Mr. Villanueva's English 11 & 11H Class

Welcome to my English class! It's going to be an amazing school year! Just a short introduction: My name is John Villanueva, you can call me Mr. V. I was born in the Philippines, raised in Las Vegas, and graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. I love books, anime, movies, and help coach Speech and Debate! I decided to focus my love of storytelling towards teaching. I have a desire to positively give back to my community, and I think teaching is the perfect way to do just that!

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Another brief hello! Here’s a better photo of me, Mr. John V! As you can see, I am a giant nerd, boasting my Pikachu T-shirt. I will be your child’s English 11 or English 11H teacher!

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Why teach? Why learn?

As a teacher, I want my students to do two things: enjoy learning and be able to understand the importance of education. 

The benefits of education is an extensive list. Although, as an educator, some critical lessons I would want my students to gain from this class would be the following: critical thinking skills, independence, and collaboration. Of course writing would be on that list as well, but that’s the obvious, surface level expectation. As an educator, it is important for me to leave my students with the ability to think about texts critically, research effectively on their own, as well as work together with others in order to enhance the product of the group altogether. Further, I want my students to enjoy these tasks as the benefits of improving one’s skill in writing and thinking extend across all job markets and a multitude of aspects of life. 

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It is my personal belief that family engagment is crucial to a child’s education. Having a proper support system from a variety of differences sources allows for positivity in a child’s life. This includes a child’s education. As such, I firmly advocate for open communication between myself and each parent or guardian.  Having this open forum for discussion will allow for better learning, inside and outside the classroom!

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Contact Information

Email: [email protected]

Phone: [phone]

Reminder: As a teacher, my first priority is to keep each of your children safe. A safe environment is the best place to foster a good learning environment. If I fail to make your children feel safe and welcome in my classroom, I would appreciate it if I could be notified in order to change accordingly!

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Part II below!

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Daily Classroom Experience

In a perfect world, I would like my classroom to be settled in and ready for instruction within the first five minutes of class. Students will be able to check the board for the day’s lesson, utilize the first five minutes of class to ask me questions, and to generally get settled in. Lessons will change depending on the day, but usually, it will either be teacher instruction (face forward, students silent), group activities such as peer review or text analysis, or Socratic Seminars. The last five minutes will be for packing up and asking me questions.

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Goals for the year!

First Quarter we will be getting to know each other. We will work in groups to better focus on peer-review and sharing writing. We will also go over expectations and rules.

Second Quarter we will focus on writing on texts. We will read a classic novel together, discuss the different ways we can write about the text, and continue to work in groups while writing individual essays.

Third Quarter we will refine our skills by focusing on grammar and vocabulary. We will also continue to read, but students will be able to choose their novel from a list (unless given permission for another book of their choice). An essay will be written on the text of their choice.

Fourth Quarter we will apply all of the skills learned and focus on another group text. Students will be able to discuss and research the text through a variety of lenses (that we have gone over throughout the year). Major end of the year essay!

Common Core Standards for ELA:

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/11-12/

Nevada Core Standards for ELA:

http://www.doe.nv.gov/Standards_Instructional_Support/Nevada_Academic_Standards/ELA/

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Class Rules!

-First five minutes and last five minutes are for questions and getting settled in.

-Hands raised for questions and comments unless we are doing a Socratic Seminar.

-If I am talking, you should be listening.

-I will respect you, I hope to earn your respect.

-No outside work allowed in my class.

-Homework due within the first five minutes of class.

Student will be reminded of expectations after first rule-breaking offense. Further offenses will warrent calls home, detention, or a trip to the dean (in that order). 

For positive behaviors, expect calls home, personalized letters, or personalized compliments at the start of class, privately!

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Homework

Homework will be assigned in order to practice the lessons taught the day the homework was given. Homework will be short reminders and not extensive (aside from readings and essays). No homework will be given on days we are working on essays or reading a text. A short quiz will be given to further assess your student’s knowledge of the lessons taught. Quiz questions will correlate to homework. If your student correctly answers a question on that day’s quiz, it will count as credit for the correlated question on the homework. Meaning, if your student is confident in their knowledge of the lesson, they don’t need to do the homework and can simply do the quiz. If I find your student is not scoring well on quizzes, I will remove this option and resort to homework.

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Tests

Tests are mandatory unless your student has spoken to me beforehand or in cases of emergencies. Reminders of tests will be sent out to parents the week before or week of the exam (if later in the week). Make-up dates will be scheduled accordingly. Essays can be turned in again for a higher score. Lower scores will not reduce your child’s grade as the higher score of the two essays will be graded. I allow for essay redos so students can learn from their mistakes and better their writing.

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Cellphone use!

As technology becomes more available to students, increased integration into classrooms also become more commonplace. That said, my classroom is a strict, don’t become distracted/don’t distract others environment. I prefer this approach as I understand parents may require contact with their students during the day, as well as the fact that some students finish assignments more quickly than others. As such, as long as the assignment completed is done to the best of their ability, I have little problem with phone usage. That said, if cellphone use becomes a distraction during instructional periods and work periods, I have no problem confiscating cellphones until the end of class.

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Out of class availability

I am available most weekends. Contact me to schedule parent conferences. I will also be in my classroom until 4 PM every day.

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Classroom Materials

In this class, students will need:

-College-ruled paper

-A binder

-One subject notebook (may need more than one based on how quickly we go through assignments).

-Pencils and pens

-Highlighters 

If there are complications in obtaining any of the materials needed, please notify me through the contact info above or in person. We will be utilizing Google Docs, but it is not essential if students do not have access to a computer/the internet.

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Parent Resources

Parent University

https://www.washoeschools.net/parentu

Information on free lessons for parents and other resources for parents!

https://www.infinitecampus.com

Location for parents to find their children’s grades, graduation planner, and other student information. Updated weekly.

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Resources for Success

Khan Academy- Grammar

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar

If your child requires extra help with grammar (from nouns and verbs to prepositions and colons), Khan Academy is an amazing resource! In-depth lessons outside of the classroom, Khan Academy is a useful tool to practice lessons we are working on in the classroom.

Washoe County Library System

https://www.washoecountylibrary.us/

While libraries may seem to be a thing of the past, I can assure you, libraries are extremely useful for parents and students! Beyond simply finding books to adopt a good habit of reading, families can find other resources, learn about upcoming events, and more! An essential tool for everyone in the family, I highly recommend locating the nearest library.