EIGHTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

Mrs. Ardis, Room 326

Woodlawn Beach Middle School

ELA Course Expectations, 2017 – 2018

Welcome students and parents! This language arts

class is designed to increase communication skills

through reading, writing, speaking and the study of

the English language.

Course Overview

Our Educational Goals: Build on the language arts foundation Prepare students for high school and a lifetime of reading and writing. Prepare students for the reading and writing assessments = FSA.

Reading: Multiple short stories, essays, articles, poetry, documentaries, a play, and novel studies. We are fortunate to have online electronic access to many of our resources, which students will be able to access from home or at school. It is strongly recommended that students have Internet access through a smartphone, tablet, or home computer in order to take full advantage of the offered resources.

Writing: Numerous writing assignments including summaries, essays, short responses, and literary analyses. Students will be focusing on providing evidence to support their writing by citing/quoting from sources.

Students will be instructed using the Florida Language Arts Standards. Instruction will be

delivered in the following areas using both nonfiction and fictional materials:

Key Ideas and Details

Craft and Structure

Integration of Knowledge and Details

Language and Editing

Text-Based Writing

COURSE TEXTBOOK

All students in 8th grade are offered the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Florida Collections, a comprehensive

English Language Arts curriculum that prepares students for the literacy demands of the 21st Century and

ensures that all students are high school, college, and career ready. Within this program, students are

involved in rigorous reading, responding to text, and making connections between the text and real life.

Students will have access to this text in class, at home (digitally), or they may check out a hard-copy of the

book to be kept at home and returned at the end of the year.

Supplies Needed Daily Donations Graciously Accepted

Pencils Composition notebook (2) – not a spiral Highlighter Folder Personal novel for enjoyment

Baby wipes Glue sticks Kleenex Paper towels Liquid hand soap

(foam preferred)

Course Website

Our class website is an extremely valuable tool that will be updated DAILY (my promise to you). The site can be found at http://ardis326.weebly.com.

TAB 1 – WELCOME – On this page, I will have class pictures and fun, miscellaneous items.

TAB 2 – ABOUT MRS. ARDIS – I’ve posted a little information about me, just in case you care to become better acquainted with your teacher.

TAB 3 – LESSON PLANS – A link right into my lesson plans. If you’d like to see what is happening next OR look back to days when you were absent, check out this tab. Handouts and worksheets will be attached to each day for your convenience.

TAB 4 – IMPORTANT ATTACHMENTS – Just like the name indicates, all of the important year-long documents will be there. This syllabus is stored in this section. In addition, reading recommendations, grammar help, and Florida standards are located here.

TAB 5 – REMIND ME – This is where the directions are kept for remind.com. I will send out class reminders, PDFs of notes, and study guides right to your phone or email. In addition, a transcript of these messages will be available on TAB 5 if your phone becomes unavailable.

EIGHTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

Grades and Assessments The formula for calculating the semester grade is:

(Q1 = 45%) + (Q2 = 45%) + (EXAM = 10%) = SEMESTER 1 GRADE

(Q3 = 45%) + (Q4 = 45%) + (EXAM = 10%) = SEMESTER 2 GRADE

Important: All 4 Quarter grades are weighted by categories. All graded assignments will be summative assessments.

Summative Assessment is the process of evaluating and grading the learning of the student at the end of a unit or instructional period. Before a summative grade is assigned, the teacher is to have adequately taught the concept, and the student is to have had a sufficient opportunity to master the concept being evaluated. Definition of Summative Assessment: Assessments designed to provide information to be used in making judgments about student’s achievement.

Major Summative Assessments – 80% of the total grade Examples of Major Summative Assessments: final drafts/attempts, quizzes, tests, exams, projects, performances, common assessments, essays, presentations, portfolios.

Minor Summative Assessments – 20% of the total grade Examples of Minor Summative Assessments: teacher observation, class discussions, lesson practice, practice homework, instructional questions, initial drafts/attempts, progress checks, checks for understanding, independent practice, daily work.

Percentage Letter Grade This probably means:

100 - 90 A I understand. Neat and Complete. Excellent Effort.

89 – 80 B I mostly understand. Mostly neat and complete. Good Effort.

79 – 70 C I partially understand. Not everything is neat/complete. May not be

my best effort. I need to ask more questions.

69 – 60 D I understand very little. May not be complete/neat. I need more

instruction. Parent signature + student reflection required

59 and below F I do not understand. I need to ask for help. May not be

complete/neat. Parent signature + student reflection required

Standards Based Instruction All instructional materials will be chosen to engage students and meet the requirements for mastery of Language Arts Florida Standards (LAFS). The full standards list can be found under TAB 4 of our class website (https://ardis326.weebly.com). Students will be assessed on the mastery of these standards AFTER instruction has taken place. Assessments may be formal or informal and vary according to the skills being assessed. Resources (This list may be altered at any time. Please do not pre-read these selections to get ahead.) Planned Novel Studies - LAFS.8.RL.1.1, LAFS.8.RL.1.2, LAFS.8.RL.1.3, LAFS.8.RI.4.10

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Nothing But the Truth by Avi Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (LAFS.8.SL.1.1) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit (LAFS.8.L.3.5, LAFS.8.RL.3.7) A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

Planned Short Stories / Plays / Poetry My Favorite Chaperone by Jean Davies Okimoto Bonne Annee by Jean-Pierre Benoit What to Bring by Naisha Jackson from the Late Homecomer by Kao Kalia Yang Museum Indians by Susan Powers The Powwow at the End of the World by Sherman Alexie The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe from The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs The Lottery by Shirley Jackson The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Chicago by Carl Sandburg Find Work by Rhina P. Espaillat My Mother Enters the Work Force by Rita Dove To Be of Use by Marge Piercy The Lesson of the Moth by Don Marquis Identity by Julio Noboa

EIGHTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

Articles of the Week

Students will analyze an article every week. Articles will be nonfiction and taken from real news sources. About half of this assignment will be completed in class. The other part will be taken home as homework. The teacher will provide the articles and assignments and all of the necessary instruction to make each student successful. Students will be required to APPLY the knowledge they have learned in class. All article assignments will be graded using a rubric and may be typed or hand written.

Rubrics and assignments can be found under TAB 4 of our class website. (http://ardis326.weebly.com)

Essays

Students will formally write two argumentative and two informative essays before the FSA writing exam in the spring. The FSA prompt will be informative or argumentative.

Daily Behavior Expectations

In room 326, we are a community of learners. We will learn from each other. We

will respect one another. You will learn valuable information from the teacher,

your peers, and other resources provided on a daily basis. Dress appropriately.

Speak appropriately. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

You are asked to take care of your possessions, your basic needs, and the needs

of others while in room 326. Please take care of restroom needs during class changes and limit passes

to emergencies only. Students (and the teacher ) may eat an independent, working snack during class.

A “working” snack is defined as something small and healthy to munch on while you are writing or

reading independently. Please bring a snack for yourself only. Please be mindful of allergies and clean

up after yourself. I will alert you of food allergies in our classroom as I learn of them. Water is the only

beverage allowed in class.

Cell phones are allowed in room 326 once they have been silenced and put

inside the student backpack. They will not be used in class.

Possible Consequences

Student/Teacher Conference

Teacher Note

Teacher Note sent home for parent signature

Student Referral to the Dean of Students.

Contact Information Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or if you would just like to share information about your child. The fastest method of communication is email.

Contact Information: Mrs. Kristin Ardis

ardisk@santarosa.k12.fl.us (850) 934-4010, ext. 326