English 9 CP Course Syllabus
Course:
English 9 CP
Room: F201
Instructor:
Schwartz
Periods: 2&4 (2nd
Semester); Prep: 3rd
E-mail:
leanne.schwartz@sduhsd.net
School phone: (858)
350-0253 ext. 419
Note: Read
the course syllabus carefully (yes, it’s detailed but worth it because you’ll
know how to get by!) and keep it
with your other English course materials.
Course Overview:
In English 9CP, students will read various literary genres including the short
story, novel, poetry, drama, and non-fiction selections such as the essay and
informational texts, and will complete regular various writing and speaking
assignments. This course is
designed to address thoroughly the California State Standards for English
Language Arts and to engage students in working towards solid achievement of the
standards. Instruction will also
focus on skills in critical thinking, the writing process, reading various
genres, and oral language and presentation, as well as appreciating literature
and creating understanding and self-expression through the language arts.
The theme for English 9H is “The Individual in Conflict with Society”;
through the core works students will explore what it can mean to be an
individual in society, and question and reflect on real-world applications of
the issues tied to this theme.
Texts:
Students will read novels, plays, and non-fiction works from the district
reading list for English 9H. Such
texts may include The Odyssey, Romeo and
Juliet, Lord of the Flies,
Black Boy, The Bean Trees,
Of Mice and Men, and
A Separate Peace.
Students will also read poetry, short stories, and non-fiction works from
the course anthology, McDougal Littell’s
The Language of Literature, and supplemental materials.
Grading:
Grades will be assigned on the following scale (yes, this means no “rounding
up”):
98.0-100% = A+
92.0-97.9% = A
90.0-91.9% =A-
88.0-89.9% = B+
82.0-87.9% = B
80.0-81.9% =B-
78.0-79.9% = C+
72.0-77.9% = C
70.0-71.9% =C-
68.0-69.9% = D+
62.0-67.9% = D
60.0-61.9% =D-
0-59.9% = F
Grades are determined by student performance (effort, achievement, and growth)
on in-class assignments, homework, participation, pop quizzes, exams, writing
(including all steps of the writing process), in-class essays, oral language
activities, projects, group activities, and participation in the classroom
process. Rubrics (grading guides)
will be made available to students prior to final submission of major
assignments. Grades will be posted
online and in class regularly, but please be patient, and understand that the
Aeries grade book is a tool for teachers to calculate grades and may reflect
in-progress grading and organization of upcoming assignments, etc.; if you have
any questions you should ask Mrs. Schwartz.
Graded and recorded work will be placed in each period’s Work Return bin
for students to pick up. Any
“no-name” work will be placed in the “no-name” folder in the Work Return Bin.
You should check this folder if you are missing assignments.
If you find your work, write your name on it and place it in the make-up
work folder (see next page). As
long as this is an infrequent issue, no points are lost for this lapse.
Grades are weighted in the following categories:
Homework, class work, etc.: 40%
Major essays, exams, projects, quizzes, etc.: 40%
SSR (Silent Sustained Reading): 10%
Participation: 10%
Homework:
As homework is an important part of the learning process, students are expected
to complete their homework, which may include writing tasks, study questions,
reading assignments, research, and other tasks.
Homework is due at the start of class.
When homework is assigned it will be noted on the posted agenda, which
students will copy down (keeping a detailed agenda with regular learning
reflections is part of students’ participation grade).
Although students may work together on some homework assignments,
students are always expected to do their own work. (Academic honesty—no
plagiarism—is expected on the smallest assignment, too.)
Make-Up Work and Absences: Make-up work will only be accepted for excused
absences
(this includes tests and presentations).
Students are responsible for getting make-up work the day they return to
class (or ahead of time for scheduled absences for school activities, vacations,
etc.); students have the same number of class meetings that they were absent to
complete the make-up work. Students
are encouraged to contact a “buddy” from class for assignments so that they do
not fall unnecessarily behind between class meetings.
