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The focus this year will be to develop an understanding of reading and to hone skills in critical thinking about material read. Assessment will be primarily through written assessment. Only a student's best work should be submitted. A student will get out of this course what he or she puts into it. It should be a great year with successful learning experiences for all!

Students will improve comprehension in informational and literary texts. Skills will include vocabulary development, research, structural analysis of various kinds of text, and organizational strategies for reading and writing.

It is the STUDENT"S RESPONSIBILITY to make up missed work. Assignments are due the day a child returns to class if present when assigned. Otherwise, a date will be assigned for submission. Missed tests must be arranged with the teacher and made up by an agreed-upon date.

Grades will be based on tests (70%); classwork (20%); and homework (10%). Quarterly grade charts will be given to each student to be maintained by the student, and checked by parents and teacher. Grades will also be posted on Teacherease periodically.

Homework is an opportunity to practice skills taught in class or to prepare for continued instruction. Although 10% for homework is a seemingly small portion of the overall grade, it is essential to the development of good reading skills; most assignments are graded for accuracy. Quality work is expected with attention given to penmanship and the mechanics of written language. Reading should be a daily habit; generally an assignment is given at the beginning of the week and collected at the end of the week. Late assignments will be accepted for partial credit before a test, but not after, and must be signed by a parent or guardian. Exceptions will be made for illness or family emergency.

Work that is not done correctly or tests with low grades may be redone according to designated guidelines for the first two quarters of the year. Redone work should be submitted on the date given in class.

Some assignments are to be hand written in legible penmanship with the designated pens or pencils. Essays and some other assignments must be done on word processor. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation always count!

PARENTS: Please check your student's grade chart located in the policies section of the binder; every returned graded assignment should be recorded there. Grades will be posted to Teacherease but may take a few days after assignments have been given back to students.

CORE+: Students will participate in enrichment reading lessons during CORE. Students who are in band or chorus can pick up any materials used during this class to do at home. The materials will be posted in the back of the classroom.

Homework, 9/9/09, periods 6 and 8: Read and code in BRIGHT colors, "Celebrate!" Complete the worksheet. Remember: this assignment will be graded as if it is a quiz. Approximate time to complete: 20 minutes/day. Due Friday, 9/11.

Homework, 9/10/09, periods 1, 2 and 9: Read and code in BRIGHT colors, "Celebrate!" Complete the worksheet. This will ba graded as if it's a quiz so do your best work. Time to complete: 20 minutes/day. Due Tuesday 9/15 but you may submit it early.

Homework, 9/16, periods 6 and 8: complete the worksheet. Due Thursday, 9/17. Approximate time to finish: 20 minutes/day. Periods 1, 2, and 9: complete the worksheet. Due 9/18. Approximate time to finish: 20 minutes /day.

Homework, 9/21, all classes: Read chapters 2 and 3 of The Outsiders; complete the worksheet. Approximate time to complete: 20 minutes/day. Due Thursday, 9/24 for periods 6 and 8; due Friday, 9/25 for periods 1, 2 and 9. remember! These assignments are graded as if they are quizzes! Do your best and neatest work.

Homework, 9/29, all classes: Read chapters 4 and 5 of The utsiders; complete the worksheet. Approximate time to complete: 20 minutes/day. Due Thursday, 10/1 for periods 6 and 8; due friday, 10/2 for periods 1, 2 and 9.

Homework, 10/5, all clases: Read chapters 6 and 7 of The Outsiders; complete the worksheet. Approximate time to finish: 20 minutes/day. Due Thursday, 10/8 for periods 6 and 8; due Friday, 10/9 for periods 1, 2, and 9. NOTE: Starting this week, any assignments that are illegible and/or messy wll be returned to the student to redo. Submit only your best and neatest work!

Warning: Test on chapters 1-5 of The Outsiders, starting Tuesday, 10/6. The best way to prepare is to have done all homework assignments and corrected them in class; keep an organized binder in order to locate all assignments and worksheets that can be used during the test. This is open book; bring the book to class!

Special note to parents: If your child misses work due to illness, he or she will be given ample time to complete assignments. Please work out a schedule with the teacher upon returning to school.

Homework, 10/12, all classes: Read chapters 8 and 9 of The Outsiders; complete the worksheet. Approximate time to finish: 20 minutes/day. Due Wednesday, 10/14 periods 6 and 9; due Thursday, 10/15 periods 1, 2, and 9. Submit only your best work!

Homework 10/19, all classes: Read chapters 10-12 of The Outsiders. Complete the worksheet. Due 10/22 for periods 6 and 8; due 10/23 for periods 1, 2, and 9. Approximate time to complete: 20 minutes/day.

Warning: Test on chapters 6-12 starting Monday, 10/26 for periods 6 and 9! The best way to prepare is to have done all homework, corrected all homework and organized your binder so you can find any worksheets or assignments that will help you on the test.

Homework, 10/ 26: Follow directions completely- Copy the question onto a lined piece of paper. Do CUCC; define all direction words and key words. Before answering, explain what the question means.

Why do you think Pony will be sensitive to how his run-down house will look to his friends? Why doesn't he care what Randy thinks of his house?

Homework, 11/2: Copy the entire assignment. Construct a graphic organizer like the one used in class. Compare yourself to Ponyboy. Conclude by saying if you think Pony is realistic. Do CUCC. Define all direction and key words. Explain what the question means. Due 11/4 for periods 6 and 8; due 11/5 for periods 1, 2, and 9. Approximate time to finish: 25 minutes.