Course Syllabus
Eighth-Grade English (Mr. Dimock)
The first important thing to know about eighth-grade English is that this is a very challenging course, so much so that it often takes learners and their parents by surprise.
One reason is, of course, that every year is supposed to be harder than the last. In addition, changes in the state standards and to the assessment of those standards are making things more challenging for learners at all levels.
There is another factor that needs mentioning: at every previous grade-level, English has been divided into two separate areas, Language Arts and Reading. This year, there are the same number of requirements to meet, but it has to be done in one class, English 8.
You have the same number of standards to meet in half the class time. That means everyone is going to have to step up and work harder. It also means more homework and less in-class time to work on assignments.
I take my responsibility to prepare you for high school very seriously. That means a lot of writing, a lot of reading (much of which emphasizes non-narrative texts), and a lot of grammar.
Grammar takes a leading role early on because it is the vocabulary through which we can talk about our written and oral communication. Grammar is hard. And that means that in the first quarter, as you are going through a lot of transitions and adjustments, you are going to get hit with what is for many learners their most difficult subject.
I urge you to work hard and to be responsible, but also I want you to remember that you aren’t the first ones to face these challenges. Work hard, take ownership of your education, and you will be successful.
As one of your core teachers, I am aware of the importance of this academic year on your future success.
My job is to work with you, your other core teachers, your parents, and the Vermillion School community to empower you achieve that success.
According to The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring that all students are ready for college and career readiness before high school, published by the makers of the ACT:
Eighth-grade students’ academic achievement has a larger impact on their readiness for college by the end of high school than anything that happens academically in today’s high schools.
Please consider what the above research implies: How you do this year – where you stand at the end of this year – is a better indicator of future success than anything else you between now and graduation.
Do you want a great future? Well, you cannot wait until the future arrives to make it happen. You MUST start on the path to success NOW.
ACT additionally argues that:
Improving certain behaviors of middle-school students – particularly academic discipline – can help improve students’ readiness for college and career.
As it is my job to prepare you for future success, Ibelieve that it is imperative that we work as a team to instill academic discipline.
Academic discipline means taking both individual responsibility for knowing what you are supposed to do and personal accountability for getting it done on time and to the best of your ability.
Each and every student will take ownership of his or her education. Each and every student is wholly responsible for his or her learning in each and every class.
- Not the teacher
- Not your parents
- Not your friends
- Not the school administration
YOU.
All of us are here to help you, and we will. However, ultimately, the responsibility is yours. We all want to work together and facilitate the best learning experience for you, and that starts with your recognition and your acceptance of your obligations.
Attendance
You are expected to be in class every day. Obviously, legitimate absences do occur, and when that happens, everyone will work together to make sure you are brought up to speed. However, when you miss lectures, question-and-answer sessions and discussions, and in-class activities, you miss out on an important part of your educational experience. The best way to get the most out of your education is to be here, and those who feel personally responsible for their education are going to do their best to be here as often as possible.
Moreover, when you are gone, we still have class. You missed schookwork, but that merely means you have today’s work AND yesterday’s work to finish when you do return.
If you are going to be absent for a prearranged event (e.g. school activities, athletics, neighbor’s dog’s wedding), your work will be completed and submitted prior toyour absence. At the convenience of the instructor, it may be submitted before your class on the day you get back. Note: that option is not foryour convenience. If your instructor wants it done in advance, that’s it. If your instructor instead wants it done on the first day after you return to school, that’s how it is. Regardless, it is not your teacher’s job to make these arrangements or keep track of your events schedule or to remind you that you will be gone next week for a track meet. I also strongly recommend that you document your arrangements in your agenda as a record of yourarrangements.
If you have an unplanned absence, any work assigned or announced prior to your absence is due the day you return. Any work assigned when you were gone and due on or before the first day of your return will be done within three days of your return. If the end of those three days falls on a weekend or holiday, the work is due the next school day, e.g. the next Monday.
