Classroom Rules

Be Respectful

Be Considerate

l    Do not say or do things that will hurt or insult other people

l    Use appropriate communications. 

l    Pick up after yourself. 

l    Stay on-task and working quietly in groups.

Be Responsible

l    Talk to the teacher before you miss school if possible to get your assignments.

l    Be seated with materials ready before the tardy bell rings.

l    Be prepared for your academic activity.

l    Participate activity in your group activities.

l    You will need your AR book, notebook, a pen or pencil, and paper every day.

Follow school and district policies

l     All school-wide rules apply in the classroom.

l     This includes no drinks, except water, or food in the classroom.

l     Use of personal cell phones and electronic devices, such as MP3 players and iPods, use is prohibited during class time.  These items must be stowed in the students' backpacks during class time.

l     Please remove your hat, cap or other head coverings when you come inside.

l     Be aware of and follow the school's plagiarism policy. 

l     You must have your parents sign and return the Internet permission and the film permission papers in order to participate in those activities.

l     Be aware that plagiarism is not allowed at school. The act of copying anyone else’s work and claiming it as your own will earn you a zero on the assignment. Depending on the significance of the project or application handed in, you may also be given a disciplinary referral.

Classroom Procedures

Ø       Pick up handouts for the day on the white shelves as you enter the classroom.

Ø       Pick up your English binder from the shelves before class starts.  Return it to the correct shelf before leaving class.

Ø       Read the information on the white board for the day’s activities and notices.

Ø       Begin class by writing the DOL then read your AR book. Have all work to be stamped out on your desk as soon as the tardy bell rings.  Otherwise keep all work in your notebooks.

Ø       Turn in work to the colored folders on the small table next to the teacher’s desk.

Ø       Pick up graded work in the back of the room on the same table as the assignment crates.

Ø       Pick up work from days absent from the blue crate and hanging folders in the back of the room.

Ø       Keep all of your personal belongings underneath your chair at your table.

Ø       Check out my website for additional information, assignments, calendars, and weekly schedules.

Classroom Procedures and Information

l     Absences:

l     You are responsible for your work. If you have an excused, be sure to get the assignments from the previous day(s). You can find the assignments listed on the Grade Book Wizard; you can find a copy of a project or essay on my website.  Even if you are absent from school, you can keep up with the class by logging into the Apache Junction Web Page to your work.  Assignments must be completed within one school day. Assignments can be found in the hanging folders in the crate in the back of the room. Assignments or tests missed during an unexcused absence, including tardy sweep, can not be made up. You have ONE week to schedule and take your make-up test before it becomes a zero. If you have an unexcused absence, no make-up work is allowed.

l     Accelerated Reader:

l     Accelerated Reading is a computer-assessed fluency program that has been adopted by the AJUSD school district. Your AR points are due every nine weeks and add up to 10 percent of your semester grade. You can earn extra credit for the class by reading more books and earning up to 125% of your AR goal. While you are expected to reach your goal every nine weeks, the actual grade is a semester grade.

·       You have one book report to write outside of class each quarter as well. The book reports will count as an essay grade.

·       You must always have a book to read – in every class. AR books are read in English class, third period, and at home.

·       You must keep and update a reading log for points and testing. In order to reach your goal, you will have to spend reading at home as well as at school. Parents are expected to sign for time. You will need a log sheet with the title of the book you wish to test on in order to take an AR test. This year you will be required to enter blog discussions on your books once a week. These discussions will be used to monitor your progress and comprehension of your books.

l     Anchor Activities: If you finish your assigned work early, you have the following choices: read your AR book, do the StudyIsland assignments, or complete other assignments.

l     Assignments: There is no late work accepted. Daily assignments will be graded in class. These assignments will be graded at the beginning of each period from the preceding day; however, you have until the day you take the unit test to complete any daily work. Daily assignments demonstrate your preparedness or participation in class activities. Turn all tests, essays, application, and research projects into the correct folder. Essays and projects must be turned in no later than 3:00p.m. on the due date unless presentations are given on the due date. Always double check your heading and attach the grade sheet for major assignments.

