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Mr. Nix's Reading Assignment Download
- A three-ring binder with loose leaf paper
- Dividers for your notebook
- At Least 2 #2 Pencils (Bring them every day!)
- At least 2 pens, either black or blue ink (NO OTHER COLOR WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ANY REASON!!! BRING THEM EVERY DAY!!!)
- A pack of 3x5 index cards to use for vocabulary flashcards and other projects.
- A Standard Black Composition Notebook-for Journal Writing(Look at Mr. Nix’s example.
- Positive Attitude and serious work ethic – required! (This is the most important!)
**No material will be denied to a child due to financial difficulty. If you encounter a problem in obtaining these materials, please see me after class.
I expect students to be respectful as I am of them. This is a college-preparatory course and I expect the students to perform at or above this level. I have few classroom rules but they are to be followed!
- Respect! (Above all else for yourself, classmates and myself.)
- Come to class prepared.
- Listen! Learn! The rest shall take care of itself!
It would be wise, nay, necessary that you have these rules and procedure sheets in the front of your notebook. I will grade this action!
- DO NOT BE TARDY TO MY CLASS – “Tardy” means coming in after the bell rings. If you are tardy, you will sign in the Tardy notebook!
- ATTENDANCE - Five absences are allowed during the course of the semester (either excused or unexcused). Upon the sixth absence, credit for this class may be denied. See the Pickens County “Student Code of Conduct” for further clarification.
- ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD, SOFT DRINKS, CANDY OF ANY KIND, AT ANY TIME IN MY ROOM. – You may have clear bottle water only (No Coke, Juice, or flavored water, or powdered inserts.) to drink during class. The cap on the bottle must remain sealed when you are not having a sip of water and YOU are responsible for any accidents that occur. Clean them up immediately without disruption. This is a school wide non-negotiable policy. I do allow gum, if it is not seen. The first time it gets on the floor or on a desk this privilege will be suspended. After class has begun do not ask to go to snack or drink machines!!!
- USE CLASS TIME WISELY - Our class time will be designed for learning. Please respect all class rules so that everyone has an opportunity to learn. Do not complete your homework for other classes during our learning time, and please follow all instructions given. Sleeping is never “okay” during class. Your head must be up at all times. You will receive one warning; after that, it is break detention or a discipline referral.
- Handing in Assignments: All assignments will be passed in when the teacher calls for it the first time. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED! NO EXCEPTIONS! NO EXCUSES!!! Those who are absent are expected to make up assignment according to Pickens High School policies. Make-up test and quizzes must be arranged on the student's time.
- Possession of Cell Phones/CD Players/I-Pods/Electronic Devices: Our class will be in accordance with PHS policy. If any of above devices are visible or interrupt class, then they will be taken up and left at the front office for parent pick-up. If a cell phone or any other device is out during a test, it will be considered cheating and the student will be given a discipline referral. If a student refuses to hand over the device, then a discipline referral will be written.
Those who leave class miss much and often disturb others. Students will be issued 3 passes at the beginning of each nine weeks. Once you have used these there are no more passes out, without agreeing to break detention or after-school detention. (Emergencies and medical conditions are always the exception!) Passes that are not used will be turned in at the end of the nine-weeks for extra-credit.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. Plagiarism is when you pass off the ideas of others as your own; it is stealing the ideas and/or the words of others. If you do incorporate the ideas of others (either by direct quotation or by concept), then you must document those sources in MLA format. If you are found to plagiarize on a paper, then you will receive two zeros for that assignment as well as be referred for further discipline by the administration depending on the situation.
Throughout the course, numerous opportunities will be given for extra credit. You must be in class when chances are announced in order to qualify. If you are absent or are out of the room at the moment, you will not be allowed the opportunity.
Notebook: 25%
Quizzes: 25%
TEST: 20%
Compositions:15%
Final Exams: 15% of overall grade; **9th and 11th Grade English must take the EOCT (End of Course Test) and must pass to be eligible for a variance waiver on the Georgia High School Graduation Test.
Novel reading is for all students in Mr. Nix's English classes. I have varied this as I have striven to adapt and refine this to best meet the ever-changing needs of my students and to nurture life-long readers. This year’s assignment has been altered again to comply with state commitments to have students read 1,000,000 words annually and to provide appropriate “rigor for all.”
Students will be asked to read one book and to turn in a completed Reading Data Sheet for that book. Toward that end, students will be given several books to choose from-Suggestions are listed below
If the student fails to turn in Data sheet or get book approved before completing assignment on due date. The student will receive two “0's” for test grades on his/her 2nd nine-weeks report card.
