ENGLISH III

HONORS / AP

SYLLABUSWITH LOVE, MRS. LAFFIN

PREVIEW

• This presentation is designed to go with the syllabus you received which contains several blanks

• Since studies have shown that taking notes by hand aids in learning and retention (source), this activity should help you pay attention to and remember the details of my syllabus

• As you go through, fill in the blanks AND note any questions that you have for me so I can help!

SUPPLIES

You should bring, each day:

1. A 1” binder dedicated to English III AP / Honors (you will turn it in from time to

time)

2. Blue or black ink pens plus at least one other color

Note: I require work in my class to be done in pen..

3. Your copy of the current work we are studying

4. Recommended, but not needed daily: Flash drive or other portable electronic

storage device

Donation to the class of:

1. Tissues (2 boxes)

2. 1 each blue, green, pink, yellow highlighters

3. Notebook paper (2 packages)

We will have a “supplies quiz” that is good for a pass to turn in an assignment one day

late with no penalty at the end of the second week of school. You will need both your

supplies (binder + pens) and the donated supplies to earn the pass.

CLASSROOM

EXPECTATIONS

Classroom rules

1. Follow all school rules and my classroom byod policy.

2. Do your work, and if you have any questions about the assignment or your grades,

talk to me first.

3. Be nice to me, my stuff, other people, and their stuff.

BYOD policy

✓ Phones should be off/silent and put away at all times unless Mrs. Laffin specifically

states otherwise.

✓ You may not use classtime to charge or otherwise mess with your phone.

✓ This printed policy, which is also in my syllabus, is your first warning (consequences

begin immediately).

✓ At no point during my class should you be texting or using social media. If you have

special circumstances, see me before class that day. I consider texting or using

social media very disrespectful since I work hard to plan meaningful activities to

which you should devote your full attention.

CLASSROOM

EXPECTATIONSConsequences for breaking classroom rules or BYOD policy:

• 1st infraction – we’ll talk after class (which could make you late to your next class)

• 2nd infraction – your parents and I will talk

• 3rd infraction (and all others) – referral to principal

An immediate dismissal to the office and/or referral will be used for any of the

following:

1. Destruction of school property

2. Fighting or hurting anyone

3. Physically or verbally abusing anyone, including the teacher; this includes bullying

Please note:

• If your name is left by a substitute, you will immediately receive a detention and

possibly a referral.

• Cheating of any form (including plagiarism) will not be tolerated and will result in

a grade of zero and possibly a referral.

EVERYDAY

OBJECTIVES

Students will…

… write full MLA headings on their papers (penalty from

point deduction for incomplete heading to zero for no

name at all)

… use blue or black ink pen unless otherwise instructed or

the papers will lose points

… walk in the door with assignments finished and ready to

turn in the day they are due (names on papers, papers in

order, paper stapled, etc.) or the papers will lose points

… come before or after school or email Mrs. Laffin for make

up work and instructions (not ask during instruction,

passing periods, or random times you see Mrs. Laffin)

EVERYDAY

OBJECTIVES

Students will…

… follow the district policy for make up work due dates or

work will be counted late/not accepted

… follow the district policy for work missed due to school

activities or work will be counted late/not accepted

… follow the directions on all assignments or significant

grade deductions will occur

… ask questions if they do not understand any assignment

… speak with Mrs. Laffin regarding any questions or issues

with assignments or grades

COURSE POLICIES:

ABSENCES + MAKE UP WORK

Type of absence Work due the day you

missed is due…

Work assigned the day

you missed is due…

Tests and quizzes you

miss need to be done…

UIL (school-

related; does not

count against

exemptions)

… on the original due

date, so in order to

avoid a late penalty,

you should turn it in

before you miss (the

front office can put it in

my box) or send it with a

reliable friend. If it is not

turned in on the due

date, the late work

policy will apply.

