French 2-2H Classroom Procedures and Policies
Teacher: Emily Delehanty
Email: emidel@d219.org
Phone: 847-626-2673 at Niles West and 847-626-2157 at Niles North
The following information describes the classroom procedures, course expectations and objectives for students enrolled in this course. Students are expected to review this information with their parents and return the last sheet to me. This will be your first grade of the year.
Objectives: The goal of French II is to build on the foundation created in French I in order to increase students’ ability to communicate. Students will acquire some new vocab and grammar structures but will also practice those studied in previous years. Students will be exposed to many elements of Francophone culture through readings, songs, videos, websites and their own research. By the end of the year students will have expanded their skills to include giving their opinions, talking about events in the past, talking about their childhood, extending and answering invitations, talking about their daily lives, giving directions, and more. This will be done through listening, speaking, reading and writing in French.
Expectations: The expectations for this class are simple:
You are a team-member as well as a student, and you are integral to the climate and culture of our class. I am counting on you to help make this year a fun and productive experience, and these expectations are the baseline for that. Failure to meet these expectations will result in loss of participation points, as well as further consequences for repeat offenses.
Absence policy: If you are absent it is YOUR responsibility to ask a classmate for notes and to check your class binder for worksheets etc. that you may have missed. (I am going to try to make digital copies available as well but this might not always be the case.) If a test or project has been announced prior to your absence, it is still due the day you return to school. Please keep in mind that students with unexcused absences forfeit the right to make up work/assessments missed during that class.
Phone/device policy: We will be using phones/Chromebooks/devices in class for various activities and as a pocket dictionary when needed. However, I should only see your phone if I have indicated that we are using them for class. If I see your phone/device outside of that time, or I see that you are not using it for the class activity, you will lose participation points. After that, I will follow the official Niles policy which is as follows:
● 1st Offense = Phone/device will be confiscated until the end of the school day, when the student may retrieve it.
● 2nd Offense = Phone/device will be confiscated until the end of the day, when the student’s parent must retrieve it.
● 3rd Offense = Loss of phone/device privileges for a period of time as decided by School Administration on a case by case basis.
Note: I expect students to have their Chromebooks with them in class. If you do not have a Chromebook, please have another device charged and ready to use. (This means that you should not be wasting your charge on non-school activities.) If you do not have access to any device, please let me know THIS WEEK so that we can try to figure out an alternative solution.
Apps:
2018 is a great time to be learning a language. There are tons of amazing websites, software and apps that can help you improve. (If you find another good one, please share with the class!)
Duolingo: This is a language learning app that students will need to download to their phone or access via their Chromebooks if no phone is available. There will be a weekly homework assignment through Duolingo, so it is important that students write down their account info somewhere safe.
WordReference: WR is, in my opinion, the best resource a language learner can have. It is a dictionary but so much more. WR has a great app that I use all the time on my phone, as well as forums where native speakers can answer questions directly.
Linguee: Linguee allows students to see vocabulary and phrases used in real-life sentences that come up in its search engine. This is great for when you come across a word that has multiple meanings and need more context.
Forvo: No way around it, French pronunciation (like English) can be tricky. Forvo lets you look up a word and hear how it’s pronounced by native speakers, as many times as you need.
Grading:
90-100 = A Participation = 15% Semester Marking Period = 80%
80-89 = B Class work + HW = 15% Final Exam = 20%
70-79 = C Assessments = 70%
60-69 = D
59 and below = F
Academic dishonesty: includes but is not limited to the following: Giving or receiving aid of any kind during a test, quiz or on homework assignments, plagiarism as defined in the Student Handbook on any class assignment and using the internet or any other device to translate anything other than isolated words. This type of behavior will result in a grade of ZERO and an academic dishonesty referral will be sent to the student’s parents, dean and counselor.
Language that will not be tolerated: includes any racist, sexist, homophobic or ableist slurs. Any use of this type of language will result in disciplinary action.
Open door policy: I am not a mind reader! If you are struggling in class or outside of class, if you need something that you’re not getting in class or you have an idea about how to make it better or if you’re having an issue with another student or myself, please let me know. We might not be able to find the perfect solution, but if I don’t know about it I can’t help.
I am excited to get to know all of you this year. Let’s make it a good one! – Mlle. Delehanty