English 10- Syllabus



Common Core English 9 - Syllabus

|Instructor |Mrs. Annie Watson |E-mail |awatson@ |

|Phone |928-773-8100 |Office Hours |Mon-Thurs 2:30-3:30 |

|Room # |405 | |Other times by appointment |

Description:

Welcome to Common Core English 9. I’m very excited to be teaching you this year, and I know we will have an engaging and productive term. You have already shown commitment to your education by choosing to take this early morning class to strengthen your literacy skills, so you are off to a great start in high school already! Common Core English 9 is designed to be a class that creates a foundation in literature and composition in preparation for upper level high school English courses. Extra emphasis is placed upon academic rigor and preparation for post high school reading and writing requirements. We will read and analyze a variety of texts, both literary and non-fiction, to facilitate our discussions and provoke meaningful writing and research. You should expect to encounter higher-level questions, and you will learn how to use text-based evidence to support your writing claims.

Goals:

▪ To improve and develop skills in both reading and writing through the insightful analysis of texts.

▪ To gain personal and educational growth through the reading of literary and non-fiction texts.

▪ To improve skills in reading, composition, rhetoric, listening, speaking, grammar, usage, vocabulary, and spelling.

▪ To work collaboratively with other class members to enhance appreciation and comprehension of complex texts.

▪ To analyze and improve individual writing and reading by keeping an ongoing portfolio of work.

▪ To prepare students for AIMS testing and assessment of state standards in the areas of both reading and writing.

Major Units of Study:

Areas of Study and Texts:

Course Texts:

Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)

Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie)

Speak (Anderson)

The Language of Literature (Textbook for English 9 by McDougal Littell)

America Now (Atwan)

In addition to the above list, students will be studying a variety of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction texts; working on computer-based reading programs that will be differentiated to meet their specific needs; and choosing fiction and nonfiction books for independent reading. This will all be explained, in more detail, later in the course.

Writing:

Students will study and practice the modes of writing: narration, description, exposition, and argumentation. Extensive time will be spent on the development, organization, and clear articulation of student ideas and analysis. Students will also continue to search for authentic voice, expand stylistic techniques, and refine grammatical and writing skills.

Evaluation: Standards Based Assessment

Measurement (e.g. tests) 60%

Performance (e.g. papers, projects, demonstrations) 20%

Practice (e.g. quizzes, homework, class work, lab work) 20%

Throughout the semester, this is how the assignments will be categorized. At the end of the semester, the total of the above categories will count for 85% of the total grade. The final exam will count for the remaining 15%.

The grading scale is standard:

A = 90-100%

B = 80-89%

C = 70-79%

D = 60-69%

F = 59% or below

Note: Students who are actively involved in their own learning and are willing to sacrifice some personal time after school will be allowed to conference with the teacher and redo some assignments and assessments in order to master the material and improve their grades. I am typically available to work with students from 2:30-3:30 Monday through Thursday and at other times by appointment.

Teacher/Parent Communication

Behavior – I will make every effort to handle discipline issues in the classroom, giving your student every opportunity to correct his or her behavior on their own. Situations that cannot be handled in class will be addressed in the RTC or by the administration per school policy. Parent conferences will be scheduled when these disciplinary approaches are in need of your support.

Academic Progress – Any grade less than a C in this course is unacceptable and will incur interventions ranging from “a student-teacher conference with an action plan” to “a student study team including parents, counselors and administrators.” Progress reports are sent home by mail every three weeks per school policy. You are also able to monitor your student’s grade by acquiring a parent/guardian username for ParentVue.

Homework/Make-up Work – The following website is your best resource for daily homework information and make up work. You can go to this website to find out if there is homework for the evening or, if your student was absent that day, what the student needs to do to get caught up in class. This website does not post information in advance and is updated each day by 3:00 PM.

Instructions:

• Go to

• Click on staff pages

• Click on Watson, Annie

• Click on Course Calendar

• Bookmark this page for easy access.

Classroom Rules—

1. Be respectful and be KIND.

2. Be prepared and on time.

3. Sit in your assigned seat.

4. Do your own work! No cheating or plagiarism.

5. No drinks, except water or bottles with screw on lids.

6. No loud or messy snacks.

7. No phones or i-pods.

8. Follow all other school policies.

Policy on Plagiarism – Plagiarism is the use of the words, facts, ideas, or opinions of someone else without specific acknowledgement of their source. It is the attempt-deliberate or unintentional-to pass off as one’s own what in fact has been borrowed. To fail to indicate sources of information and/or to fail to identify them constitutes plagiarism. Any work which has been plagiarized will receive a 0 and the student will forfeit the right to re-do the assignment for credit. Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated.

Further instructions – Students should keep this syllabus in their 3 ring binder as a reference. For parents, a copy of this syllabus is also available online at the website that contains the course calendar.

Parents: Please provide an e-mail address and a daytime telephone number that you would prefer I use to contact you regarding your student’s progress and/or behavior. Please sign below and send back with your student indicating that you have seen this syllabus. Also, please feel free to provide any additional information you would like me to have regarding your student or future communication in the space provided. Thank you.

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Print Student Name Student Signature Date

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Print Parent/Guardian Name Parent/Guardian Signature Date

_________________________________ _______________________________

Parent/Guardian Daytime Phone Number Parent/Guardian E-mail Address

Additional Information:

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