… on the original date,

so you need to be sure

to check before you miss

to get your work. Be sure

to check early enough to

get your work from me

(an email the night

before you miss is not

sufficient). If you do not

get it until you return

and miss the due date,

the late work policy will

apply.

… on the original date,

so you need to plan

ahead enough in

advance to schedule a

time to take the

assessment if you will

miss it. Emailing me the

night before you miss is

not sufficient. If you take

it late, the late work

policy will apply.

COURSE POLICIES:

ABSENCES + MAKE UP WORK

Type of

absence

Work due the

day you missed

is due…

Work assigned

the day you

missed is due…

Tests and

quizzes you

miss need to be

done…

Excused or

Unexcused

(not school-

related; counts

against

exemptions)

… upon your return.

Unless we worked

on the assignment in

class the day you

missed, it is due the

day you come back.

… after the number

of days you missed

plus one. So if you

miss Monday, you

would need to get,

complete, and turn

in your work by

Thursday.

… after the number

of days you missed

plus one. If we have

time during class,

you may need to

take it the day you

return, but don’t

count on that.

COURSE POLICIES:

ABSENCES + MAKE UP WORK

When to ask about your make up work:• Whether you miss for a UIL activity or have an E/U absence, you can

either ask a trustworthy friend what we missed and check the make up

work box OR you can check with me via email or see me before or after

school.

• Please note that if you do not check with me directly and miss

something, that is your responsibility.

• During class or the passing period is not an appropriate time to try to

have a conversation with me about work you missed.

• Waiting too long to ask me for work is not an acceptable excuse for

having late work or a late test/quiz. The late policy will apply.

COURSE POLICIES:

ABSENCES + MAKE UP WORK

Turning in late work / make-up work

• Late work or make up work needs to be given directly to me. That way, I can be sure to write the date that it was submitted on it so that it will not be counted later than it should.

• Please do not turn it into the basket, leave it on my desk, shove it under the door, etc.

• Never give it to a substitute.

COURSE POLICIES:

RETESTING

Individual retests / rewrites are not

available in Honors or AP English. You

need to do your best on all of your work!

COURSE POLICIES:

GRADING

AP

Your six weeks average will be determined in the following manner:

20% academic practice (quizzes, worksheets, daily homework, etc.)

80% academic achievement (process papers, tests, long-term

projects, etc.)

COURSE POLICIES:

EXTRA CREDIT

NO EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE GIVEN.

IF YOU ASK, I WILL NOT SAY YES.

Instead of hoping for bonus points, do your best on the

assigned tasks.

COURSE POLICIES:

SEMESTER AVERAGE

Your semester average will be 80% six weeks’

averages, 20% exam. If you exempt, it is the average

of the three six weeks.

COURSE POLICIES:

LATE WORK POLICY

If your work (including make-up work) is late, then I will follow the English III-AP + Honors level policy:

• Academic practice: Accepted only one day late with a fifty point deduction; not accepted after one day late

• Academic achievement: If it is submitted one day late, then you will receive the grade you earned minus thirty points. If it is two days late, you will receive the grade you earned minus fifty points. Work may not be turned in more than two days late.

COURSE POLICIES:

LATE WORK POLICY

If your work (including make-up work) is late, then I will follow the English III-AP + Honors level policy:

• Papers submitted only to turnitin.com: The regularlate work policy applies. One minute after thesubmission deadline = one day late. 24 hours, 1 minute = two days late.

• Papers for which both a paper copy and a turnitin.com submission are due: If the paper copy is submitted on time but the turnitin.com submission is late, you will receive a ten point penalty for each day the submission is late. If it is never submitted, you will receive a zero on the assignment.

COURSE POLICIES:

LATE WORK POLICY

• Work is due in class when I ask for it.

• Work not submitted in class when I ask for it will becounted late per the late work policy.

• This includes work that you left at home that yourparents are bringing to you (so unless you will have it in your hands by the time you walk into my class,you do not need to ask your parents to bring it).

