Ms. Howard's ELA Class

Term 4

 Students are working on a Shakespeare unit. We are currently reading The Shakespeare Stealer as our class novel. An orphaned boy named Widge was bought because he knew a special type of shorthand. His new master is forcing him to secretly steal the play "Hamlet" by writing down the lines in this shorthand. The themes of loyalty and betrayal, personal responsibility, honor and dishonor are explored in this book and are some of Shakespeare"s universal themes.

 We will then be testing our acting skills by reading and performing Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's a romantic comedy which will entertain them, as well as challenge them as reader's. They will learn about the language of the time it was written and demonstrate that even hundreds of years later, we still struggle with the same issues in life.

Classroom Expectations

Students need to attend class daily. If absent due to illness, they are responsible for making up any missed class work or homework. They are expected to have their notebooks, class novel, and independent reading books each day.

 When homework is given, it should be written in their agenda books for you to view. 

All students are expected to respect the classroom rules and everyone in the class.

Students are expected to be cooperative and participate in class.

Grading Policy

Participation 20%

Homework  10%

Classwork/Notebooks 30%

Quizzes/Tests 20%

Projects/Papers 20%