- Hood River Valley High School
- Honors Freshmen English
Yasui, Kathryn
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Honors Freshmen English
Honors Freshman English 2022-23
Mrs. Yasui (B-08)
To educate and support every student, every day, for success now and in the future.
How to Reach Me: kathryn.yasui@hoodriver.k12.or.us
(541) 386-4500 ext: 4571
Prep Period: 5
Course Description:
This accelerated class focuses on improving reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Writing instruction will focus on standard mechanical and usage conventions, clear sentence construction, and essay format. Independent reading and writing skills are expected. Periodically, students should expect heavy amounts of required reading and writing.
Course Requirements:
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School-Issued iPad: Make sure it’s charged and ready EVERY DAY.
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Participation: Active class participation is essential for student learning. Participation includes positive daily interactions in class, class work, and homework.
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Quizzes: Students will take quizzes over grammar, class readings, and root words. Quizzes will not always be announced.
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Unit Assignments: Students will complete a test or assessment activity at the end of each major unit of instruction. Tests will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions.
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Projects: Students will complete a variety of projects to demonstrate their learning throughout the year. In addition, students will make both formal and informal presentations to their peers.
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Academic Honesty: Neither cheating nor plagiarism will be tolerated and will result in the failure of the assignment, quiz, or exam. Further offenses could lead to a phone call to the student’s parent or guardian, a referral to the school administrators, or even removal from the class if the behavior persists.
Course Specific Learning Goals:
As per the Common Core Curriculum recently adopted by the state of Oregon, we will be focusing on literature standards (i.e.: “Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly…” 9-10.RL.1), writing standards (i.e.: “Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.” 9-10.W.4), and language standards (i.e.: “Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.” 6.L.1).
Reading for the Year:
Students will be required to participate in both independent reading projects as well as whole-class reading tasks. Our whole-class reads may include the following titles: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Independent reading will primarily take place outside of class with short opportunities to read in class. Projects on independent books will be submitted at the end of each term.
Classroom Rules (when we have a classroom):
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Phones will be placed in the provided wall pocket on the wall by the door. Failure to do so will result in a classroom consequence. Success will lead to a class reward.
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No earbuds.
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Drinks are okay until they become a problem. Spills, fighting, teasing, tardiness and all other acts of tomfoolery = PROBLEM. No food.
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Only one person may use the hall pass at a time.
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Be nice.
Make-up Work:
I will accept make-up work for emergency absences. These cases will have two additional days for each excused absence to turn in work. Students are responsible for obtaining notes and work done in class by emailing the teacher and looking at work posted to our Google Classroom as well as StudySync. It is every student’s responsibility for obtaining and completing missing assignments.
If you know beforehand that you’re going to be missing class (excused absence) and you know an assignment is due, it is your responsibility to turn it in before your absence or electronically on the day it’s due.(IE: sports, band, choir, drama, clubs, vacation, etc…)
Grading Policy:
Please submit work on time. Use the weekly checklist in Google Classroom and Home Access Center (HAC) to ensure work has been turned in. I will not accept work for credit past the grading period of the class (unless the absence is excused). NOTE: Technology failure is a real concern now, but if you’re having trouble with your device or having access to the internet, it is YOUR responsibility to contact the school so we can help make it right.
Grades will be calculated in three categories: 70% = Summative Assessments (tests, quizzes, essays, long writes, speeches, projects - basically, the tasks that show final learning on a unit/lesson), 30% = Classwork (any graded assignment that builds our knowledge on the current unit/lesson), 0% = Participation (diagnostic scores, pre-assessments).
Percentage
Letter Grade
Meaning
90 - 100
A
Significantly exceeds expectations
80 - 89
B
Exceeds expectations
70 - 79
C
Meets expectations
60 - 69
D
Nearly meets expectations
0 - 59
F
Not yet meeting expectations
Communication:
Throughout the year we will be having grade conferences so that you know how you are doing in this class. Between conferences, you can always check your grade progress by accessing Home Access Center (HAC) through the school website. Likewise, if you ever feel like you need an update or have a question about an assignment or a grade, please feel free to email me. If you need me, stop by or contact me via the information at the top of the syllabus. Have a great year!
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