Dear 10th Grade Parents,

I am writing to you with an update about grading and coursework in English 10:

I will be offering students the opportunity to earn credit for their daily participation in class via reading checks, workshops, etc. If earned, students may apply this credit to their World Lit or other relevant projects where appropriate, given rubric alignment. This is a great opportunity for students to improve their marks in the course (and for many the potential difference between passing and failing), so please encourage your child to come to class prepared and ready to participate each day.

What you can know and do to support your student in this work:

The majority of students completed pre-reading presentations before the break. All PLPs have been updated to show the status of this presentation. If an on-track mark is indicated for the project (blue train tracks), your student has presented and their grade is entered as a comment on the project. All students scoring below a 5 are offered the opportunity to improve their score through the upcoming Socratic (this will also take the place of any Socratic seminar revisions). If your student has an off-track mark for the project (orange wrench), they have not yet delivered their presentation and need to make this up (by appointment during break, lunch, or PLT) as soon as possible. 

I will update PLPs each week to show student progress. As you check your student's progress, please review any comments beyond the on/off-track sign with your student. 

Before the break, students were emailed/shared a PDF copy of Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone. Students were assigned Ch. 1-5 over the break. I recommend asking your child to show you a digital copy of the reading calendar, which was shared/emailed before the break. As a general rule, students have about 30 minutes of reading each day to stay on-track between now and Thursday, May 8. 

After Expeditions, we will be writing/editing the World Lit Paper until May 29 (the due date for the project). 

I will be grading all remaining revisions and new submissions of English 10 projects. I appreciate your patience and understanding as I chip away at this pile. I will be grading as efficiently as possible, offering numerical grades but no comments on revisions or late submissions (but full comments on all work in the current unit).

I have enjoyed working with your students so far, and I hope this helps you support them throughout the remaining weeks of English 10.

All best,

Ms. Morgan Derby, 10th Grade English Teacher