English 9: Language Arts & English 10: Literature & Composition

Mrs. Joten

English 9: Language Arts & English 10: Literature & Composition

Course Expectations

2013-2014

Materials Needed

·  a spiral notebook or loose-leaf paper

·  pens and pencils, including a couple green pens or colored pencils

·  a folder

·  access to note cards (occasionally throughout the year)

Behavior Expectations

You are expected to follow the expectations outlined on our ‘cat tracks’ posters (respect, responsibility, integrity, and success). You should come to class prepared to learn every day, to follow directions, to ask for help when you need it, etc. You should be respectful of others when it’s their turn to talk and stay focused on the tasks you are asked to do during class. If you follow these basic rules, you will help to create a positive learning atmosphere for everyone else, and you will learn more too! Please see your student handbook for a more detailed list of behavior expectations in our school district. Possible consequences for not following expectations:

·  being moved to a different seat

·  being sent to the hallway

·  a call home to parent(s)/guardian(s)

·  being held after class to talk about the problem

·  detention

·  being sent to the office (three times=withdrawal/failure)

Homework/Grading

Grading: Your grade is based on total points earned out of total points possible. Each assignment, test, etc., will be worth a certain number of points based on the number of questions, difficulty, purpose, etc. Practice or learning activities are worth fewer points, while assessments of what you have learned are worth more points.

Missing Assignment Slips: If you do not have an assignment done on time, you are asked to complete a missing assignment slip. You should describe the assignment and why you are not done.

Late work: Assignments must be complete at the BEGINNING of class to be considered on time, unless I tell you otherwise. This includes work that has been done with the computer. For instance, typed essays should be printed and ready to turn in at the beginning of class on the due date. If you have not printed your essay yet, you are not done!

If your work is not done at the beginning of class, points will be deducted from

your grade. If you turn it in later during the class period or day, or the next day, 10% of the points possible will be deducted for being late. (For instance, you would lose one point from an assignment worth ten points.) If you turn the assignment in two days late, you will lose 25% of the possible points. If you turn in an assignment more than two days late, the assignment will be worth half credit, so if you would have earned 18/20 on an assignment, your grade drops to 9/20.

COMPUTER/TECHNOLOGY EXCUSES ARE NOT ACCEPTED!

Here are some tips to help you to avoid potential problems:

1. Plan ahead so that if problems arise, you have time to figure out a solution.

2. Problem solve in order to get the job done. For instance—if your printer at home won’t work, figure out a way to print the document at school, e-mail it to the teacher, e-mail it to a friend and have him/her print it, etc.

3. Anticipate potential problems, such as the fact the school may have a different Word program than you have at home (use Google Docs, save as a Rich Text Format document, etc.).

4. Get back to basics if necessary. For example, write an essay in ink (double-spaced) if you can’t word process it; use a book to do research if you have no Internet, etc. (Note: Some rubrics may indicate an assignment has to be typed/word processed. However, even if you lose a few points for writing it instead of typing it, it’s still better than getting a zero!)

Make-up work: If you miss school for a reason other than illness, or start feeling better in the evening, please try to find out what you missed. This will allow you to get a jumpstart on your make-up work. In addition, when you return to school, you should check the make-up work folder or the English 9 Google folder for any handouts you’ve missed. Some updates will also be provided via Facebook (search for Mrs. Joten’s English Classes). If you still need help, don’t hesitate to ask me. If you miss part of a school day for a school-sponsored activity, it is your responsibility to turn in any work that is due and to find out what you’re missing so that you do not fall behind.

If you were present when an assignment was given, but absent the day it was due, it is due when you return to school. Special consideration may be given depending on the reason for the absence. If you are gone when an assignment was given, you have one more day than the number of days missed to do the work. For instance, if you were gone two days, you have three days to do your make-up work. If you are absent for a test or quiz, you should make it up during first hour study hall or make arrangements with me to make it up at a different time.

If you miss part of a school day on the day an assignment is due, you are still responsible for turning that assignment in the day it is due. For example, if you miss your morning classes due to an appointment, you should turn in your work to me that afternoon.

Improving scores: If you receive an unsatisfactory grade on an assignment or test, you can try to improve the grade. If you come and talk with me, we can devise a way for you to work more on that skill and earn back points. When you do the revisions or alternative assignment to show you’re learning the concept or skill, you can earn back a maximum of half the points you originally lost. For instance, if you earned a 50/100 on a test, you could earn back 25 of the 50 points you lost, ending up with a grade of 75/100. Please talk to me about how to improve your grade on an assignment or test, as every situation is different. Students who abuse this privilege (for instance, obviously not studying for test corrections or cheating when doing corrections) are in danger of losing it!

Getting help: You can set up a time to work with me, ask questions, etc. before school, after school, or during my prep time. You can also e-mail me at . You may also utilize my Facebook page to seek help (Mrs. Joten’s English Classes).