Instructions for Data Sheet:
Data Sheet responses should be concise and specific; please do not attach additional sheets. Guidelines for completion are as follows:
*The Personal Response should briefly cover your overall opinion of the book.
*The Plot Overview should be 25 words or less and should not give away any info that might spoil the book for a potential reader.
* The Biographical information about the author should include basic background info pertaining to the author.
*The Setting information should cover basic time and place (if your book has more than one setting, include info about both but do so concisely).
* The Main character info should include name, role in storyline, and significance to plot – please, do not list more than 3-4 characters.
* The Main Conflict should identify and describe the main conflict and, without giving away the specific ending, tell very generally how the conflict was resolved.
* The Author’s Style information should describe the author’s style and cite 2-3 examples of prominent stylistic devices i.e. diction, syntax, imagery, rhythm, and/or figurative language.
*The statements of theme(s) should be in sentence form and should convey the main idea or lesson to be learned (“war” is not a theme, it is a topic; “War is hell” is a theme).
*Memorable lines, quotes, or passage should be quoted from the text of the novel and should include “chapter, page, and verse” and a brief explanation of the significance of the quoted material.
* New vocabulary words should list and define new/unfamiliar words and their dictionary definitions.
*The text-to-self connections should discuss/describe the ways in which the narrative relates to the reader and his or her experiences.
Helpful hints!
*Pick a book you really like….if you have to force yourself to read, you probably won’t.
*If you don’t like the first book you pick, pick another one ASAP (see 1st suggestion).
*Do not read when you are sleepy…even the best book may not be able to keep you
awake.
*Do not read when/where you are most likely to be distracted i.e. do not sit in front
of the TV, do not listen to your favorite radio station, do not try to read while you
have company (unless they are reading, too). If you must have background “noise,”
pick something instrumental that you are not tempted to sing along with or dance to;
if you want the TV on, put it on the weather channel…you probably won’t be tempted
to get interested in that.
*Share your book…tell family and friends what you are reading and whether or not you
like it...you can debate motivations, plot points, and characterization at the dinner
table or around the camp fire.
*If you are tempted to give it up for any reason, contact Mr. Nix, a parent, or a
friend who can re-motivate or re-inspire you.
The following authors have many good books to their credit. Their books are usually enjoyed by most readers and definitely qualify as "good books" for fun or independent reads. These are only suggestions and are not assigned. However, the student must get the book approved by Mr. Nix before completing the assignment. Be sure to pick something you have not read before. Try something new!!!
Maya Angelou Agatha Christie John Grisham Ray Bradbury(Not Fahrenheit 451)
Robert Cormier Michael Crichton Tony Hellerman Terry Pratchet
Robert Jordan Gary Paulsen Charles Dickens Issaac Asimov
Richard Peck C. S. Lewis Ursula LeGuin Mark Twain
Douglas Adams Norma Fox Mazer Pearl Buck Kurt Vonnegut
Louis L’Armour J. R. R. Tolkien Alice Walker Helen Fielding
S.E. Hinton Chris Crutcher James Herriot Victor Hugo
M. E. Kerr Robert Lipsyte Paula Danziger Paul Zindel
Cynthia Voigt Piers Anthony Terry Goodkind H. G. Wells
Terry Brooks Orson Scott Card Arthur C. Clarke Mary Higgins Clark
Bailey White William Howell Ernest Hemingway(Not Farewell to Arms)
William Faulkner Anne Rice Mary Stuart
Ian Flemming Arthur Conan Doyle Stephen King Jane Austen
Eudora Wheltey Emily Bronte Jean M. Aul Zane Grey
Tried and True Favorites:
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time Series The Lovely Bones -
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter IV, V, VI, VII Series The Myth- Series by Robert Aspirin
Cold Sassy Tree – Burns Go Ask Alice – Anon.
Run With the Horsemen –Sams The Moves Make the Man –Brooks Maximum Ride - Patterson
Braveheart – Wallace Susannah’s Diary for Nicholas –Patterson
A Walk to Remember - Sparks The Princess Diaries – Cabot
The Things They Carried – O’Brien Net Force Series by Tom Clancy
The Legend of Bagger Vance - Pressfield Lost Horizon – Hilton
On the Beach – Shute Summer of the Monkeys – Rawls
Postwatch – Orson Scott Card Greatest Player Who Never Lived- Vernon
The Christmas Shoes - Bleachers – Grisham
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