Mrs. Mary Meo English Office: Room 109
713-4199 x
Advanced English IMrs. Meo’s Class Policies
Welcome to Mrs. Meo’sAdvanced English I class.
In Advanced English I, students improve their skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. These skills are necessary for success in every academic discipline, as well as in professional and private life. Lessons are reinforced through writing and homework assignments, and assessed through quizzes and tests.
AdvancedEnglish I Proficiencies:
- Read and comprehend non-fiction and literature
- Develop writing skills for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage
- Acquire and integrate vocabulary
- Expand viewing, speaking, and listening skills
- Develop organizational skills and study methods
- Improve upper level critical thinking skills
Reading and vocabulary will be practiced and enhanced through a variety of genres: short story, drama, poetry, epic, the novel, and nonfiction. The texts are Adventures in Readingand The Tempest.
In addition to vocabulary words from our literary texts, we will use the Membean vocabulary system, which provides a differentiated list of words for each student. Each week, students will have a number of minutes to complete for homework, and a quiz or test to assess their ability to use the words they have learned.
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CLASS Students will need these items every day in class:
- pen and pencil
- highlighter
- 1-inch, 3-ring binder
- 5 tab dividers for the binder
- lined, loose leaf paperin the binder
- charged ChromeBook
Students should acquire these materials and bring them to class by Tuesday, August 30.
DAILY ROUTINE
Upon entering class, students copy these items from the board into their binders: the vocabulary word of the day, grammar sentence, and homework assignments. This information is reviewed in the first few minutes of class, after which we continue with the activities listed in the day’s agenda.
Students are expected to demonstrate appropriate classroom behavior, effort, and attitude.
Dismissal is announced by the teacher. Students are to remain in their seats until dismissed.
WRITING
Students will write several expository, narrative, persuasive, editorial, and creative pieces in varying styles and lengths. In writing workshop, students will experience all steps in the writing process, from brainstorming and topic choice to revision and publication.Paragraph and essay structure will be reviewed and practiced in formal writing assignments based largely on class reading material.
ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS In order to receive full credit, writing assignments must:
- be handed in on time.
- include a heading in the upper left hand corner of the first page (name, class and mods, date).
- be typed, or neatly written on loose leaf paper. (Ripped pages torn from a notebook are not acceptable.)
- be submitted according to directions. Some assignments will be submitted online; others on paper. Students must use whichever method of submission is required for the assignment.
- Rough drafts MUST be handed in on paper. Failure to have a paper copy of the rough draft will result in a zero homework grade, since this precludes students from participating in the peer editing activity.
GRADES
North Hunterdon High School’s standard grades are:
A=93-100
A- = 90-92
B+ =87-89
B =83-86
B-=80-82
C+=77-79
C=73-76
C-=70-72
D+ =67-68
D=64-66
F =below 64
Advanced English I marking period grades will be averaged according to these percentages:
Tests – 25%
Writing Assignments – 25%
Quizzes – 20%
Homework – 15%
Class Work – 15%
HOMEWORK
Homework assignments will be posted on Mrs. Meo’s web page.
Incomplete homework will receive a zero, and cannot be made up, except in cases of excused absence.
While homework counts as 15% of the marking period average, homework’s effect on a student’s overall grade extends beyond this percentage. Completing homework reinforces the lessons learned in class, hones writing skills, improves reading comprehension, and helps students memorize essential information. So while failure to complete one homework assignment loses an amount of points, it also is likely to result in learning loss and therefore a lower grade on the next quiz or test. Conscientious completion of homework is integral to success.
ATTENDANCE/ABSENCES
Every absence from class results in a lost learning opportunity.
The school attendance policy will be observed. Please refer to the student handbook for rules regarding both excused and unexcused absences and their effects on students’ grades.
Students must take the initiative to find out which assignments they have missed during their absences. For each day of absence, students have two days to make up all missed class work, tests, quizzes, and homework. A record of class work and homework assignments will be kept in the classroom in a folder labeled “Missed Work”. Students should check this folder upon returning to class after an absence.
Any work missed if a student should cut class will not be accepted, and will receive a grade of 0.
THE ENGLISH BINDER
The English notebook must be used for English class only. It should be a 1” binder containing five tab dividers and about 50 sheets of blank loose leaf paper. The tab dividers should be organized in this manner:
Tab 1 = Vocabulary and Sentence Study – daily word and sentence of the day, assignment list
Tab 2 = Grammar – grammar notes, handouts, and assignments
Tab 3 = Literature – notes and handouts about our literature units.
Tab 4 = Assignments – returned tests, quizzes, and class work. (Students must keep all graded assignments.)
Tab 5 = Writing/Paper – journals, all graded writing assignments, and blank paper
At the end of each quarter, returned, graded work may be removed from the binder and filed for future reference and assessment of growth in skills. Notebook quizzes, called “Prep Checks”, will be given periodically (and sometimes by surprise) to check for class preparation, as well as binder completeness and order.
ELECTRONIC DISTRACTIONS
Cell phones may not be used in the classroom, unless explicit permission is given to use them. They must remain out of sight.
Students may not have tabs to any websites, games, music, Aspen, or email open during class time, unless explicit directions are given to the contrary.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Students are expected to do their own work. North Hunterdon High School’s policy on plagiarism will be strictly observed for each test, quiz, class assignment, writing assignment, and homework assignment. For definitions, explanations, and discussion of cheating and plagiarism, we encourage students and parents to read carefully the sections on academic integrity in the NHHS Parent-Student Handbook ( These policies will be strictly observed in this class.
Any assignment that has been copied (even partially) from another student will result in a grade of 0 for both students involved. This includes homework assignments as well as essays, journals, and assessments.
Any assignment that has been plagiarized from an outside source of any kind, in whole or in part, will be immediately counted as zero in the student’s average.
All work is expected to be completed by students individually. No outside sources should be consulted for any assignment unless specified by Mrs. Meo.
Students are instructed not to share their writing with other students, not even just for the purpose of giving the other student an idea of how the assignment is to be done. Any copying or paraphrasing, even of just one sentence, constitutes plagiarism, in which case both students receive a zero for the assignment. All students are warned that they will be held responsible if another students copies their work, whether or not the donor of the work was aware that the borrower intended to copy it. Therefore, no writing assignments, worksheets, or study guides should ever be lent to another student.
Students are advised to work with integrity when completing online vocabulary requirements. Evidence that the student has abused the system to give a false impression of the number of words learned or amount of work completed will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.
When a student has received a zero for cheating or plagiarism, the student will not be given the opportunity to make up the work in order to regain points.
A thought to consider:
When you graduate, you want to walk across the stage
with this thought in your mind:
I earned this diploma.
It was my own work,
my effort, my thoughts, my study, my writing,
not somebody else’s,
that brought me to this day.
I EARNED THIS!