Class Guidelines and Syllabus

Class Guidelines and Syllabus

Class Guidelines and Syllabus

Teacher Name: Hope D. Seeley Course Name: English 9 Honors

Contact Information: Email: Phone: 256-428-8050 Ext 384

I. Course Description:

  1. Literary Focus: In English 9 Honors, the goal is to expose students to various genres of writing and literary techniques. Listed are this year’s major literary selections:
  2. A selection of songs and poetry
  3. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird---to be read during summer break
  4. Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See—to be read during fall break
  5. George Lucas’ Star Wars Trilogy
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring---to be read during winter break
  7. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
  8. Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms---to be read during spring break
  9. William Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing

***Each selection will be accompanied by nonfiction and/or poetry selections***

  1. Writing Focus:
  2. Each literary unit will result in an essay. The purpose of the essay is to develop and strengthen writing skills, as well as serve as a form of summative assessment of critical reading, writing, and thinking skills.

II. Course Objective: Each student must be able to do the following:

  1. *independently complete the work assigned
  2. *follow the teacher’s verbal and written directions
  3. *behave in a way that is compatible with the learning environment
  4. *work with others in cooperative learning groups
  5. *know and use correctly the rules of capitalization and punctuation and grammar and usage.
  6. *improve writing skills by writing every week
  7. *improve critical thinking skills
  8. *expand vocabulary by studying Greek and Latin stems
  9. *know and use a literary vocabulary
  10. *enhance the ability to respond openly and creatively to poetry
  11. *improve the ability to read closely and actively
  12. *recognize common allusions used in western literature and culture
  13. *learn to take organized notes and annotate works of literature

III. Classroom Expectations:

  1. What I expect from the student--Students are expected to be active and productive members of the classroom dynamic. Students are expected to participate constructively in classroom discussions and group activities. Students are expected to come to class prepared and ready to engage in day to day assignments. Students are expected to treat each member of the classroom experience with respect and courtesy.
  2. What students should expect from me—Students should expect to learn how to read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of both fiction and nonfiction reading materials. Students should expect to learn and apply basic writing skills and usage of the English language. Students should also expect to learn to demonstrate the ability to synthesize research materials, speak, and present findings to a group. All in all, students will be taught to read critically, write critically, and think critically.
  3. Supplies: Each student is required to have one one-and one half inch binder solely dedicated to this course. The binder will need five sections: bell ringers, vocabulary, notes and worksheets, writing, and literary handbook. Each student must also bring a charged laptop, flash drive, pencils, pens, and paper daily. In order to teach the skill of note taking, I will routinely pass out charts that require the student to pay attention to certain concepts AS they read and to take specific notes and commentary on literary techniques and concepts discussed in class. I promise to assign NO busy work. The filling out of these charts is training to listen, to read critically with focus, to organize, and think.

IV. Grading

  1. Each assignment will be weighted according to difficulty and complexity. Extra credit will not be given to individual students; however, opportunities for extra credit will be given during the course of each quarter. Approved books that are read during the school year will be worth one point on the quarter’s average. A maximum of three points may be so earned every nine weeks.
  2. In this course, we will follow the Huntsville City Schools Grading Distribution. Grades are determined based on the following procedures: summative assessments, which include: essays, literature tests, and projects will account for 60% of the overall grade. Formative assessment, which include: reading tests, vocabulary tests, sentences, worksheets, and charts will account for 40% of the overall grade.

V. Tardies: Three (3) tardies equal one absence. If three tardies are reached, students must also serve a before school detention. Students arriving after 8:30 a.m. must check in through the attendance office, and present a pass before entry into the classroom is granted. Students arriving tardy from a previous class should bring an excuse with date and time from the previous teacher. Excessive tardiness can result in detention and/or in-house suspension. See Student Handbook

VI. Late work and Makeup work policies:

  1. Late work is not accepted without a valid excuse such as those listed in the student handbook (personal illness, death of immediate family member, prior permission, etc.). Late work will be counted according to the Huntsville City Schools policy: 1 day late=70%, 2 days late=65%, 3 days late=60%, 4 days late=55%, 5 days late=50%, 6 days late=45%, 7 days late=40%, 8 days late=35%, 9 days late=30%, 10 days late=1%Note: The percentages above reflect the highest possible grade that may be earned
  2. I am aware that absences may occur, so I have implemented a makeup work policy:
  • When students return, it is their responsibility to obtain the missing work.
  • All long term assignments, in which students have previous knowledge, will be due on the original due date.
  • For makeup tests, I am willing to work around student needs and obligations. However, there will be a ten-day period in which tests and quizzes must be made up. And all testing appointments must be made in advance.

VII. Academic honesty policy: According to the Modern Language Association (MLA), “Plagiarism refers to a taking of the product of another person’s mind, and presenting it as one’s own.” Plagiarism is unacceptable, and any student who plagiarizes will receive a zero for the assignment.

VIII. Communication: Parent/student/teacher communication is important. I like to communicate frequently through email. Each student and parent should check INOW regularly to track student progress.

IX. *In order to pass English 9, a student must achieve a grade of 60 or better based on the above grading procedures. Progress reports are issued every nine weeks in homeroom and grades can be checked regularly through INOW. I expect students and parents to take responsibility for student grades, therefore, I strongly advise any student who does not have a passing grade at any point to see me in order to work out a strategy to improve his or her grade.

X. Time Management, Required Reading, and Parental Oversight

  1. The focus of this course is to provide the student with training in close reading, critical thinking, using an adept literary vocabulary, and writing organized and clear essays. In addition, time management becomes a significant focus of this course. As a ninth grader, your student will require close supervision at the beginning of the year. As the year continues, your supervision should become looser in order to grant the responsibility to the student. This proto-syllabus is designed to aid you and your student in planning. Do note, however, the dates may shift as time demands because there will be classes shortened as well as blocked due to all kinds of exams. If you and your child determine there is an impossibility of meeting the class schedule, do not despair! Simply advise me of the conflict, whether it deals with a family event or a soccer tournament or a dance competition. As long as I am advised ahead of time, I will work with any student to reschedule.
  1. It is my practice to give a simple reading test or reader’s responses to confirm that each student has read the assigned material. Then, after studying the material in class, each student takes a literature test that is designed to indicate his comprehension of the themes and literary concepts contained in the material. If a student does not pass the reading test with a score of at least 65, I will not take the time to read the essay discussing that work. The student will receive a zero indicating the failure to complete the requirements of the class. If the literature test indicates that the student has since read the novel, I will, of course, happily read the essay.
  2. Please help me train your child in academic responsibility and time management. If my students do not turn in written work, I cannot help them improve those critical thinking, reading and writing skills so very important to the successes of their lives. Please acknowledge your receipt and understanding of this policy where indicated below and return to me at your earliest convenience. As always, I encourage your comments and questions.

XI. **FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, I must seek your permission for your student(s) to participate in the following educational practices: 1. occasionally check the work of their peers. 2. Read and review (not grade) each other’s writing. Each of these activities has educational merit and students gain immeasurable knowledge and skill by examining the work of their peers.

I am looking forward to another year with great fervor and anticipation. I anticipate a year of most marvelous literature and ideas with ninth graders who are poised at the brink of adult curiosity and passion. I do hope both you and your student share my sense of anticipation.

I have read and I understand all of the parameters and expectations outlined in the provided class guidelines and syllabus packet.

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