This freshman course assist students in the transition from junior high to high school by concentrating on thinking, writing, and reading skills necessary for success in multiple academic areas. The course will include a study of literature, primarily short stories, poetry, drama, and novels. Students will study vocabulary and word analysis appropriate for their grade level. Writing, reading, and rhetoric skills will be reinforced through the examination of various reading materials, ranging from classics to contemporary literature to informative and technical sources. Organizing and summarizing skills will be emphasized to help students succeed in writing across the high school curriculum.

 Expectations

The Jacksonville High School English Department prepares critical thinkers and effective communicators by facilitating mastery of the English Language Arts. In order to create instruction and assessment that meets the needs of all students, we adapt to our students and utilize a wide variety of differentiation and engagement strategies when planning and executing our lessons.

English Department Grading Policy (adopted 15 August 2014)

Daily Assignments – 10%

An opportunity to practice, complete, prepare for, and/or extend content and reading, writing and language skills learned in class.

Summative Assessments – 90%

Reading skills: A type of assessment that includes objective questioning and short answer response. Sample activities include quizzes and chapter or unit tests.

Speaking and listening skills: An opportunity to demonstrate mastery of content and speaking and listening skills during daily lessons. Sample activities include projects, presentations, and group work.

Writing skills: A type of assessment that will vary in length from one paragraph to a multi-page research paper. Sample activities include grammar assessments, essays, and research skills.

Because we assess students’ progress towards mastery of specific learning targets, written compositions and other assignments will be designed to more clearly reflect the target(s) being measured. The use of learning targets to evaluate student progress provides a clearer picture of what the student knows and is able to do at a given point in time. We believe that this is a more meaningful way to determine and communicate what our students have learned. The following table shows the conversion of the target-based grade to the traditional letter grade/percentage. The overall point value of an assignment will vary based on the number of targets being measured.

Teacher Recommendations

· An organized folder or binder for keeping only English assignments and handouts.

· Keep all graded/returned work until the end of each semester.

· Check Skyward and the teacher webpage at least weekly.

· A flash drive for saving files created in computer labs or at home.

· Communicate with your teacher early and often when complications arise –We want to help you!

Late Work Policy

If a student misses a deadline for an assignment, work should be turned in as soon as possible.  Credit will be assigned according to teacher’s discretion.  In order to begin each grading period with a clean slate, the previous grading period’s assignments must be turned in by and will not be accepted past two school days prior to the end of the term.  Work assigned during the last week of a grading period may be counted toward the next grading period. This ensures that students will stay on top of current assignments and maintain Crimson Pride.  In the gradebook, assignments marked zero (0) and checked missing should be considered as such.  However, if an assignment is marked “No Count” or no zero (0) value has been assigned, it likely means that the student has turned in the assignment but a final grade has not been issued.

Redo Policy

The English Department encourages students to improve their writing. One way we support this is by allowing revision of summative assessments measuring writing standards.  The only assignments that will be eligible for redo will be written compositions. In order to be eligible, the initial assignment must have been turned in on time, and the assessed copy with rubric must be returned. The work needs to be corrected and by re-submitted one week after it is returned to the student. The grade will reflect the improvement.

Extra Credit

There are many grades in this class and even more opportunities to improve or maintain your grade. Therefore, extra credit will not be given to an individual student, especially at the end of the grading period. There will be a few extra credit opportunities for all students. Each quarter, a student can turn in tissues; in addition, students can attend the JHS theater productions, turning in a signed program. Students will receive 10 points per quarter for tissues and 10 points for attending the productions. These points will be in the Daily Assignment category of the gradebook.

Be RED Classroom Matrix

The following matrix describes classroom expectations for successful student behavior.

Consequences:

Intensity 1 & 2 Behaviors—

• Give a verbal warning or “The Look”
• Student conference privately in class, after class, or in the hallway
• Parent contact, student department detention, and/or TMR

Intensity 3 & 4 Behaviors—

• Removal from class for the period and an ODR