Mrs. Linares/Sixth Grade English/Room 9

Mrs. Linares/Sixth Grade English/Room 9

Welcome to 6th grade English! This year is an exciting one filled with reading, writing, and sharing which we will be guided by the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. At the end of the school year, you will have a portfolio of your best work and be prepared for seventh grade English. In order for things to run smoothly, it is important that all of us understand what the expectations are in my English class. Please save this handout in your binder so you can refer back to any policy and/or procedure throughout the school year.

Policies

1. Please arrive to class on time and prepared. Have everything you need AND be in your seat ready to start at the beginning of the period. Less than that, and you’re late.

Materials:

You will need the following items every day:

A binder with an English divider AND loose leaf paper
Twocomposition notebooks (I will provide one, and

you will need to purchase the other.)

Four pens (dark blue or black ink only)
One pencil
Two red or green pens

I realize that we can all be forgetful. If you forget any of your materials, please ask one of your peers to share or if you can borrow any supplies. It is important that you come prepared to learn, with all your materials each day.

2. Turn in your homework on time. Please have homework ready before class begins. Do not expect to use class time to complete an assignment that is due that day. Please make sure your work has the following heading in the upper right-hand corner:

Full Name

Period

Date

Mrs. Linares

Homework is not to be taken lightly. It is not assigned merely to keep you busy. It is meant to help you practice or prepare. If you do not complete your homework for the day it is due, you will have five school days to turn in your homework assignment for half credit.

There are times in life when it is simply not possible to do all that has been asked of us. For this reason, if you feel that you will not be able to complete an assignment on time and wish to have an extension, you may request one. I am much more likely to give you an extension if you ask more than a day before a due date. Extension requests will not be granted on the day an assignment is due. Extensions will be determined on a case-by case-basis.

If you have forgotten to write down your homework, or are absent, check my teacher website, email me, or phone a friend.

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Name of Classmate Phone Number of Classmate

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Name of Classmate Phone Number of Classmate

Homework will be turned in at the beginning of class in the clear plastic tray belonging to your period. The trays are in the front of the room under the American Flag. If you are unsure which tray belongs to your period, please ask.

I will not accept excuses for missing homework due to printer problems. In the event you have printer problems, please email me your homework as an attachment at or put it on a disk or flash drive. When emailing an assignment, it must be sent as an attachment in a word document or pdf file. If you do not send it as an attachment, I will not accept your work. You may not just type the assignment into an email and send. When saving to a flash drive for me to print, please make sure you save your assignment as a pdf or word document. If none of these options are possible, then please hand-write your assignment and turn it in on the day it is due.

Independent Reading: Independent reading should be a daily/nightly part of every student’s life. As honors students, you should be reading at least 30 minutes per day/night. You will be responsible for keeping aReading/Reading Record Card in class to show the number of pages read each semester. This card will be filled out as each book is completed. Students MUST REACH 600 pages by December 2014! We start a new card in January 2015. Independent reading books must come off of the list provided by Mrs. Linares!

Absences: If you are absent, you have the number of days you were absent, from the day you return, to make up your work. You should talk to a classmate, check the website, and look on the clipboard for your period to ensure you haven’t missed anything. Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions if you do not understand an assignment.

If you are absent on the day of a test or quiz, it is your responsibility to arrange a time to make up your test or quiz. This can be done before school or after school by appointment or at homeroom, with the permission of your homeroom teacher.

Absences due to school activities/rehearsals: If you are on campus but absent from my class due to an approved activity or rehearsal, it is your responsibility to get your work to me the day it is due. You may either turn it in to my box in the main office or bring it to me in the classroom. Your work will be considered late if you are on campus and do not turn it in.

Homework Passes: Every couple of weeks, 4 or 5 homework passes will be drawn for each class. Students receive tickets eligible for the drawing by being “caught being good”. The 4 or 5 lucky students will be exempt from a couple of homework assignments of my choice. The homework assignments the students are exempt from will be written on the homework pass they are given. Students will receive full credit from the assignment from which they are excused. If they choose to still do the assignment, they will receive extra credit if the assignment is done well.

3. Save your work. You should have a complete file of all work in your “English” file in your 3-ring binder. Put all assignments that are returned to you in your binder. You will need them to compose a portfolio of your work towards the end of the year. Please maintain this paperwork in good order throughout the year. (You should NOT throw ANYTHING away unless you ask me first.) If your binder gets too full, please put graded papers in the portfolio box in the classroom.

