Syllabus

Introduction:

Welcome to English IV, otherwise known as English 12. This course includes material such as APA formal writing, formal speaking, debates, group assignments, and reading/interpreting literature. Failing to complete any of the requirements can hinder you from passing the class, as well as risk your graduation. 

This syllabus is just a rough outline of the school year. The material is subject to change, and I will inform you of any changes if they arise. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to come speak with me. 

Every student will need to join this class period’s Google Classroom. 

The code will be provided to you.

Howland Account:

• Keep in mind that EVERY Howland student has a Google account. This is how most assignments, projects, and papers will be shared and submitted. If you use a personal email account, you will be denied access to something on Google Classroom. Always use your school-issued account. Having a Google account allows you to access any paper/slide show when you are outside of the school building.

• If you cannot log into your account, Miss Pauloski cannot help you with your username or password issues. Any username/password issues need to be fixed PRIOR to class.

GOOGLE CLASSROOM/ASSIGNMENTS: 

• IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU MISSED WHEN YOU’VE BEEN ABSENT! All assignments can be found on Google Classroom. Please keep in mind that when you are not physically in the school building, you still have work to do. You should check Google Classroom daily!

• Although everything is posted daily in Google Classroom, you can also speak to Miss Pauloski for clarification on any assignment. This should be done at the beginning of class, and any papers you may have missed can be found in the folders in the front of the classroom.

• Pay attention to all due times for assignments as well. Everything must be turned in on time.

• Late work is NOT accepted. “Late work” is any work that is turned in after an assignment has been collected or shared on Google Classroom as well as any assignment we have gone over together in class. 

• If you are absent, you have the number of days that you miss to make up the work.

• If you receive an out-of-school suspension, you earn zeroes for any work missed during that time. Unexcused absences also result in zeroes on any missed work. 

Contacting Miss Pauloski:

• Email is the easiest way to reach Miss Pauloski.

• Email for this school year: nicole.pauloski@howlandschools.org

• Email does get checked regularly, but sometimes the filter program may send an email into the SPAM folder. If you do not hear back within a day or two, please speak with Miss Pauloski.

• Keep in mind that we can also schedule a Google Meet if it’s something you need to speak with me about when you’re not in the classroom.

Classroom/HHS Rules:

• All classroom and school rules/policies will be enforced in the classroom. Please refer to your Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.

• Remember that whether you are in the classroom or learning virtually, your teacher is still your teacher. Tone, grammar, language, etc, should always be respectful. 

• Miss Pauloski suffers from migraines. Most often, the main “trigger” for them to occur is smells like perfume or cologne, lotion, etc., so Miss Pauloski does not permit you to use any of these items in her class. Also, as a courtesy, please do not use any of these items right before coming into the classroom. Also, you will notice blue light covers over Miss Pauloski’s fluorescent lights. These are filters designed to help Miss P. with her migraines since the lights can trigger a migraine. The covers do not impact your learning in the classroom at all. If you have any questions, see Miss P. 

• You are not permitted to have your cell phone in class. It should remain in your locker for the entire school day, including lunch and study halls. 

• Smartwatches should be placed on Airplane mode for the entire school day.

• You should not have earbuds or headphones in or on during class unless specifically permitted…All earbuds should be WIRED, not Wireless.

• You will need to use SmartPass to leave the room. First, ask permission, then once directed, fill out a SmartPass. Miss Pauloski MUST approve it, and you must have one of the class lanyards BEFORE you leave the room.

• If you need to make up work, such as a test, a study hall is the best option so you don’t miss any new material in class. You are also not permitted to schedule any work during your lunchtime.

• No food/gum/candy/energy drinks/soft drinks are permitted in the classroom. 

Materials Required for Class:

• School-issued Chromebook. Your Chromebook MUST BE CHARGED BEFORE CLASS EACH DAY!

• Active Howland account to access Google Classroom (you cannot have access to documents through your personal email account)

• Binder (for this class only)

• Divider Tabs

• Index cards (used for test reviews as well as speeches)

• Pens/Pencils/Highlighters

• Loose-leaf paper

• Novels (usually these can be checked out from the Media Center)

Novels:

The following are required for this school year: 

• Hiroshima by John Hersey

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 

• Dawn by Elie Wiesel 

• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

We may have additional novels, but they will be announced at a later time. You are not required to purchase any of these novels, but you can if you’d like your own copy of them. Actual due dates for these will be announced in class as we get to each one. 