The day students return, at an appropriate time (before or after school
or class) they should refer to the
course binder (in the classroom) for the agenda and handouts from the class(es)
they missed. Students who desire
extra assistance with catching up from missed classes should schedule time with
Mrs. Schwartz. Students should
place make-up work in the “late-work”
folder.
Missed exams must be completed
immediately upon a student’s return (students should at an appropriate time
the day they return schedule a time with Mrs. Schwartz to complete the exam),
and any work that was due during the
student’s absence is due immediately upon his/her return.
Again, students are responsible
for getting make-up work at the
appropriate time and completing it within the make-up work deadline.
Make-up exams, etc., must be
completed during lunch, or at a time scheduled with Mrs. Schwartz during
class 2nd, 3rd, or 4th period; Mrs. Schwartz is
typically not on campus before/after school.
Late Work:
Late work is not accepted (this
means 0% for assignments not completed on time).
“Late” means that the work is not in class ready to go in Mrs.
Schwartz’s in-box at the start of class, or that in-class work is not completed
and turned in by a published deadline in class.
But, because we all have emergencies from time to time,
students will receive four (4) late-work
passes per semester. These
late-work passes give you a grace period
of one week to complete an assignment (staple the pass to the work and place
in the “late work” folder). Work
submitted with a late-work pass is eligible for full credit.
Late work passes may not be used
for certain assignments including tests, quizzes, presentations, or other
assignments that will be worked on or used in class (i.e. a draft of an essay
that we will peer-revise in class the day it is due); Mrs. Schwartz will stamp
such work and late work passes cannot be
used to make up for missed stamps.
Late-work passes may not be used during the final week of the semester,
and late work submitted just prior to a quarter grade report may not be
reflected in that report. Students
should use late-work passes wisely, write their names on them in ink when they
are distributed, and put them somewhere safe; they are the students’
responsibility and they will not be replaced if lost.
Students
may turn in any unused late-work passes at the end of the semester for extra
credit points.
Policies and Expectations:
The classroom rules exist so that we may all enjoy a positive and supportive
learning environment. Students are
expected to follow the classroom rules and procedures, which will be presented
and posted in class. Consequences
will be made clear to students and may include staying after class, contact with
parents/guardians, school detention, and referrals.
Serious disruptions will result in an immediate referral.
The CCA Discipline Policy (including our electronic device confiscation
policy) applies in our class as well.
Tardy Policy:
Tardiness occurs when a student is not in the classroom and ready to begin work
at the bell. Tardiness disrupts
class and impedes a student’s ability to learn and may adversely affect his or
her grade, and is therefore unacceptable.
Students must bring an attendance office note or signed pass from a
school staff member at the time of entering class (or within 48 hours) to have a
tardy excused. The CCA consequences
for unexcused tardiness are as follows:
1st tardy = reminder/warning (you know when you’ve entered class
after the bell!)
2nd tardy = contact home to parent/guardian
3rd tardy = 4 hour Saturday School assignment
4th tardy = referral to Assistant Principal
Continued tardiness will result in an individualized plan that will include
continued and increased consequences.
When a student is tardy (excused or not), s/he will quietly enter the
classroom, sign in on the Classroom Sign-In/Sign-Out sheet near the door
(students are responsible for signing in or they may be marked absent), place
his/her excuse note (if s/he has one) in the “tardy slips” bin, take his/her
seat, and refer to the posted agenda to see what the class is doing.
Work that has been collected or completed while a student was tardy
(unexcused) will not be accepted (without a late pass).
Academic Honesty: Plagiarism
(representing another’s ideas or words as your own, by failing to use quotation
marks or to give credit when paraphrasing, copying a fellow student’s work, or
otherwise) is a serious academic offence and will not be tolerated in this
class, on any assignment, including homework, class work, and essays.
What constitutes plagiarism will be reviewed further in class, including
in the handout “Academic Honesty.” Parents/guardians will be contacted
immediately if plagiarism occurs, and
students will receive a zero on the assignment.
