Ms.

Galaviz

Junior English
Junior American Literature
Sunnyslope High School
Ms. Galaviz (GaH-lUh-Veez)
Office Hours: M-TH 2:40-3:05, or by
appointment
Office Phone: 602.543.5528
Email: ask_msgalaviz@gmail.com

My Vision
Students will have the opportunity to be a part of a unique classroom
environment that is student centered. This is an English class so they should
expect to read, write, and question various texts and novelsbut along the
way we will be exploring who they are, what they think and why they think it.
We will move far beyond the texts by participating in inquiry-based activities
where students will be able to work collaboratively and effectively with their
peers to investigate real life situations. It isnt just about the texts; its about
the individuals who are reading them!
2015-2016 Daily Class Schedule:
Period 1

7:55 8:50

Period 2

8:55 9:50

Period 3

9:55 10:55

Period 4

11:00 11:55

1st Lunch 11:00 11:40

Period 5

11:45 12:40

2nd Lunch 12:00 12:40

Period 6

12:45 1:40

Period 7

1:45 2:40

Course Description: Students will examine important elements of and

significant trends in American Literature from the 1600s to the 20th century
with the goal of developing higher-level thinking, speaking, and writing skills.
Through the selected works, students will explore events and ideas that
helped shape American culture throughout our nations history. Students will
expand their vocabulary through grammar and vocabulary instruction,
writing assignments, class discussions, oral presentations and group
projects.

Ms. Galaviz

Junior English

* The literature that we will explore this year may contain

controversial issues as well as adult language and situations. I have
chosen these texts for educational value, their usefulness as
preparation for future assessment requirements, and their merit as
representative literature from differing historical perspectives.
However, if you or your student are uncomfortable with reading a
particular text, please let me know, and we will come up with an
alternative assignment together.
Course Units
Our course primarily focuses on teaching students how to become skilled
readers of a variety of written rhetorical contexts and how to become skilled
writers who are able to write for a variety of purposes. Students will write in
many formsincluding expository, analytical, argumentative, personal, and
reflective. Students will become careful readers who look for connection and
synthesis among words and ideas in both primary and secondary sources,
using texts and visual/digital media such as films, photographs,
advertisements, and online spaces.

Quarter One will focus on critical reading and rhetorical analysis.

Quarter Two will focus on comparing/contrasting, cause and effect
and argumentative writing
Quarter Three will be a continuation of argumentative writing and an
introduction to persuasion
Quarter Four will solely focus on synthesis writing

AZ Standards for 11th Grade English Language Arts

Reading:
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to
make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence
when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the
text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and
interact over the course of a text.

Craft and Structure

1. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and
analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Ms. Galaviz

Junior English

2. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences,

paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section,
chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
3. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and
style of a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
1. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
2. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a
text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the
relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
3. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics
in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the
authors take.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
1. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts
independently and proficiently.
Writing:
Texts Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey
complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through
the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, wellchosen details, and well
structured event sequences.

Production and Distribution of Writing

1. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
2. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising,
editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
3. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish
writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

1. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based
on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation.

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Junior English

2. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital

sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and
integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
3. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
1. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research,
reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting
or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
How parents can support their students: Parents will have the same
access as students to our classroom website. There, parents are free to view
our lessons for the day and our course calendar for upcoming deadlines,
links to additional resources, etc. Please, be as involved with your child as
possible. They will have nightly homework every night. Make an effort to ask
about it and read over any responses they provide. If parents would like to be
involved in classroom activities for any particular day, that is 100%
acceptable and welcome! My classroom is always openprior notice is not
necessary.

Homework Policy: Homework will be collected at the start of every class.

Homework is required as one of the items to have out on their desk before
the bell rings. I will have the students hold onto their homework until I
prompt them to flow it forward to me given a 10 second countdown. Any
homework not in my hands by then end of 10 seconds will not be accepted.
The collected homework will then be placed into that periods specific ELA
folder, and I will place it in the proper period bin in front of my desk for easy
retrieval upon grading.
Grades will be posted every two weeks on our classroom bulletin by student
ID number. This way students will have the opportunity to take responsibility
for their grades, making an effort to check them frequently to dispute
discrepancies in a timely manner.
All grades can also be accessed online along with a list of assignments that
we have completed and the grade the student received. To access student
grades visit the schools website: infinitecampus.com and use your
designated login information.
Ex. Username: dgalaviz (first initial of first name + last name)
Password: dg********** (first and last initial + 10 digit student ID number
Late Work Policy: Late work will be accepted with a penalty. A student will
only have one day to turn in the assignment for late credit. Late credit is an
automatic 10% penalty against the grade the student earned for the
assignment. Various enrichment activities will be granted throughout the

Ms. Galaviz

Junior English

semester to help improve their grade, if needed. Late work consists of any
work that is not flowed in at the beginning of class. Students who do not
make the effort to conference with me with reasoning for not turning in their
work at this time will not be granted permission to turn it in at a later time.
Make-up Work/Tests: Students who are absent have the opportunity to
look up the days lesson online on our class website. I will upload all the
information necessary so that they are comfortable coming back to class the
next day prepared and ready to move on. Information included will be the
PowerPoint from the day, any worksheets handed out, and the homework
given.
If this is not applicable to the student, such as no internet access or access
to a printer, students can expect to find these same materials in the
homework container in front of my desk in their designated period section. I
will have indicated whose materials are whos by writing the name of the
absent student in the upper right hand corner with the date they were
absent clearly indicated.
Students will have the same number of days to complete their work as they
were absent. So, for instance, if a student is absent for two days, then that
particular student will have two days to make up the work that they missed.
If the student does not get the work in by that time, they will not receive
credit.
Homework Assistance: I will have a Homework Hotline available from 4:00
PM to 8:00 PM each day of the week, excluding Sunday. Again, my email will
be available 24/7 at ask_msgalaviz@gmail.com. I promise to be prompt
enough for you, replying back the day of or the next day at the latest. You
are also welcome to come before class, during my prep hour, lunch or after
school. The choice is yours!
Communication: Parents/guardians will be given the same access to the
class website as the students. There will be links to student of week, uploads
of exemplary work, and announcements of upcoming school events. A
Contact Me tab will be clearly visible. Once clicked on there will be two
separate email addresses displayedone for parent use and one for student
use. I will also provide my classroom phone number if parents wish to reach
me directly.
I will personally make phone calls to parents of those students who are
earning less than 70% in my class every two weeks. Information will be
communicated with the parents and together we will strategize the best
approach to encourage the student to raise his or her grade.

Ms. Galaviz

Junior English

Parents will also be contacted for 2nd offense behavioral issues within my
classroom.
Grading:
Gradable Items
Participation
Show What You Know (SWYK)
Quizzes
Literature Circles
Culminating Projects
Reflection Essays
Exams
Total Points

Points Total (for the whole year)

100
200
100
200
200
200
1000

Grading Scale
Percentage
100-93
92.86
85.79
78.72
<71

Points
1000-930
920-860
850-790
780-720
710- Below
E

Grade
A
B
C
D

Students will always have the opportunity to correct any mistakes that are
given for any turned in assignment to earn full credit back. The same is true
for larger assignments such as assigned essays or project based
assignments.
.
Homework, in-class assignments, and tests will always be given back the
next class period. For papers and projects, students will understand that they
should expect a maximum of a one week turnaround so that I can ensure
them that I have thoroughly reviewed their work, have given them the
proper amount of points they deserve, and have accurately uploaded their
grade to the parent portal website. All students will be required to follow
rubrics for every paper and project given and will be graded accordingly.
Classroom Rules & Discipline:
I will have a maximum of five classroom rulesall positively worded
and specific in meaning:
1. Come to class with a positive attitude by leaving all drama
outside of the classroom.
2. Sit up straight in their seats, tracking the speaker at all times

Ms. Galaviz

Junior English

3. Stay in your assigned seat unless otherwise directed by the

teacher
4. Only one person talks at a time
5. Say Please and Thank-You
If a student chooses not to comply with any of the stated rules, they subject
themselves to the following consequences:
First OffenseWarning and one-on-one conference with student
Second OffenseCall home
Third OffenseDetention
Fourth OffenseAdministrative Referral
*TEACHER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SKIP STEPS BASED UPON THE SEVERITY OF THE
VIOLATION

Rules will be posted at the front of the classroom. Rules will then be taught
until students demonstrate 100% mastery of them.
Classwork Policy: The materials cabinet will be at the back of the
classroom next to my desk. All materials will be taken out of the cabinet that
will be needed for the lesson and will only be visited when there is a need for
additional materials. I will be the distributor of all materials. However, will
hand the first person in the row the materials and it is their job to pass down
the materials to the rest of their row. I will do so with the intention of allowing
students more time on task and reducing classroom discussions being that
students usually lollygag when asked to get out of their seats.
Entrance Policy: You are to sit in your assigned seat and get out designated
materials. This should include homework, their ELA binder and journal, your
assigned novel if applicable, a personal book and a pen or a pencil. Students
are expected to gather all of these materials and place their backpack on
their designated hook on the side of the classroom before the bell rings. The
classroom door will be shut at this time and I will make my way to the front
of the classroom for homework collection.
Students will be given a 10 second countdown for homework collection.
Students will flow their homework in to the front of the room, and I will place
it in a designated folder for that period.
The days Caught Ya! (a daily grammar exercise) will be displayed on the
SMARTboard and students will be expected to copy the sentence down in its
entirety into their ELA journal and make the proper corrections. Journals will
be inspected every Monday of the week. While students are completing this
task, I will simultaneously be taking attendance.

Ms. Galaviz

Junior English

Dismissal Policy: I plan to teach from bell to bell. The last three minutes of
class will be designated for packing up. Three minutes prior to this, students
will have been asked to complete a ticket-out-the-door which will be
displayed on the SMARTboard. At the three minute mark, students will be
dismissed by rows to hand me their ticket, retrieve their backpacks, return to
their seats and pack up. Students are to get up only when indicated by me
and are expected to complete these tasks with alacrity, minimizing any
unnecessary socializing with other classmates. When the bell rings, students
will be dismissed by me and they will be allowed to walk out the door where I
will be standing to bid my farewells and collect any last minute tickets.
________________________________________________
____
Teacher Signature: __________________________________
I understand the policies and procedures that Ms. Galaviz has
outlined for her Junior English Language Arts Class. My student and
I have received a copy of the class syllabus and calendar for the
2015-2016 school year.
Students Name: ___________________________________ Class Period:
_______________
Parents Signature: ________________________________________
(Please detach and return to Ms. Galaviz by the end of Week 1)