Rocky Mountain High School

World Literature
Fall 2023
Miss McDaniel

Welcome to World Literature class, everyone! I’m excited to begin our semester and to

learn about each of you. This semester we will be reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare as our primary texts of study this semester. However, we

will also be studying other shorter texts this semester. Our learning goal for the semester is to

answer the question: ? We will answer this question throughout the semester by having various

forms of discussions in class, doing research using academic databases, and writing short essays.

I hope that this class will further encourage you to explore the writing and voices of

others, including ones you may not read often, and to have you begin to write down your own

voice to share your experiences and opinions. Through discussions, we will explore different

viewpoints and learn how to respond to classmates with our own experiences and views in a way

that is respectful and productive. Respect is an expectation in my classroom. I expect each of you

shows the same respect to your classmates and to myself that you wish to be given. In return, you

can also expect respect back. Productivity in learning is based on giving evidence as to why you

dislike or disagree with a text or dialog occurring. When there is a disagreement or if you are in

agreement, I expect respect and productivity in your response verbally or in writing.

Teacher Contact Information

Miss Kate McDaniel

Email: katymcda@colostate.edu

Phone: (970) 555-0678

Office hours: 3rd period - 12:56-2:24 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and 1:10-2:31 pm

Wednesday

Email is my preferred form of communication. Parents, guardians, and students are free

to contact me during these times or at any time during the day using my email or by calling me.

Email and voicemail responses may take up to 24 hours. Please note that the phone number

provided is an app, Google Voice, I signed up for through Poudre School District and logs phone

numbers that have called. If I do not pick up, please leave a voicemail with your name and a

phone number to reach you at.

Supply List

The following is required for class:

1. Notebook

2. Pencils (3)

3. Eraser

4. Red or blue pens (2)

5. Independent reading book*

6. 1” three-ring binder

7. Post-it notes or sticky book tabs

*Independent reading books are books of your choice that we will be reading for a few

minutes in class most days.

Supplies provided by teacher:

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

 2. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

3. Laptop*

*Laptops are provided by Rocky Mountain High School, please bring laptops to class

charged

Student Expectations and Responsibilities

Students will be expected daily to:

➢ Listen and show respect to me, their classmates, and our school environment

➢ Be to class on time and remain in class until the bell rings unless excused by teacher or

substitute

➢ Be prepared for class with necessary supplies for that day

➢ Participate in discussions with respect and a growth mindset*

➢ Keep phones in backpacks during lessons and worktime

➢ Turn in classwork and homework on time

➢ Use appropriate and respectful language

➢ Have phone in backpack during lessons and class activities

➢ Have airpods and headphones away from both ears during lessons and class activities

Students will be expected over the course of the semester to:

➢ Do research and write papers as outlined in instructions and rubrics

➢ Turn in work on set check-in dates as well as due dates

➢ Be in the classroom during class time, missing as little class time as possible

➢ Do make-up work and late work as needed by the make-up work and late work due dates
 *A growth mindset is when one reflects on their mistakes and feedback to grow. In my
classroom, this also includes listening to others to learn from them and giving
reasoning/evidence when agreeing or disagreeing with students or texts.

Participation

Students will be expected to read, write, and speak in different activities throughout the

semester. Students are not graded on participation, but having participated in class will help

tremendously when it comes to doing and turning in assignments. Participation looks different

for every student, so I will provide multiple ways for each student to participate in the class

daily. I expect students to use participation to challenge themselves in the classroom to expand

their learning and skillsets, including skillsets of reading, writing, and speaking.

Cell Phone Policy

Cell phones should be completely out of sight during lessons and class activities. They

should also be set to “silent.” If students are caught with cell phones during class they will be

asked to put them away two times in a class period. The third time, they will need to place their

cell phone on the table up front until the end of the class period. Once students have been

required to set their cell phones on the table at the front of the room three times, they will have to

talk with both myself and an administrator to collaborate on a way for said student to not be on

their phone during class. This may include having a parent come to pick up their cell phone after

school.
 Grading

Letter grades are based on the following scale:

A 90-100%

B 80-89%

C 70-79%

D 60-69%

F 0-59%

Grades will be weighted on coursework as follows:

Class 20%
Activities/Homework

Check-In Work and Peer 20%

Feedback

Papers 30%

Assessments/Exams 30%

Grades can be accessed from the grade book website.

Tardies and Absences

Students are expected to be at their desks and ready to learn and participate when the bell

rings for class to begin. Students are counted as tardy until 10min past the bell ringing. If

students show up after the first 10min of class, they will be counted absent. If there is some
emergency that makes you late to class or miss it, please contact me as soon as possible. If you

know you are going to miss class beforehand, please communicate that to me and the office

before the day you will miss class.

Tardies and absences do not effect your grade directly but may result in a low grade when

you miss instructions and information. The direct effects of tardies and absences will be handled

by administration. Please, look at Rocky Mountain’s tardies and absences policy on the

homepage of their website.

Late Work and Make-Up Work

I will accept late work until 2 weeks after the original due date. However, for every week

that work is late, I will take off 5% of the grade earned. If you have talked to me before the due

date or have an acceptable reason that work is late, I will make accommodations. Please, talk to

me about late work so I can give you accommodations as needed.

Make-up work will need to be done for the days you have an absence you have

communicated to me and the office. Work done during other absences will count under the “late

work” policies. You are required to schedule a time with me to take exams that we took while

you were gone if there were any. Other make-up work, such as class activities, check-in work,

and peer feedback, can be done at home and will be due within a week after the original due

date.

If a student wishes to retake a test or redo an assignment, they must communicate that

with me. If retaking a test, one must turn in the original test with corrections and a 200-word

paper explaining what the correct answers are and why those answers are correct to show

understanding before retaking a make-up version of the test that is scheduled with me. For
redoing assignments and papers, students must make corrections to their original assignment or

paper along with a 400-word page stating their line of thinking as to how they improved the

paper and met the rubric standards.

Extra Credit

I do offer two extra-credit opportunities throughout the semester, one for each quarter.

The first extra-credit opportunity will be due a week before the end of the first quarter we have

class and the second will be due a week before the class ends for the semester. For each of these

opportunities, you will be given a choice to do a short research project or a short research paper

on a list of different topics we will be discussing that quarter. Each extra-credit opportunity can

get a student an additional 5% in the grading categories of Papers or Class Activities/Homework

depending on which type of format they pick, papers going into the Papers category and projects

going into the Class Activities/Homework category. Please, talk to me for more details.

Note: Signature requirements are found on the following page

 Signatures

By signing this, I acknowledge and understand the policies, expectations, and requirements to

succeed in World Literature.

____________________________________________________

Student name (printed)

___________________________________________________________ _________________

Student Signature Date

____________________________________________________ ________________________

Parent/Guardian name (printed) Relationship to student

___________________________________________________________ _________________

Parent/Gaurdian Signature Date

Parents/Guardians:

Please check your preferred form of contact.

Cell phone:________________________________ Best times to call:_______________

Email:____________________________________