Sophomore Language Arts
Fall 2015
Teacher: Katie Murphy
Teacher Email:
Class Website: http://murphspage.wordpress.com/sophomore-english
Turn assignments in to:http://classjump.com/
Proofread assignments at: www.grammarly.com/edu/students
Make an appt. in the writing center athttp://shswritingcenter.setmore.com
Material to be covered:
Short Stories
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Writing Techniques and Process
Plagiarism
Literary Terms
Testing Procedures: A test will be given at the end of each unit. Tests may include a range of questions including but not
limited to multiple choice, essay, short answer, and true/false.
Journals: Students are required to have a notebook specifically for Language Arts. These notebooks will be used EVERYDAY, and are for a grade. Students are expected to keep them in the classroom in a designated area, and they are to be organized. If a student misses a day of class, it is their job to find out what they missed, including journal entries and to make those up. Journals will be picked up at random times that will be determined by the teacher and will be graded. Students will have several sections in this journal/notebook, and thus they will need tab dividers.
Students will have sections for the following items:
1. Journal Entries
2. ACT Prep
3. Class Notes /Unit Notes
4. Literary Terms/ Vocab
5. Writing Handouts
Classroom Procedures:
Please note that this class is broken down in to units of study. Each unit may very slightly from the structure discussed below.
· Each day class will begin with some sort of journal question. Students are to have their journals out and be answering the prompt when class starts. The prompt will then be discussed.
· ACT Prep- At the beginning of each class, students will be expected to complete bellwork.at the beginning of each class. These assignments are designed to help students prepare for the ACT. This bell work may consist of instruction, an activity, or a quiz depending on the day.
· Instruction: Each day student will have a period of instruction. This may include taking notes, teacher lead discussion, reading from a text, or group activities designed to help students to understand the lesson. Usually, this instruction will be accompanied by either a worksheet or assignment of some kind.
· Work Time- Most class periods will have work time allotted for students to work on assignments or projects started in class.
· Homework- Homework is given. There will not be homework every class period, but quite often. Usually students can finish the homework in class during the allotted work time, if they use their time wisely.
· Class Blog- I keep a class website where I upload assignments, lecture notes, helpful websites, study aides, etc. Students and Parents are encouraged to use the website as needed.
Class Policies:
RESPECT- Students are expected to respect each other and exhibit a good attitude towards learning while in class. Name calling and foul language are NOT to be used. You are to act as you would at a place. Treat your classmates respectfully
CHEATING- If a student is caught looking at another student’s test they will receive a grade of zero. Same rule applies to homework. Copying another student’s homework will result in a grade of 0 both for the person who copied and the person whose answers have been copied. It is not worth it. Don’t let anyone “borrow” your answers.
Plagiarism- is a big issue in Language Arts classrooms, if students are caught plagiarism in any form, they will receive a 0 on the assignment.
ACT Prep- At the beginning of each class, students will be expected to complete bellwork.at the beginning of each class. These assignments are designed to help students prepare for the ACT. This bell work may consist of instruction, an activity, or a quiz depending on the day.
BE ON TIME. Rushing in after the bell has begun to ring will constitute a tardy. You must be in your seat to be counted on time.
BE NICE TO MURPH-Treat Ms. Murphy and her classroom with respect. I do not go into your locker and mess with your things. Do not come into my classroom and mess with mine. Leave things that are not yours alone. Do not touch posters, things on my desk, things on file cabniets, etc.
BE READY- When the bell rings, be ready to go. I should not have to stand there are wait for you. Begin the opening activity within one minute after the tardy bell. Please do not wait for me to remind you to begin. Make sure you are awake and ready for class to start. Don’t make me have you all get up and do the hokie pokey… I will do it.
SAVE IT- Attend to personal needs before coming to class. If you need to text someone, do it before class. If you need to potty, do it before class. IF you need to fill a water bottle, do it before class. Hall Passes- Students will receive 4 passes per 9 weeks. Students may use these passes to go the bathroom or to their locker. Students may also choose to save these passes and turn them in at the end of the 9 weeks for some extra credit. Once the student has used their 4 passes, they will not be allowed to leave the room. Students must also have their planner in order to leave the room.
SIT, STAY-Remain in your assigned seat unless you have permission to get up. Throw scraps away at the end of the period on your way out. If you need to get a kleenex or sharpen a pencil, make sure to be respectful and do it when there is work time, NOT when someone is talking.
NO!-No food will be eaten in my classroom. You may bring drinks as long as they are in a twist of f bottle only. IF it can spill on my floor, you are not to bring it.
BRING YO STUFF-Bring required materials every day unless you are otherwise directed. I will not provide you with paper or a pencil. Do not ask.
