LanguageandLiterature10Honors:CourseSyllabus

Instructor:Mr.BenjaminPosluch
Contact:bposluch@burtonschools.org,(559)7886440
CourseWebsite:posluch.weebly.com

DearStudentsandParents,

Welcometothe201516schoolyearand10thgradeHonorsLanguageandLiterature!Thegoal
ofthiscourseistohelpstudentsexpandtheirabilitytounderstandanduse
languageandcommunicatethisinaglobalcontext.Wewillreadexcitingnewliterature,
actoutscenesusingreaderstheater,sharpenwritingskills,polishspeakingskills,andreportit
alltoaglobalaudienceviatheInternet.

Honorscoursesaredesignedforstudentswhohaveshownabilityanddesireto
undertakecourseworkthatismorechallengingthantheaveragehighschool
course.Studentswillbeexpectedtodomoreindependentreadingandreflection,andshownot
justcompetence,butexcellenceastheystrivetomeetthecoursegoals.

ContactandInformation

Ihighlyrecommendthatbothstudentsandparentswithcellphonessignupfor
theRemindservice,whichIusetosendoutinformationdaily.Whenyousignup,you
cangeteither:

1. PushNotifications:OnyouriPhoneorAndroidphone,openyourwebbrowserandgoto
thefollowinglink:rmd.at/a68a47FollowtheinstructionstosignupforRemind.Youll
bepromptedtodownloadthemobileapp.
OR

2. Textthemessage@a68a47tothenumber81010.Ifyourehavingtroublewith81010,try
texting@a68a47to(559)8214638.

Ifyouwishtoviewdailyassignments,calendars,projectdescriptions,andothercourse
information,visittheclasswebsiteatposluch.weebly.com.

Forotherquestions,pleaseemailmeatbposluch@burtonschools.org.


Assessment

Studentswillcreateadigitalportfoliooftheirworkfromthesemester.Thestudentwilltakea
criticallookattheirownworkandconferencewiththeinstructortodeterminetheircourse
grade.Astudent'sfinalgradewillbedeterminedbytheworkcontainedintheir
portfolioandtheirquarterlyexams.Student/teacherportfoliochecksandan
Aeriesgradebookupdatewilloccureverytwoweeks.

GradeReporting

GradeswillbeupdatedbiweeklyonourschoolsAeriesgradereportingsystem.
Parentsandstudentscansignuptocheckthisonlinethroughtheschooloffice.Studentswill
receivechecklistsfromtheirinstructoreveryotherweektoevaluatetheirperformance.False
reportsorplagiarizedmaterialwill

Portfolios

Everystudentwillcreateanonlineportfoliowithevidenceoflearningorknowledgeforeach
learningobjective,allowingthemtopresenttheirbestworktotheirclassmates,parents,
teachers,andtheworldinaprofessional,creativeway.Theseportfolioswillbetheonlypieceof
evidenceevaluatedattheendofeachquarterandsemester.Thisgivesstudentstimetoedittheir
bestworkandfocusonimprovingtheirevidenceinareasinwhichtheymightbealittleweaker.
Portfoliosshouldbeupdatedthroughoutthesemester,andmustbecompletely
updatedbeforethelastdayofthesemestergradingperiod.

Tutoring/Reassessment

Itrytobeavailabletostudentsafterschoolforhelp.Ipostmytutoringhoursontheboard
inclasseveryweek.

Studentsareallowedtoresubmitworkiftheyarenotsatisfiedwiththeresultsofan
assessment.Inordertoresubmitwork,thestudentneedstoshowevidencethattheyhave
workedtoimproveonwhatwaspreviouslysubmitted.Tohavemereviewtheiradjustments,
studentsmustfilloutashortformdetailingwhattheywantmetoinspectforimprovement.In
ordertosucceedinthisclass,studentsmustrespondtotheirinstructorsfeedback
onhowtoimprovetheirwork.

HowFinalGradesareDetermined

Atanypointinthecourseoftheschoolyear,astudentcandeterminetheirowngradeby
selfassessingtheirportfolio.

Grade(toearnthis...) HonorsCriteria(...dothis)
A

Completeallobjectivesandassignments
ANDdemonstrateclearimprovementfromthebeginningof
thegradingperiod
ANDrespondtoallfeedbackandmakecorrections
ANDscoreproficientonallsectionsofthequarterlyexam
ANDgoaboveandbeyondwhatisrequiredonaregularbasis
Completeallbut12objectivesandassignments
ANDdemonstrateclearimprovementfromthebeginningof
thegradingperiod
ANDrespondtoallfeedbackandmakecorrections
ANDscoreproficientonallsectionsofthequarterlyexam
Completemorethanhalfofobjectivesandassignments
ANDdemonstrateclearimprovementfromthebeginningof
thegradingperiod
ANDrespondtoallfeedbackandmakecorrections
ANDscoreproficientonatleastonesectionofthequarterly
exam

Completemorethanhalfofobjectivesandassignments
ORdemonstrateimprovementfromthebeginningofthe
gradingperiod
ORrespondtoallfeedbackandmakecorrections
ANDattemptthequarterlyexam

NoneoftheDdescriptorswerereached
ORfalsereportsaremadeaboutmaterialintheportfolio
ORplagiarizedmaterialisfoundintheportfolio