English I Syllabus

2013-2014 Contact Information Miss Chelsea Tarquini Room 11 email: tarquinic@oakwood76.org phone: (217) 354-2358 (x111) Twitter: @MissTarq Course Description English I is a novel-based course that integrates a variety of poems, short stories, writing, research- based projects, and relative films to aid the understanding of the novels. The assigned course work is designed to challenge and prepare the students for English II. Mandatory Materials The following materials will be needed on a daily basis. Please ensure that you come to class prepared. Your grade depends on it. - notebook paper - writing utensils (please no neon or difficult-to-read ink) - classroom folder (provided) - one-subject notebook (provided) - assigned texts (will change throughout course) Course Plans Detailed lesson plans and assignments will be posted in the classroom and on the class website on a regular basis. All plans are subject to change based on class progress dependent on the teachers discretion. Attendance/Tardy Policies General attendance and tardy policies in the classroom are in line with the policies outlined in the student handbook. If a student has an excused absence, an additional make-up day is allowed upon receiving an office admission slip at the beginning of the class following the day of absence. All work missed due to the absence is the students responsibility. All assignments are posted in the classroom and extra worksheets are available in the weekly assignment drawers. The make up work will be due at the beginning of class the following day for full credit. An excused absence does not result in a loss of daily attendance points.

If a student has an unexcused absence, no additional make-up days will be allowed for make-up work. The missed assignments will be due along with the other students that were in attendance. An unexcused absence forfeits a daily attendance point. Students are expected to be both in and prepared for class when the bell rings. If the timely expectation is not met, a tardy for class will be reported for both office and classroom records. Students that are tardy will forfeit a daily preparation point. Students that are not prepared with needed materials for the day will forfeit a daily preparation point. See make-up work and weekly folders for further information. Disciplinary Procedures General disciplinary procedures in the classroom are in line with the procedures outlined in the student handbook. Appropriate, respectful behavior is expected in the classroom. If and when these expectations are not met, the following procedures are all possible dependent on the severity of the offense. - verbal warning - student conference - parent/guardian notification - parent/guardian and student conference - detention - lunch detention - administration referral Each offense will automatically result in a loss of a behavior point. Please see the weekly folders section for more information about behavior points. Electronic Devices Electronic devices of any kind are not permitted during class unless given the permission or use is requested by the teacher. There may be times in class that devices will be permitted for use to aid instruction. During the event electronics are permitted, strict regulation should be expected. Grading Policies Scale: A 100-92 B 91-83 C 82-74 D 73-65 F 64-below

Grades will be based off of a point system as opposed to a weighted system. Grades will be entered in both a hard copy and online for records. Challenging grades are not out of the question. A one-on-one conference outside of class time must be arranged to challenge a grade.

Homework Late work- Late work is only accepted for 50% of the total assignment points. In the case of an excused absence, the student will receive one day to make up the work per day of excused absence. Unexcused absences will not receive make-up days and work will be considered late if not turned in the day after the absence. This policy is strict with homework and daily assignments. Additional time for larger assignments can be requested, but will not always be given. Late work will remain a zero in the grade book until it is received. Missing work- Late work will be considered missing work at the end of each unit. Missing work will go into the grade book differently than late work. If missing work is noted in the grade book, the student will not get the opportunity to receive extra credit, consideration for assignment extensions, or have the opportunity to challenge a grade at the end of the quarter. No-name papers- Papers without a name will be a zero in the grade book. It is the students responsibility to put his or her name on the paper. Papers missing names will be clipped up in the room by the assignment board. Papers must be retrieved and shown to the teacher to be considered late work rather than missing work. Weekly Folders Each student will receive a folder to keep all classwork. At the end of each week, the folder will be collected and graded. All homework from the week must be organized in the folder in order to be counted as a point for the weekly grade. A chart with each assignment will be written in columns. Each assignment that is within the folder will be marked off; late/missing assignments will be a point deduction per missing assignment. This grade should be easy points and will be used to maintain organization of assignments. Each folder will contain an envelope with a sheet of ten squares. Each square represents a point for behavior. These are ten easy points for following class and school rules. In the case that one is taken away, a point is deducted at the end of the grading period. Participation is expected and graded. Participation is kept track via individual squares/tokens rewarded to participating students. Students are expected to accumulate a specific amount of participation tokens by the end of the quarter. Additional tokens beyond the expected number will be considered extra credit. If missing work is noted in the grade book, extra credit will not be counted. Plagiarism Plagiarism is considered the stealing of intellectual property. Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. The following instances are considered plagiarism: - copying original work (whole or portion) without proper citation - purchasing, downloading, or submitting work completed by someone else - lack of citation when paraphrasing ideas

The first offense will include a one-on-one conference and an automatic zero. The second offense will include a referral to the administration, zero on the assignment, and parents/guardians will be notified. Journaling Students will be expected to journal in the given notebook two times per week. The journaling will be for a completion grade. Points are awarded based on effort as opposed to content. In-Class Reading Students are expected to bring reading material to class each day. Designated reading time will be set aside during class on specific days. Students that come unprepared with appropriate reading materials will forfeit a preparation point for the day.

Please sign below to acknowledge that the syllabus has been read and understood. Student signature _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Parent/Guardian signature _________________________________________________________________________________________________