Disclosure Document for English 10H 2007-2008
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,
Welcome to Honors English
10! I look forward to an exciting, productive,
and rewarding year helping all students to improve their English language arts
skills and find their personal motivation to become lifelong learners.
Philosophy – “Knowledge is Power” (Sir Francis
Bacon). Language arts focus on the study
and application of communication.
Success in every class, sport, relationship, and career depends to a
great degree upon good communication skills.
By learning how to interpret a variety of “texts,” students become
empowered to derive meaning, make personal connections, and create new
knowledge for themselves. Through
sharing opinions, expanding perspectives, and understanding others, students
develop critical thinking skills to meet the rigorous demands they will face in
life, as well as in subsequent honors, AP, and college courses; students can
and should apply their language arts skills in all of their other classes and
school activities, but will undoubtedly find them useful outside of and beyond
school.
This document provides students with policy information they need
to reference in order to have a productive and successful school year as well
as procedural information vital to the smooth operation of the classroom. Additionally, this document supplies parents
with contact information and gives an overview of the course. Handouts, verbal instructions, and class
postings will give students more detailed information about completing specific
assignments.
Expectations – I expect students to treat me, each
other, and themselves with respect at all times. I also expect all students to attend class
every day, without exception, and to be on time, prepared, and focused in the
classroom.
The curriculum for honors English is both reading and writing
intensive. I will require students to
write daily in-class, and they will likely have both reading and writing
homework assignments following each class meeting. Expect at least an hour of homework, and as
much as two hours of homework, following each class meeting (30-60 minutes
daily).
Students should do each assignment to the best of their ability;
substandard work will receive an “I” (incomplete). I will then enter a zero for that assignment
and return it for revision. It may be
resubmitted as “Late Work” (see below).
Content and Skills – The
Skill areas include but are not limited to vocabulary development
through contextual clues, as well as research, presentation, critical
evaluation and analysis of informational and literary texts, and of course,
writing. Tenth grade English focuses
particularly on developing students’ persuasive writing skills.
The 10th grade English core curriculum can be found at
<http://www.uen.org/core/core.do?courseNum=4100#standards>
The curriculum may include, but is not necessarily limited to,
selections from the following list
Literary Texts
The
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Animal Farm and
1984 – George Orwell
Twelfth Night and The Merchant of
Shakespeare
The Odyssey – Homer (trans. Mandelbaum)
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Media and Film
Stories, songs, and ballads as sung and told by Heather Forrest,
Bill Lepp, and others
The Truman Show
The Merchant of
Twelfth Night
Animal Farm
The
We may also read informational texts from contemporary newspapers
and magazines as well as poetry and prose excerpts from the writings of Elizabeth
I, Lady Mary Wroth, Aemilia Lanyer,
John Milton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Mary
Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and student selections.
Attendance – Student success
depends upon attendance. Please
see the THS attendance policy for specific information.
Students can provide themselves with a solid foundation to learn
by attending class, on time, every day, and arriving both mentally prepared and
with the proper materials. All of us
learn not only from our teachers and texts, but also from each other; in
addition to taking personal responsibility for their own learning, as a member
of a learning community, students have a responsibility to each other as well –
a responsibility to listen and respectfully respond to each other, to
participate. Therefore, excessive absences and tardies
will negatively impact a student’s final quarter grade through the loss of
unrecoverable participation points. Furthermore, students will seldom have the
means or opportunity to make-up in-class work like collaborative group
discussions and presentations.
Information from video and audio presentations may also prove difficult
for students to access and will therefore hinder their performance on
subsequent assessments (i.e. tests).
Absences – Since we only meet 21 – 23 times each
quarter, students with excess absences, of any kind, will probably find it
extremely difficult to earn a passing grade.
As missing even two classes eliminates nearly 10% of the instructional
time, even those with relatively few absences may find it difficult to earn a
high grade. I will deal with unexcused
absences (truancy) on a case by case basis in consultation with parents,
counselors, and administrators.
Tardies
– Tardy students not only
inhibit their own opportunity to learn, but they also disrupt their peers. I
will mark students tardy who are not in their seats at the beginning of
class. When the tardy bell rings, I will
close the door. I have set aside the first part of each class for
students either to respond to a writing prompt in their portfolios or to take a
short quiz. Tardy students may receive
only partial credit for make-up writing and quizzes if they are late.
Make-up policy – Students are responsible for acquiring
information and make-up work from me.
When a student misses a class, that student should consult with me about
missed activities and copy a classmate’s notes into the “Daily Notes” section
of their portfolio. Between class
periods, I may not have time to discuss the activities, information, or work
missed due to student absences. Students
should come before or after school to obtain assistance; I typically arrive
before
Late work policy – Even
excused absences do not exempt students from due dates. Absent students should send their homework
due with a reliable person who will turn it in by the start of the class period
for which it is due. I generally collect
homework at the beginning of class while students write in their portfolios or take
the quiz. Work turned in without a
student’s name, and later discovered, will also be considered late. Students
must complete all assignments regardless of attendance and tardies. Failure to
complete any assignment may result in an “I” for the course. Late work will typically receive no more than
50% credit.
Nothing can substitute for attendance. Be here.
Participation – I expect students to engage the class
materials, me, and each other every day we meet. Each student may earn 10
points daily for class participation. To
earn these points, students only need to arrive on time with the required
materials, take notes, and participate in class activities (journal writing,
discussion, read aloud, etc…). Students
not in class for all or any portion of the class period, for any reason, may
not earn their participation points. I
expect students to go to their lockers and utilize the restroom during the
passing period. Excessive trips to
lockers or restrooms may incur point deductions, but more importantly, they
disrupt student learning.
