Important Class Information - Syllabus

English 9 Honors and Academic Syllabus

Mrs. Whittington

R.I.S.E.

Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence

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Units/Texts

Unit 1: Identity

Texts: Short Stories (Long Way Down)

Unit 2: Social Justice

Text: OMAM (Book Clubs)

Text: Odyssey (Book Clubs)

Unit 3: Making Decisions

Text: Romeo and Juliet

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Contact

- Room 1612

- Shelby.Whittington@lcps.org

- School #: 703-996-2100

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Objectives

Students will:

- Make oral presentations to the class.

- Examine media for messages.

- Read and analyze a variety of literature.

- Draft, self- and peer-revise writings for a variety of audiences and purposes.

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Grades

Students & Parents: Check Phoenix!

- Formative assessments measure student growth.

- Summative assessments measure mastery of material.  They count toward a student’s grade.

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Materials

- A journal (spiral or composition) that you will write in daily. Make sure you always have it with you!

- Your own pens, pencils, and highlighters.

- Red pens to do corrections with.

- Loose leaf paper.

- A specific spot for your English materials. I do not mind if this is a folder or a binder, whatever works
best for you. You just need to have a designated spot for your handouts so that you can locate them easily.

- Independent Reading book - will be used every day! (No Electronic Books)

- Optional items needed in the classroom: Tissues, Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer; anything to help keep you and
the other students healthy!

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Attendance

Absentee Policy:

If you miss class because of illness or an excused absence:

1. Check the Class Blog (whittenglish9.blogspot.com) for class agenda, plus any handouts or assignments.

2. Turn in work that was due on the day you missed upon your return to school.

3. See me during non-instructional time with any questions about what you may have missed.

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Late Work

- Up to 1 week late: 10% off.

- After 1 week: 50% off.

- Each quarter will have a set deadline after which no late work will be accepted.

- Work not submitted to all appropriate locations will not be counted as on time.

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Important Websites

- Phoenix Gradebook: Check grades

- Class blog: Whittenglish9.blogspot.com - assignments, due dates, and instructions.

- Turnitin.com: All writing assignments will be submitted here for plagiarism checks - no similarity report
over 8% will be accepted. Please see the honor code section below.

- Google Classroom: Class assignments that require typing. PWP's will be turned in here.

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Honor Code

Any Turnitin report over an 8% that a student has not addressed, will follow through the RRHS school
Honor Code policies for school disciplinary action.

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Electronic Device Policy

Phones are great!  They’re useful to stay in touch with your BFF, and to learn on

...BUT…

They can also interfere with your learning.  In this class, there are parameters around phone usage.  
(Wondering what parameters are?  Check out m-w.com. Hands down best dictionary website out there.)

1.) Phones and headphones are only allowed out during independent work time. Phones should not
be a distraction to you or others during this time, otherwise, the privilege disappears.
2.) Phones are not allowed out during silent reading, during class instruction, or during any other time in
class. If the teacher has not told you it is independent work time, your phone should be away.

Please instead use your assigned Chromebook from the school for class assignments.

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Process Writing Project

The Process Writing Project will continue over the course of the year. Students will write a minimum of 6
papers, one of each of the genres assigned: Research, Poetry, Personal Narrative, Creative Fiction, Business
Letter, and Reader Response. Each PWP will have a final due date of 2 weeks before the end of each
quarter. Before that time, students can turn in their paper as many times as they would like in order to receive
corrections and feedback from the teacher.

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Process Writing Project Grading

Students will be given a ‘Polished Draft’ due date. The teacher will then return one of two grades.

- ‘A’: Accepted. This indicates that the paper is accepted, and is of generally publishable quality, and
results in a score of 100%

- ‘R’: Revise. Commonly, the student will receive an ‘R’, which indicates that a paper needs revision.
The student should use writer’s workshop time in class, as well as their own time, to revise the paper.  
An ‘R’ will result in a score of 75%. Students may submit as many times during the teacher assigned time
period as needed to receive an ‘A’ - Accepted.
- If a student does not submit a paper, the student will receive a 0, and late work polices may apply.

After the student has received either an ‘A’ or ‘R’ from the teacher, PWP grades are completely within the

student’s control; using the rubric and responding to teacher feedback, the student should engage in meaningful
revision and resubmit the paper (along with all previous drafts) multiple times for assessment. Students who
demonstrate a commitment to the revision process through meaningful thought and revision will be successful
with this process.
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Writing Center - Room 1605

The Writing Center will be available to all students during all lunch blocks every day. You do not need an

appointment, just grab your lunch and show up!

- All 9th grade students are required to go to the Writing Center once during the first quarter for PWP#1.

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Retakes

Honors students are not allowed to retake any summative assessment. Academic students are allowed retakes
only on unit assessments. In order to be eligible for a retake, students must have completed all unit formative
assessments.