Mr. Smidt’s9th Grade EnglishClass

Subjects/ materials covered

  • Basics of grammar and sentence structure
  • Basics of rhetoric in speaking and writing
  • Basics of MLA format
  • Basics of literary analysis
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Of Mice and Men
  • Animal Farm
  • And more!

Recommended class supplies

  • Something to write with (No florescent pens or anything that is difficult for me to read.)
  • A binder (I advise you to keep all papers from this class.)
  • College ruled lined paper
  • Your textbook (I will post a sign in hall when textbooks are needed.)
  • Something to read (EVERYDAY!)

When you come in

Look at the board. Everyday we will begin class with either silent reading or silent writing.For silent reading, the student is required to read a book (preferably a book report book) silently from the start of class until asked to stop. For silent writing, students are required to write ½ a page on college ruled paper on anything they want. These pages will be turned in for a grade based on participation.

Homework/Assignment policies

I will do everything in my power to make sure you have as little homework as possible. I know you are busy with extracurricular activities, jobs, and watching reruns on Netflix. I also strongly believe that family time is important. I will therefore always try to give you plenty of time in class to do your assignments; however, if you squander your time in class, that is not my fault. Recognize that I have material to teach you every day and if I have to stop teaching because you are being a distraction, that takes time away from you and your classmates and can result in homework for everyone in the class.

Late Policy

Assignments (with the exception of large projects) will be due a week from the time that they are assigned unless specifically stated otherwiseregardless of whether you were absent or not. If you are absent for an extended period of time, talk to me and we will work out a due date for you. After the due date, students will lose 10% on the assignment. Assignments not completed before the end of the semester will be given a failing grade. To find out about assignments you’ve missed, talk to a classmate or look on my website ( then go to teachers tab and find Mr. Smidt). I will post our assignments online every day. To turn in work, just place assignments into your class drawer.

Grades

A=100-90% B=89-80% C=79-70% D=69-60% F=59-0%

Grades will be determined on a point system. Students will be graded on daily assignments, journals, quizzes, tests, projects, essays, and participation.

Classroom assignments (10%)- Classroom assignments will typically be worth 5-10 points each. Learning requires mistakes, so you will not be harshly punished for not knowing an answer. If an assignment does not meet my expectations, it will be handed back to the student with an “I” on it for “Improve”. Students will have the opportunity to improve the assignment until the end of the semester. Incomplete assignments will receive a failing grade at the end of the semester.I have high expectations for these assignments so always answer questions with clear, complete sentences. My assignments are designed to check for your understanding of the material as well as your ability to communicate clearly through writing. Students are also welcome to improve assignments if they are not satisfied with the grade they received. When handing in improved assignments, please staple the old assignment to the back of the improved assignment and make a note at the top letting me know that it is a redo.

Quizzes (15%)- I will periodically give quizzestypically worth around 20 points. After quizzes are corrected and returned to students, students with a grade lower than 70% will be given the chance to improve that grade by doing the following:

  • Correct wrong answers
  • Write a few sentences explaining what was wrong with the original answer and why their new answer is correct. If the answer can be found in a book, the answer must be cited with a page number.

By doing these three steps, it shows me that you are ready for another chance to improve your grade. I will then give you a second quiz (similar to the first) that will replace the original quiz score after school. Students will not be given a second quiz without fixing their mistakes on the first quiz.

Summative assessments (25%)- Summative assessments include tests and major papers/essays. Students willtypically receive a test at the end of a unit that will be graded on right or wrong answers. These tests will typically be worth around 50 points each. These tests are closed book and cannot be retaken. You will also be taking an end of course assessment that is created by the district. This assessment is worth 10% of your final grade and will cover all the material learned throughout the semester.

Because this is a writing class, you will also get lots of opportunities to prove your understanding of material through writing. This includes research essays, argumentative essays, and narratives. Writing assignments will generally be worth 50 points.

Projects/Book reports (15%)- Projects will be worth about 30-50 points. These projects will typically be some kind of oral report and will be explained in detail as they are assigned. Students will also give onebook report on a novel of their choosing (with teacher’s approval)per quarter. Of these four books, one must fall under the category of classic literature. To discourage students from choosing books that they have already read, students MAY NOT choose any of the books listed in the Coeur d'Alene Public Schools 6th-12th grade reading list (I have a copy of this list for anyone who wishes to see it). For these novels, students will be required to hand in a provided worksheet with questions regarding the novel. Students will also make a power point presentation and give an oral report covering the following information:

  • The book’s genre(Fantasy, horror, romance, etc.)
  • The setting of the book (when and where)
  • The main characters of the book and briefly explains what they’re like.
  • The major conflict of the book and states whether the conflict is internal or external.
  • Amajor theme of the book.
  • The student’s overall opinion of the book out of five stars.

A rubric with due dates will be given well in advance to help students create a time frame for themselves. Group projects will always be completed in class.

Daily participation (25%)-Common Core requires language arts students to meet goals in speaking and listening. This means that successful learning in this class depends upon everyone’s participation, including being respectful while others are speaking, asking appropriate questions, contributing to small and large group discussions, and overall not being a distraction. As long as you come to class on time, prepared, and ready to work and contribute, you will get full points each day. However, students who are tardy, not prepared, do not work, and/or are a distraction to the class will lose points. Students will be given pointsat the beginning of the semester.Students that stay on task will keep the all points; however, students will lose points little by little throughout the semester if they are off task or disrespectful. Students point loss will increase as more violations occur (e.g. students will lose 1 point for the first three violations, 3 points for each of the next 3, and 5 for all violations after that.)I encourage parents to pay attention to this grade because it will demonstrate how the student is participating/cooperating throughout the semester.

Classroom expectations

Respect is key: Our classroom is founded on respecting each other. You do not always have to agree with each other’s ideas, but you must be kind and respectful. I will not tolerate bullying or fighting of any kind in my classroom. Students in violation of this will be sent to the principal immediately.

Leaving the room/ tardies /absences: If you need to leave the classroom, please let me know before you leave and take a hall pass. You are permitted to leave the room a total of 4 times per semester. After 4, students will lose participation points for leaving. Students that leave without permission will be reported to school administration. Students will also lose participation points for being tardy to class. Students that leave the room for longer than 10 minutes,or come to class more than 10 minutes late, will be marked absent.

Electronics: Students may not use, for any reason, any type of electronic device during class without teacher’s consent. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, laptops, tablets, headphones, and gaming devices. Devices used by students without teacher consent will be confiscated until the end of the school day on a first offense. All subsequent offenses will result in devices being turned into the office. If you have an actual emergency and need access to your phone during class, please talk to me before class.

Food:Students may have snacks in class, but not meals (teacher’s discretion); however, students that make messes in class or distract the class with their eating in any way will lose all food privileges. If you make a mess, clean it up before you leave. Students may also have drinks as long as they are contained in a spill proof container (in other words, a container that if knocked off the desk will not spill or break.) Soda cans, disposable cups, and glass bottles are, therefore, prohibited. Students that enter classroom with non-spill proof drinks will be asked to remove it from the room and will lose participation points. Hint: If you buy a drink and realize that it’s not spill proof, pour it into a spill proof container before you come in.

Relax and Have Fun! I know teachers say this a lot, but I mean it. If you’re not having fun in my class, or you’re just having a bad day, please feel free to talk to me about it. I want my class to be a place you enjoy coming to. I’m an easy going guy and would love to help you with any questions or concerns that you have.

Please note: The teacher holds the right to make changes to this syllabus according to the needs of the class as the school year progresses.