This syllabus is the same for all my classes, though specifics about material unique to particular classes is located at the bottom of the page.

Grading method:
I use a points-based system, so each assignment receives points that contribute towards the total points possible for each quarter. At the end of the quarter a student’s grade is figured by dividing the points she has earned by the points possible.

Policy on late work:

Daily homework (Any work worth less than 20 points): This work is due at the beginning of class when I ask for it. Work handed in later in the class or later that day earns “passing points” (7 pts. for a 10 pt. assignment) and work handed in the next day or any day that quarter earns half credit.

Larger Homework (more than 20 points, usually needing to be typed): This work is due anytime during the day that it is due. That means if there is a printer problem at home, the student has the entire school day to solve the problem and hand it in before going home. If late, the assignment receives a late penalty of 10 percent a day until it is a week late – the penalty bottoms out at 50 percent. Please realize that late penalties accrue every day, not every Red Day or every White Day. I will accept most work during the quarter that it was assigned – it can be worth 50 percent of the original points if done according to the standards set for the assignment.
 

Writing:

Students will write both formal essays and informal reflections, often responding to particular reading assignments and often posted on an online weblog.

Typed assignments:

I ask for many assignments to be typed and expect students to have a plan for accessing a computer. I encourage students to email assignments back and forth between school and home so they can work on them in both places. On occasion, I will allow a student to write this type of assignment by hand, but it should be arranged ahead of time, proving that computer access, not laziness, was the problem.

Vocabulary:

We will study a large amount of vocabulary this year, and I will provide you will lists of definitions for each unit. Studying the vocabulary is your responsibility. Please do not throw the vocabulary lists away after we take the test on them – you will need them later. If you miss a vocabulary test due to an excused absence, you will need to go to the ARC to make it up. If you have no open block, you will need to see me after school. I announce the tests’ dates long in advance, so missing the day before the test does not excuse you from the test.

Can we throw it away?

Students always want to throw old work away, and my answer is, “Do so at your own risk.” I am responsible for entering so much data that I inevitably make mistakes. You can prove discrepancies are my mistakes by keeping work I’ve handed back to you. If you toss it in the garbage can, your work cannot be verified. I recommend keeping some sort of pocket-folder where you can toss old work until you see whether you need it. I do NOT recommend keeping everything stuffed into your one-subject notebook.

Absences:

If you have an excused absence, you are responsible for visiting the class’s website. I will have posted a description of our activities for that day on your class’s calendar page, and if you have specific questions about the content there, you may see me during a free moment – NOT during the first moments of a class period. If you ask me casually at the beginning of class what we did, I will likely respond by mumbling something about the website. If you are absent with an unexcused absence, you cannot receive any credit for that day. I might also add that students who are absent a lot tend to do poorly in my classes.

Policy on tardies:

I expect students to be on time. Students arriving late will sign in and sit down quietly, refraining from explaining to anyone why they were late. Please see school policies for further information on tardies.

English 11 Curriculum expectations: American Literature

Books likely to be covered:

• Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (play version)
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Other units of note:

• Poetry
• Research paper

English 10 curriculum expectations: Speech and Communications

Books to be covered:

• Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

• Night by Elie Wiesel

Other units of note:

• Four speeches (these formal speeches are required and a student cannot pass English 10 without completing them)

• Research paper (a student must complete this to pass)

English 9 Curriculum Expectations

Books to be covered:

• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

• The Odyssey by Homer

Other units of note:

• Poetry

• Research paper (a student must complete this to pass)