8.4.14
DO NOW
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Pick up a syllabus.
Pick up a notecard.
Find your seat.
On your notecard, write the following.
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Name
Birthday
Favorite song
Contact information of the person who I should call to compliment you
AGENDA
 Do Now
 Syllabus
MAJOR COURSE TEXTS- SEMESTER 1
 Assor ted speeches- Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George Bush
 A Midsummer Night’s Dream - William Shakespeare
 Assor ted poetr y, stories, and speeches - Pablo Neruda and
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
 Excerpts from The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
 “Interpreter of Maladies” - Jhumpa Lahiri
RULES
 Sit in your assigned seat at all times
 Be in your seat and working on the do now when the bell rings.
 Be on task. Anything that is out on your desk distracting you
becomes mine until the end of the day.
 Show respect to yourself, your classmates, and your teacher.
 No checking or bad words.
 Follow all directions the first time they are given.
 Stay in your seat and do not throw anything. If you need to get
up, please ask.
 No one will leave class during the first 15 minutes or the last
15 minutes.
 You get two restroom passes a quarter. If you do not have a pass, you
will not leave the room.
 At the end of the quarter, you can turn in your unused passes for 10
extra credit points.
 No eating or drinking in class.
 Reminder of school rules:
 Be in uniform.
 Zipped jackets only.
 Must be unzipped in the hallway.
 Dress code violations result in a Saturday or a suspension this year.
 Do not use your cellphone, iPod, headphones, etc. in class.
 If I see your cell phone + take it up, it goes to the front office. You
parents can pick it up on Friday at 3pm.
TARDIES
 1 tardy = warning
 2 tardies= lunch detention (15 min)
 Each additional tardy = 5 minutes
 Must have an admit slip from Ms. Irby if you are late
ASSESSMENTS
 Quizzes:
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Every Friday
Vocab for the week
Skills we have gone over during the week
Worth 50 points
 If you miss a quiz, you need to make it up with in a week.
Quizzes that are not made up within a week will receive a score
of 0.
 Tests:
 End of the unit
 Worth 100 points
 If you miss a test, you need to make it up with in a week. Tests
that are not made up within a week will receive a score of 0.
 Essays:
 At least 1 essay/unit
 Worth 150 points
 Essay grades are lowered 10 points for ever yday they are
turned in late. If an essay is more than a week late, it will
receive a grade of a zero.
 Projects:
 Worth 100 points
 Homework:
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2x week
Worth 50 points
Late= 35/50
More than 1 week late= 25/50
PARTICIPATION POINTS
 100/week
 20/day
 5 for do now
 If you are late, you do not get these points
 15 for classwork
 If you don’t do your work or have a behavior problem, you lose these
points
BINDERS
 Binders: You will need to keep a binder for this class. We will
go over how to organize your binders when you bring your
materials on the 12 th .
 Binders will periodically be collected unannounced and graded,
so be sure to keep up with your binder at all times.
COMPOSITION BOOK
 Composition Books: Writing is one of the most impor tant skills that you
can leave high school with. While you will be doing a variety of formal,
academic writing in class, one of the best ways to improve your writing
is to practice.
 Therefore, you are responsible for making two entries in your
composition book ever y week. I will grade the composition books ever y
two weeks and look for 4 entries.
 You may write in whatever form you wish (poetr y, f iction, analytical
writing, anecdote, etc.) about any topic you choose. You can write about
your life or make up stories. As long as you are making the correct
number of entries per week, you will receive credit for your work.
 If for some reason you don’t want me to read something, write DO NOT
READ at the top, and I will just flip thorough those pages to make sure
that you completed the entr y.
INDEPENDENT READING
 Independent Reading:
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1 book/quarter
Book approved by Ms. G
Complete a project + summary sheet
Worth 100 points
MAKE UP WORK
 Makeup Work:
 Go to absent folder and get work with your name on it
 If you have missed notes, copy them from a classmate .
 If you have missed reading, talk to Ms. G so that she can send a book
home with you so that you can complete the missing assignment .
 All work can also be found on the class website
 If you have more than 3 0s, you will receive a ZAP.
 You may ask for makeup work throughout the quar ter; however,
the late work policy will apply. I will not provide or accept
makeup work during the last week the quar ter; you need to be
on top of your grades and make it up before then.
ACADEMIC HONEST Y
 Academic Honesty: Any form of cheating will result in a grade of 0
on the assignment. This zero will not be able to be replaced. You
all are transitioning out of high school and, many of you will be
transitioning into college. Most colleges have ver y strict academic
honesty policies, and cheating can result in automatic failure of
the class, costing you time and money.
 For the purposes of this class, the following will count as
cheating:
 Copying answers from a classmate on a test, quiz, or homework.
 Having your cell phone, notes, vocab sheet, etc. visible during a test or a
quiz.
 Copying and pasting from the internet and claiming it as your own work.
 Using direct quotes with out citations or quotation marks.
 Turning in identical work to one of your classmates.
 Any method in which you are getting answers that involves something
other than your own brain!
MATERIALS
 Materials List: By August 12 th , students need to have the
following materials to bring to class:
 Writing utensil
 1.5 inch binder (preferably with pockets)
 5 divider tabs
 Notebook paper
 1 package of index cards (3 x 5 inch, lined)
 One composition book
 If you are going to have dif ficulty getting these materials by the
12 th , please let Ms. G know as soon as possible so that we can
work out an alternate arrangement.
CLASS WEBSITE
 http://msgrazianosclass.weebly.com /
 Return the signed por tion of the syllabus by 8/12/14 for your
first homework grade.