DAILY ROUTINE

First 5-7 minutes...Latin/Greek Roots

Second five minutes...Vocabulary word/s of the day OR Vocabulary Enrichment Exercise

Next ten minutes....Journal Entry

25 minutes...Lesson & Class work  (Reading & Literature,  Language, Grammar, Writing)

Class supplies: 1 3-ring binder; 1-70-page spiral notebook; notebook paper; Pens/Pencils (ALL supplies are being supplied by me or the school district!) We will occasionally have a need for scissors, colors, etc. I have most supplies in my classroom.

My goal for this class is to develop a desire to read. I don't want this to be a chore...my hope is that you'll learn to enjoy reading for both pleasure and learning.  (If you already enjoy reading, I hope to challenge and expand your abilities).  I also want you to understand why reading is so important in daily living...how it applies to your life. No two people read or write the same and we need to respect those differences. In addition, I would like to see you  significantly improve your vocabulary and vocabulary skills; practice and improve your spelling skills; review and practice grammar skills; and to further develop your writing skills. As a result, I believe you will become a better student in all subjects and be much more confident of your ability to succeed on the standardized tests. Our work now will make you better equipped to take college entrance exams (ACT/SAT) AND/OR become more efficient and capable to complete job applications in future years.

Expectations:

1. I will meet you at the door to shake your hand and invite you in to my room for class. Please do not enter until I tell you to do so. Stand in a line in the hall and wait for me. DO NOT block the hall or horse around.

2. When you enter the room each day you will get out your vocabulary spiral and at the frond of the spiral copy the root words listed in the corner of my chalkboard. Write the root, the definition, and think of a word using the root and write it down as well. Just begin the next day where you left off the day before. Please date your entries.

prefix                                       definition                                 word

auto                                         self                                           autobiography

You should do this automatically each day without being told to do so. This will be a daily routine.

3. There will be five or more VOCABULARY WORDS OF THE DAY on the board. These are Key Words for the College Bound. Please record the word and the definition beginning from the back page of your spiral. Again, add words each day where you left off the day before. Skip a line between words. This will be a daily routine.

4. Next, we will Journal and write each day. We will journal electronically and with pen and paper. Check the board each day to find your journaling directions and/or prompt. You should be able to begin this process without any direction from me. This exercise is to encourage written expression and creativity. It will not be graded for punctuation, grammar, or content, though it must address the prompt.

5. We will then have a lesson. We will do a lot of practice with language AND writing in our class. We will address spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well. You will have a weekly test over the Vocabulary Words of the Day and the Latin/Greek Roots. We will do a lot of reading in our class. With the reading we will learn and study literary terms while we are exposed to several different genres of literature including short stories, poems, plays, songs, media, novels, and more.

We're going to use a variety of different approaches to studying reading and writing. Our class will be very interactive, and our lessons will not necessarily have a routine nor be traditional. My goal is to extensively use technology in our classroom this year. Expect a lot of “hands on” work, projects, and group interaction—all of which will count towards your class participation grade.

7. You will keep a notebook to serve as a student portfolio of your work each six weeks to include the following:

Part of my job is to teach you organizational skills to use throughout this year and your life. I believe this notebook is a great tool to use for that purpose. You never know when I will take a folder grade. KEEP IT CURRENT!!

GRADING/EXPECTATIONS
Notebook………………………………………....10% 
Projects/Book Reports…………….. ………….15%
Daily work, homework, quizzes……………….30%
Tests (at least 2 per grading period)……….…..25%
6-Weeks Test (required by district)……………20%

Tests There will be no less than two tests per six weeks in addition to a six-weeks test. I will make every effort not to conflict test dates with extra-curricular dates. Students will know no less than three days/nights in advance of an exam. Exams will include a variety of questions including: multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, correction, and matching. Every test will have extra-credit worth no more than 5 points (and may be less). Extra-credit could be taken from anything you have learned while in my class.

Re-takes on exams will be offered to any grade under a 70%. Re-takes must be completed within five days of when your exam is returned to you. Before you re-take the exam you must attend a tutorial session in my room. I will average the two grades together, but you may not receive any grade higher than an 80%.

Homework, Daily Work & Quizzes

We will have no less than 12 daily grades per six weeks and possibly more than that! You may make corrections on any paper with a grade below a 70% to be turned in no later than 7 school days from the date of the paper. The highest grade you can receive is an 80%. There could be homework on Monday and Tuesday evenings during football season. If there is homework on Wednesday evening it should take no more than 20 minutes, maximum, to complete. There will not be homework on Thursday evenings and the weekends.  We will however change our homework routine when basketball season starts. If we use our time wisely in class, we shouldn’t have a great deal of homework. However, if you waste my teaching time in class, you will have to make up that work on your time! Choosing not to complete homework or an assignment is not an option in my class. If you don’t turn it in during class when it is due, you will be expected to stay after school and complete the assignment for a late grade of no more than 70%.

Beginning after the first 3-week reports come out, I will require mandatory tutorials for any student with a grade of 75% or below. Yes, I know that 75% is not failing, but one more bad grade and you could be! Let’s use preventative maintenance before the car falls apart…so to speak!!

Projects…Major Papers In addition, at least one major paper or project will also be due during each six weeks. This grade will be recorded as a test grade which carries a weight of 25% for the grading period and as a Project grade which carries a weight of 15%. In addition, several daily grades could be taken during the length of the project. Students will be given some time during class, but some of the project will need to be done outside of the classroom. Students are ALWAYS welcome to use my room after school and during tutorials to work on these papers and projects. Projects will be graded on creativity, originality, and relevance to the subject. Papers will have set criteria for grading. Deadlines will be announced well in advance of the due date.

Participation I expect students to respond in class and participate in class discussions; do work when asked and follow the classroom routine; pay attention; turn in assignments on time; and not be disruptive. There will be a good deal of group work. Your ability to work in a group will be graded for your participation grade as well.