Welcome to English II! – World Literature (10th Grade)

The Basics

I am Miss Maggie Bowman, and I am extremely excited to be able to teach you this semester. I hope that you will find this class to be both informative and interesting. English II is a course revolving around World Literature. We will be reading novels, short stories, non-fiction articles, and poetry this semester from all over the world. Along with literature, we will also be learning grammar, SAT and ACT vocabulary, and writing skills. This is also an EOC class (which means you must take the End of Course Exam). You do not have to pass the exam to pass the class, but if your grade is close to failing and your EOC grade is low, it could cause you not to pass.

Interactive Notebooks

In order to cater to all learning styles, each student will be creating an interactive notebook in this class. This notebook will be used for creative writing, grammar exercises, vocabulary examples, and of course, journaling. Each student will be responsible for his or her own notebook, but I will provide a place to store all the notebooks within the classroom. Students will be completing their notebook activities in class, so there is no need for them to be taken home. This notebook will be yours to keep. Most stores have these bound notebooks for less than $1. Students will not be tearing pages out of the notebooks, so please do not buy a spiral bound notebook. The highest weighted grade in my class is the interactive notebook. I will be taking up the notebooks randomly and checking for completed work. A student’s effort and completion level will be what I am checking for with this grading. We will also have open notebook pop quizzes. It should be an easy grade, but people have failed my class in the past because they refused to complete their notebook.

Individual PDSA Folders

We will also be doing individual PDSA folders for each student. I believe that students need to be held accountable for their own actions and growth in class, so they will be completing an evaluation of themselves regularly by looking at their classroom behavior and grades. I will also be holding personal conferences with each student a couple times during the semester to make sure that you are understanding the material, the class, and meshing well with myself and your classmates. Each student will be responsible for their folder, but I will provide a place to store all the folders within the classroom. Please purchase one floppy folder (with two inside pockets). The folder will stay in the room and will only be used for this class, but the student may keep the folder when the class is complete. Most stores sell these folders for $0.50 or less.

Grading Scale

Grades are weighted as follows:

35% Interactive Notebook, Projects

25% Tests

20% Quizzes

20% Homework and Classwork Assignments

Remind

I will be using a new system this year called Remind. It is a way to send out reminders and information through text messages that can be received directly on your phone. I promise that the messages will be kept brief and will not be sent daily. Messages will be for little things like a reminder to study for a test as well as for big things like when progress reports are sent home. Messages can be sent as emails or text messages, which just depends on your personal preference. All students need to sign-up for Remind. I would like to encourage parents and guardians to sign-up as well, so that you can stay well informed. If you are having trouble signing up for Remind, I have a tutorial video posted on my website.

To sign up for Remind, text the password for the appropriate class to: 81010

2nd Block – @bowman15 4th Block – @bowman10

Keeping in Contact

Parents and Guardians, please sign up for Parent Portal on PowerSchool, which is an easy way for you to follow your child’s progress in class. It is also a way to not have to depend on progress reports every three weeks. I update my website with the school almost daily with due dates and weekly vocabulary lists. I encourage you to check it and see what we’ve been up to in class. Email or call me at any time with any questions or concerns that you may have. If you have an email address, please make sure that it is put into PowerSchool along with a working phone number.

Together, I hope we can have an enjoyable and successful school year.

Miss Maggie Bowman

Email:

School Phone: (704) – 873 – 2182

Planning Period: 1st Block (8:15 am to 9:35 am)

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