January 13, 2014 Dear Parents and Guardians, Welcome to English I CP and to the beginning of a new semester at Early

College High School. This course is designed to help students improve their reading, writing, communication, and research skills through a variety of activities and assignments, as well as independent and collaborative learning. Selection of Reading Materials The district provides access to a wide variety of reading materials and resources in promoting literacy for students. In selecting the materials and resources for classroom libraries and media centers, teachers and media specialist follow the general procedures that may be found on the district webpage at http://www.horrycountyschools.net/pages/Horry_County_Schools/Ac2/Curriculum___Instruction/33523733769002144 34 One of a schools primary goals is to develop lifelong learners, with literacy being a key component in this process. Reading a wide range of materials helps students develop these literacy skills. While a schools classrooms and media center make every effort to provide only the highest quality reading materials, we understand that parents want to help their children make wise a choice as it pertains to what their child reads. A parent who may have questions about his/her childs reading material may contact the school media specialist to request additional information regarding the title, including possible professional reviews of the title. The school media specialist will work collaboratively with parents and teachers, to identify titles that will help develop a love of reading. Classroom libraries in teachers classrooms offer a variety of texts for a variety of interests and reading levels and students self-select these books to develop their reading skills. Every book may not be appropriate for every student. Parents and students may ask for an alternative novel/work if there is an objection to the content in a novel/work. Teachers are expected to help students and parents identify another choice.

Student work is graded on a school-wide scale. Weights are assigned based on the difficulty and time constraints of a given assignment. Grades will be posted weekly in PowerSchool. A weekly agenda and guidelines for all major assignments will be posted on Edmodo.com. Please contact me if you would like to receive a parent code to sign on to Edmodo and see your students course. I will also post documents on my website mrsknowlesenglish1.weebly.com. Please go to this site to see the course calendar with due dates for all major assignments. I will have our course calendar posted by Tuesday, January 14 on the English I Course Documents webpage. If your student needs extra help, I am available to work after school, as long as your student gives me advance notice. Please take time to review our syllabus. Sign the signature form on the next page and have your student return it by Tuesday, January 21. This will count as one of your students first grades. We must work together for this to be a successful learning experience. I encourage you to contact me at any time during the school year. My planning period is during third block (11:00-12:50) and I can be reached via phone or e-mail. I look forward to meeting you and getting to know your student. Lets work together to make a difference in your students educational experience. Sincerely,

Lyndsay Knowles

Welcome to Mrs. Knowles English I CP Class! Office: 227 Classroom: 228 School Phone: 843-349-3164 Email: lknowles@horrycountyschools.net Virtual Classroom: www.edmodo.com Course Outline and Objectives This course is designed to help you improve your reading, writing, communication, and research skills through a variety of activities and assignments, as well as independent and collaborative learning. Assignments will include short writings, daily grammar practice, Cornell notes, vocabulary exercises, quickwrites, text annotations, book reviews, major essays, a multi-genre research project, quizzes, structured discussion activities, and tests. We will learn a variety of reading and annotation strategies, and we will spend a large portion of time learning about different types of writing and developing our writing skills. Class will begin every day with DGP (Daily Grammar Practice), with the exception of Friday. On Fridays, we will have some silent reading time, during which you will read a book of your choice. The remaining time in class every day will be dedicated to the reading, writing, and communication skills that we are working on at that point in the semester. We will be reading non-fiction texts, a class novel, poems, and short stories; in addition, we will be studying non-print texts such as photographs, short videos, and movie clips. Texts Prentice Hall Language and Literacy To Kill a Mockingbird Assigned Novel Supplemental novels from classroom library and school media center Supplemental articles/poems/essays/short stories The 3 Rs Be Ready: I expect you to be seated and ready to learn with all the necessary materials (pencils, pens, paper, etc.) the minute that class begins. Please be on time. Be Responsible: You are responsible for yourself, your belongings, and your behavior. Please play your part in keeping this classroom clean and safe. Be Respectful: Respect the learning environment and the classroom. Disruptions are not acceptable. Respect yourself and other people. No insults based on appearance, skin color, gender, religion, or personal beliefs will be tolerated. We all have the right to be treated with respect. The AVID Notebook The AVID binder is essential to your success at Early College. It will be checked a minimum of six times throughout the semester (at least three times each quarter), and it is worth 30% of each quarter grade. Binder grades may be taken either at the beginning of class or at the very end of class, depending upon the assignment; these grades will consist of both homework and class work assignments (including rough drafts of major assignments that are posted on Edmodo). You will be given due dates for class work and homework assignments in class, as well as through our weekly agenda that will be posted on Edmodo.com on Monday morning. Major Projects/Essays Out of class essay assignments must be typed (not handwritten). You must use a version of Microsoft Word. Essays must be doublespaced and should conform to MLA format include the name of the writer, the teachers name, class/section number, and the due date. You will submit both an annotated hard copy of each writing assignment, as well as an electronic copy on your portfolio that you will create using Weebly.com at the beginning of the semester. Projects must adhere to all guidelines that are outlined in the assignment sheet that I give you in class and will be included in your Weebly portfolio as well. Please note that I expect you to revise your rough drafts before you submit the final drafts of your assignments; if you do not make any changes to the rough draft, I will deduct ten points from your final grade. Rough Drafts and Peer Review Workshops Rough Draft and Peer Review Workshop grades will be recorded in the AVID Binder section of the gradebook. You must post your rough draft on Edmodo as a Word file (.doc or .docx), and you must bring four copies of your rough draft to class on the peer review workshop days. If you are unable to print four copies of your draft, you can e-mail me your rough draft the night before the workshop, and I will print the copies of the draft for you when I get to school in the morning. If you do not e-mail the draft the night