Students will not receive a
warning. The same goes for any other forms of cheating.
Use this information to initially create an account and enroll in the course
through TurnItIn.com. Thereafter, you must use the login information YOU decided
to give the site. You will be
expected to have all “take-home” essays submitted to turnitin.com by the
in-class final (printed) draft due-date.
TurnItIn.com Class ID:
____________________ Enrollment
Password: ____________
MY login information: username and
password:
___________________________________________
Materials:
Students are expected to be prepared for
class and have all course materials
in class every day; students should keep all class handouts, notes,
journals, recent work (including in-progress essays, research, projects, etc.)
organized in a folder or binder and
have ready the textbook or novel
currently assigned. Of course
pens, pencils and plenty of paper
are necessary for English class (Mrs. Schwartz will make such supplies as a
binder, paper, and writing implements available to any students needing
assistance due to financial constraints; just talk with her).
An
SSR book must be brought daily.
I recommend the following system of organization in your class binder:
·
Syllabus, passes, agendas and learning reflections
·
Journals (regular informal writings; you will need to turn these in
periodically)
·
Notes (literary terms, author bios, MLA guidelines, etc.
Includes useful handouts!)
·
Grammar (notes and assignments)
·
Vocabulary (especially Vocab Trees)
·
General ongoing assignments (for the current unit of study)
·
Previous units of study (to refer back to as we build on our learning; you may
wish to leave this in a folder at home, to access when it’s time to revisit
topics and for finals, if your binder is getting too stuffed!)
Students are expected to be in class on time and to participate fully (if you
know a sport or other commitment will take you out of class frequently, you
should conference with me to set up a plan).
When a student must leave for a short period of time, s/he must sign out
on the Classroom Sign-In/Sign-Out sheet and take the
Room F201 Pass.
If a student is leaving the classroom and won’t return (i.e. for a
doctor’s appointment or sport), s/he must sign out on the Sign-In/Sign-Out
sheet. Students
will receive four (4) bathroom passes per semester, which they may use after
asking the teacher’s permission (which is most often freely granted, of
course!). These passes are to be
used if you need to leave class for any other personal reason, as well (such as
getting water, etc.); students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to class.
Bathroom passes may not be used during an exam, presentation, or other certain
key times. Students should use
bathroom passes wisely, write their names on them in ink when they are
distributed, and put them somewhere safe; they are the students’ responsibility
and they will not be replaced if lost.
Unused bathroom passes may be redeemed at the end of the semester for
extra credit points. If you use up
your bathroom passes, you may still leave class, but you will be expected to
make up the time after the end of class.
Contact and Extra Help:
Students may sign up on Mrs. Schwartz’s calendar if they wish to meet to
receive guidance or assistance on coursework, to discuss grades, to make up a
test, or to discuss make-up work, etc.
Parents/guardians may email or call to schedule a conference with Mrs.
Schwartz. Extra assistance is always available!
Parent/guardian contact with Mrs. Schwartz is welcomed and encouraged;
please don’t hesitate to email (this is the best way to make contact) or call
(typically during 3rd period is best).
Mrs. Schwartz works part-time so lunchtime (or 3rd period) is
the most likely time to get help; schedule well-ahead of time for after school.
It is also very helpful if parents (especially) and students
send a brief email to Mrs. Schwartz
now so that she has your correct
email address ready to go in her computer in case she needs to make contact with
you.
I look
forward to working with the wonderful students of CCA and their parents and
guardians. Please sign on the
attached sheet to indicate that you have read through the course syllabus
carefully and understand it; I appreciate your help in supporting your child’s
success with course expectations.
Again, welcome to English 9!
English 9/Schwartz
Syllabus Signatures
Student:
Name: ________________________________________
I have read the course syllabus and understand the expectations of this course.
(Please sign here)
______________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian:
Name: ________________________________________
I have read the course syllabus and understand the expectations of this course.
(Please sign here)
______________________________________________________________