Literature Book/Vocabulary “Workbook”:

You will not be assigned a Literature book for this school year. You also will not have chapters in a vocabulary workbook to complete. There is no Literature book because this school year emphasizes writing formal papers and giving speeches/presentations. Any novel that we read ties directly back to a paper or a speech that we will give. Likewise, our year focuses on vocabulary that ties directly to the novels or speeches we are covering. 

Speeches/Formal Papers/APA/Plagiarism/Cheating:

• The school has a policy for plagiarism and cheating. It can be found in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook under “Academic Dishonesty”. If you plagiarize anything, you will receive a zero, and a discipline referral will be filled out. 

• IA is not allowed to be used on any assignments, papers, or presentations unless other stated by Miss Pauloski. Using any form of AI on any school assignments without explicit permission is also considered plagiarism.

• As previously stated, you will give multiple speeches this year as well as participate in a debate. 

• This class focuses on APA formal papers and presentations/speeches. All of your papers and speeches will be APA formatted as opposed to MLA formatted. We will work on APA formatting throughout the year. If you use MLA, the entire paper or speech will be wrong. 

• Formal papers and speeches must follow APA paper format (including in-text citations and documentation for all used sources on a References or Annotated Bibliography page). No assignments written in MLA will be accepted or graded since the formatting does not match. 

• As you should know from your previous Language Arts classes, APA, just like MLA, is very specific, and the guidelines have to be followed to every specification. There are times when APA will be updated year-to-year so something you completed last year may have changed this year. 

• Although the class will discuss your previous APA experience,  you can also use handouts and the website for the OWL at Purdue’s Writing Lab for guidance outside of the classroom. When looking for sources, INFOhio is a great resource. Google Scholar is also an option, but it can sometimes lead you to sites that will want you to pay or subscribe.

• Without a completed Annotated Bibliography or References page, the paper(s) CANNOT BE GRADED because this is considered PLAGIARISM. 

• If papers are submitted handwritten, they will not be graded. Typing is mandatory for all formal assignments/papers. Likewise, final papers should NEVER be emailed to Miss Pauloski. Papers are submitted through Google Classroom.

• Some speeches/presentations will have Google Slides as your visual aide while others will require you to have notecards or poster board as your visual aides. 

• You will write a variety of papers this school year, including a literary analysis as well as a senior research paper (among others). Your papers will have multiple grades associated with them: sources doc, outline, rough draft, peer review, final draft, and in most cases, a presentation with a visual aide.

• If a paper or Google Slides presentation is required to be printed, it must be printed IN ADVANCE.

• Remember that there are no extensions on formal papers or on speeches. All papers must be turned in through Classroom by the assigned due date and time. All speeches/presentations must also be given on time.

• Dates for speeches/presentations will be predetermined, usually by the student, before the presentations begin. Sign-ups are in class only. 

  • If you are absent on the sign-up day, you will need to email Miss Pauloski or see her the following day to sign up for a remaining slot. All sign-ups are also posted in Classroom upon completion of sign-ups in class.

Grading/ZEROES/Grading Scale/Extra Credit:

You cannot graduate without four years of Language Arts. It is your responsibility to stay on top of your assignments and be aware of what you’re earning in class.

• Check ProgressBook for your most updated grade. Google Classroom will not have all of the grades you earn.

• All assignments have due dates and most often, due times as well. It’s your responsibility to make sure your work is completed on time. As stated before, late work is not accepted (this is NOT the same as absent work).

• When you are absent, you have the number of days you miss to make up an assignment (as was stated earlier in the syllabus). This DOES NOT include formal papers or speeches. If your absences are unexcused, you cannot receive credit for the work you missed. 

• You are to check your grades online throughout the school year. Miss Pauloski updates ProgressBook relatively quickly after assignments have been submitted (there is more time needed to grade formal papers). 

• Given the amount of material covered this year, grades can change quickly.

• Please remember that when you are absent, your percentage may be inaccurate until you make up the missed work. Work is marked as “Missing” in ProgressBook, so you are aware of what assignments you need to complete. A zero in the gradebook means you were here but didn’t turn in the work.

• If an assignment is done on paper and is turned in with no name, then the assignment becomes a zero. That applies for tests too so make sure your name is on everything.

• If you are sent to the office, you will receive a zero for class that day. 

• Extra Credit is rare. Do not try to rely on extra credit to bring up your grade.

Please remove the final page from the syllabus and sign and date it. Then, turn in the signed page to the tray in the back of the room for your class period.