●      Book Reports: Each quarter you will have a book report from an AR book due.  You must take the AR test during the quarter in which you turn in the book report. Formats for the book report will be handed out two weeks ahead of the date. Plagiarism will earn a zero and a referral. Please demonstrate comprehension.  You must also turn in the TOPS report with your book report to earn a grade. The due date of AR is set by the librarian and the English department.

l     Electronic devices: The use of cell phones – for any reason – is prohibited during class time. They will be taken if they are out of your personal bags. No electronic devises may be used during class time. (This is a school-wide rule.)

l     Essays: Six-traits writing samples belong in the correct section of your notebook for this class. File all of your layered projects and your essay samples in the last section of your notebook. In-class essays will be assigned frequently throughout the year and will carry less weight than formal essays. Formal essays will have to follow MLA format, which includes typing.

l     Final drafts:Formal essays must follow the English department's final format in MLA style: Correct heading and title

✔     Correct heading (includes full student name, date turned in, class with period, and teacher’s name)

✔     Title centered after the heading and before the content

✔     Typed in Times New Roman – 12 font

✔     Printed in black ink

✔     1” margins on all sides

✔     Double spaced – unless specified

✔     One side of the paper

●      Grades – English 9 grades are weighted by category. Writing assessments are worth the largest percentage because writing is currently one-third of AIMS exit assessment. The chart printed next to this column shows the percentage weight of each graded category. The chart shows the actual effect of each category.

l    Group Work – You will periodically be placed in groups to complete discussion work and/or presentations. During group work you are expected to have the necessary work complete in order to participate. Groups do not earn grade; individuals within the group earn grades. If you are unprepared or choose not to participate as an equal partner, the result will be reflected in your grade.  You are also expected to be quiet and/or listen to whole class lectures, discussion, and individual work or test times.  You will be assigned to your specific group and may not change with anyone else in the classroom.

l     Hats: Males and females are expected to remove any head covering at the door when you enter the classroom.  An exception will be made if it’s worn for religious purposes. You will receive reminders, but continual failure to remove your hat may result in the teacher retaining the hat from you or a referral for insubordination. 

l     Heading: Write your heading on all your turned-in papers. Headings go on the LEFT side of the paper and include first & last name, date, teacher, and class & period.

l     Homework is collected at the beginning of class.  For example, if you were assigned a rough draft as homework, and it is not complete, you cannot participate in the revision activity. You will lose the points for completing the rough draft and for participation in the revision activity. Do not expect to turn in homework after it has been collected for the day.

l     Journals:  Your response should have the day’s date written clearly at the top of the entry in the outside margin.  Class notes, discussions, group questions should all be entered under the same day.  The end of the class journal entry must be between half and a full page, depending on the size of the handwriting to earn the points for that day.

l     Layered Curriculum: Regardless of your reading or writing performance levels, you will be expected to complete basic skills and strategies identified by the state of Arizona as necessary for your grade level. Samples of the types of assignments may include daily assignment activities such as daily work, participation, group activity, AR, grammar, Learning Express, and StudyIsland. Application activities are required in this English class and completed outside of the classroom. These activities relate to the application or enrichment of ninth grade skills. Research activities are required. Research activities require outside of class research and a demonstration project. Always be ready to share your discoveries with your class members.

l     Learning Express: Learning Express is an on-line assessment tool adopted by the district. Students will be asked to turn in essays to Learning Express for a rubric grade.  When submitting a paper to Learning Express, students must type in block format mat. Students can access the program from home at www.learningexpressadvantage.com

l     Notebook: You have to have a 1½ inch three-ring binder to hold class work. Please also have enough lined paper for assignments. You will need both a pencil and a pen.  A highlighter is a good tool to also have.  You will need four dividers and clear labels.