Extra credit: You can enter writing contests or submit to publications two times per quarter for up to ten extra credit points each time. I will post information about contests and publications; you can also find a contest or publication on your own. However, I need PROOF of the submission. (Most students simply have me mail their entries for them.) Some contests can only be entered once, while others can be entered several times throughout the year —but you cannot give me three “entries” and ask me to stagger them throughout the year. You also cannot do more than your two entries per quarter and ask me to “save” the points for the next quarter. Finally, it is YOUR responsibility to follow the directions and guidelines for the particular contest or publication to which you are submitting. If you fail to do so, I will return the entry to you and you will not receive any points. When you turn in a piece of writing for a contest or publication, attach a copy of the guidelines to it with a paperclip.

Extra credit will also occasionally be offered as a prize during a review game or if a relevant enrichment opportunity arises. You also can earn points by reading extra Accelerated Reader (AR) books and taking quizzes on those books. More information is included in the section about AR.

Cheating: All assignments, unless specified, should be done INDIVIDUALLY. “We worked together” is not an acceptable excuse. Cheating on assignments or tests could result in a zero and a contact home. You will not be allowed to “redo” the assignment for half credit like you can when you honestly attempt the assignment and do not do well.

Plagiarism: Any time you are referring to someone else’s words or ideas (even if it’s not an exact quote), you need to use a parenthetical citation and a works cited page, using MLA format. If the words are taken verbatim (word-for-word), you need to use quotation marks. If you are caught plagiarizing all or part of an assignment, you will receive an automatic zero on that assignment and your parent/s or guardian/s may be contacted. This infraction may also result in other consequences. You will not be able to perform another activity to improve the grade, as you can when you attempt the assignment without cheating. If you are afraid that you might be committing plagiarism, you probably are. Don’t be afraid to ask! In the event that you have some citations but either did not cite everything you should have or did not have a works cited page, your assignment will be returned to you without a grade. When you re-submit the assignment, it will be counted as “late.”

Formatting: Assignments should NOT be completed in red ink. Using red ink may result in losing 5% of the available points. You may also lose 5% of the available points if you fail to include the following heading on all assignments (except some worksheets):

·  first and last name

·  course name and hour

·  date

·  brief description of the assignment

All final drafts should be typed, double-spaced, in 12 pt. Times New Roman or Arial font. They should have one-inch margins and contain a works cited page (MLA format) if you have cited anyone else’s words or ideas. (In the event that typing a final draft poses great difficulty, some final drafts can be written neatly in ink and double-spaced. Use common sense regarding this option. Obviously, if you’ve been given two weeks to write a paper, the expectation is that you have time to word process your composition.

Must-have Rules & Spelling

As part of an effort to hold students accountable to write at grade level, there are some basic expectations to which ALL students are held. ALL of your teachers will be holding you accountable for following AT LEAST the first five must-have rules. The first five must-have rules are:

1. Letters MUST be legible. (Format also falls under ‘legibility.’)

2. You MUST capitalize all words that need to be.

3. Every sentence MUST begin with a capital letter and have end punctuation.

4. All paragraphs MUST have proof.

5. All essays MUST have at least four paragraphs.

As writing is a major component of English classes, we will go above and beyond the basic five must-haves for which your other teachers will hold you accountable. You will keep a list of must-have rules and we will keep a list posted in the classroom as well. You will not be expected to do anything that is beyond your grade level or that you have not been taught. You are encouraged to abide by the must-have rules we establish in English class in ALL of your classes, but be aware your other teachers may only have the first five must-have rules posted.

In this class, in general, 20% of the points possible will be deducted for violating the ‘must-have rules.’ There are a few exceptions. For instance, if you are writing a composition and we have gone through revision, proofreading, editing, etc., the paper may not be accepted at all if it violates any of the must-have rules. For instance, if you turn in a final draft of a paper and failed to capitalize the personal pronoun “I,” you will have the paper given back to you without a grade. When you turn in the corrected paper, it will be counted as if it was turned in late. Remember, once we add an item to the ‘must-have rules,’ you are expected to abide by that rule in every piece of writing. Another exception is if we are using a rubric that assigns a different point value to following conventions or the must-have rules. In general, though, you should expect the 20% rule to apply to your work, including in-class writing, textbook questions, worksheets, etc.

In order to reinforce the importance of spelling, students will lose points for making spelling errors. If words are really basic (elementary-level words), students will lose 20% of the points possible, as “spells basic words correctly” is a must-have rule in our English class. If students spell harder words incorrectly, they will lose 1 point for every five errors they make. The logic is that students will spell some words incorrectly as they attempt to use more sophisticated vocabulary words, so they should not be penalized for every single error. However, students should be concerned about accuracy and conscious of their spelling, which is why they will be penalized for excessive spelling errors. Students can correct their spelling errors and earn back some of the points lost (half).

A Note about Quality Work: I reserve the right to return poor quality work without a grade and to insist the student corrects glaring problems before the work will be accepted. Depending on the nature of the assignment and the type of error, it may or may not be considered late. (For instance, if a student turned in an assignment that was not written in complete sentences, it would be counted as late because he or she did not fulfill the requirements of that assignment. However, if I just notice a small error, such as forgetting to put on a heading or failing to capitalize a proper noun, I would give the student the opportunity to correct that problem quickly and not count the assignment as late.) This is not to say I will have time to proofread ALL assignments for ALL students—the brunt of responsibility rests on the student to look over his or her work. However, by their nature, some tasks lend themselves to this type of ‘teacher check’ so I can help to ensure students are producing quality work.