Welcome!

• Please place your letter in your class basket; it is due today.

• Take out your name tag and sit in the same seat as yesterday.

• Take out your Daily Writing sheet, or your composition notebook if you have one already.

If you could walk through any door, what would you like it to open to?

Classroom Plan Continued

• 1. Your questions/comments• 2. How to turn things in• 3. How to turn one thing in late and still get credit• 4. How to get your make-up work/figure out what

you missed if you were out• 5. What to do if you finish an assignment early.• 6. What happens if you can’t manage to follow

these rules & procedures, despite viewing this awesome presentation about them.

Your Questions/Comments…Were quite funny.• Yes, if you have food with you, you will simply set it off to the side. Hopefully, you won’t

bring anything fragrant like piping hot pizza that makes me ridiculously hungry, inevitably making me hangry.

• I agree: Oxygen is good.• You seem like wonderful people, too. • I make you write on these sticky notes because, A) your comments make me smile, and B)

it’s a good way to communicate without interrupting class too often.• Yes, absence is a big issue for this class. You have one more year of high school English. Be

here. If your absence is excused, you can make up your work. If it’s not, we will have a problem. I don’t like spending my free time helping people catch up because they were at the beach, sleeping, etc. I would rather spend that precious free time of mine at the beach, sleeping, etc.

• If you are out, Pinnacle is good place to check. Also, when you return to school, you will follow the “Three Before Me” policy, which means that you will ask three of your classmates what you missed/what you need before you ask me. You will also want to check the class reference binder and the absent folder.

Your Questions/Comments

• Yes, you can have drinks with lids… if those drinks are water. Honestly, how will I know if these drinks are water? Well, if you spill them, and they are sticky, I will give you my most withering stare.

• Will you ever have free days? Never for the entire period, but you might have some free time occasionally. We have a lot to cover, and we move from thing to thing fairly quickly.

• The folder I mentioned should have three prongs, so you can store your work in it like a magazine.

• The “Word Wall” is where I will display all of our vocabulary words for this year.

Your Questions/Comments• The nearest restroom is in the media center; however, the media center is closed sometimes

(in fact, it is closed today), and there is only one stall. It is worth it to walk across to Building 5.• Extra Credit… Yes, sometimes. Kahoot! and other review-game winners usually get a point or

two.• I’m not positive that I will have Snickers on hand every time an exemplary act occurs, but I will

make a point to bring some in at some point this year.• YES, WE WILL DEFINTIELY DO ARTSY PROJECTS! Your beautiful work will adorn my walls soon

enough!• There is a lot of group work/collaboration in here, yes.• Your Daily Writing notebooks will go in the baskets (the ones on the floor) at the end of the

class period. You may do more than just DW in there on any given day; your exit ticket might be written in there.

• HAMLET IS NOT BORING. I’ll prove it to you. • We have only one planned novel this year, but Hamlet and Beowulf both feel like novels

(although Hamlet is a play and Beowulf is an epic poem). So, three. We will do a lot with other genres of writing, too. If time permits in the first semester, we may throw in another novel. TBA.

• I’ve been a teacher for three and a half years.• The district seems to have NO IDEA yet about district/EOC exams for English class. Last year,

they created an exam, then cancelled it, then put it back, then cancelled it again. I’ll keep you posted. And I’m sorry.

• Nope, you can’t go through the media center door for any reason.

Interview the person sitting next to you

• In your bin, you should have the questions and a half sheet of white paper to record your responses.

• Person with the longest hair asks the questions first.• You will have about 6 minutes for the first interview,

and then you will switch and have another 6 minutes for the second interview

• Ask and record notes on all ten questions about your partner

• When time is up, you will introduce your partner to the class. Select 3 of the 10 items to share.

How to turn things in• PUT THE HEADING ON THERE!

– If it is a handwritten assignment, put your name, class period, the date, and the assignment title in the upper right hand corner)

• If your homework is a completion assignment (typically things like worksheets, graphic organizers, outlines, questions, reader response, etc.), I will ask that you have it out on your desk. I will then come around and check each student’s work at his/her desk.

• If the assignment is complete, you earn a 20/20.• If the assignment is incomplete (even by one question), but you did at

least half of it, you earn 10/20• If the assignment is less than half complete or if it is missing, you earn a

0/20• The assignment then stays at your desk, and we will usually go over it

together as a class.

• If the assignment is something that I want to read and give personalized feedback on (typically things like essays, vocabulary sentences, projects, and others), I will let you know to place it in your class bin at the start of class.

How to turn in late work

• (Show late work form)

Make-up work• If you were absent, Ask Three Before Me!• This means you talk with a classmate about what you missed. Then, ask

someone else to make sure you get a thorough answer. Then, just to be safe, you can ask someone else. After that, if you still don’t understand a concept or an assignment, come see me during office hours.

• You should also check the class binder and the green ABSENT FOLDER to pick up any handouts you may have missed.

• You will also check the master Daily Writing notebook to see what DW you missed, make it up, and place your composition notebook in your class tray (not in the big bin where it normally goes). That way, I can still give you the points. This is extra work for me, so don’t bother if your absence was unexcused. If you missed a DW, and your absence isn’t excused, then you missed those 5 easy points.

What to do if you finish early1.THIS IS ENGLISH CLASS--READ A BOOK! Or a magazine. I have a selection up front that you can peruse. We are also insanely close to the media center. You can easily check a book out and have it with you each day. That being said, you can only read your book when you are done with our classwork. 2. Work on school work for another class3. Study those pesky vocabulary words that you know we are going to have4. Freewrite (journal) or draw in your composition notebook5. Ask me if I need help with anything (often, I do need help replenishing supplies/gathering materials for the next group of students who are about to enter).6. Catch up with another student who is also finished. Try to keep it somewhat quiet. There is a great table in the backroom you could hang out at together. 7. Do leave your cell phone off and away.

Other Housekeeping Items• There is a lost and found bin in the back of the room. Check there for

personal items you may have left behind.• Check out the magnetic filing cabinet for interesting things and for

incredible student work.• Trash can is near the door, but please place all paper (don’t crunch it

up into a ball) into the brown box on the floor labeled, “RECYLE.”• Class sets of textbooks and workbooks are located on the rolling

shelf; please pick them up and return them to the rolling shelf when you leave for the day

• Push your chairs in, make sure all items are returned to the bucket, and pick up any trash that is around you.

• Also, please make sure that your desks are in the same place they were when you arrived.

If you can’t manage to do these things…

…it is likely that will reflect on your grade in my class. All of these procedures are designed to create a space that makes for a positive learning environment.

Thus, if you fail to follow the procedures, we will conference, and eventually, that conference will include your parent/guardian

I’ll be honest, you all seem pretty awesome, and I’m not worried.