• This also includes work you try to finish during class instead of participating in the lesson. It’s already going to be counted late, so it is better to participate in the lesson.

COURSE POLICIES:

LATE WORK POLICY

• You will never be permitted to leave class to print

a paper that was due. It will be counted late

since you do not have it ready, so you will need

to print it and bring it the next day.

COURSE POLICIES:

LATE WORK POLICY

• Note: If you have some kind of unforeseen crisis that prevents your work from being ready, before you become overcome with stress and emotion, please seeand speak to(not email) Mrs. Laffin before school, after school, or during advocate in 2120.

• This needs to be an in-person conversation, and it needs to happen in a timely manner.

• If you try to talk to her about a crisis like this during passing period or class, she will ask you to have the conversation before school, after school, or during advocate so that she can really concentrate on thisimportant conversation.

COURSE POLICIES:

CHEATING

• The consequence for cheating of any kind (including plagiarism) is a zero

and a referral.

• Cheating includes (but is not limited to) copying another person's work,

allowing another person to copy your work, working together/sharing

answers on work that is not group work, having someone else do your

work, failing to cite sources when necessary, using any unapproved aid

on a test or quiz, telling other students what is on an assessment before

they take it, or taking information from other students about what an

assessment is on before you take it.

• Copying and pasting work from the internet into your paper that you

were supposed to have written yourself is plagiarism, and you will

receive no credit for the assignment if you do this.

COURSE POLICIES:

PRINTING AND TURNING IN WORK

• Your work needs to be printed, stapled, and

ready to turn in when you get to class.

• You may visit the library before school,

during advocate, or after school to print.

• Work not printed and ready to turn in at the

beginning of class will be counted late.

COURSE POLICIES:

TUTORIALS

I am delighted when students ask me questions about assignments and come in to get

help. It shows me that you really care about doing a good job. Often, you are not the

only person with a question, so your asking me can actually help other students! You

will certainly have time in class to ask questions. Additionally, I will be here from 8-4

every day. If you need to come in earlier or stay later than that, just let me know and

I will be here for you. I do not have a set tutorial time; instead, I work around your

schedules and needs.

Since I am the person who will be grading your work, I am the best person to ask for

help. Facebook groups, in my opinion, generally degrade into name calling and I find

more bad information than good information on them. I have set up a blog for our

class at cshsAPiii.wordpress.com OR cshshonorsiii.wordpress.com where you can

discuss assignments. I will check the blog and answer questions there to help everyone!

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS:

DOCUMENT FORMATTING

All written assignments completed outside of class, including

essays, stories, etc. must be submitted in MLA format:

• Typed

• Double-spaced

• Printed on the front only

• 12pt. Times New Roman or Arial font

• MLA heading and page numbers

• 1 inch margins all around

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS:

DOCUMENT FORMATTING

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS:

INTERNAL DOCUMENTATION

• If you include anything that is not your own original work (i.e.

someone else’s words, phrases, quotes, ideas, or pictures/graphics) on

any assignment, you must provide BOTH correct internal

documentation and a correct Works Cited page in order to avoid

being guilty of plagiarism (a form of cheating that is covered

earlier in this syllabus).

• Internal documentation is incomplete without a Works Cited page, and

vice versa; if you include one, you must have the other.

• NOTE: Just because you cite a source does not mean that you are

safe to use the information from the source. Copying ideas from study

guides instead of composing your own analysis, for example, will

result in a grade penalty even if you properly document the

information.

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS:

WORKS CITED

• All assignments for which you must incorporate

outside sources must be accompanied by a Works

Cited page. This page will always be the last

page of your document (not a separate

document) Check the OWL at Purdue MLA Style

Guide for help.

• NOTE: Failure to include a Work(s) Cited page

(when necessary) will result in at least a 10

point penalty on the grade for the assignment,

and may result in a zero on the assignment.

YAY!

You made it! If you have any questions about the

syllabus, let me know. I want you to feel confident

that you understand my expectations so you can

experience maximum success : )