CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
GERMAN I, II, III + IV
Frau Katz

I. MATERIALS

These materials must be brought to class with you DAILY:

 Workbook + note packet: If lost, you’ll be charged for replacement

 A binder/sturdy folder: I would recommend a 3-ring binder.  This will be used to organize the many handouts & packets you will be getting from me.  

 A 2-pocket classroom folder: This will serve as your portfolio for quizzes, tests,

   and written work & will be kept in the classroom.

 Loose-leaf paper or notebook with perforated pages

 Pen & Pencil

 A German/English dictionary

II. POLICIES

 Homework:  It is necessary to practice and review material on a DAILY basis to insure success in a foreign language. Therefore, expect daily homework, due at the start of the period.  Assignments will be checked for completion and/or correctness.         

 Oral Participation: Since learning a language requires that you speak, you are expected to participate orally in GERMAN on a DAILY basis!  You will earn participation points when you volunteer quality answers in German (i.e. when we correct homework).

Points can also be earned during short partner/group activities & for performing dialogs.

Participation points are tallied at the end of each progress period, and a class average is taken which is used to set the 100% expected level of participation for that period.  You can earn up to 120% of the average; if you have extra points beyond that, they remain in the grade book as a sort of "slush fund" in case you have a deficit at some point.

 General Participation: In addition to speaking German, you are expected to pay attention and to be on task, cooperative, and responsible.   You will lose participation points (up to 5 pts./day) for any behavior that interferes with your ability or that of your classmates to learn or my ability to teach (i.e. being unprepared, sleeping, daydreaming, disrupting, interrupting, speaking English without attempting German).  Keep in mind, you will not be able to collect participation points when you are absent, which will affect your average.  However, you can earn points by coming in for tutoring/extra practice sessions after school.

 Classroom Conduct:

All students are expected to:

RESPECT      school property      each other      the teaching process  

 Tardies:  Students must be in the classroom when bell rings.

1 Tardy = Warning

2 Tardies = Detention

3 Tardies = Parent Contact & Referral to Dean

Quizzes, Tests, & OPA's:  Frequent quizzes (averaging 1/week) will be given, covering vocab and grammar.  There is a written test after each chapter  (about 1/month) and oral performance assessments (OPA’s) after units of study.

Up to 1 test & 2 quizzes can be retaken per semester.  However, a tutoring session reviewing material is first required and must be completed within 1 week.

 Written work:  You will have in-class writing assignments, which will be more spontaneous, as well as more formal written assignments.

~ To receive credit for a formal writing assignment, you must show proof of all work and meet deadlines for outlines and drafts.  You are assessed for the progress & quality of your work.

~ TRANSLATION PROGRAMS ARE PROHIBITED AS RESOURCES FOR WRITTEN WORK!

           ~ In terms of getting help from family/friends who speak German, ask me what is
               appropriate!

 Make-up work:  It is the student's responsibility to take care of make-up work.  When you're gone, find out what you've missed and when it is due from a fellow classmate or from a lesson plan copy.

You are expected to...

... make up any class work, quizzes, or tests missed within  ONE WEEK of   

    an absence!

... notify me in advance if you know that you will be missing class!

... have any homework/projects completed on the day that you return.

 If a quiz or test is scheduled for the day you return from an absence/field

 trip, you will have to take it on that day with the rest of the class.               

 Tutoring: I am available for tutoring and make-up work after school on Mon, Tues, & Thurs. or at a mutually convenient time in room 268 or in my office - RM 273.

III. GRADING

 Scale:  Points for tests, quizzes, projects, homework and participation are added together, weighted and converted to a percentage score.  This score is converted to a letter grade according to the foreign language department's grading scale:

90% + up   = A	70% - 79% = C	below 60% = F
80% - 89% = B	60% - 69% = D

Categories & weights:

	GER I + II	GER III + IV
Quizzes, Tests, Writing & Projects	45%	45%
Daily work	25%	20%
Oral work & Participation	15%	20%
Semester Exam	15%	15%

Progress reports are issued at the end of each progress period (every 4-5 weeks).  You can also check your progress through the PASS system.

Viel Spaß & Erfolg im neuen Jahr!!!