2013-2014 English I Class Expectations
Ms. Wilson, Room 116, wilsont@warrenhills.org; ext. 3543
Mrs. Edmonds, Room 110, edmondsj@warrenhills.org; ext. 3558
Educational Goals
Our goals are to develop and refine reading, writing, and
critical-thinking skills every day. We will emphasize the three modes of writing: argument,
informative, and narrative. Always remember that each student in your class – especially
you – possesses the ability to do well and to be successful in life. In order to reach these
goals, we will follow a set of policies, most of which will be familiar to you from middle
school and elementary school classrooms.
Classroom Policies
 Review your student handbook. All school-wide rules will be enforced, including
policies regarding attendance, electronic devices, and plagiarism.
 Respect your classmates. This rule includes listening and keeping quiet if a classmate is
speaking and raising your hand at appropriate times when you have something to say.
 Respect yourself. In other words, be sure to raise your hand if you have a comment or
question, complete all homework, and do your best.
 Respect your regular classroom teacher and substitute teachers. Three common mistakes
that will not be tolerated: holding a side conversation with a classmate while the teacher
or another student is talking, lining up at the door to exit the classroom a minute or two
before the final bell rings, and using the classroom garbage can as a basketball hoop.
 Always sit in your assigned seat. Seats are assigned for a variety of reasons. For
example, state-mandated documents will require several students in most of your classes
to receive preferred seating either close to the front of the classroom (if the student, say,
experiences trouble concentrating or seeing the board) or far from the front of the
classroom (to limit possible distractions). Please do not violate state law or school policy
by leaving your assigned seat.
 When the bell rings to signal the beginning of the class period, all students should be
seated in their assigned seats to begin work on the assignment posted at the front of the
room.
 When the bell rings to signal the end of the class period, all students should be seated in
their assigned seats. Desks should be in the same spot that they were in at the start of
class, especially if desks were moved for small-group activities. If scissors, construction
paper, colored pencils, or other classroom materials were distributed during the period,
they must be returned to their proper locations before students exit the classroom.
 In-class computer usage is a privilege, not a right. Each student
must sign out a laptop at the computer cart before taking the
laptop back to his/her desk. When working on laptops in class,
stay focused on the assignment. Students found surfing the
Internet for entertainment or working on any other material
unrelated to English I class will be asked to return their laptops.
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Page 2 – Class Expectations
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Stay away from the teacher’s desk and chair unless the teacher requests your presence there.
Homework assignments should be written on a computer and then printed out, unless your
teacher announces that she will accept handwritten work for a particular assignment. (If you do
not have a computer available at home, please let Ms. Manfra know.)
At the top left corner on the first page of each writing assignment, you must use a four-line,
double-spaced, Modern Language Association (MLA) heading. This is what the MLA heading
looks like:
Your first and last name
Jonathon Swift
Teacher’s name
Ms. Manfra
EXAMPLE:
Your class subject, block number
English I, Block 3/C
Date (number of the day, month, year)
7 July 2013
Classroom Signal
Many of our literature units will offer a great deal of time for students to work together in pairs or in
small groups. During such activities – and in other situations, too – your teacher will occasionally
need to get all students’ complete attention to give further directions, to clear up directions that
some students cannot understand, etc. When you hear Ms. Manfra announce, “Give me your
attention, please,” all classroom discussion and activity must stop until Ms. Manfra has finished
making the point that she wants to make. These five words are called a “classroom signal.” Please
listen for it during classroom activities.
Materials
Bring the following items to class every day:
 3-ring binder (2 to 3 inches; see separate handout for details)
 Unused, lined notebook paper inside the binder
 Two or more pens: blue or black ink
 Vocabulary book or any novel or non-fiction book we are studying
 Textbook
 Highlighters
 Sticky notes
 Flash drive
Ninth Grade Academy Policy on Assignment Deadlines
To earn full credit for an assignment, you must be prepared to hand it in upon entering the
classroom on the day it is due. Late assignments will lose 10 percent of their total points for each
day they are late for up to three school days, after which they will not be accepted. Deadlines are
extremely important in college and in the workforce; now is the time to get used to them.
Evaluation of Student Work
Grades are calculated on a total-points system. You will be told the point value for each graded
assignment. Our goal is to surpass 700 points per marking period but to avoid going over 1,000
points. Even if work is not graded, it still counts!
The Three-Ring Binder:
Your Lifeline to Success
You are required to keep class notes, teacher handouts, completed assignments, lined
paper for free-writes and formal writing assignments, and other material in a threering binder. The width of the binder should be 2 inches or thicker. Keeping an up-todate and organized binder will help you prepare for quizzes and tests, including the
final exam at the end of the school year. In addition, each marking period will include
at least one “notebook spot check” in which you can earn points by showing the
teacher that your binder is organized and contains all of the necessary information.
Therefore, always do your best to keep your notebook up-to-date and well-organized!
Divide your binder into the following five sections: General Notes, Free Writing,
Literary Terms, Vocabulary Terms, and Assessment Portfolio:
 The General Notes section is reserved for in-class note-taking and for
handouts that you receive from your teacher.
 You will get to practice your writing ability in the Free Writing section.
 Literary Terms should contain your notes about literature- and writing-related
terms that we will cover in class (e.g., alliteration, epiphany, irony, and
foreshadowing).
 Handouts and homework related to vocabulary assignments and quizzes should
remain in the Vocabulary Terms section.
 The Standards/Lesson Log section will contain Standard Packets and all
Lesson Logs. If any Standards Packets are misplaced, please reprint from class
website.
A three-hole punch will be available in the classroom for students to use whenever
they wish to add non-hole-punched pages to their binders. These organizational
practices will make it easier for you to locate information.
Bottom line: Always keep your notes, standards packets, lesson logs, handouts, and
free-writes.