Expository Reading and Writing 11 (Expo 11)

EXPOSITORY READING AND WRITING 11 (EXPO 11)

Mrs. Kristine Lapierre

Room M120

(951) 894-5750 ext.6730

MAJOR UNITS OF STUDY:

Selected Short Stories, Plays & Poetry from the Glencoe Literature book, including The Crucible (p913).

Selected Short Stories & Nonfiction from the Bedford Reader

Selected units from the Expository Reading and Writing Course, designed and approved by California State University.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

INDEPENDENT READING:

In addition to the core literature, students should read at least two novels per semester as part of their independent reading requirement. These books will be read during Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) time and as homework on a weekly basis. Expository Reading and Writing is a course designed for college-bound students. As such, all independent reading novels will require textual annotation; therefore students are encouraged to purchase these from a local bookstore. In the event that a student is unable to purchase their independent reading novels, there are limited copies available in the VMHS library, as well as in the local Murrieta library. If students opt to check their books out from a library, they are expected to annotate on Post-it notes in the text.

A more detailed schedule will be reviewed in class next week. If students are interested in obtaining a novel now, the following are the novels paired with the core literature (second semester dates subject to change):

Books Paired with The Crucible:

(Please obtain by 8/20/14)

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gains
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Books Paired with Fahrenheit 451:

(Please obtain by 10/13/14)

Brave New World by Aldus Huxley
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Books Paired with The Great Gatsby:

(Please obtain by 1/20/15)

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Bodega Dreams by Ernest Quinonez *(strong language)

Books Paired with The Catcher in the Rye:

(Please obtain by 3/9/14)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

GRADING POLICY:

Annotations:20%

Composition: 40%

Assessments/Projects40%

Annotations: Independent Reading Novels will be collected periodically and annotations will be graded. Similarly, annotations or Reader Response Journals may be done on core novels, as well.

Composition: This includes any timed, in-class essays and process papers, writing portfolio essays, the research paper project, as well as any additional essay assignments. With the exception of those written in class, all essays are expected to be typed and in MLA format. Essays that are not typed and in MLA format may not be accepted.

Assessment/Projects: This includes, but is not limited to quizzes, tests, presentations, and major projects. Your interactive notebook is considered a project – it is where you will complete the bulk of your homework assignments. Specific assignments in your notebook may fall into different grading categories, but the notebook itself is considered a project.

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CLASS:

A sturdy spiral-bound notebook with 120 pages or more, to be your Interactive Notebook. Notebook cover should be sturdy, made of plastic, and capable of lasting all year. Similar to the ones shown in class.
Colored pencils, thin markers, sticky notes, hi-lighters and glue sticks. You will need/want these items to complete your Interactive Notebook.
Blank College Ruled Loose-Leaf Paper.
Your independent reading novel.

EXPECTATIONS

Most students are always cooperative and respectful, and I anticipate an enjoyable and successful semester. However, it is important to remind everyone of some of the rules that will help to make our classroom a productive and safe place.

Be respectful of one another at all times! Every student should behave with CLASS at all times.

Arrive on time. I will always invite you into the classroom.

You should not be tardy to class. If you are tardy because you are coming from another teacher’s class, please ask that teacher to write you a pass before leaving his or her room. I will not e-mail another teacher to verify your whereabouts – this is your responsibility. Understand that tardy sweeps are conducted regularly and if you are tardy, you may end up in OCD for the entire period.

Bring all your supplies to class with you everyday. If you do not have your materials, you are not prepared for class and cannot participate fully. You will need the materials listed on the first page.

Turn in all assignments on their appropriate due dates. Students who do not hand in their work on the date that it is due will receive a BLUE SHEET. This blue sheet is a contract – it gives you seven days to complete the assignment, but you can only earn 75% of the credit that you would have received had you turned the work in on time. For example: if you hand in a 100 point project late after being Blue Sheeted, and that project would have earned you a 90%, you can only earn a 65% on it because you will loose 25% of the final grade for it being handed in late. If you receive an excessive number of blue sheets in a semester, I will call home and request a conference with your parents. Late work will not be accepted after seven days for any reason.

