Teacher: Mr.

Ben Westrup Course: English Honors 10

Tutoring: Tuesdays 3:45-4:45 Website: mrwestrup.weebly.com Email: bwestrup@laalliance.org

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Welcome to English Honors 10!
English Honors 10 is a literature-based course that explores the themes of community, social responsibility, freedom of
expression, courage, and power, with an emphasis on World Literature. This course focuses on the development of
fluency in the English language through the study of historically and culturally significant works and authors from
American and world literature. Students will build stamina and learn strategies for reading critically and independently,
writing in multiple genres, and participating in in-depth discussions. This class is designed for highly motivated 10th
graders who demonstrate exceptional ability in English and are willing to read and write extensively both in and out of
class. This course covers the same content as English 10 at an accelerated pace and in greater depth and is designed to
prepare students to take AP English courses during their junior and senior year.

Throughout the year, students will read and write about complex literary and non-fiction texts that focus on looking at
the world through the perspectives of others. Throughout this course, students will utilize their English skills to help
them explore their roles and responsibilities in our community.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
Students will be expected to:
- Follow all E.S.A.T. rules and policies as stated in the student handbook.
- Contribute appropriately to class discussions.
- Show everyone in the class respect through their words and actions.
- Put forth their best effort and persevere through challenges.
- Show a readiness to learn from their mistakes.
- Complete all assignments on time.
- Come to class with the required materials (3-ring binder, loose-leaf paper, pencils/pens, highlighters, reading
books, etc.)
Students will be held accountable for these expectations through the following steps from Mr. Westrup:
1)Warning, 2)Intervention (e.g. discussion in the hallway or after class), 3)Consequence (e.g. parent contact,
check-in later with Mr. Lineses, etc.), 4)Referral (student goes to the office and teacher files a report). *Note: Mr.
Westrup reserves the right to change these consequences according to the circumstances.

Classroom Daily Procedures: Each day, students are expected to comply with the E.S.A.T. Warm Up by promptly
entering the classroom, going to their seats, taking their necessary materials out, and hanging their backpacks behind
their chairs or placing it beneath their desks. They are to copy down that day’s homework assignment from the
 whiteboard or Do Now slide, update their Table of Contents, and silently begin the rest of the Do Now assignment.

Bathroom Policy: It’s important that students are present in class as much as possible, therefore students are
expected to use the restroom before and after class. Students receive 2 Emergency Bathroom Passes each semester. If
students have used their passes, they must stay after class for 5 minutes to discuss what they missed.

GRADING
Grades will be based on students’ mastery of Common Core standards and skills in English. Grading will help you
answer these questions about your English skills: Where am I? Where am I going? What do I need to do to get there?

Scale Letter Grade Descriptor Additional Grading Codes

Below are optional performance descriptors -
schools/teachers may use others
0 A Exceeds grade-level course outcome Excused missed assignment or stan
7 X
4 A-
2 B+ Meets grade-level course outcome Grade pending accommodation / de
0 B S
7 B-
5 C+ Nearly meets grade-level course outcome Assignment not submitted and/or bl
3 C Z only having a scholar’s name on th
0 C- grade of zero.
7 Does not meet grade-level course outcome E Ethics violation and is a grad
5 NP
3
0

HOMEWORK
Being a college student requires that students are able to responsibly complete the majority of their assigned work at
home. In English Honors 10, students are expected to review and practice the skills learned in this class outside of the
classroom. Therefore, homework will be assigned most days. Unless stated otherwise, daily homework assignments will
be due (and checked) at the beginning of the following class meeting.

Daily lessons and homework assignments can be found at my website: mrwestrup.weebly.com

Homework Grade: Grades for homework completion will be assigned once each unit.

*When a student does not complete a homework assignment, they are required to stay after class to start the
assignment with Mr. Westrup.

RETAKES
As a college-ready school, we are working to prepare our students for the academic rigors of college (including the
importance of deadlines) while supporting them in mastering the curriculum in high school that will prepare them for
college success. To this end, we do allow students to take a limited number of retakes during the course of a school
year. Students are encouraged to prepare for quizzes, exams, and assessments on time and to use the retake option
sparingly.

Students will be allowed to retake quizzes (different versions) once within the same unit if they attend tutoring,
complete necessary homework assignments and demonstrate that they have studied and prepared for the retake.

The 10th grade team allows up to 4 retakes in each class.

CLASSROOM LIBRARY
Reading is a skill. The only way to get better at reading is to read–this is true for excellent readers as well as reluctant
readers. To help your child improve their reading, I have worked hard to develop my own classroom library. This
library is available to any student who wants to choose a book to be read recreationally. Students who check out books
from the class library are expected to be responsible for the care and condition of that book.

Students who lose or damage books from my library will be asked to replace the book or pay to have the
book replaced.
I also want you to know that I am sensitive to having appropriate reading material in my classroom. That said, what is
considered “appropriate” may vary from one parent to another. Some parents do not mind their child reading Stephen
King; other parents object to the horror genre. Please be aware that the selections in my classroom library range from
elementary-level to college-level reading material.

English Honors 10 SYLLABUS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have read the syllabus and understand the course syllabus and will reach out to the teacher for support and/or answer any
questions.

Student name (please print): _______________________________________ Period: _____________

Student signature: _______________________________________________ Date: ______________

Parent/Guardian signature: ________________________________________ Date: ______________