4. Challenge yourself to develop what doesn’t come naturally to you. If you like to dominate, learn to listen better and build on others’ ideas. If you prefer to be invisible, resolve to join the conversation and do it. If you’re afraid to ask a question because it may sound “dumb,” or if you hate to read your writing aloud unless you’re sure it’s “perfect,” please, in this class: risk it. With mutual respect and trust, it will be safer for all of us to take risks.

5. Expect to learn from each other. This class is a workshop: sometimes a writers’ workshop, at other times a readers’ workshop, but always an occasion for sharing thoughts and points of view and helping each other learn to write more clearly and thoughtfully and to read more closely and critically.

6.We all need each other’s full respect. Anyone, teacher or student, who is speaking to the class, deserves your undivided attention. In this class we will be discussing and learning from each other, and we can only do that in an atmosphere of full respect and trust. Anyone who is distracting when someone is addressing the class is being disrespectful and weakening the sense of trust we need in order to be authentic.

Behavior

I expect that you know what appropriate classroom behavior is, but just in case, I’ll remind you.

When someone is talking, you are listening

 When you are talking, you are mindful and respectful of others and their

feelings

 Any behavior that makes anyone else feel unsafe (whether emotionally or

physically) is not okay and will not be tolerated

Sometimes it’s hard to listen when we have something to say. If you are unable to contain yourself, prevent others from learning, or act inappropriately, I will warn you that your behavior is inappropriate and ask you to stop the behavior. If you continue, you can expect a call home. If the behavior continues after that you can expect a visit to your counselor or to Mr. Gardin.

7. Grades:

60% of your grade will be based on your marks for papers, projects, writing portfolios, tests, and quizzes.
25% of your grade will be based on your focus, engagement, and productivity. (Classwork) ~ This means being prepared, willingly sharing your views with others, listening and valuing others’ contributions, being an attentive and honest audience for peer writing conferences, and showing respect and support for your classmates’ efforts. As you can see, your daily contributions will be very important.
15% of your grade will be based on your homework.

Grades:

The grading scale

is as follows:

100% - 90% A

89% - 80% B

79% - 70% C

69% - 60% D

59% - 0% F

Work Habits and Cooperation:

Work Habits: Work habits grades are determined by completion and quality of projects, classwork, and homework as well as attendance. Three or more missing assignments in any five-week grading period will result in a “U” in work habits.
Cooperation: Cooperation grades are based on courtesy, conduct, improvement, and class relations.

***Please see the “Criteria for Marks” Handout that was distributed with this syllabus for more specific information on Work Habits and Cooperation Grades.

Procedures

When you enter English Class:

Turn in any homework that is due, to the tray belonging to your period. Please go directly to your assigned seat, get our your composition book, and look at the board. Each day you will be asked to perform a task at the beginning of class for 5-10 minutes. This task is called a Warm-Up. You may be asked to look at a sentence and fix it so it is grammatically correct. You may be asked to reflect on a quotation or idea. Whatever it is, you need to be doing it as soon as you sit down.

During Class:

I expect you to listen, take notes, and participate in discussion and class activities. Your goal should be to participate at least once daily. Remember, your participation tells me you are making an EFFORT! If you have a question or want to say something, raise your hand and wait to be called on. What you have to say is important, and your classmates and I need to be able to hear you.

Textbook: Prentice Hall Literature – Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes, Copper Level. Please keep it in your locker. You do not need to bring it to class unless I tell you to, but it should be on campus.

Core Literature Novels: Here are some of the core novels that we may cover throughout the year:

A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

The Book of 100 Truths by Julie Shumacher

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

*Core Literature novels are subject to change.

******We may cover other class novels throughout the year, given the time allowance.

Genres of Writing:

At the End of Class

We will always try to do a quick recap or summary of the key things we learned. Please do not pack up your things when you see it is almost time to leave. I will give you time to clear off your desk and get your things together before I dismiss you.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined by the attempt to copy and pass off the expression of ideas or words of another person as one's own, or to use another's work without crediting the source. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence, which will result in an automatic failing grade on that particular assignment with no opportunity to make it up.

______TEAR OFF______

I have read the course syllabus for Mrs. Linares’ 6th grade English class, and I agree to adhere to the policies and procedures within it to the best of my ability.