Procedures and Rules

Classroom Procedures:

• At the bell, please be in your seat.
• Take out your cell phone and set it facedown on the upper left corner of your desk. It will stay there throughout class, untouched, and on silent. If you need a dictionary or reference of some kind, there are good old-fashioned books here in the classroom that I would like you to use.
• Take out any homework that is due. I will usually come around and check it for completion, unless I instruct you to turn it in.
• There will be a writing prompt every day. After you have taken out your homework, take out your journal and write according to the prompt! I promise these will be interesting, fun, and relevant.  :)
• You will always have an interesting book to read in my class. After daily journaling, we will read silently for ten minutes. Reading is extremely important and we will read everyday: from textbooks, from novels, and from your own books. You must always have a book that you are reading on your own! Pick any book you like and get interested in it. If it’s not a book you like, try again. There are great books out there that every one of you can enjoy and I will help you find them.
• Makeup work is YOUR responsibility. If you are going to be out of town or absent for any reason, make arrangements ahead of time. If you were absent, see me to find out what you need to make up.
• Due dates are firm. Work that is one day late receives half credit. Work that is two days late or beyond receives zero credit.
• Quizzes and tests must be made up within three days of your absence.
• Cheating or plagiarism will result in a zero.
• Finally, most weeks will culminate with a quiz on the week’s lessons on Friday. Any story, worksheet, multimedia, or classroom discussion from the week is fair game for these quizzes so take notes! Following the quiz, we will do a fun learning activity such as using popular songs to reinforce lessons from the week! :)

Classroom Rules:

I have only one rule and it is the Golden Rule.

Treat others how you would like to be treated.

It’s true: the rule of treating others as you want to be treated will ultimately lead to your own happiness.

Let’s say that you apply the Golden Rule to all of your interactions with other people, and you help your neighbors, you treat your family with kindness, you go the extra mile for your teachers, you help a classmate in need.

Now, these actions will undoubtedly be good for the people you help but you’ll also notice a strange thing along the way... People will treat you better in return. Beyond that, you will find a growing satisfaction in yourself, a belief in yourself, a knowledge that you are a good person and you’ll learn to trust yourself. :)