English I

Mrs. Smith

Room 214

Bartlett 9th Grade Academy

Welcome to your English I class! I am excited that you are here, and am looking forward to a wonderful school year.

OVERVIEW

Students will build skills in writing, research, logic, informational text, literature and language through a variety of methods as prescribed by the Bartlett City Schools curriculum, which can be accessed online at Students will prepare for the state assessment by participating in extensive writing, broadening their vocabulary, and evaluating pieces of literature.

BOOKS

We will read several novels in class throughout the year. I will try to find class copies of the books (potentially e-books), but if not, I will announce it in class with enough time for you to purchase it.

1st Quarter: Animal Farm

2nd Quarter: Romeo & Juliet

3rd Quarter: To Kill A Mockingbird (I will issue copies)

4th Quarter: The Odyssey; Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths

REQUIRED MATERIALS

• A pencil, or a blue or black pen. No other colors accepted on formal work!

• A folder for any class handouts (any color, size, etc., strictly for your personal organization)

• Index cards for vocabulary

  • Headphones (preferably ear buds with the tiny microphone)

• Flash drive (can be shared with other classes)

APPRECIATED CLASS DONATIONS

  • Box of tissues
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Expo Dry erase markers

DAILY ROUTINE

If you have homework, you will turn it in at the very beginning of class; I will not wait for you to finish. The same applies to work submitted online

Please keep in mind that if you choose to turn something in late, you will not receive full credit: 10% will be subtracted for each day it is last. Late work can quickly affect your grade! Additionally, if I see two homework assignments on your desk, i.e., yours and Billy Joe’s or Bobby Sue’s, it is highly probable that you are copying someone else’s work, which is cheating and will be treated as such.

If you have a reading assignment for homework, you will most likely have a quiz over that reading assignment the following day when class starts. Make sure you turn all assignments into appropriate boxes so that work does not get misplaced or lost.

Once our 1:1 devices are delivered, you MUST bring your laptop to class everyday, fully charged.

MAKE UP WORK

Here at the Academy, we have “Academy Time” set aside every day, with Friday appropriated for make up work. If you do not have make up work or work to redo, you will get to hang out in the gym with your peers. This should be a great incentive to do your work on time and well!

Seeing that Academy Time is time built into the school day every Friday, any make up work must be completed within one week of the absence. If you have multiple teachers request you during Friday Time, you must make appropriate arrangements – it is not acceptable to have make up work extend past one week. Make up work is your responsibility. I cannot remind you continuously that you have an assignment to make up. Upon returning to school, check to see what you missed…you are responsible for yourself! Remember, it is your job to be here at school. Excessive absences will negatively affect your grade, and quickly.

You will also have the opportunity to re-do assignments in this class, for an average of the 2 grades (original grade and second try). If you make a 15/20 on a vocab quiz, for example, you may re-do the quiz the following Friday in Academy Time. If you then make a 20/20, the recorded grade will change to 17.5/20. I will not ask you to re-do your assignments, as this will be your responsibility to keep up with. Additionally, any assignments you wish to re-do must be completed by the Academy Time following the original assignment date. You may not wait until the end of the quarter to re-do assignments in a last-ditch effort to improve your grade.

EXPECTATIONS

When you finish this year of 9th grade English, you will progress onto the high school, and closer to graduation than you realize! That said, responsibility is a key to your success in this class. If I give you something, I expect you to keep up with it. I will not have extras and I will not give you another copy. To this point, I encourage to keep a folder for anything I pass out, and to organize your computer so that files are easily saved and accessible.

Your job here is to be open to learning. You are a young adult, so you will take responsibility for your meeting expectations. In accordance with Bartlett City Schools Policy and Bartlett 9th Grade Academy, I expect students to arrive to class on time and with necessary materials. Normal procedures from the handbook will be followed especially regarding cell phones, dress code, food, drink, and sleeping in class.

• Be in the classroom when the tardy bell rings.

• Come to class with required materials.

• Be respectful of yourself, your teacher, and your peers.

• The teacher dismisses class, not the bell.

• Be kind. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

• Keep your hands and feet to yourselves at all times. This includes “play” fighting.

Every student has the right to expect a safe environment that is conducive to learning. Any student disruptions that hinder this will be addressed appropriately.

CELL PHONES

You may not use your cell phone during my class, unless I have specifically instructed you to do so. If you look at your phone during an assignment, you will be disciplined as if you were cheating; it does not matter if you were just checking the time or if the Queen of England herself was tweeting you. Parents: please keep this in mind when you choose to text your child during the school day. Of course there are emergencies, but please do not encourage your child to carry on a conversation with you when their #1 job is to be at school.

ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CHEATING

If you are caught cheating in any way (cheat sheets, copying, LOOKING AT YOUR PHONE) you will receive a zero for the assignment, no exceptions.

With the implementation of the 1:1 initiative, it is imperative that students understand what cheating is. This includes anything that is not your authentic work. Google’s copy/paste answers are not acceptable, and will result in a poor grade. Turnitin.com will be utilized on large assignment, but the expectation of academic honesty applies to daily work as well as papers, projects, etc.

COMMUNICATION

Edmodo will be our main platform for coursework once the 1:1 devices are delivered.

We will use Remind101 during the year for reminders, and you should be in the habit of checking my website regularly. I work diligently to keep it as updated as possibly, so please use it as a resource. You can sign up to receive email updates when I make changes on it, too.

I am best reached at my email address, . Please contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Go Panthers,

Morgan Smith

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I have read the classroom guidelines and understand what is expected of me in this class.

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