MIDDLE SCHOOL CREATIVE WRITING
Course Expectations and Information for Students and Parents
Following is a list of things that are expected of students in order for them to be successful in this course. Parents, please check to see that your child is completing all assigned work in a responsible and timely manner.
· *Students must be on time for class. We have a lot to cover in a little time!
· * Do your best work! Evaluation of writing assignments is subjective and will be based as much on your effort and improvement over time as it is on your innate writing ability.
· * Writing assignments will be given a due date, and due dates will not be extended except for extenuating circumstances involving excused absences. The student will have as many days as he was absent to turn in the work upon his return. (In other words, if his excused absence was two days, he will have two class days upon his return to turn in missed work.)
· * We will often have multiple due dates within a single writing assignment, as we will have rough drafts, edited copies, and final drafts for many.
· * Writing assignments must be completed! It is not my practice to assign zeroes, as receiving a zero grade on any one assignment is devastating to any student’s overall grade. If an assignment is not completed when it is due, the zero will be assigned initially, but the assignment will still be due. The eventual final grade will be averaged with the original zero upon completion of the assignment. The grade will lower each day past the due date until it is completed.
· * Various tests and quizzes will be given throughout the course on the material taught in class. As I desire students to master the material, retests will be required when less than 80% mastery is achieved. Students will be required to take retests during lunch.
· * You will receive or lose credit based on timely completion of assigned homework. Always do your best work and complete all assignments on time.
· * A daily “class participation” assessment will be made. Be prepared to contribute to class discussion and to participate in class work in order to do well.
· * Extra credit points can be earned at any time by bringing me a copy of any grammatical error you (the student) find in any published material. (This can include anything from a book, magazine, or newspaper to a church bulletin or menu from a Chinese restaurant!)
Your grade will consist of an average of grades on homework assignments, classwork assignments, reading logs, class participation, written tests, and compositions.
Grading Scale: 90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
Below 60 F
Numerical averages will be assigned. However, the letter grade earned is a more accurate assessment of the student's ability, so feel free to adjust the grades to your own grading scale if the scale you use for your transcripts is more numerically stringent than this one.