKA www.surfturk.com) for assignments, readings, due
dates, handouts, etc. (Most readings will be in your possession already: do not
play ostrich.)
o
You
should only need to ask me for packets not available online, which is rare.
o
Schedule
to make up time for the class missed.
·
Do
NOT come to class and expect me to take time away from the class to tell you
what you missed, give you packets, schedule make up time, etc. You should come
see me 4-2 or before school for materials or explanations your colleague was
unable to provide sufficiently.
·
Due
dates still apply even if you were absent. If you were absent on a due date, an
assignment is due the following day, whether or not we have class (STOP BY!);
if you return back and it is a long term due date, you are still responsible for
it on that due date. Only if it was
assigned when you were out are you exempt!
LATENESS
·
Late
is any time after the bell rings
·
Three
(3) lates + one (1) hour in the tank – 1 ORP for each lateness
·
More
lates = more excessive tank time à then most likely detention
ORPs (Out of
Room Passes)
·
Get
to class on time + stay the entire time = higher grade
·
Here’s
your extra motivation (in case you needed it): you will receive five (5) extra
credit passes per marking period.
·
Each
is worth 5 points towards your project grade – that’s if you don’t use them.
·
You
use them when: a) you are late to class, b) you ask to leave the room for any
reason (forgot book, water, bathroom, friend, etc.)
·
ORPs
may roll over to next MP if you already have an A+.
HAVING FUN REQUIREMENT
Be positive, be respectful, get engaged in the
conversations, be nice to each other, and have fun in a productive way. Anyone
and everyone can and will grow as a writer in this course if an effort is made.
The course will be as fun (or boring) as you make it!