English 9, Level 2
Course Policies and Expectations
2010-2011
Instructors: Mr. Grzyb, Mr. Mahler
Room 436
pgrzyb@ellingtonschools.net , mmahler@ellingtonschools.net
Welcome to 9th Grade English! We look forward to having you in class this year and to hearing all your insights into the various stories, poems, movies, and novels we will be discussing during this course.
Ellington High School Mission Statement
Ellington High School prepares students to become knowledgeable, respectful citizens who value learning, integrity, personal well-being, equity, and diversity.
Course Goals
Objectives in this course align with the following EHS EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENT LEARNING:
Academic:
· Listen and view with understanding
· Read and write effectively
· Reason effectively, think critically, and solve problems
· Utilize resources including media, computers and other technologies
Civic:
· Meet the responsibilities of citizenship
Social:
· Practice moral and ethical conduct
· Affirm diversity and practice respect
· Demonstrate skills and competencies for personal well-being and growth
Works Studied
Literature and Integrated Studies (textbook)
The Outsiders ~ S.E. Hinton
Romeo and Juliet ~ William Shakespeare
Animal Farm ~ George Orwell
The Odyssey ~ Homer
Various short stories and poems
Other works to be determined
Materials Required for Class
· Please bring the following materials with you to class every day:
· Assignment notebook or planner
· Three-ring binder with dividers
· White loose-leaf notebook paper
· A pen or a pencil
· Your textbook and/or whatever novel we are working on
· An electronic storage device such as a floppy disk or flash drive is suggested.
Classroom Expectations
· Do your work.
· Be kind and respectful to others and their property.
· Let your peers do their work and let teachers teach.
Absence
· If you are absent for any reason it is your responsibility to make up any work missed. In keeping with Ellington Public School policy, you will be allowed two days per absence.
Late Homework
· Late homework will NOT be accepted. We will provide you with a window of time (usually at least 2-3 days) in which you may turn in your work, in case you left it at home by mistake or if you just need some additional time to revise it, so we expect that late homework will not be an issue. Unless you have made special arrangements with either Mr. Grzyb or Mr. Mahler, all assignments are due on their due dates, at the beginning of class. If you believe you will have a problem with an assignment due date, please see one of us as soon as possible.
Late Papers
Regarding late projects and papers, the Ellington High School English Department:
- defines “on time” as the beginning of class
- will only accept projects or papers one day late—with a 10% penalty
- will deduct 20% from projects or papers that are “one day late” involving the weekend (i.e. Friday due date but turned in Monday morning)
- will require projects or papers to be turned in by 7:15 the following morning if the student’s class does not meet
Classroom Procedures
Restroom Policy:
Please use the restroom or get a drink of water prior to class (you may bring bottled water to class, but please don’t bring in food). We don’t leave the classroom unless it’s absolutely necessary, so we expect the same courtesy from you.
Handing in/Passing back papers:
All homework, papers, classwork, etc., is to be handed in at the beginning of class, unless we tell you otherwise (if, for instance, we will be reviewing it during the period). All work to be handed in goes in the appropriate “inbox” on the shelf under the white board (make sure you put your work in the correct box, on the shelf labeled with your class Block, otherwise it may receive a zero; if we can’t find it, we can’t grade it). All of your work that needs to be handed back will be in the “outbox” directly below your class “inbox”. You may collect your graded work from that “outbox” either at the beginning of class or at the end, but not while we’re teaching.
Group work:
You will be working in many different groups with many different people in class this year. Some of them may be your friends and some may be people you’ve never met before. No matter who you are working with, we expect that you will treat them with the same respect and courtesy that you show to the two of us. Working with other people, no matter what your personal opinion of them may be, is probably the most useful skill you will ever learn. Now is a great time to practice it.
Class discussions:
This class is really about learning how to talk about literature. However, in order to do that effectively we must—you guessed it—TALK ABOUT LITERATURE! While this is neither as daunting nor as tedious as it may at first appear, it does require you to be thoughtfully engaged in our class discussions. You may do this in one of two ways:
1) Speak. No mystery here; we encourage you to share your insights and opinions with the class whenever it’s appropriate during our discussions.
2) Write. Sometimes you may want to share your opinion, but you just don’t feel like talking. No problem—we encourage you write down your thoughts or opinions on a small scrap of paper and put it in our “Discussion Box”. It’s kind of like an email inbox, except that it’s not electronic and it gets passed around the room during our discussions. Simply place your comments in the box and one of us will be happy to read them out loud in your stead. All we ask is that your write your initials on your slip of paper so that we can give you credit for participating.
Grading Policy
All work is graded based on students’ academic achievement as well as his/her demonstrated effort throughout the task. All grades are based a point system. We will assign a specific amount of points per assignment; we determine the final quarter and semester grades by dividing the total number of points earned by the total number of possible points for the semester.
Academic Achievement grades show the level of proficiency the student achieved regarding the acquisition of skills and knowledge.
Demonstrated Effort grades earned are based on the quality of work, amount of work, and other factors that demonstrate the determination of the student in completing work. Both Demonstrated Effort and Academic Achievement grades are weighted equally to produce the student’s overall grade.
Extra Help:
· We will be available after school daily until 2:30 and later by appointment when necessary.
· See us in advance if you need to make an appointment.
