Junior Language Arts

Syllabus
2017-2018

Instructor Information
Instructor Contact Hours Room
Bowyn Olsen bowyn.olsen@washk12.org 2,3,7,8 200

General Information & Expectations

Class Description
In this class, reading and writing will be the extreme focus of our learning. We will spend time analyzing various texts,
writing in a wide range of styles, and exploring literature, writing, and speech through many different lenses. This
class meets the standards of the Utah Common Core. The pedagogical practices I use have been proven effective by
educational theorists and practitioners.
We will make the most out of our time if we follow these statutes:
Vulnerability: English requires us to open up and contribute to philosophical discourse. Pour your personality
into your work and dont be held back by the fear or punishment of being wrong.
Respect: Give your interest and upmost respect to yourself, me, and your peers.
Interest: English can be intriguing and captivating if you give it the chance. Be excited about the material
and class. I will do my part to make it interesting. You do yours.

Honesty: Not much is worth lying about. Be honest in your work.

Maturity: You are fully capable of being decent and kind. You have exactly zero excuses to engage in
immature activity.

Expectations

Homework: The only homework I expect learners to engage in is reading. I will provide ample time in class to
complete assignments, projects, or assessments. If you do not use your time in class wisely, any work not
completed will be yours to complete outside of class.
Attendance: Coming to class is essential. You will receive two points for every day you spend in class. This
means youre on time and participating the entirety of the period. This will make up a large portion of your
grade, so plan on being here. If you dont come to class (unexcused), or are not participating in our activities,
you will not receive your two points.
School-excused absences will never have a negative impact on your learning. If you fall ill, or have a crisis,
communicate with me as soon as you can so that we can work together to catch you up. If a non-excused
absence prevents you from turning something in, refer to my policy on late work (below).
Manage your time so that you are on time. Being tardy is disruptive and annoying. I give you three freebies a
quarter, then being tardy will start to have a negative impact on your grade (one point from your daily two-
point grade).

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 Be on time every day. In the real world, being late to work is bad news. Making punctuality a habit will take
you far, professionally.
Late work: You will be expected to get your work in on-time and complete. Sometimes circumstances make
this difficult, but you must communicate with me to make exceptions. Since I give you ample in-class time to
do your work, I fully expect you to turn things in on time.
You have two days after the due date has passed to make a plan with me for anything late.
Respect of self and others: You will have respect for yourself and your peers in my room. Within my walls,
everyone should feel comfortable and safe being themselves, but this does not give you have an excuse to
violate school and district policy. You will be respectful in your speech (no course, racist, sexist, or offensive
language), your mannerisms (no appalling hand or bodily gestures), your dress, and your attitude. I have zero
tolerance for any violation of respect.

Classroom Learning
Reading
We will focus each quarter on a specific piece, or pieces of literature:
Q1: The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Q2: American Mythology
Q3: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Q4: American Lit. short stories

Writing & Speech

Be prepared to write every day. This is the only guaranteed way of becoming master writers. Each quarter we will
focus on a specific kind of writing style:
Q1: Informative writing
Q2: Informative/argumentative
Q3: Argumentative
Q4: Narrative

Grammar
We will spend time every week polishing our handle on the rules of the English language. Expect to learn the rules of
grammar and display that knowledge regularly.

ACT Prep
We will spend sufficient time this quarter preparing specifically for the Language Arts sections which you will be taking
later this year.

Grades
I want grades to represent your learning, and not the other way around. I want you to make mistakes in my class
without the Ghost of Future Grades ooooooh-ing over your shoulder. Focus on learning and youll be just fine with
your grade.

I grade on the GPA 1-4 scale. Each number means the following:
4 Evidence of learning has been met
3 Evidence of learning is close to being met

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2 Evidence of learning is being approached
1 Evidence of learning is not being displayed
0 Work has not been submitted/has been plagiarized

Please understand that your grades are yours and not mine. You are encouraged to communicate with me about your
grade(s) whenever you have a question, complaint, or worry. Im on your side, but I expect you to take charge of your
learning. I expect you to check your grade often and approach me whenever you need.

Technology Usage
The job market today is all about technology. Because of that, we will use it every day in class. We will use it in new
and exciting ways that both enhance learning and prepare you for tech-filled employment. You will follow district and
school policy on technology usage. I put trust in each and every one of you to use technology for your learning benefit.
Any usage that is inappropriate in any way will not be tolerated.

Cell Phones
District policy states, Any electronic device found on District property is subject to search and confiscation Please
keep your phones away during class. Parents, if there is an emergency, please contact the office: (435)628-5255
Slack
Outside of class, we will use the communication app Slack (see website for URL link). This will allow me to give you
reminders of upcoming lessons, due dates, and need-to-knows. Slack will also permit you to communicate with your
peers if you missed class. As Uncle Ben says, with great power comes great responsibility. Dont be the student that
ruins this privilege. Inappropriate posts or messages of any kind will not be tolerated (pornographic material,
course/crude language, cyberbullying just to name a few). Parents will be encouraged to be a part of our thread.
Your Slack username must be your first name and last name in the following format: firstname.lastname (bowyn.olsen
for example). Any other username will be denied access to our class thread.

*As the instructor, I reserve the right to modify this disclosure at any time*

**Any concerns students or parents might have about the material above should be addressed.
Please contact me at bowyn.olsen@washk12.org**

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