SUMMER READING IS HERE!!! Please be sure to read your book and bring it with you the first 2 weeks of school. We look forward to meeting you all! 

Units of Study

Fall Semester 

Q1- Skills Review ("Boot Camp"), reading informational texts, writing informational texts 

Q2- Reading short narrative stories, reading narrative poetry, writing narrative texts   

Spring Semester

Q3- Analyzing argument, conducting research, and researched argumentative writing 

Q4- STAAR preparation, reading and watching drama (theatrical work), composing correspondence

EOC Exams (STAAR) occur in April

Link to TEKS for English 1 

Required Class Materials

Charged school-issued iPad

Extra Charger for ipad

Independent Silent Reading (ISR) book, one per quarter- this may be borrowed from a library 

Grading Policy 

Each Quarter is worth 40% of a student’s semester grade. Final exams count for 20% of a student’s semester grade. Final exams will be administered in December and May. A student’s semester grades will be averaged together to determine their final grade. English 1 is a graduation requirement for all students. If a student does not pass English 1, they will be required to make up that credit in summer school through credit recovery. A passing grade is 70%. 

Last call for assignments is 4:15 pm on the last day of each progress report period. 

Daily Grades (35%) 

Journals, reading checks, writing process assignments, etc 

Previous assignments are due before the beginning of class, assignments turned in on time are graded at 100% of mastery. Late assignments are graded at 50% of mastery until the end of the 9 weeks. No assignment will be graded after the end of the 9 week quarter in which it was assigned. Revisions to daily grades will not be accepted for credit. 

Major Grades (60%)

Unit tests, lengthy compositions, cumulative projects

These assignments are designed as assessments and are graded for mastery of TEKS. 

From time to time, emergencies happen - such as illness, hospitalization, injury, or a death in the family - that will interfere with a student’s ability to submit work in a timely manner.  In these cases, the student is expected to contact the teacher in person or by email as soon as the crisis arises to request a reasonable extension. Personal social schedule, extra-curricular activities, and technological issues are not “emergencies.”

Students are expected to submit their work by the assigned due date and time. To encourage the skill of meeting deadlines and to ensure skills are practiced when assigned, the following policy will be implemented:

• Major Grades will be accompanied by a 5% Timeliness Grade (100 for on time, 0 for not on time). When a student receives a zero for timelines, they will still have up to 1 week to turn in the late Major Grade assessment for up to 100%. 

• Late assignments are not eligible for a rewrite. 

• Major assignments turned in between 7-14 days late may earn up to a 70. After 14 days, assignments may earn up to a 50.

• Rewrites: Major grade process writings can be revised and resubmitted for a maximum grade of 80 if the following conditions have been met:

• Work was submitted by the deadline

• Conference with teacher 

• Completed revision plan form

• Original grade was 79 or lower

• Resubmission is done in a timely manner

Additional Resources

STAAR Test

Ninth grade students will take the STAAR English I test in the spring semester. This is an End-of-Course exam each student must take to graduate high school by Texas state law. All assignments in English 1 are geared towards teaching the standards that will be assessed on the STAAR. 

Digitally Submitting Work

All work will be distributed through Google Classroom. Some assignments may be administered through other educational sites, such as Eduphoria, Albert.io, Quizlet, Nearpod, Quizziz, Turnitin.com etc. Students should read the assignment description in Google Classroom and listen to class directions to ensure that they understand how to submit an assignment. 

UIL Participation

Academics come first; it is a privilege to participate in extracurricular activities and the responsibility of the student to plan ahead. Please be aware of the UIL rules/regulations and the UIL eligibility calendar. If a student is failing (below 70%), or has an incomplete in a course, the student will not be eligible to participate in their UIL activity according to the UIL eligibility calendar. 

Attendance

School policy states that students who have more than 3 tardies in a course will not be able to exempt the course’s final exam. Students who attend class for less than half of that day’s class period will be counted absent. No student may leave early without an official pass from attendance. If a student is absent, students are to refer to our class calendar and Google Classroom, students will have one day per absence to complete work. If you have additional questions about the work missed please ask in person after class. Work previously assigned is due the day the student returns. Missed quizzes and/or tests are to be taken within two days of their absence unless other arrangements have been made.

Technology Policy

Inappropriate use of electronic devices will be dealt with based on the offense. Please familiarize yourself with the technology policy in the Westlake Handbook. Teaching students to use technology appropriately will be a point of emphasis over the course of the year, which includes and is not limited to recording or taking pictures of people without their consent. There will be no tolerance for misconduct and the offending student will be referred to his or her Assistant Principal. 

Artificial Intelligence

The purpose of written assignments in English courses is to assess students’ ability to think critically and to effectively communicate their thinking; the use of Artificial Intelligence to complete these tasks prevents an accurate evaluation of student learning.  Therefore, the use of any Artificial Intelligence tools (e.g. ChatGPT or DALL-E) or essay writing services (e.g. Chegg or Course Hero) to brainstorm, draft, or revise and edit student work related to any formative or summative assessment is strictly prohibited.  Students who submit assignments with AI assistance will be subject to an honor code violation, as outlined in the WHS Student Handbook, and will receive a zero for the assignment. 

Honor Code, Plagiarism

Plagiarism is taking the words, ideas, and even structure of another person’s writing, whether from a website, tutor, video, blog, print source, or an essay written by someone else; claiming authorship for it; and submitting it for a grade. Writers must always cite any material (except what is common knowledge) taken from a source and included in their writing, whether it be quoted directly or paraphrased. Students should never submit one essay, even a refashioned version of it, for multiple courses.  Students who submit plagiarized assignments will be subject to an honor code violation, as outlined in the WHS Student Handbook, and will receive a zero for the assignment. 

On the first violation of the WHS Academic Honor Code only, students may request to redo the assignment (or an alternate) for a maximum grade of 50. Any subsequent violations will not be eligible for resubmission.

Extenuating Circumstances

Life happens. We get it. Please communicate with us. We will do everything we can to help you succeed!