Hello and welcome to my webpage!

My name is Mark Adams and I teach junior high and high school English and Language Arts. You will find specific links to my classes to the left.

Here is some important information you may wish to know:

Mr. Adams' Classroom Policies  

Behavior All students will be in their seats with materials before the bell rings, or they will be considered tardy.

Students will remain in their seats until they are dismissed, not leave when the bell rings.

All students will conduct themselves maturely and respectfully. No harmful or abusive language, whether directed towards one another or the teacher, will be tolerated. 

Any intentional disruption of class time or defiant behavior will lead to demerit or immediate removal from the classroom.

 Homework Assignments are due immediately when asked for. Leaving homework in a locker, home, car, etc will not be a legitimate excuse. Computer problems and printing problems are an unavoidable and predictable part of our modern society; plan for these contingencies as these will not be considered legitimate excuses either.  You may turn in late/incomplete work for partial credit (no more than 60%) up to three days after it is due. After three days, you will receive a zero for the assignment. 

Bathroom/Locker Students will receive two bathroom/locker passes per quarter. Students who need to leave more than twice per quarter may serve 15 minutes for every absence. Please inform me if you are ill or having an emergency and need to go.   See student handbook for a more thorough discussion of behavior expectations. Violation of Classroom rules will result in 1)  detention 2) demerit 3) office referral. 

Make Up Work  

It is the responsibility of the student to get make-up homework. When you miss a class, you need to go to my webpage (follow the website/publication link at the top of the school’s homepage), find your class and the date to see what you missed. If there are handouts or worksheets please ask me for these. Otherwise the assignment is due per handbook guidelines. I never want to hear “I never got that,” “You never gave that to me,” “Was I here for that?” etc .  Handbook guidelines for completing make-up work will be enforced.    Collaborative Group Work Throughout the course we will be engaging in regular group activities. The following rules govern group work: 

1. All members contribute equally.
2. Time is spent productively.
3. Communicate only with members of your own group

Grading Policy                                        

Grades will be determined by the following categories

Daily Assignments and Activities

 The majority of work in this class will come in the form of daily assignments. These include journals, readings, discussions, vocabulary assignments etc.

 Quizzes

Quizzes will be both announced and unannounced. They are used to ensure that reading assignments are being completed as well as formative assessment to measure knowledge of key concepts.

 Major Writings/Presentations

There will be a number of essays and projects throughout the course. Specific guidelines or rubrics will be passed out as we come to them.

 Exams (not applicable to every quarter)

 A major exam will follow each curriculum unit. These will be a combination of essay, multiple choice and short answer.

SEMESTER GRADE=

40% Quarter Grade  40% Quarter Grade  20% Semester Exam

Iowa Core Curriculum