before, and you do not have four copies of a completed draft with you on the peer review workshop day, you will not be permitted to participate and will receive a zero for the workshop. You will receive fifty points for bringing the rough draft to the workshop and another fifty points for posting the rough draft on Edmodo, which will total one hundred points for that assignment if you submit it on time. This grade will count as a binder check and will be recorded in the AVID Binder category in the gradebook. Reading Expectations Please have your silent reading book with you at all times. Even on days when we dont have reading scheduled, you may have time to read after you finish a test, quiz, or in-class assignment. Edmodo You are expected to join our class on Edmodo and check our class group page regularly for the weekly agenda, updates, reminders, assignment details, and a detailed course calendar with rough draft and final draft due dates. I will regularly post grammar focus PowerPoints on our class page, and you will be required to take Cornell notes on these presentations on your own outside of class. You will also submit various assignments on Edmodo. Please see me if you have difficulty accessing a computer and/or the Internet at home. Procedures Bathroom Passes: You have four personal passes every quarter (every nine weeks). If you need to go to the bathroom, hand your personal pass to me before you go with the date and the time filled in and sign out on the clipboard at the front of the room. If you have extra bathroom passes left at the end of the quarter, you will receive extra credit. Pencils: Please sharpen your pencil when you get into the classroom before the bell rings. If you forget your pencil, dont worry! Just sign a pencil out from the pencil cup and be sure to turn it back in by the end of class. Discipline You are responsible for your behavior. I prefer to deal directly with you instead of calling your parents or guardians. I expect to see a difference in your behavior if I do have to speak with you. If not, I will make the necessary arrangements to see that your behavior does not disrupt the students who are ready and willing to learn. Absences and Makeup Work If you miss a day of school, it is your responsibility to get your make-up work. Make-up work must be completed and turned in within five days of returning to school. Please make sure you have a study buddy and get your study buddys contact information to catch up on work that you miss. When you submit makeup work, do not leave your work on my podium or anywhere else in the classroom make sure you give it to me directly. Late Work Dues dates for all work will be clearly communicated to you. I will deduct ten points per day for any assignment you submit after the due date (with a maximum of fifty points being deducted). Please submit your work on time and earn the grade that you deserve. Plagiarism Plagiarism is as serious an offense as exists within an academic environment. Plagiarism, cheating, collusion, falsification of information, or any other form of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in discipline including, at the very least, a zero on the assignment in question. Anyone guilty of plagiarism, cheating, collusion, or falsification of information will be reported to the administration of Early College High School. Grading Policy A B C D F

93 100 85 92 77 84 70 76 below 70

The grading policy is as follows: Projects/Essays 40% AVID Binder 30% Tests 20% Quizzes/Other Graded Assignments 10%

Semester Grading Scale Quarter One 40% Quarter Two 40% End-of-Course Test 20%

Parent/Student Signature Form for English I The attached information communicates academic expectations for English I College Preparatory. Please read the packet of information and sign in the appropriate place. Please return this form as soon as possible as students will be receiving their first homework grade for the return of this assignment. Parent/Guardian: I have read and understood the following: Teacher letter Syllabus Parent's Name ___________________________________ (print) ___________________________________ (signature) Parent's Information: Home phone _________________________ Work phone __________________________ Cell phone ___________________________ Email ______________________________ Student: I have read and understood the following: Teacher letter Syllabus

Student's Name _________________________________ (print) ____________________________________ (signature) Student's Information: Cell phone _____________________________ Email ________________________________