Seventh Grade English Honors
Ms. Temple M.A. English
Phone: 753-6241 ext. 3409Email:
Please Note: I am only available by phone during non-teaching hours. Teaching hours are 7:30a.m.-2:15p.m; I am not available for email or phone contact between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 7:00a.m., nor am I available during weekend hours. Exceptions might be made before major assignments.
Webpage:
Assignments posted on website are subject to change. Students should rely on what is written in their agenda as the most current homework assignment.
Open Lunch: Monday
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. - W. B. Yeats
Dear students, parents, and guardians,
Welcome to seventh grade English Honors. This is sure to be one of the most challenging classes you’ve had thus far and you should be prepared to work for a high grade. The following syllabus will provide you with information to ensure your success in this class.
Classroom Expectations
Be ready to learn
Listen to and follow directions
Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your desk
No food, candy, gum, hats, hoods, cell phones, iPods, tech decks, or personal grooming in class
Be in your seat and ready to learn when the bell rings
Have self-selected free read book with you at all times
Have a binder only for English, divided into three sections: grammar, vocabulary, and writing
Be willing to work harder than you ever have before
Core Pieces of Literature
The following are required reading for this year:
Animal Farm by George OrwellKing of Shadows by Susan Cooper
The Giver by Lois LowryA Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare
The Children’s Story by James Clavell
In addition to these texts, students will read a selection of short stories, poems, nonfiction pieces, and myths. Students will also read several self-selected novels from the Reading Counts list during their non-school time for both an author study project and a year-long reading log. All honors students have the goal of reading one million words by the end of the year.
Writing
A myriad of writing types will be explored and strengthened this year. We will write several different types of essays (persuasive, analytical, response to literature), poetry, and research papers. All final drafts must be in MLA format, typed or hand-written in blue or black ink. Students are required to rewrite any process-piece essay on which they earn an A- or below. We will be learning a writing technique that teaches analysis through a writing formula. Although students will be taught writing through formula, it is expected that, by the middle of the year, honors students with push beyond the formula and add their own creative touch.
Students will receive a detailed handout, explaining the requirements for formatting their essays and will also receive an Essay Comment Sheet which they will use for their rewrites. These handouts should remain in their English binder at all times.
Grades, Late Work, and Turn-in Policies
A student’s grade in this class will be broken down as follows: 35% Essays and Projects; 35% Tests and Quizzes; 15% Class work; 15% Homework. Honors students can expect to have between twenty to seventy-five minutes of homework each night.
Each homework assignment will receive a credit/no credit grade for completion and some will be graded further for an additional score. Not every assignment will be graded, but every assignment is designed to develop understanding of the concepts being covered in class.
For all assignments, except for major projects and essays*, late work will not be acceptedunless you have an excused absence. If you have an excused absence, you have the number of days you were absent to complete your make-up work. When you return from an absence, please consult a study buddy to see what assignments were missed. *All late major assignments will lose one letter grade for each day it is late.
Any test missed because of an absence must be made up during theopen lunch after the missed test.
In these environmentally sensitive times, all students have the option of emailing their assignments to me rather than handing them in as paper. They can send them as a Word 2003 attachment to my email address: . All assignments must be emailed by 8 o’clock on the day before they are due. I will check my email at 8:15 on the night before major due dates and will verify receipt of assignments by replying that I received the attachment. If a student does not get a response from me by 8:30, I have not received the assignment and expect that he or she will bring a printed copy for me on the appropriate due date. Other than on these nights, I am not available via email contact between the hours of 3:30 pm and 7:30 am. Exceptions might be made before major assignments.
Portfolios
Never throw anything away! All writing, tests, and quizzes must be filed in student portfolios. At the beginning of the year, students will receive a manila folder that will serve as their portfolio. They are to keep this at home or in their backpacks. Students are responsible to file papers in their portfolio once the assignment has been passed back. Portfolios will be checked for completion at the end of the year. If a student did not complete an assignment, it can still be completed and included in his/her portfolio. The grade for the portfolio will be based on completeness, a persuasive letter to me, their creativity, their proofreading and editing skills, their reading accomplishments, and the overall effort exerted.
Grammar
Using The Holt Handbook, we will be working with various parts of grammar each week. On a block day or a Friday, I will assign part of a chapter from the book and several exercises to be done by the next week. In order to receive full credit for grammar homework, students must take notes on the chapter as well as doing the grammar exercises. I will quiz the students on grammar every other Friday. The quizzes will be cumulative, so students must retain previously taught concepts.
Sincerely,
Heather Temple