Use polite speech and body language. Unkind teasing and impolite behavior is unacceptable.
Electronic devices are to be put away or they may be confiscated. This rule includes cell phones, mp3 players, game systems, etc. This also includes ear buds and headphones. Take them off and put them away. There will be times when I will allow you to listen to music, but I will let you know when that will be. If I see you texting, I will take your phone. No video taping or taking pictures. Music devices should be off and out of sight. Take the ear buds out of your ears.
OPEN CLASSROOM- I know the hallway can be distracting, but you are NOT to have conversations with people who walk by the class. Ignore them, there is an invisible wall there. If you have conversations with people during class, you will be given a detention.
Grading: Grades will be made up of a combination of all work during the nine week period. The grade will include projects, tests, homework, and daily work. *Extra credit may be made available during the semester, listen for opportunities.
Attendance, Late Work and Make-Up Work:
1. School rules apply for tardiness, absences, etc.
2. After an absence, it is your responsibility to get the work.
All assignments, PowerPoints, handouts are posted on my website. It is your responsibility to print any materials that you have lost or missed. I do not give extra copies. You are expected to be caught up in a timely fashion. If you miss a day, you should contact me before they next class period. You should be caught up by the time the next class happens.
3. Make up Quizzes/Exams- Students will have 1 week to make up any exam or quiz that they have missed. Students will only have this option if their absence was excused. Unexcused absences will not be allowed a makeup. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange for the makeup. If they do not make up these items within 1 week of them returning to class, the student will receive a 0.
4 If you will be missing a class period for a school related absence, you are to discuss what you will be missing with your teacher BEFORE you miss the class. If assignments are due on the day of your absence, you must turn them in prior to missing class.
5. If you miss a class, please make it a priority to stop by before the next class to pick up any miss
materials. You will find any handouts/worksheets in the mounted folder for your block.
6. Late work – Students will be given 2 late work passes for each semester. This entitles them to turn in a HOMEWORK assignment 1 class period late. These passes do not work for major assignments such as project, or papers.
Writing Papers and Plagiarism: There will be times when students are asked to write papers for this class. There are some standard rules that will apply.
1. All papers should be typed. Students will have plenty of time to plan ahead in order to obtained a computer to use for this task.
2. Grading criteria changes based on assignment requirements, but all papers will be graded on the 6 trait writing system. Students should become familiar with these traits.
3. All assignments are expected to meet MLA formatting requirements. If a student does not meet these requirements, they will be docked points. Questions about MLA formatting should be done prior to an assignment being handed in.
4. Students will be expected to proofread assignments before handing them in at Grammarly.Com.
5. Students will submit writing assignments electronically at http://classjump.com/ No printed essays will be taken.
6. Plagiarism is unacceptable
7. WRITING CENTER- SHS now has a student run writing center located in the library. This center is available during seminar and select days before and after school. Students are encouraged to use this resource to improve their writing.
8. Ms. Murphy may require a student to attend the writing center for help on an assignment as part of the grade.
Helpful Study Aides
Helpful Websites for understanding novels:
1. Cliffs Notes- CliffsNotes is the original (and most widely imitated) study guide. CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what you're studying, CliffsNotes can help students to understand material they are struggling with especially helpful on reading novels or Shakespeare.
2. Sparknotes- Sparknotes are similar to CliffsNotes. They offer study aides online, in print or on a smart phone. Study Aides may include Study Guides, Test Prep Questions, Flash Cards, and Summary/Analysis of important events in each chapter of a novel.
3. Shmoop- Any Site similar to CliffsNotes, however Shmoop “speaks student”. This website seems to be more geared to high school age instead of college age students.
Helpful Websites for writing papers/citing sources correctly
1. Easybib- Automatically formats, alphabetize, and prints bibliographies/works citied pages for free. Students will write papers that will require works citied pages that are properly formatted (MLA style). Students can plug in information about their source and this website will put it in the proper format.
2. Paperrater.com- A free resource that utilizes Artificial Intelligence to help students write better. Their technology combines Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Information Retrieval, Computational Linguistics, and Data Mining to produce the most powerful automated proofreading tool available on the Internet today. PaperRater.com is used by schools and universities in over 46 countries to help students improve their writing and check for plagiarism. Students can utilize a spelling and grammar checker, a proofreader, and it will even predict what grade they will get.
3. Purdue Owl- The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.
What is Plagiarism?
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means
· to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
· to use (another's production) without crediting the source
· to commit literary theft
· to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.
But can words and ideas really be stolen?
According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way (such as a book or a computer file).
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
· turning in someone else's work as your own
· copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit