CC English 1A & 1B
Deborah Riley
Room 104
Office Hours:
 By appointment
 M-F 7:30 – 3:20
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 208-288-2928
www.riley.mtchs.org
As Freshmen, students review written language conventions, expand vocabulary, practice the
writing process, prepare expository/descriptive/narrative essays, learn and improve presentation
skills, prepare and present informative speeches, read from a variety of sources to strengthen
process and comprehension skills, participate in project-based activities, and complete a
pathway application.
Students will be provided with course materials, such as: textbook, short stories, novels, etc.
Students will need to provide their own pencil/pen, paper, flash drives, headphones/ear buds.
NOTE: Freshmen students cannot use their personal laptops or other electronic devices during
class.
Students will be graded using the grading scale set forth in the MTCHS Student Handbook.
A 90 – 100
B 80 – 89
C 70 – 79
NC 69 or less (NC-no credit)
Students are strongly encouraged to seek help in understanding course concepts. The
instructor is available during office hours or class and MTCHS has both after school and
morning labs (see Lab Schedule) for student help/study time.
Opportunities for extra-credit will periodically be provided throughout the course. These
opportunities will be presented to all students. No extra-credit opportunities will be provided for
students on an “individual” needs basis.
All competencies must be passed in order to receive semester credit for this course. A student
who fails a competency must retake and pass the competency, with a score of 70% or higher,
within 2 weeks of the first failed attempt (a score of 70% is placed in the grade book). A
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maximum of 2 retakes for a total of 3 attempts will be allowed to pass a competency. Course
competencies will be identified to students and are marked as competencies in the grade book.
Students may receive no more than 70% for completed late assignments. Incomplete late
assignments are not accepted. Any missing or late assignment may be submitted up to two
(2) school/business days after the assignment is posted as due in PowerSchool. Exceptions
to this policy may be requested by the student in writing or E-mail. The instructor will make
the final determination on extension requests and will inform the student of the decision in Email. The individual teacher will determine due dates on make-up/redo assignments.
ALL late work submitted for grading MUST be accompanied by an E-mail to the instructor
stating the name of the assignment submitted. Without an E-mail notification, a grade will
NOT be posted in the grade book.
If a student receives below a 70% on a completed assignment, a student may redo that
assignment for a grade up to 70%. Incomplete work may not be resubmitted for credit.
Students may resubmit work for passing credit within two (2) school/business days of the
original grading of the assignment (grading dates are located in Moodle).
As a student, you are required to:
 Do your own work—cheating and plagiarism are not tolerated
 Arrive prepared to learn—laptop and brick, pencil/pen, assignment, etc.
 Respect others—we are here as a group to work as a team to make our time
together the most productive for all
As a student, you need permission to:
 Leave the room
 Work on coursework from other classes
 Use the Internet in a non-academic way
Per school policy, only water is allowed in the classroom—no other food or drink is allowed.
Gum IS permitted as long as it stays in your mouth and is placed in the trash when you are
finished.
NOTE: Habitual need to leave the room for bricks, school supplies, etc., will result in a tardy for
that day’s class session.
Work Quality—Since quality of work is as important as having the right answer; worksheet
questions most often have point values of 5 or more points per question. I do expect to be able
to see “how” you developed your answer. A simple comparison would be a math assignment. If
you just put the answer to the equation, and the answer is wrong (or right), your teacher does
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not know where the mistake is, or how you developed the answer, and therefore cannot help to
lead you toward a clearer understanding. Providing an analysis of literature would be the same.
Based on our own life experiences, we may interpret ideas from literature differently from
others. By providing the support (or the proof of your work), you show “how” you determined
the relationship. One student’s “right” answer may be slightly different than another student’s
“right” answer. As a guideline, all written answers to questions should include the following:
 Restatement of the question(s)
 Answer(s) to the question(s)
 Example(s) from the original material that “support” the answer OR
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Example(s) from other works
Example(s) from life experience
Conduct—You are to treat class as you would any environment within industry. This means
you are to act according to industry standards—being professional in attitude and behavior.
Your behavior does and will affect your grade.
Plagiarism—Distinguishing your words and ideas from those of someone else is an important
skill for this class. Any plagiarized material, even a key word in a sentence, or someone else's
published idea which has not been properly documented could result in a failing grade for the
assignment. A case of extensive plagiarism (full paragraphs lifted from someone else's work),
repeated plagiarism, or “recycling a paper” will result in a zero for the assignment. No
exceptions will be made. If you are ever uncertain about the rules for using a source, please
ask me! Some examples of plagiarism are the following:
 Using a phrase or sentence from a book or magazine article without acknowledging
your source (without putting quotation marks around the quoted material and without
mentioning the author)
 Borrowing specific ideas from another writer without acknowledging your source,
even if you write the ideas in your own words
 Cutting and pasting into your own paper information from the Internet,
without acknowledging the source
 Submitting a paper someone else has written
(To help prevent plagiarism automatically put quotation marks around any information you
copy AND make a note of the title, author, date published, date accessed, and publication on
your note card.)
Semester I
Vocabulary
Grammar Review
Punctuation Review
Writing, Editing, & Revising
Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird
Short story sampling:
“Who Am I This Time”
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
“The Most Dangerous Game”
“Harrison Bergeron”
Semester 2
Vocabulary
Grammar Review
Punctuation Review
Writing, Editing, & Revising
Speech: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Novels: Fantastic Voyage, 1984
Nonfiction
Short Story possibilities:
“The Feeling of Power”
“The Euphio Question”
*Assignments, activities, and other coursework may be changed to better suit course/student needs.
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