Syllabus, Expectations, and Grading

Mrs. Elmore: Molly_Elmore@mcpsmd.org

Bienvenue à la classe de français!
Welcome to French Class!

Dear Students:
Welcome to a new school year. This year you will be starting or continuing your study of the French language and
the cultures of France and other French-speaking cultures. I am excited to be your guide for this new learning
adventure. Together, we will experience French class as fun, interesting and useful. French allows us to
communicate with others here and abroad, increases our knowledge of the world in which we live, helps us better
understand ourselves and our language, and opens doors to interesting career opportunities. This year you will
develop your oral, writing, reading, and comprehension abilities in French. I will attempt to provide a variety of
instructional strategies in order to facilitate your learning.
Remember that while French is an elective, it is also an academic subject. You will be held accountable in January
and June when you take county wide exams. Your success on the exams determines whether or not you will
receive high school credit for this course. You must pass the exam to receive credit. The exam is 25% of your
semester grade with the two quarter grades making up the other 75%. You are required to take two consecutive
levels of foreign language in MCPS.
It is important to regularly study vocabulary, verb conjugations, and grammatical structures as well as to practice
speaking and participate regularly in daily class work activities.

Attached you will find French Class Expectations and a course syllabus.

Bon Courage!

Mme Elmore
Les Règles/Rules

ICI, NOUS SOMMES PRETS!

PONCTUELS. (Be on time and in your seat ready to learn when the bell rings!)
RESPONSABLES. (Be prepared! This includes having ALL supplies every day and taking responsibility for
making up missing assignments in a timely fashion.)
ENTHOUSIASTES ET OUVERTS D’ESPRIT! (Participate as much as possible so that you can learn and
understand more!)
TOUJOURS RESPECTUEUX!! (Stay in your seat, raise your hand to speak, and, be respectful of each other’s
individual space, property, ideas, and the cultures we study.)
SYMPATHIQUE! (Be kind and helpful to one another, and help maintain a positive learning environment.

If a student fails to adhere to classroom rules, these are interventions that will take place to help the
student redirect behavior in a positive manner.
• Conference with student
• Phone call to parent
• Lunch reflection/Before School detention/ after school detention #1
• Lunch reflection/Before School detention/ after school detention #2
• Team conference
• Lunch reflection/Before School detention/ after school detention #3
• Referral to administration

NOTEBOOK ORGANIZATION
As you know, learning a language is a cumulative process. It is important, therefore, that you be VERY
ORGANIZED. It is impossible to review prior vocabulary or verbs if you can’t locate them! In order to stay
organized, I suggest that you do the following:
• Verb sheets
• Articles/Readings
• Worksheets
• Graded work
•
Bienvenue a la classe de francais!
* Some students have found it helpful to keep a separate binder section with all vocabulary words, class notes and rough drafts.

Welcome to French Class!

 Syllabus, Expectations, and Grading
Mrs. Elmore: Molly_Elmore@mcpsmd.org

Daily Procedures
Enter room quietly.
Be seated in your assigned seats
Copy homework assignment “Les Devoirs”
Do the warm-up, “Le Sonneur.” It will be on the board or you will have a packet of exercises to do. You are not
considered on time unless you are seated and working on “Les sonneurs”
Have homework ready to be checked or turned in.
When homework is turned in, students should pass homework to students closest to the homework trays. The
student assigned to collect the homework that week will place it in the appropriate tray.
Participate in all oral class work and complete all written class work in an efficient way
Check that you have everything you need for homework that evening.
Wait to be dismissed by Mme Elmore
Never leave the class not understanding a concept without talking to me or writing me a note. While I may
not be able to clear up the confusion on the spot, I can be sure to address it fully at the beginning of the next
class or make arrangements with you for extra help.
Speak French as much as possible!!!
Suggested Materials:
Binder to keep your papers organized
3 packs of index cards at home to make flashcards.
Blue/black/red ink pens, highlighters, and pencils.
Suggested:pink and blue highlighters
*Do not use translators on the web. It is very evident when work has been translated and I will not accept it.
French IA/IB
For further explanation of the themes and the structures and vocabulary required for each topic,
please refer to the MCPS webpage
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/lang/CurricFrameworks/crfrench13.htm or use the link on the MVMS web
page under Academics Foreign Language. This is also a way for your child to access vocabulary lists should they
misplace those given out in school.
Course: French 1A Topics:
Welcome to French Class/Bienvenue à la classe de français
• Nice to Meet You/Bonjour les élèves (includes Welcome to French Class) In the
Classroom/Dans la salle de classe (some School Life vocabulary)
Personal Life/La Vie personnelle
• Activities/Les Activités (former Pastimes & Weather)
• My Friends and Me/Mes amis et moi
• At School/À l’école (former School Life)
 Syllabus, Expectations, and Grading
Mrs. Elmore: Molly_Elmore@mcpsmd.org

Goal
The goal of the Montgomery County Public Schools’ foreign language program is to educate students in a language
and culture in order to make them knowledgeable and active members of a global society. Students will learn to use
foreign languages for meaningful communication in both spoken and written form. The foreign language program
emphasizes language as it is used in real-life situations that students are most likely to encounter. Through foreign
language study, students develop sensitivity to the cultural and linguistic heritage of other groups, understand their
influence on American culture, and become prepared to participate in a society characterized by linguistic and
culture diversity.