Materials – Students will need the following
materials with them when they arrive in class:
1.
3-ring
binder (at least 1 ½”) with 8 tabbed section dividers
2.
Loose-leaf,
college-ruled 8 ½” X 11” white paper (no spiral paper)
3.
2
pens (in case the first runs out of ink), blue or black ink only
4.
A #2
Pencil
5.
Classroom
materials (textbook, novel, homework, assignment sheets, etc.)
Restrictions on materials – Please do not bring electronics such as
cell phones, CD players, iPods, pagers, palm pilots,
laptops etc. to class. If they are seen
or heard, they will be confiscated and may be picked up before or after school
by a parent or guardian. Also, please do
not bring food, drinks, or personal grooming materials to class. Students should have only their class
materials for English with them at their desks.
Although students may need to carry texts or work for other classes with
them, if I see students reading or completing work for other classes, the work
or text will be confiscated. A parent or
guardian may pick up the student’s work or text before or after school.
|
A |
94-100% |
|
A- |
90-93% |
|
B+ |
87-89% |
|
B |
84-86% |
|
B- |
80-83% |
|
C+ |
77-79% |
|
C |
74-76% |
|
C- |
70-73% |
|
F |
<70% |
Grading – Students earn their grades based on the
criteria of each assignment and adherence to the class policies and
procedures. I calculate the final grade
using a total point system. The number of points a student earns will be
divided by the total possible to figure the percentage. The table to the right determines the final
quarter letter grade:
|
Participation |
20% |
|
Homework, Quizzes, and
Tests |
10% |
|
Comprehensive Final Exam |
10% |
|
Daily Writing (Journal) |
10% |
|
Individual and Group
Presentations |
10% |
|
Daily Class Notes |
10% |
|
Quarter Paper/Essay |
10% |
|
Honors Reading List Selection |
10% |
|
Creative Project |
10% |
The table to the left shows the approximate distribution of points
in a quarter. Percentages will vary
depending upon the total number of points available in a quarter and the types
of assignments. For example, students
will typically have a major paper each quarter; however, the first may not be
due until the beginning of the second quarter as we will first build the skills
and learn the processes for writing a good paper.
Students should do their best on every assignment, regardless of
its point value. Homework assignments,
in-class activities, taking notes, and quizzes help the students attain,
assemble, and organize the skills and information they will use for major assignments
like their papers, portfolios, and exams.
Plagiarism and Cheating – Unless specifically assigned to work
collaboratively, students must complete their own work. Allowing someone to copy one’s work also
constitutes plagiarism. Students who
plagiarize or cheat will receive a zero for the given assignment, and I will
also schedule a conference with parents or guardians and counselors to discuss
dismissal from the honors/AP program.
Students will receive handouts with more detailed information about
plagiarism and proper citation during the first week of classes.
Other – All school rules and policies apply in
this class (see student handbook).
Students and their parents or guardians will be held responsible for any
damage they might cause to classroom equipment and texts.
The Alpine School District requires a parent’s
or guardian’s signature and student training for students to use the internet
on public computers at the school. Each
student must have an AUP sticker to use the internet at school. As I maintain
an online log of classes and provide links to needed resources, I expect
students to be able to access the internet.
In accordance with the state’s core curriculum, students will
participate in peer review workshops and will at times assess and correct each
others’ work. These practices have an
important educational purpose in that they allow the students to review
assignments and quizzes and consider writing styles, processes, and problem
solving different from their own.
Please feel free to contact me at any time about the curriculum or
any other class-related matter. I
believe in openly communicating with all students, parents, and guardians. I reserve the right to change class policies
should it prove necessary to meet the needs of the students. Students, parents, and guardians will be
notified of any changes. I am confident
that if we work together as a team, every student can succeed.
After reading through this document, please complete the form on
the following page, date, sign it, and return the signed page to me for filing.
Thank you,
Mr. Nagro
CONTACT
information
Michael J. Nagro
email: mnagro@alpine.k12.ut.us phone:
Webpages:
HOME
http://www.timpanogos.alpinedistrict.org/DEPARTMENTS/English/Nagro/NagroHomePage.htm
CLASS LOG and
assignments: http://www.timpanogos.alpinedistrict.org/DEPARTMENTS/English/Nagro/English%2010%20Honors.html
GOOGLE PAGES:
http://nagromic.googlepages.com/home
Disclosure
Acknowledgement for Mr. Nagro’s English 10H
Student’s name_____________________________________________ Class Period_____
Address
____________________________________________________________________
Home Phone________________
Parents’ / Guardians’ full names Work/Cell
Phone
_______________________________________________ _____________________
_______________________________________________ _____________________
Best times to call at work or at home:
__________________________________________
Email addresses ______________________________,
____________________________
Special Concerns
__________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Student’s Schedule
1st ____________________ room_______ teacher_______________________
2nd ____________________ room________ teacher_______________________
3rd ____________________ room________ teacher_______________________
4th ____________________ room________ teacher_______________________
5th ____________________ room________ teacher_______________________
6th ____________________ room________ teacher_______________________
7th ____________________ room________ teacher_______________________
8th ____________________ room________ teacher_______________________
I have read and understand Mr. Nagro’s
“Disclosure Document” for English 10H,
Student’s signature_________________________________________
Date____________________
Parent’s or Guardian’s signature ______________________________
Date____________________
I also give my permission for my student to watch school-approved
PG-13 rated video directly related to the course curriculum. (Please contact me with any concerns, or if
you wish to know specifically which film or excerpt students will view.)
Parent’s or Guardian’s signature ______________________________
Date____________________