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Classroom Procedures and Information
Absences: You are responsible for your work. If you miss, be sure to get the
assignments from the previous day(s). Assignments must be completed within
one school day for each day missed. 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 a tardy sweep, can not be made up. You
have ONE week to schedule and take your make-up test before it becomes a zero.
Accelerated Reader: 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. You have one book report, which is related to AR,
to write outside of class each quarter as well. You must always have a book
to read in every class. AR books are read the first ten minutes of each
English class and the first fifteen minutes of third period. 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.. You will need a
signed log sheet with the title of the book you wish to test on in order to
take an AR test. Parents may sign for time as well as other teachers 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.
Anchor Activities: If you finish your assigned work early, you have the
following choices: read your AR book, do the Study Island assignments, or
complete other assignments.
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. If you do
have the work completed at the time the teacher comes around, it is too late.
The daily assignments present your participation and/or your preparation for
the days 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.
Qrt AR Pts due Due Date Enriched Required Genre
Report type
1st 10/14/08 10/16/08 realistic fiction narrative
recounting
2nd 12/12/08 12/16/08 biography or autobiography
persuasive advertisement
3rd 03/06/09 12/11/09 Historical fiction or nonfiction
account epic / blank verse poem
4th 05/15/09 3/15/09 Science Fantasy, novel from a fairy tale, or
Science Fiction book report
Enriched English 9 Class Novels: During the regular course of the year,
students will be asked to read, take tests, discuss, and complete assignments
related to the following books. All in-class books can earn AR points but
will not total the number of points necessary to meet individual students'
AR goals.
First Quarter: To Kill a Mockingbird
Second Quarter: Lord of the Flies Animal Farm
Third Quarter:Romeo and Juliet
Fourth Quarter: The Hero and the Crown or Dragonsong
College-bond Book Lists: Many colleges have the expectation that all
students, whatever their declared area of study, have read a significant
number of books from a classical list of books. Unfortunately, there is not a
single list of the top 100 books. The following Internet sites offer a list
of books that high school students may benefit by reading during their
secondary education. Many of these books are available for AR testing.
Here are some suggested lists:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-
skills/23628.html>
The College-Bound Reading List is compiled by the Arrowhead Library System.
The site separates books by genre: American literature, world
literature,biography/history, science, drama, and poetry.
http://als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html>
The Oxnard High School librarians and library science students compiled an
annotated list of books for students to read. The links are divided by grade
level. The first grade level is recommended for high school freshman.
http://www.ouhsd.k12.ca.us/lmc/ohs/read/read.htm>
The last page is a link to many other sites. The links were compiled by the
Lake Oswengo High School library.
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.)
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 throughout the year and will carry less weight than formal essays.
Formal essays will have to follow MLA format, which includes typing.
Final drafts: Formal essays must follow the English department's final format
in MLA style: Correct heading and title
✔ Correct heading
✔ 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.
Assessment Percentage
Accelerated Reader 5%
Research & Application Projects 10%
Class Assignments 20%
Writing Process (Essays) 20%
Tests and Quizzes 20%
Computer Practice 5%
Semester Final 20%
Group Work You will periodically be placed in groups to complete discussion
work as well as research and application activities. During group work you
are expected to have the necessary work complete in order to participate.
Groups do not earn grades; 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.
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. A cover page contains the same information but is found
centered in the middle of its own paper.
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.
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 ninth graders and for passing the AIMS
exit exam. Samples of the types of assignments may include daily assignment
activities such as daily work, participation, group activity, AR, grammar,
and Study Canyon. 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.
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 . Learning Express also provides testing
practice, which may be assigned to class members.
Notebook (9th grade0: 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 five dividers and clear labels.
1. Section one class information (AR logsheet, assignment sheets,
class handouts, miscellaneous papers)
2. Section two grammar notes and worksheets as well as completed DOLs
3. Section three vocabulary (Written materials from the Everyday Words
from Classical Roots workbooks)
4. Section four - reading journal (all written responses to materials
read and discussed as a class.)
