Course Syllabus

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Teacher: Mrs. Lemons

Email: kelemons@dsdmail.net

Phone Number: 801-402-6400

Location: Room 202

Meeting Times:  I am available to meet before and after school on most days. Students and parents may email me to set up a time to meet. I am also available to meet by phone and Zoom. 

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is taking credit for someone else’s work.  It will not be tolerated in my class.  If a student plagiarizes, that student will receive a U for a citizenship grade for the term.  The student will be required to redo the assignment to check for mastery.  Copying another students work, or even putting another's students work into your own words is plagiarism and the student has not demonstrated mastery of the standards and will redo the assignment. Both students will be subject to redo the assignment and receive a U. If you allow another student access to your assignment, that is still plagiarizing, even if the student puts it into their own words. This means the student did not do their own research to find the answers and evidence. 

 

ENGLISH 8 DESK STANDARDS & PERSONALIZED LEARNING

English 8 is a standards-based class that focuses on personalized learning. Please see the following online resources for more details.

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

  • A binder, with a folder for English
  • Composition notebook (College ruled)
  • Pencils, pens, and colored pencils
  • Loose-leaf paper
  • An independent reading book
  • Your device, fully charged

These materials need to be with you every day.

 

WHAT WE WILL BE READING...

  • Short stories, articles, and poems from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Collections textbook (Online Version: Holt McDougal Online), Newsela, TeachingBooks and CommonLit
  • My Favorite Chaperone: Student Collections Text 
  • Seedfolks (possibly) by Paul Fleischman
  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
  • The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Play Version)
  • The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

We will also be watching clips from The Outsiders (1983 version) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 version) to compare and contrast film/novel. 

If you would prefer your student not to share copies of these books, you may purchase your own copy of each book. They are available at an inexpensive cost via Amazon. This is not required but encouraged. 

 

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

  • Listen and follow directions.
  • Raise your hand before speaking and leaving your seat. 
  • Follow Covid Procedures upon entering and leaving the classroom.
  • Keep your hands, feet, and belongings to yourself. When possible, please social distance and limit contact with others.
  • Devices should be silenced and contained in your backpack. 
  • Respect yourself, your classmates, and your teacher.

 

LATE/MISSING WORK

This is a unique school year, and there will be unique challenges. It will be your responsibility to stay caught up on work, whether that be from school or home. Please communicate with me if you are sick or unable to come to school so that I can email you the required assignments you will need to complete. Each assignment builds on each other, and it will eventually lead to a project. You must try to turn your assignments in on time so that you can stay caught up and receive valuable feedback. As we move to a standards based grading scale there won't be any more extra credit, so please do not wait till the last week of the term to turn in assignments.  Your demonstration of mastery on assessments will determine your grade.  Waiting till the end of the term to complete assignments does not leave room for improvement and opportunities to do better.  I do allow late work, however it needs to be within a reasonable time limit, you should not be turning in assignments for week 1 during the last week of the term.   

 

PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING

Please uphold a high standard of academic integrity and do your own work. Cheating, copying, and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas and passing them off as your own. It can also be reusing your own work from a previous class and passing it off as new work. You will often be asked to work independently (especially in the case of remote learning), and while we encourage you to use the web for study and research, your writing should reflect your own unique thinking and analysis.

 

CITIZENSHIP

Failure to follow classroom rules and do work on time will result in a lower citizenship grade. Parents will be notified if students have an N or a U. (Please see Canvas for further explanation on citizenship.)

 

ABSENCES & ONLINE LEARNING

 Students are responsible for classwork they have missed and need to make up. Canvas will be a great tool to keep up or catch up on work missed during an absence. Students may come in before school, after school, or during Spartan Academy for help. In case of illness or school closure, we will continue with our education via Canvas. Students are expected to promptly email the teacher when absent or when they have questions or concerns. Students are responsible for completing assignments and readings the day they are absent and must be completed before returning to class to ensure they are prepared upon their return.

“Links to resources have not been vetted beyond the original page cited.”

Canvas: https://www.davis.k12.ut.us/other/canvas-login (Links to an external site.)

 

GRADING SCALE

Letter Grade

Percentage

Rubric

A

93

4

A-

90

3.7

B+

87

3.3

B

83

3.0

B-

80

2.7

C+

77

2.3

C

73

2.0

C-

70

1.7

D+

67

1.3

D

63

1.0

D-

60

0.7

F

>50

0

ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT

All students are welcome. Every effort will be made to meet the specifications of 504 and IEP plans. Students who anticipate needing accommodations or who feel their needs are not being met, please reach out via phone or email as soon as possible.  

 

DONATIONS APPRECIATED!

If you would like to donate supplies to the classroom, we are always in need of the following:

  • Disposable face masks
  • Clorox wipes
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Tissues
  • Paper towels
  • Pencils
  • Composition notebooks (college ruled)

Course Summary:

Date Details Due