If you are excused from class for any school approved activity, you are not considered absent. I expect any work to be handed in the day that it is due. You may hand it in to me in person, place it in my mailbox in the staff lounge, or have a friend deliver it. If you are excused for an activity and you do not hand in an assignment before our class meeting time, you will automatically receive a blue sheet for that assignment and can only receive 75% of the credit you could have otherwise earned.

If you are absent because you are suspended, in On-Campus Detention (OCD) or truant from class, you will receive a zero for all missed assignments.

Please do not e-mail me your work if you are going to be in class. If you are absent – or think you may be absent – it is fine to e-mail me work. But please do not expect me to take time away from the class to print out your work. You may print your work from the library before school and hand it in during class. I will not print work for students. You are expected to hand in a hard copy on the assignment due date.

If you are absent on a day that homework is assigned, it is your responsibility to obtain the assignment on the first day you return – if you do not obtain the assignment on your first day back you may not be given the opportunity to complete it. If you are absent (or anticipate that you may be absent) on a day that an assignment is due, you may (a) turn the assignment in prior to the due date (b) e-mail the assignment to me by 3:00 on the date that it is due with your name and the assignment title in the subject line of the e-mail or (c) send the completed assignment into school with a parent, sibling, or friend. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule and I will make appropriate exceptions when they are warranted, however, as a general rule I will not accept late work for full credit so please plan accordingly.

If you are absent on the day of a quiz or test, you must make an appointment to make up that quiz or test before or after school. If you make an appointment to make up a quiz or test with me and you do not show up, you will not be allowed to make up that quiz or test. There may be times when you may not make quizzes or tests up during class time, as you will be missing the day’s lesson and will fall further behind. If you are a TA and would like to make up a quiz or test during your TA period, as long as your teacher of record gives you permission, I am OK with that. Likewise, if you want to make up a quiz or test during another teacher’s class, you must have that teacher’s permission – do not come to me and ask me to write you a pass to get out of another teacher’s class to make up a test or quiz.

Follow all school rules at all times. This includes the dress code policy and all the rules outlined in the Student Handbook. In addition to these rules, I would ask that you not bring food into my classroom – we have a bad ant problem in the M portables in the warmer months. Drinks are acceptable, only if they are in a container with a lid that can be secured.

Bathroom Passes. At the beginning of each semester, every student will be given 5 bathroom passes. These are passes that you are to use if you need to leave my classroom for any reason: bathroom, nurse, left something in another classroom, etc. If you do not use these 5 passes, you may hand each one in at the end of the semester for 5 extra credit points added to an assignment. If I catch you with a phone, iPod, or any other electronic device out during an in appropriate time, you will loose one of these passes. You will secure the pass to the phone with a rubber band. If it is your first offence, you will pick your phone up from me at the end of the day. If it is your second offence (or third, or forth, etc...) your electronic device will be turned into the security office.

Save all graded work until the end of the semester – my grades are correct unless you can prove me wrong. If you believe that you earned an 80% on a test, but I have it coded as a 60% in my grade book, it is YOUR responsibility to prove me wrong. I am human. I make mistakes, too – when it comes to your grade, save everything.

Plagiarism. The majority of work for this class will be based on your opinion and your interpretation of Literature. There is no excuse for copying work from another student or from the internet. Period. I will follow the VMHS discipline matrix with regards to plagiarized work. Bottom line: do your own work at all times – you may collaborate with your classmates (discuss ideas and opinions) but be sure that your work is yours and yours alone.

CONSEQUENCES:

Again, most students are always cooperative and respectful; however, I will follow certain guidelines when students are not cooperative and respectful. These may include any of the following: verbal warnings, reflective paragraphs, removal from class, conferences, referral to administration. The consequence will depend on my perception of the severity of the infraction.

Please note: if you are tardy to class without a pass, and it is your first or second offense, you will be expected to dance in front of the class to a song/in a style of my choice.

OTHER:

I am generally on campus by 7:15 each morning and I rarely leave before 3:30 each afternoon. If students need to see me outside of class time, you may see me before or after school or during my prep period, which is period 6 (B-days). Otherwise, you will need to make an appointment.

E-mail is the BEST way to get in touch with me. I check e-mail regularly and can assure you that I will respond to your message within 24 hours.

I am looking forward to a great semester with you all!