5. Section five finished projects: book reports, essays,
presentations, research projects, and application samples
Progress Reports: Progress reports are printed and mailed out every four
weeks by the administration. Parents and guardians should look for these
reports to gauge student achievement in class. If the grade does not meet
parent/guardian expectation, please contact the teacher as soon as possible.
Periodically, the teacher will also print out grade sheet for the students to
take home and have signed by a parent or guardian. A parent may call or write
a request at any time for a grade update; however, new grades are not
necessarily entered on a daily basis.
Tardy: You must be prepared to begin class when the tardy bell is finished.
This means you are in your seat with your assignments, AR book, and notebook
before the last bell. A person who is tardy for class is sent to the sweep
room.
Passes: Students may use passes from class during individual work time only.
Student may not leave the class during lectures, movies, group work, or
tests. The student fills out the pass and asks the teacher to sign it for
approval. Return the pass to the teachers box when returning to class.
PLATO: The AJUSD district uses the computer program PLATO as supplementary
practice for literacy skills and strategies.
Presentations: Students share the responsibility for learning new
information, ideas, and concepts. Be prepared to speak in front of your peers
in casual and formal situations. There are no acceptable excuses or late
presentations when you are present in class. Be prepared.
Student planner: In the first ten minutes of class, write down your
assignments for the day. You are responsible for knowing the due dates.
Ignorance of a due date is not an excuse. Use the students' weekly schedule
as a guide; however, always beware that schedules may change due to classroom
activities, school events, and other unforeseen occurrences.
Study Island: Study Island is a test-prep program that is Internet based.
Students can log on to the program from any computer that is connected to the
Internet. Assignments will be given based on activities, discussions,
objectives, and materials covered in the class. Log on to
www.studyisland.com to find out what assignments you have been given for
English class.
Syllabus: For detailed information on the syllabus, see my website at Teacher
Web.com. at http://www.teacherweb.com/AZ/AJHS/CMatlosz/
NINTH GRADE
Short Story Unit: Why do some people survive in the face of difficult
situations while other people fail?
Persuasive Unit:
Poetry Unit: What use of language makes written text poetic?
Drama: Why are we willing to die for love?
Nonfiction Unit: Why does conflict between people bring about
different reactions and end-results?
Science Fiction and Fantasy: What if the world were different?
Tests: Tests and quizzes will be given as an opportunity for you to
demonstrate your understanding of reading assignments as well as Arizona
state learning objectives.
Vocabulary Development:
All students are responsible for appropriate literary terms and
figurative language that is an intrinsic part of any literature and/or
language study. All students are also responsible for vocabulary assigned
with a text such at the Words to Own in the Elements of Literature book.
Ninth grade students will be using Everyday Words from Classic Origins. Each
student will receive his or her own workbook to write in. If the workbook is
lost, the student will be responsible to pay for another one. This vocabulary
building workbook, based on Latin and Greek roots, is meant to increase
student understanding of the basic structure of many content area and college
level words.
Write Source Students will use the Write Source text to record conventions
rules and examples completed with the class. Students are expected to keep
these rules and examples in their binders for the class. Althernetly,
students will participate in DOL practice. The daily oral language (DOL) is
a grammar and conventions system of instruction published through Write
Source. DOLs are designed to improve student writing skills in the area of
sentence fluency, voice, word choice, and conventions. Each day of the week,
students will have a sentence containing English convention errors. The
sentences will be correct in class discussion. Students will be expected to
use correct editing marks and rewrite the corrected sentence. Each one-week
paper contains a larger paragraph which applies on-going grammar lessons as
well as a sentence combining activities. Information discussed in class will
appear on both semester finals.
Web Page All teachers at AJHS are required to maintain an up-to-date
webpage for students and parents to keep informed. You can check my
information at http://www.teacherweb.com/AZ/AJHS/CMatlosz/ .
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