Welcome to Ms. Gardner's Class
Sophomore Honors Summer Work
Your assignment is to read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. While reading you will track evidence
to support your understanding of the characters' values and keep writing reflections throughout the book, see more detailed directions below.
Hello and Welcome to the 2023-2024 School Year!
email me at igardner@rsu21.net
What to expect in my English class:
Writing
In Sophomore English, you can expect writing instruction to not just be regular practice such as reading responses, essays, and creative writing. We will also spend a lot of time developing your understanding of grammar and expanding the vocabulary you use in your writing.
Reading
Most of our units will be devoted to reading and understanding our three Sophomore English texts: The Kite Runner, Macbeth, and The Great Gatsby. However, I believe that regular choice reading is essential to developing reading skills, so students will always be expected to have their own reading material.
Discussion
Within the first few days of English class you'll hear the term "Harkness" which is a method I believe is essential for not just understanding content but also developing communication and collaboration skills.
About Me:
This will be my third year teaching Sophomore English at KHS.
I was born and raised in Midcoast Maine and moved out of state to attend college at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. After college, my wanderlust took me west to Boise, Idaho; then south to Austin, Texas; and now finally back home to Maine. I taught middle school ELA in both Idaho and Texas. I am also an advisor for The Herd, KHS's student newspaper.
Outside of school, I love to practice yoga, bike, run, cook, and garden. I live in Kennebunkport with my partner and our beloved Kitty, Perla.
Classroom Policies
Grading
Formative 40%
classwork, homework, drafts
Summative 50%
Papers, projects, tests, quizzes
Academic Responsiblity 10%
Late Work and Re-Dos
Respecting assignment deadlines is about respecting your teacher's time, and your own learning progression. Late work will be accepted with the following conditions:
Communicate
Learning to ask for an extension and communicate with your instructor is a great skill to develop. Before I will accept late work, a student must speak with me before the assignment deadline.
Last Acceptable Day
Throughout the quarter, I will set LAD deadlines. This means that no more late work will be accepted past that day. This will often be before a long weekend or at the halfway point in the quarter. This policy will keep any late work from piling up and ensure that we stay focused on the current deadlines rather than previous work.
Assignment Re-Do
Some assignments, mostly summative assignments, can be redone. This process will require many steps, primarily using the teacher's feedback to grow and reflect. Only assignments turned in on time will be able to take advantage of a redo.