Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- Is late work accepted?
- Is there extra credit?
- Could a parent be notified regarding missing work?
- What can parents do to support learning?
- What can be done for reluctant readers?
- Is there homework every day?
- Can parents get a weekly progress report?
- What is the purpose of a Book Log and how is the packet graded?
- Why is the grading scale for sophomore honors different?
- What is the reasoning behind the summer reading choices for sophomore honors?
- What are the California Content Standards?
- Why such rigorous consequences when a student fails to return a progress report in the required time frame?
Is late work accepted?
As a rule, I do not accept late work. If the assignment is worth
a large number of points, I will accept the work with a 10%
deduction for each day late. If there is a family situation,
parents should write a note explaining the issue. I will usually
award full points for those assignments, depending upon the
frequency of incidents and the nature of the issue.
Is there extra credit?
I do not provide extra credit often. If I offer any, it will be
for the entire class and it should never be depended upon to
raise a grade much. I do not believe in "bail-out" extra credit.
Could a parent be notified regarding missing work?
Unfortunately, I do not have time to track individual students.
Please check the daily agenda to learn what was done in class and
what is due. If there is a specific question, please feel free
to email or telephone me. If you believe your student requires
additional monitoring, I am willing to assist in this process
with the homework tracking document (see the link from the
homepage).
Please cut and paste this document into your word processor or
ask your student to request his/her first homework tracking
document from me. Then please make copies for continued
use. Students will write out what homework is due and I will
initial when the homework is presented to me with the homework
tracking document at the beginning of class. Please also compare
this document with the daily agenda available on this site to be
sure that nothing was missed.
No system is fool-proof or can replace hands-on parental
participation. I am willing to work with parents using the
homework tracking document for a couple of weeks to establish a
routine. After that, students (with continued parental guidance
in some cases) should be able to manage independently. When
parents stop signing, I will consider that a way to tell me that
this particular system is no longer necessary.
What can parents do to support learning?
Naturally, checking the website to see what is happening in class
and engaging your student in dialogue about the assignments will
be helpful. If there is a concern, ask to be shown work rather
than accepting at face value the response that homework has been
done. You may be surprised that the work is not completed or is
done poorly. If your student says that there is no homework, it
may mean that there is nothing due tomorrow.
If you have verified on the website that there is no homework due
tomorrow, offer to quiz your student on vocabulary words. All
class levels have word banks.
At most times, outside reading is required in all classes. Try
to read at least one book with your student each semester or
quarter and engage him/her in conversation about the book. Doing
so will enhance reading comprehension.
What can be done for reluctant readers?
Please help your student find books of personal interest. I do
not assign any specific genre for outside reading for the 9th and
10th grade classes. It is my hope that students develop a love
of reading and the only way that can happen is if there is
choice. Seniors will choose a book within the genre specific to
the topic for that semester. Additionally, most people enjoy
reading more when they have someone with whom to discuss the
book. Try reading along with your student and engaging him/her
in conversation about the story. Discourse helps stimulate
interest and develop comprehension.
Is there homework every day?
I post a daily agenda. For the most part, what was not finished
in class becomes homework. When there is no specific homework,
students can read in his/her independent reading book and study
vocabulary. Word banks grow quickly; students need to study
vocabulary regularly.
Can parents get a weekly progress report?
Because we now have on-line grades, weekly progress reports are
unnecessary. If you do not have regular internet access and
would like to have a weekly progress report, I would accommodate
your request; however, a progress report does not give a true
understanding of a student's progress. So many projects in my
class have pieces that I will collect as a packet of work after
considerable time. Students' grades will remain the same for
many weeks until a packet is collected and graded. A weekly
progress report does nothing to tell parents about work that was
supposed to be done that week.
If parents would like to monitor students, they need to check the
daily agenda on my website and ask their student to show them the
work. Relying on the progress report system without also
monitoring daily assignments on the web can be a road to
disaster. I would prefer that parents get their students to do
their work rather than find out after the fact that they
haven't.
When I send out computer-generated progress reports, I provide a
list of work students should have in their binders. Parents
should ask their students to show them all the items listed on
the progress report in order to know that work is being done. If
any work is missing, I recommend daily monitoring. I send out
progress reports to everyone at the 5-6 week mark and at the end
of the quarter. Parents are notified about progress reports
being sent home on the daily agenda on the website.
To assist with the monitoring of homework, students can fill out
the Homework Tracking document available in class and on this
site (see Forms). Students will fill out the form with the
assignments due each day. They will submit this form at the
beginning of each class period when they also submit their
homework. I will initial that they have done their work and then
expect a parent to sign that they have checked this document. I
will be happy to work with families in the use of this tracking
document for a couple of weeks. Beyond that, parents and
students can use this system without my assistance. Usually,
parents find that establishing this rhythm and spot checking works
well enough.
What is the purpose of a Book Log and how is the packet graded?
Students are required to create a book report reading log every
week and it is due on Friday, unless otherwise noted. The log is
to be about the independent reading book that each student has
chosen to read during SSR for that week. Students are required
to read at least 50 pages per week, which should result in the
completion of at least one book per quarter, usually more.
Novels and biographies are appropriate. Collections of
short stories or poems and self help or informational books are
not.
All students are given a hand-out explaining how to do this
assignment: step-by-step instructions on one side and an example
of a properly created book log on the other.
Students get a stamp on every log that is turned in on time with
50 or more pages read, the correct number of words (200-250 -
demonstrated by computer highlighting every 50th word) and the
correct word count at the top of the page. They also must bring
the book they are reading to class with the book log. Then if
there's a problem with the works cited entry, the book is
there and I can be of assistance.
When the log is returned, students must keep it in order to get
credit for the stamp when the packet is collected. They should
store their book logs in the Book Log section of their binders.
