9th Grade Humanities 2014-2015

Ms. Kenney & Ms. Joiner

Rooms 104 & 103

Ms. Kenney Contact Information
Phone: 737-4348 x. 2041
E-mail: kkenney@richmondme.org
Website: mskenneysclassroom.weebly.com
Remind101: Text @be695f to (207) 518-7701

Ms. Joiner Contact Information
Phone 737-4348 x. 2025
E-mail: rjoiner@richmondme.org
Remind 101: Text @3b8bf22 to (207) 518-7669

Overview:
This class is a combination of English and Social Studies. All of the assessments
for the class will hit both English and Social Studies MTs. Students will be grouped and
regrouped frequently according to their pace.

Behavior Expectations:
We have worked at a class to determine what the Code of Conduct will be for the
Humanities classroom. Since you agreed to the expectations, we will be holding you to
them, just as you can hold us to our end of the bargain. You are in high school now, and the
work gets harder. That means you will need to put more effort and focus into your work,
which can happen if we all work to create a good learning environment. If you find that you
cant meet expectations and you are disrupting that learning environment, there will be
consequences. We will start with a conversation about it and decide on an acceptable
course of action. The goal is to make our classrooms a place where all students can be
successful, but we all have a role to play.

Cell Phones:
Cell phones used inappropriately in class are primarily a distraction. There will be
times where you will use your phones for instructional purposes, but we will make you
aware of that time. Of course, if there is a situation like an illness in the family or something
of that nature, just talk to us and we can work something out. Otherwise, unless we are
using the cell phone for an activity/lesson, Ms. Kenney and Ms. Joiner dont want to see or
hear your phone. If we do, we will take it away for the rest of the day and keep it safe for
you.
Laptops
When you enter the classroom, your laptop should be closed unless the opening
activity on the board requires you to use it. If you are using your laptop for something other
than what is assigned, then your laptop will be confiscated for the remainder of the class
period and you will be expected to make up the class time after school.

24-hour rule
If you miss a deadline (not that this will happen!), you have 24 hours to submit the
work or you will need to stay after school until the work is done. In that time, your parents
will receive a phone call to let them know the situation and that you will be staying after.

Help
On a related note, sometimes the work in this class will be difficult for you. We
wouldnt be doing our job if we werent challenging you. BUT if you are really struggling, or
something just isnt making sense, youve got to tell us. Dont just blow the work off and
spend your time complaining about what a (insert your insult of choice here) your teachers
are. Doing that will just make it harder for us to work together. Thats why we think its so
important to build relationships in the beginning of the year, so you feel comfortable coming
to us with questions and concerns. Listen, it is our job to help you, we want to help you, we
need to help you, so please, let us help you.
Ms. Kenneys availability:
I will be after school every day until at least 2:50, except on Fridays (2:35). I am available to
meet with you until 3:30 on any given day, but if you can just give me a heads up that you
will be staying for extra help. On Wednesdays, we have faculty meetings so if you plan to
stay after on that day then please let me know ahead of time.

Ms. Joiners availability:
I will be after school every day until at least 2:50, except on Fridays (2:35). I may be
later on any given day, except Wednesday (staff meetings) or any other pre-scheduled
meeting. If you want to ensure I will be available please give me a heads up (via stopping
by or emailing me) so that I can make sure to be available.

Content
This is the important stuff. The class will be broken up into many different segments.

Ticket to Enter
Every day will open with a prompt on the board for you to respond to as soon as you
walk into the room. Read the quote or prompt, and then answer the question or questions
below it. Always use complete sentences and give your best effort. There is no wrong
answer, as many of these are opinions or reactions. You may leave a journal in the
classroom to respond to the ticket to enter, but the responses MUST BE hand-written OR
saved on your laptop in a folder labeled for them.

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)
One of our top goals is to help you become a better reader and writer, and the
single most effective way for you to do that is simply to read more. One of our routine
activities in Humanities class will be SSR, when all students will SILENTLY read a book of
your choice for 30 minutes on the last day of the week (depending on if we have you on
Thursday or Friday). We encourage you to choose books that you are interested in, and
we can help you find those books in the Media Center.

Vocabulary
Your vocabulary should improve just by reading more. We will also be working on
vocabulary that you will need to understand the books we are reading and the MTs we are
tackling. You will occasionally be quizzed on your knowledge of the words, but thats really
only level 2 knowledge; the level 3 assessments for vocabulary will be actually using your
new words in your writing and discussions.

Writing
We will be writing a lot in here, and our focus will be on writing effective thesis
statements and introductions for essays, but we will also focus on narrative writing (telling
stories). We will also focus on the writing process, since its one of your MTs, and we will
be practicing, practicing, practicing. Like reading, the only way to become a better writer
is to read and write more. We will be using the writing workshop model for writing
instruction, and Ill give you more info about it as we get closer.
In addition to writing pieces that will be multiple drafts, well practice on-demand
writing, which will be important in helping you succeed on things like standardized tests.
Were going to start ASAP, and well work together to analyze your strengths and
weaknesses so we know what to focus on.

Grammar
Our grammar MT is compund/complex sentences, so that will be our focus, but
grammar instruction in other areas will be part of the writing workshop approach we will be
using, so I will be using examples from your writing (with names removed, of course) to help
teach mini-lessons and give some practical examples and practice.



Map Quizzes
In Social Studies, it is hard to study a culture or a people if you cant locate them on
a map. In each region of the world that we study this year, we will have a map quiz to
familiarize you with the countries involved.

Humanities MTs

Social Studies:
Geography
World History: Leadership & People
World History: Comparative Government
World History: War & Diplomacy

English Skills:
Writing: Types & Purpose: Informative/Explanatory (Using Transitions)
Writing: Research Process
Compund, Complex Sentences
Dialect, Mood, & Tone
Flashback and Foreshadowing
Context, Narrator, & Characters
Informational Reading
Writing Routinely
Vocabulary