Basic Classroom Rules
1. Treat others, including me, as you would like to be treated.
2. Come prepared and don't be late. You will be issued a textbook. We will not use this textbook every day, but you are expected to bring it every day.
3. DO NOT TALK WHILE THE TEACHER IS TALKING TO YOU and he will not talk while you are talking to him.
4. Be responsible for your own trash.
5. Be responsible for your own hygiene.
6. Always ask permission before you leave the room. If you are going to be late for class, tell someone to let me know where you are because I am responsible for you when you are supposed to be in my class.
7. No disrespect for people or property.
8. Disagreement with a rule is not sufficient reason for breakage of that rule.
Academic Concerns
Often your grade in this class will be determined by the EFFORT you put into the various projects and assignments we will be doing throughout the year. Also, you must meet the deadlines and fulfill the criteria that will be set for these projects and assignments.
You will be issued a Steno pad at the beginning of the year and this Steno is not to leave the room without my permission. You will keep notes, vocabulary, rules of grammar and spelling, characters, settings and plots of the books we read as a class and various other bits of information in this Steno. You are expected to keep yours up to date because most of my tests and quizzes are taken from the information contained in your Steno.
You will need to purchase a folder, which will be kept in my room and will be used specifically to hold all of the writing assignments you do throughout the year as well as the research paper you will do at the end of the year. At the end of the year, you will select from your folder some samples of your writing to be sent to your 9th grade English teacher.
Major Projects / Assignments: A criteria sheet and/or rubric will be given for each assignment. It will be imperative that students meet these requirements.
Book Report Projects: These involve you selecting a book of 150 pages or more from a specific genre: mystery / suspense, poetry, short stories, informational, sports, adventure, biography / autobiography, humor, general fiction or historical fiction. I must approve the book you choose. These books are to be brought to class every day because each class will begin with SSR, but you may read the book on your own any time. After you have selected a book, you need to get a "category sheet". You fill out this sheet as you read the book. I will give you a list of projects from which you will select one to do with each book. You are expected to do four of these during the first semester. You MAY NOT repeat a category (genre) and you MUST do a different project with each book.
Era Brochure/Power Point: Each student will select a year before they were born and use the Internet toresearch that year and put together a brochure. The brochure will include a variety of things that happened, inventions, national events, popular products, TV shows/commercials, sporting news, cost of living, famous birthdays, music, movies, and other interesting facts. This assignment may also be presented as a power point presentation.
Wartime presentation/interview: Prior toVeterans' Day you will be given your first collaboration assignment. This will require you and two other students to select two items from the American Wars Extension Menu to research and present your findings to the class. Along with your presentation you are required to interview a person of at least 50 years of age. You will be responsible for compiling questions concerning their lifetime during a war. We will cover the responsibilities of group members, guidelines for formal speaking as well as how to develop questions for the interview process.
Bulletin Board: You will be assigned a week which you and 2 or 3 of your classmates will display a bulletin board that your group designed. You will need a theme and letters and pictures depicting that theme. I have construction paper, boarder, stencils, scissors, etc. that you may borrow. Just ask!
Consumer Report: You will select a common product and put together a consumerreport by testing your product on your classmates who will act as your consumers. You will develop questionnaires to gather information from your consumers to help you put together your report, which will also contain background information about your product. Remember, this is not about different flavors of the same product. You should have the same "flavor" or product from different manufacturers.
Linguistics Terms PowerPoint: You will be responsible for designing a power point presentation concerning linguistic terms that will be assigned to you. Your presentation will consist mainly of definitions and examples, cleverly presented of course. You must also come up with a way to quiz your audience either electronically (web site) or otherwise
Newscast: You and three or four of your classmates will develop a fictitious newscast LIVE in front of the camera. This will be combined with a Commercial: Along with this same group, you will write a commercial using advertising propaganda. Your group will act out your commercial in an attempt to sell your fictitious product. Your commercial will be filmed and aired during a commercial break of your newscast.
Demonstration: You will be required to give a demonstration or "how to..." which lasts a minimum of ten minutes. Wide ranges of topics have been presented in the past, but I must approve your topic. We don't want you putting your life in danger or causing injury to anyone. These are done in the classroom, on school grounds, in the gymnasium (with approval of Mrs. Rossi), or you may film yours at another site and we will watch it on the television.
Research Paper: During the last nine weeks you will select a topic to research that you already know something about but would like to know more. You will use this topic to follow the guidelines set forth in the high school's research manual. I will set due dates for each step of the process. When completed, this will be sent along with your writing samples to your 9th grade English teacher.
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