College Prep. English I
Mrs. Allison (Learning Specialist) and Ms. Grady (English)
Sixth Hour • Room 4
Contact Information:
lindsayallison@claytonschools.net
Meet Mrs. Allison in the SSD office 116
emilygrady@claytonschools.net
Conference Hours 1,3,4,5,7 & before and after school as available
Meet Ms. Grady in the English office 3D
Learning floats on a sea of talk.
John Dewey
What is College Prep. I? Course Description
We will build upon the middle school literacy program by reading challenging texts,
writing a variety of essays, creative pieces, and journal responses, giving formal and
informal presentations, and discussing ideas about the literature that we read and
the world that we live in.
What is the big idea? Essential Questions
How do our experiences, even our struggles, contribute to our identities?
How does telling the stories of our identities benefit us all?
What will we do? Talk, Read, Write
This class provides practice to refine oral and written communication skills, to
foster a love of reading and writing, to contribute positively to a sense of
community, and to understand the value of learning for learning’s sake. Specific
goals include:
• understanding the traits of effective writing
• using a process approach to writing with an emphasis on revision
• analyzing short stories, mythology, novels, poetry, and plays
• creating and supporting original thesis statements
• recognizing the similarities between our own lives and literature
• recognizing unfamiliar words in context and broadening our vocabulary
• researching effectively and responsibly
• evaluating our own and our peers’ writing
• using critical thinking skills
• writing as a tool for better understanding
• participating actively in writing conferences (at least five per semester)
What will we read? Required Texts
The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Flies, The Tipping Point, plus other selected
myths, short stories, articles, poems, films, plays and novels.
How does this class work? Class Expectations
Each person in our class and any visitors to our class should feel comfortable saying
what they believe, sharing what they know, and asking when they don’t. Members
of this community strive to contribute positively to the learning of others by being
respectful, courteous, and enthusiastic—and will work to maintain a calm
environment that supports our learning.
 Come to class on time, ready to learn with supplies and an open mind.
 Learn everybody’s name. Help someone who needs it. Find someone who
can help you when you need it (i.e. when you’re absent).
 Respect your classmates’ rights to defend their passions and to change their
minds.
 Take responsibility for your own learning. Talk to us if you’re struggling
with a part of the class. Show up for all of your conferences. Take care of the
work you missed during an absence in a timely manner. Demonstrate
integrity; plagiarizing a paper or relying on sources such as Sparknotes is
unacceptable.
 Respect the spirit of this community. Talk when it’s time to talk. Remain
quiet when there is a need for quiet. Respect that we all have different
learning styles and support others in their quests for success.
 In short, do good; do well.
But what about the little details? Absences, Tardies, Cell Phones…
 After an absence, you should make up work in a timely manner, no later than
a week after an absence. Check with a classmate about homework, but
speaking with us outside of class is necessary.
 Students cannot earn credit for work missed during an unexcused absence.
• Being here is important! The third tardy in a quarter will result in an after
school detention.
 We’re here to read, write, and think--but not with our phones. Silence your
phone and leave it face down on your desk for the entire class. We’ll hold
your phone if it’s a distraction—and we’d rather not have to make phone
calls home about the phone calls you’re getting in class. The same goes for
text messages, of course.
 Keep in mind that we’re here to LEARN, not to earn a grade. Powerschool is a
great resource, but it is not an “official” grade until your semester grade is
recorded. Don’t panic when a grade looks lower than you think it should be,
and don’t sit back because your grade looks better than you thought. Talk to
us about discrepancies. We’ll figure it out. Read on to learn about how we
grade.
Evaluation
Formative assessment is feedback assessment for me, for you and your
parents as you practice skills. Summative assessment is the evaluation you receive
on your benchmark work. As the year progresses and you grow in skill, more and
more of your grades will be summative. In addition, you can expect a final exam
each semester worth 10% of your semester grade. The chart below explains our
grading scale.
Beyond
Expectations
Meets
Expectations
Progressing
Not yet
Formative or Summative
Not only shows mastery of a
specific skill but is using the skill
in a sophisticated manner.
Shows mastery of a specific skill
and is ready for a more
sophisticated use.
Shows partial
mastery/understanding of a
specific skill.
May be making progress, but still
showing misunderstanding
related to a specific skill.
Formative scores are sort of like placeholders. We’ll track them, but they will not
count in your final grade. They do, however, highly correlate to the summative
scores you will earn. Think of formative scores like the scores in scrimmage games
you might play in daily practice for a sports team. Your summative scores are like
the outcomes of the big game. This system is our way to get the most out of grades
and put the emphasis on learning, not just earning a grade.