Grading policy:

Grades entered in a teacher’s electronic gradebook are automatically uploaded to Edline on

a nightly basis. Both students and parents should log into Edline regularly to check grades
and missing assignments. Students are expected to know their grades, and what, if any,
work is missing at all times. There should be no surprises about grades to students or
parents; if so, please make sure you contact me. If you need an Edline activation code,
please contact our school's Edline Superuser, Alice Marable at alice_marable@mcpsmd.org.
In addition, it would be extremely helpful to enter an active email address in both student
and parent Edline accounts; I use this to provide class updates as well as other
communication throughout the year.
• Grades will reflect individual achievement of the MCPS Standards for a specific marking
period.

Categories:
• Formative Assessments 65% (includes a variety of reading, listening, writing,
speaking, grammar, and vocabulary assessments based on individual key concepts)
• Summative Assessments 25% (unit assessments that cover all key concepts from
unit of study)
• Homework for Completion 10% (homework assigned for practice or preparation)

Students will be provided with rubrics for brief and extended constructed responses, rubrics for summative oral assessments,
rubrics for daily oral assessments, and for each project assigned.

Reassessment:
• Reassessment opportunities will be identified by Mme. Elmore before the original task/assessment and occur within the
instructional unit. Only one reassessment is offered per task/assessment.
• When reassessment is offered, all students may be reassessed, regardless of their grade on the original task/assignment, if they
meet the following requirements: 1) complete the original task/assessment; 2) complete the required assessments; 3) complete
the re-teaching/relearning activities as specified by me; NOTE: The reassessment grade replaces the original grade. Only
formative assessments may be reassessed.

Learning skills: I will observe students’ learning skills (participation and assignment completion) and talk to them about how to
improve or maintain these skills. I will report learning skills on interims and progress reports using the following codes: C –
Consistently; O – Often; R – Rarely; N – Never; NI – Not enough information to indicate how often the student exhibits the
desired learning skill.

Late Work and Missing Work: Each assignment will have a due date. This is the date by which you are expected to submit
the assignment. Your grade will drop one letter grade if it is not turned in by the due date. The deadline is the last day an
assignment will be accepted for a grade. Students will be notified of due dates and deadlines. Work not turned in by the deadline
will be considered missing and a “0” recorded in the grade book.

Make up work: Students who have an excused absence will have 1 week to make up the work upon returning to school. After
that time, the grade will drop one letter grade. Instructor is available before and after school by appointment.

Planner Expectations: Students are expected to use their planner on a daily basis to write in homework, and upcoming
assignment due dates.
If there is no reading or writing assignment due, students should always dedicate time to studying vocabulary and new
grammatical structures and practicing pronunciation.
Tardy Policy
1. If you are late to class, regardless of having a pass, please sign in.
2. Unexcused Tardy Consequences
* 1st Tardy- Student receives a warning
* 2nd Tardy- A call home to parent/guardian
* 3rd Tardy- Call home and detention
* 4th Tardy- Administrative Referral will be written

COMMUNICATION

One of the most useful ways we have to communicate is your child's data
notebook. Please check this daily for information. I can also be reached by
email (fastest) or by calling the school (301-840-4660). In addition, please
check Edline regularly to know if you are missing work.

Contact Information:

Parents and teachers can stay in contact through any combination of the following:
• Email- (Molly_Elmore@mcpsmd.org) This is my preferred method because it is
instantaneous. I will check my email throughout the week as well as on weekends,
so students/parents may email me with any concerns.
• Phone calls- (301-840-4660) Please allow 24 hours for a return phone call.
• Notes in the student planner
• Progress reports/Interims/Report cards

Please keep this portion of the page for your fridge at home, and feel free to contact me
with any concerns you may have. I look forward to working with you this year.

Acceptance of Receipt of and Responsibility

We have received, read and understand the Syllabus, Expectations, and Grading document

provided by Mrs. Elmore for the school year 2010-2011. I agree to abide by the rules

mentioned and accept my responsibilities.

______________________________ _________________________________________
Student name Parent/Guardian name(s)

_______________________________________ ________________________________________
Student signature Parent/Guardian signature(s)

_____________________________ ______________________________________________
Dr. Malker, Principal Renee’ S. Hill, Content Specialist

“We cannot educate children

without reaching their parents.
Therefore, every teacher has to
recognize that when students walk
into a class, their families walk in
with them.”
-Dorothy Rich