If students do not get a stamp or failed to do the log for a
week, they are still required to turn in a log for that week.
Students have the entire quarter to make any final drafts but
final drafts are not required. Near the end of the quarter,
book logs are turned in as a packet.
Book Logs are worth 100 points. The grading is broken down into
two main areas: stamps and a graded book log. Students with all
their logs stamped get 50/50 points. They lose 10 out of 50
points for every log that isn't stamped, all the way to 0 but not
to negative points. Then I randomly select a number and that is
the log that is graded for every student. If a student does not
have that log, it is a 0/50 for the other part of the 100
points. If the log I grade lacks a stamp, there is no additional
penalty. They are also required to create a cover page, for
which they have an instruction sheet. They will also lose a few
points for other less significant problems with not following
directions.
The purpose of this grading system is to motivate students to
value doing all assignments and to be consistently accurate and
punctual. The book log packet can be an excellent point builder
for students who are willing to put in a little work every week.
Most of the 50 minimum required pages can be read during Silent
Sustained Reading (SSR), so the only homework would be some
reading (if they didn't get in the 50 pages) and the creation of
a one-page log. If your student is not given SSR in 3rd period,
please contact the teacher or principal to create that change.
The book log assignment is a relatively risk-free experience
since students have plenty of time within which to perfect each
log and all of the quarter to make final drafts. We go over
these logs extensively, especially initially and increasingly
less as the year progresses. Students benefit from this project
by practicing summary/commentary and balancing paragraphs,
working quotes into their own writing, and using proper MLA
citations and MLA format, which has been adopted by the
English department as the format style for all English classes.
All these activities provide practice for single- and multi-
source essays and research projects.
Additionally, the California Content Standards states that
students should be working toward a daily habit of reading so
that "by grade twelve, students [will] read two million words
annually on their own." The book logs are a way of creating
and/or reinforcing that literacy habit.
Why is the grading scale for sophomore honors different?
The elevated grading scale should not adversely impact students
who are doing all of their work and following directions.
Subjectively graded assignments (like essays, stories, poems,
presentations) will be given the higher point values to represent
the corresponding grades. Therefore, a student whose writing
falls into the middle A range will earn scores at the elevated
level rather than the standard middle A, a 95.
The grading scale makes a difference regarding projects where
there is simply a loss of points for noncompliance or a failure
to study (as in the summer reading assignments, spelling and
definitions quizzes, other tests and quizzes, and collecting
signature stamps to demonstrate work being accomplished on
time). Honors students should stay on top of their homework and
regularly commit vocabulary to memory. The grading scale makes
it harder to increase one's grade with the simple and rote tasks
of the class, which pushes students harder to do all their work
completely and on time.
What is the reasoning behind the summer reading choices for sophomore honors?
The theme for the sophomore honors class is man's universal
journey. The sophomore honors teachers selected these works for
their diversity of writing style and compliance with the theme.
Their Eyes Were Watching God demonstrates poetic writing, giving
students a sense of wonder in language.
The 13th Warrior plays with the Beowulf story (a standard in the
English canon), which students will likely read in the future
(probably in college). The dry, journalistic style and
interesting use of footnotes exemplifies verisimilitude and
presents much fodder for discussion.
The Chosen explores the duality of the monomyth and demonstrates
how the journey can be so much more than physical.
The major study of sophomore honors is the concept of the
monomyth, the journey that forms the universal basis for story
telling. These books were selected for their diversity of
topics, settings, and characters as well as writing style.
English II Honors summer reading provides students with
purposeful variety and rigorous complexity for sharpening
analytical teeth.
What are the California Content Standards?
The California Content Standards provide a guide to concepts and
skills required of the varying grade levels. Teachers will vary
their approach and literary selections; however, all teachers
will use these guidelines to structure curriculum.
Please return to my homepage and click on "links" and
then click on "California Content Standards." Or enter the web
address.
Why such rigorous consequences when a student fails to return a progress report in the required time frame?
Students who fail to return a progress report will receive a
Saturday School Detention through a referral to the dean's
office. They will also be assigned a U in citizenship.
Communication between home and school is that important.
Teachers do not have time to make individual phone calls and send
out personal emails as often as would be helpful. Progress
reports are the most efficient way to communicate. When students
fail to do their part, they rob the class of the teacher's time
that could be much better utilized in other ways.
I cannot possibly provide the kind of feedback to parents that I
deem necessary without the cooperation of my students, which is
the reason for the consequence. Every time I issue reports, I
spend considerable time choosing the textbox information and then
organizing and tracking the reports. Sometimes this is a task
requiring my attention for a week or more as I track absent
students and stragglers. A parent only has to keep track of one
student in my class. Whereas, I have approximately 170 students
that all get progress reports at about the same time. I try to
get reports out at the half and at the quarter. And this doesn't
even include other little mini-reports sent out when I do a
homework check sweep or there is a behavior problem.
When a regular progress report is not returned, I have to go back
into the grade program, select the student, back date the report,
re-establish the textbox and print various copies. I stamp them
and one goes to the counselor, one to the office for it to be
mailed home and one is for me. Then I write the referral, which
takes another considerable chunk of time. If I have to do this
for several students, I have now spent the equivalent of grading
half a class of book logs or easily more.
When students cost a teacher time away from grading and planning,
they must have consequences, or the problem will not be resolved
and the next progress report will likely create the same
unnecessary waste of time and resources. Please reflect on a
teacher's workload and the importance of keeping parents informed
when considering the consequence for noncompliance. If serving a
Saturday School will make a student more likely to return the
report within the required timeframe, everyone wins, including
the errant student.
Having consequences teaches students to pay attention to their
obligations and helps them develop follow-through. Additionally,
students will also come to understand the importance of home and
school communication. Parents play a huge role in this lesson.