Should you require more time, you may, depending on your individual circumstances and at the convenience of the instructor, receive an extension; however, no extensions will be granted AFTER the work is due. If you need more time, you must ask BEFORE you have missed your deadline.
There are some school related activities that require a student to miss class, e.g. Group, band lessons. This does not refer to leaving school for activities or athletics, which has been covered above. These absences are documented differently and handled differently.
You may not leave class on a test day unless you have prearranged to take the test in advance, and such prearrangements are offered only at the instructor’s convenience.
Any work due that day will be turned in advance. Should you attempt to submit work after the class in which it was due, it will only be accepted at the discretion of your instructor, and even then it will tagged as “Late” and suffer a penalty of no less than 10%. Under no circumstances will it be accepted on any day following the day on which it was due.
Students who are earning a grade lower than passing in a core class should not be leaving it. If you are struggling in English, you need to be here as much as possible. If this situation arises, the student will be required to reschedule his or her conflicting activity so that it does not create a condition inimical to his or her academic success.
If the student earns a failing grade at any quarter or if he or she receives a notice at any midterm, that student will have the responsibility to reschedule his or her conflicting activities. Failure to do so may very well result in consequences for your peer group or band teacher. It will not affect your core class because you won’t be leaving your core class.
To be clear: no one is saying you cannot partake in these activities, merely that you must schedule them responsibly.
If you don’t, you get to deal with those consequences accordingly.
Again: it is not your teacher’s job to remind you that you were sick or to chase you around begging you to finish a test. Any work not submitted on time will be marked in the gradebook as “M” and tagged “Missing”, averaging as a zero. That is the legitimate consequence of not following through on your responsibilities.
You are expected to be in class on time. If you are not seated and quiet, you will be marked as tardy. Furthermore, you are to be prepared with everything you need to participate in class that day; I do not approve of students leaving class to get things they were supposed to have brought in the first place. That includes your agenda, your homework, any and all books and other materials. At a minimum this should include:
Writing paper
Writing utensil (Work in this class will be done in blue or black pen or pencil.)
A red correcting pen
Your composition notebook
These are not suggestions. The person who was a second late because he or she had to run back and retrieve a forgotten book was counted tardy. The one who sauntered in without his book and then wants to waste the entire class’s time leaving the room to fetch it is hardly deserving of better. (Also, please to do not bring to class anything you don’t need for class. You don’t need your math book, sketchpad, lunchbox, etc. Leave that stuff in your locker.)
Finally, do not assume you will be allowed to leave class to take care of personal business, get a drink, go to the bathroom, etc. You have a break between every class; that’s what it is for. Your inability to allot your time during breaks is does not entitle you to an extra break in the middle of English class.
Obviously, emergencies happen, but these are, by definition, exceptions to the rule. I can be very understanding of exceptions, especially when you are respectful of the rule. If you are feeling ill, please go to the office.
If you have some special circumstance (e.g. a medical reason why you might need to leave class suddenly), do not assume I know about it. I need to be informed by your parents. This is best done via email or through the school administration.
Assessment
The middle-school teachers all follow the grading scale indicated here:
100-90A
89-80B
79-70C
69-60D
59 belowF
Be advised: a grading scale is a communications tool. It functions in concert with other data to inform you of how well you are meeting your educational goals. Your goal is to learn the required material, and if you do, the grading scale along with other indicators will reflect that.
The grading scale does not determine your grade. You, through your effort and academic discipline,determine your grade. The grading scale is a quantifiable documentation of your success at the required task, the primary function of which is to communicate your readiness to assume high-school level responsibility in a core class.
Additionally, know that while these grades are technically applicable to each individual assignment, the individual assignments must be understood in the context of the whole.
The primary method of reporting your grade is via the DDN. You and your parents should have access to the school’s Infinite Campus.
If there is a problem or if you do not know your login/password, contact Jason Gault at or Myles Larsen at .
Checking Infinite Campus regularly and understanding your current gradesare your responsibilities. Your failure to regularly access your account and stay on top of your grades will never constitute an excuse for anything. If there is a problem, taking care of it is far easier when the issue is addressed in a timely manner.
