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We are going to a standards based grading system this year.  This will hopefully make the grades easy to follow and understand.  I have broken down the standards we are teaching and that is what you will see below.  Obviously each standard has multiple substandards that go with it, but I didn’t want to confuse you, your child, or myself with too many categories.  

The standards are weighted based on their importance.  It is more important to be able to write a correct essay than to be able to look something up in the dictionary; therefore, that is weighted more.

When you see your child’s grades you will notice the categories, and hopefully this will make it more obvious where their strengths and weaknesses are. 

We will be going over the standards in class the first week of school so that everyone will be aware of them.  Before the end of each 9 weeks your child will have the opportunity to prove to me that they have “mastered” that standard, and if they can I will raise their grade. 

This is a work in progress for me but I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Foundational Language Skills 5%

Comprehension Skills 5%

Response Skills 10%

Literary Elements, Multi Genre 15%

Author’s Purpose and Craft 15%

Writing Process 10%

Composition 20%

Inquiry and Research 20%

A central goal of English I and II is to establish a reading habit in the busy lives of freshmen and sophomores in high school.  We are hoping we can work together to recapture the pleasure in reading. 

We won’t know all the details of every book students read this year, and we won’t remember the details of all the books we recommend to students.  What we seek for all our students is a desire to read for pleasure, for knowledge.  

Reading helps build stamina to prepare students for college.  Reading for an hour or two in one sitting is a basic expectation in college.  In this class we will exercise muscles soon to be strained in the coming years.  Reading for fluency and stamina has been proven to improve the reading rate for students.  Fast reading develops confidence and an appetite for books, which improves writing, but it only happens when students find books they want to read.  But the truth is, some of those books might make you uncomfortable.

There is a lot of talk in the media that “students today won’t read”, but we believe students will read if they have the right book in their hands.  They will be choosing their own books based on their interests.  Most of the books will be very tame and won’t contain anything controversial at all.  Some of the books might challenge your values.  Is that okay with you?  Can your child choose to read Crank by Ellen Hopkins, which delves into a teenager’s drug addiction?

We believe we have to trust these young adults.  We have to trust that books won’t corrupt them anymore than the rated R movies that they rush out to see.   We do not want them reading trash or smut just so they are reading; but some of the books they choose may have scenes of violence or graphic language. We urge them to select books that are appropriate for their ability, maturity, and the academic setting where they will have to discuss the content of their books with us and classmates. You may pick up a book left behind on a nightstand and open to a passage with the details of a group of child soldiers in Sudan mercilessly slaughtering an entire village and wonder why reading it is a homework assignment, and we will answer, “Your son or daughter chose it.”  The bottom line: we will not place a tight filter on what is read in this class and we’re asking for your support in this.  We hope you will talk to your child about what he/she is reading this year.

We suggest you get a copy of a book and read it if you’re concerned about the content.  If you discuss the book with your child you might be amazed at their maturity and deep understanding of the purpose of literature-even controversial literature. We will be having discussions with each and every student about their book choice, why they chose it, what it was about, and what they thought about it.

The best books challenge our beliefs by helping us see through different eyes-to live a different life.  We would all rather believe that bad things won’t happen to good people, but the sad fact is that they do.  Reading allows us to confront our worst fears and grow through them.

If you have any concerns or questions about this, please feel free to contact me.  I am not going to force your child to read a book that you do not approve of.  I am always open to alternatives and suggestions.