Second Block Honors English III
Ms. Riggs
Room 304
Welcome Back!
Spring Semester 2019
Hello parents, guardians, and students!
Welcome back to another year at Ashley High School! I look forward to working with each of you as we embark on this semester of Honors English III. This web page will be updated often with class information including classroom notes, assignments, homework, readings, and rubrics. I am always available through email at shauna.riggs@nhcs.net or via the remind app (Our class code is @heng32019).
Our curriculum
The English III curriculum covers grammar, mechanics, syntax and composition as well as a myriad of literature from American authors over many genres and time periods. We will utilize literary devices and rhetorical theory in our investigation of the literature that we will be working with. This is a dense course and we will work rigorously to discover the importance and influence of American literature and culture. We will read, we will write, and we will think about every piece of literature and nonfiction item that we cover.
We will cover standards of argument and debate through classroom debates about current events, true crime issues, primary documents, and argumentative writing. Through literature, debate, and research we will cover many serious and, at times, controversial topics that are featured in the text that we are using or in the student's research. I encourage students and parents to discuss these topics to deepen the student's understanding of them. If at anytime a parent does not want their child to read a specific text due to content please let us know in the first two days of the unit and an alternate assignment of comparable length and literary merit will be given.
We will also complete a comprehensive research paper that will utilize MLA structure, organization, and citation. All research assignments will be submitted to turnitin.com. If a student plagiarizes any assignment (this includes copying an assignment from another student) then the student will receive a "0" on the assignment.
We will also complete a comprehensive research paper that will utilize MLA structure, organization, and citation. All research assignments will be submitted to turnitin.com. If a student plagiarizes any assignment (this includes copying an assignment from another student) then the student will receive a "0" on the assignment.
Grading
Grading
40% Practice of Skills
60% Performance of Skills
This is broken down into:
Quizzes/ Notebooks (and writings that are weighted as a quiz) 15%
Classwork (including peer review and discussion) 20%
Homework (not including reader’s journals) and weekly participation grade 20%
Test and Major Writings 45%
Missing Work
If a student is absent with an excuse note then the student will have 5 days from the absence to turn in any make up work. After 5 days the student will receive a "0". It is the student's responsibility to review the assignments posted on the website and ask any questions about the assignments that he/ she may have before the 5th day. I greatly encourage all students to email me or remind text me with any questions as soon as they can so that they do not fall behind.
Cell Phones
Cell phones are not to be used in class. Each student will be expected to turn in his/ her cell phone at the beginning of class to the charging station behind the teacher desk. Students are welcome to charge their phones but they will not be able to use them. Parents, if you need to contact your student, please feel free to call the classroom phone at (910)790- 2360 ext. 304 or contact the main office to leave a message for your student. If a student uses his/her phone during class they will be asked to hand it over and it will be turned in to the office. The student will lose their participation grade for that day as well. If a student refuses to hand over his/ her phone or is caught using it in class they will lose they will lose their participation grade for the day and will be written up for insubordination.
Notebooks
Each student will be required to maintain a learning notebook. The notebook should be organized according to these guidelines. Notebook checks will be random so each student needs to stay organized every day.
Tech Tools
These are technical tools that we will employ to enrich the class.
- Remind- the remind app is designed for schools to aide in communication between students and teachers. It is a free app that allows the teacher to send text-like messages directly to students and the students text questions to teachers without revealing personal information (i.e. phone numbers are not visible). To sign up for this, one simply text @hneng3 to 81010. All students need to register and I welcome parents to sign up as well.
- All Guardians need to complete the Guardian Information Form information Sheet before Monday, February 11, 2019. Just click on the link and complete the form.
- Turnitin.com- turnitin.com is a website that runs student submitted work against print and digital sources to spot plagiarism and structural issues. All major assignments will be submitted to Turnitin.com and students will receive a "0" if their assignment is found to plagiarized after teacher review of the results. This tool also allow students to do extensive grammar and syntax checks before they turn in an assignment. Students must create a free account and add our class. Our class code is 20376663 and the enrollment key is second.
Tutoring Hours
I am available for tutoring before and after school by appointment on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
Classroom Rules and Regulations
All students are expected to conduct themselves according to the Ashley High School Student Handbook Code of Ethics.
My rules are simple and I expect each student to follow them every day in my classroom:
- RESPECT- Respect is the basis for all rules, in my classroom I expect you to have respect for yourself, your fellow classmates and me. If you do, that respect will be returned to you.
- Be on time- Each student that is not in his/her seat at the bell will be considered tardy. The student will need to get a tardy slip from the hall sweepers at the end of each hallway. There are set punishments for each tardy. Be on time, it is disrespectful and disruptive to come in late.
- Do not talk during instruction time unless you been recognized by the teacher- This means that while I am talking, no student should be. There will be times during class when students will be able to interact with other students, but while I am talking, students should be listening- sometimes, I even say interesting stuff!
- Just to reiterate:
- Cell phones will not be tolerated in this classroom.
- And, If a student is absent, the student will have 5 days to make up work. This means the student will have 5 days from the day that he/she comes back. It is the student’s responsibility to ask what he/she missed while he/she was gone, if a student does not ask, it is that students fault that he/ she received a “0”. If a student is caught skipping, the student will not be able to make up work.