Ms. Robinson & Ms. Espinoza – Room 154
📧 Ms. Robinson: srobinson@goddardusd.com
📧 Ms. Espinoza: sespinoza@goddardusd.com
👋 Welcome!
Welcome to American Literature! We’re thrilled to be your teachers this year. This is a co-taught class, which means you’ll have two teachers working together to support you—more guidance, more feedback, and more chances to grow.
Throughout the year, we’ll explore major voices and moments in American literature from the 1800s to today. We'll build your skills in reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking through engaging texts, creative projects, and thoughtful class discussions.
Our main platforms are MyPerspectives and Google Classroom, but the heart of this class is YOU—your effort, your growth, and your voice.
✨ What We’ll Read
We’ll explore a variety of texts, including:
Walt Whitman & Emily Dickinson – Selected Poems
Ralph Waldo Emerson – Nature & Self-Reliance
Nathaniel Hawthorne – Young Goodman Brown
Laurie Halse Anderson – Speak
F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
Arthur Miller – The Crucible
📝 Additional short stories, nonfiction, and poetry will be added throughout the year to complement our major texts.
📊 Grading Breakdown
Daily Points (Participation)
5/day, 25/week
SSR Reading & Logs
10 points each
Notebook Journal Entries
10 points each
Freewriting Assessments
40–60 points
Presentations/Projects
40–100 points
Socratic Seminars
40–60 points
Essays
100–150 points
MyPerspectives / Savvas Assessments
10–60 points
GrammarFlip + Final Grammar Exam
40–60 points
Quizzes / Reading Assessments
10–30 points
Final Exam
Up to 100 points
💡 Rewrites: You may revise essays after meeting with one of us to make a plan. Rewrites turned in without a meeting will not be accepted.
✅ What You’ll Need to Succeed
⭐ Daily Points
You can earn up to 5 points per day by:
Being on time
Being on task
Participating positively
Keeping your phone put away
Using your Chromebook for classwork only
📱 One warning is given. After that, you lose all 5 points for the day.
📅 Absent? Meet with us before or after school to make up missed points.
📚 SSR (Silent Sustained Reading)
Bring a fiction book of your choice (200+ pages). We’ll read daily and complete short weekly logs to track your progress.
📓 Notebook Journals
You’ll write regularly in a classroom-kept composition notebook. This is your space for creative responses, reflection, and practicing writing skills.
🖊️ Freewriting
These informal writing assessments are meant to help you explore ideas. They're graded for effort, thoughtfulness, and growth, not perfection.
🗣️ Socratic Seminars
In these discussions, we’ll explore big ideas together. You’ll prepare in advance, participate respectfully, and make connections to the text and your peers. If you’re absent, you’ll be expected to make it up with a one-on-one meeting.
🧪 Class Policies & Procedures
📋 Classroom Expectations
Be kind and respectful—to yourself, your classmates, and the space
Phones away unless otherwise instructed
Stay in your assigned seat
Use Chromebooks for classwork only
Raise your hand to contribute
No hats or hoods during class
Print workshop essays before class (bring 3 copies)
🧾 Supplies
Required:
Chromebook (charged)
Composition notebook
Independent reading book
MyPerspectives workbook & novels
Recommended:
Pens/pencils
Highlighters
Loose-leaf or spiral notebook
Earbuds for online activities
📱 Tech Use in Class
Phones must be stored away and silenced during class
If we see it, we keep it until the end of the hour
Excessive Chromebook misuse will lead to the following:
Loss of daily points
Skyward behavior log
Parent/guardian contact
Detention
Referral to administration (if ongoing)
📝 Make-Up & Late Work
If you miss class:
Check Google Classroom for assignments and updates.
Late Work Policy:
-50% penalty for unexcused late work
You must communicate in advance if you need an extension
No late work accepted during the final 2 weeks of the semester
⚠️ Life happens. If you’re overwhelmed or struggling, please talk to us. We want to help.
🧠 Academic Integrity
We expect you to turn in your own original work.
🚫 Plagiarism = 0 + Skyward write-up
🚫 Cheating or copying = 0 + disciplinary referral
This includes AI-generated work.
🤖 AI & ChatGPT Policy
AI tools like ChatGPT may help brainstorm or get unstuck, but your writing must reflect your thinking and voice.
In this class, the process matters most—not perfection. If you stay engaged, try your best, and revise your work, you will succeed.
🧑🏫 Need Help? We’re Here.
Want help with an essay? Need to make up work? Just have a question?
📧 Email both of us with your class name and 2–3 time options. We’re available:
Before or after school
During advisory or study blocks
Virtually via WebEx if needed
🔁 Extra Credit & Enrichment
Extra credit opportunities will be offered throughout the semester. These might include bonus assignments, reading challenges, creative projects, and more!
💬 Final Thoughts
This year, you’ll grow as a reader, writer, and thinker—and we’re excited to be part of that journey with you. Let’s aim for progress, not perfection, and support each other along the way.
Let’s make it a meaningful and memorable year. 🖤
— Ms. Robinson & Ms. Espinoza
📧 srobinson@goddardusd.com | sespinoza@goddardusd.com