English 11 ~ Mrs. Wilinski

Course Description: The goal for English 11 is to continue to build a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and strategies that will be refined, applied, and extended as student engage in more complex ideas, texts, and tasks.Students will add to the list of various genres of classic and contemporary narrative and informational texts that will be read and analyzed throughout high school with a special focus on British and World literature, MLA research Writing, & SAT success. Eleventh graders will connect with and respond to texts through transformational thinking. They will learn to use forward thinking to help make better decisions, to generate new ideas for solving problems, and to find wisdom. They will build a context for change in their lives and develop realistic plans for the future.Student learning is organized into five units of study:The Power of Language to Transform Lives; Informed Decision-Making; Technology: Potential for Enhancing Human Life; Understanding Human Nature: Coping with Crisis, Chaos, and Change; and The DNA of Survival (Evil).

Methodology: Quizzes, tests, daily assignments and cumulative projects will be given regularly. Participation in group and class discussions is expected. SSR will be utilized every Friday. You are responsible for supplying the reading material for SSR (novel is recommended). A separate handout will detail the SSR protocol. Papers and projects will require the use of computers and other multi-media technology; if there are any problems please notify me of them immediately and arrangements will be made. Do NOT wait until the day before the project is due, that will be too late; you will be penalized grade wise. If the project/paper is not turned in on the due date a zero will be given as a grade. Presentations will be given quarterly. Each student will be assigned a day for presenting. Unless there is medical or family emergency, the student needs to present on his assigned day or be penalized grade wise.

Evaluation: Grades/Assessments are given according to KHS standards listed in the student handbook. Higher points are given to the more difficult level assessments. No late assignments will be accepted unless unusual circumstances are involved. Regardless of the excuse, once work is graded and returned to the class the student no longer has the opportunity to complete that assessment and will receive a zero. Each assignment, quiz, project etc. tests a minimum of one Common Core Standard. Some daily assignments may not have a high point value but non completion of these will add up quickly and possibly result in a low/failing grade as you must show mastery of the common core standards in order to pass the class. This final grade will also include your accumulated Student Responsibility Participation Points (SRP’s). This is a grade, NOT extra credit. This will appear occasionally as a daily grade when called for in lesson plans.Participation & Verbal Expression is a necessary skill as stated by the State of Michigan. Students will lose SRP’s for lack of participation, being unprepared, not working on task, or not following general KHS classroom rules. The nature of this course requires a lot of work to be done in class and in groups; therefore attendance is mandatory and crucial to your grade.

Class Procedures: Students are responsible for all homework whether absent or present. Check Powerschool & my Weeblypage regularly. DO NOT approach the teacher at the start of class to get assignments for days you were absent; make an appointment, wait until the end of the hour, or come in during prep time.There is a lot to do at the start of each hour;I cannot take time away from the class to catch up all absent students at the beginning of class. All coursework is comprehensive. It is important to complete assignments in the order they were assigned. Students who are absent are responsible to come and see me the day you return to school to obtain assignments. All KHS rules will be enforced, including the 4 absence and 3 tardy policies, no food, drinks, etc in classroom & all technology policies.

  1. Students must come to class PREPARED; on time, books, pencils/pens (ONLY blue or black ink is allowed…NO COLORED PENS/PENCILS!), paper, folder, and KHS handbook, and in your seat when the bell rings. You MUST keep ALL assignments that are passed back to you. You are responsible for keeping track of these papers. DO not stop in the nurse’s office BETWEEN classes. You will be marked with an unexcused absence.
  1. Respect… others and their property. The Teachers’ desk, all cabinets, computers, etc are OFF LIMITS to students. DO NOT rock in desks, any damage done to the desk will be fined to the student. No rude comments or gestures to others will be tolerated.
  1. Cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated. It will result in an automatic “F” for that assignment, and a loss of SRP’s. Copying another student’s daily work, information off the internet without a citation, etc are examples of plagiarism.
  1. BYOD Technology policy: All devices are to be turned off and put away off of desk and out of sight.This includes headphones. Unless specifically told to utilize Y.O.D. for the assessment we are working on in class, i.e. if you are using, texting, the volume is turned up or on & disrupts the class, or even “just checking” a device such as a phone/computer/ipad/etc. without permission from the teacher, the device will be taken and turned in to the office. (All KHS policies will be enforced.)

Discipline Procedures: A warning will always be issued as the first step, to help student recognize his/her behavior and help to correct it. If a problem persists, the student and teacher will conference. The final step will be to issue the student a Saturday school, contact the parent and the student will receive an “F” for the day via loss of SRP’s.

After reading the previous information, please sign and date below indicating that you understand the expectations of English 11. Please also make sure to have a parent/guardian sign as well indicating the same. Detach and submit to Mrs. Wilinski with both signatures for a 5 point credit assignment. If you or your parent have any questions, please feel free to ask. Thank you!

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Print Student Name Here Date

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Student Signature

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Parent Name Here Date

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Parent Signature

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(Phone # or Email Address: whichever is the best way to contact parent)