The primary means of information about assignments will always be what is said in class. It is the responsibility of each individual student to pay attention in class and ask questions when necessary. Students should always use their agendas to write down which assignments are due when.
VMS also encourages students and parents to use the homework pages linked to the school website:
Sometimes individual classes get alternate instructions. In the event of a conflict between what was said in class and what is on the website, the instructions given in your classroom have priority over what is online.
Due dates will be posted online in addition to being announced in class.
Work is due the class period it is due. I expect work to be passed forward when it is called for. If you do not have it when it is called for, you get a zero. (Ownership. Responsibility.) It will be entered in the gradebook as “M” and tagged “Missing”. (This still averages as a zero, but the “M” tag communicates why.)
a)If it is appropriate to the activity and convenient for the instructor, you may request a homework studyhall. This is not required as it may be in other classes. It is a privilege, your opportunity to rectify a mistake and mitigate the consequences. Should you wish the opportunity to participate in HSH, you will call your parents on your own time to arrange for transportation, and you will stay after school that day. If you have your work done by 3:45, it may be accepted for a late grade. It will be tagged as “Late” and suffer a penalty of no less than 10%.
b)Work will be not accepted as late on a day other than that on which it was due. If homework studyhall doesn’t fit into your busy schedule, that’s all the better reason to make sure you get your work done on time.
Extra Credit – will not be an option.
Cheating – will not be tolerated. (Plagiarism is a particularly contemptible form of cheating. There is no difference between “accidental” plagiarism and any other sort. Whether it is the result of sloppiness or deceptiveness, plagiarism is marked as cheating.)
Accelerated Reader –You are required to earn AR points each quarter. Each quarter, the number goes up.
If you are unfamiliar with the Accelerated Reader program, information can be provided.
Eighth-grade English typically goes to the library on Tuesdays, allowing students an opportunity to get books and a chance to read; however, most of your reading is to be done outside of class time. Furthermore, if you are not using the limited class time for reading, I’ll stop giving it to you.
Quarter 1 requires 20 AR points; Quarter 2, 25; Quarter 3, 30; and Quarter 4 demands 35. Some individuals or groups may have modified goals consistent with their individual needs.
Your grade on that assignment will be based on the percentage of the AR goal you meet. So if the goal is 30, and you earned 25 points, that’s an 83%.
Some students may wish to read one larger work, while others several smaller ones. To accommodate as many students as possible, AR points are not due until the end of each quarter.
The danger here is for those students who do poorly, earning few or no points.
Earn your points! Also, be warned: some other teachers will limit your studyhall privileges if you fail to earn all your AR points.
Behavior
From the moment you enter the room until the time you are dismissed, you are there to learn. Period. Anything that isn’t working toward that goal is going to be a problem.
I do not have behavior problems in my classroom. The moment there is any inappropriate behavior, the offender will be removed from my classroom. Every student in the room deserves a teacher who is attending to their educational needs; that leaves no time for dealing with a student who is disruptive.
If you are asked to leave, I count your absence as unexcused. You will earn a zero on any activity done or collected while you are out.
I will not devote any time to going over what constitutes “inappropriate behavior”. Most of you are about to embark on your ninth year of classroom education. If you have not yet learned what is and is not appropriate behavior in a public-school classroom, we can arrange individualized instruction for you after school.
All that stated, I want to make sure that all my students and their parents understand that all my rules are grounded in my belief that they will help create an environment where learners can be successful. I believe my policies help to foster academic discipline, and that in turn empowers each individual student to succeed. That is my priority. None of my rules exist merely for the sake of a rule or because it is in my best interest.
To that end, I am willing, on a case-by-case basis, to modify, relax, or discard any rule that is standing in the way your success. The key is to keep the lines of communication open.
By far, the best way for students to contact me is during studyhalls or advisory or after school. (It’s hard to have a private conversation about your individual circumstances in a room full of other students.)
For parents, email is best. I can be contacted at .
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