The mission of the Gulfport School District is to inspire each student to become a problem solver, lifelong learner, and productive member of society.

6th Grade Language ArtsMrs. Marie Parker, Ed. S.

Gulfport Central Middle SchoolRoom 211

Welcome

Gulfport Central Middle School

6th Grade Language Arts

Mrs. Marie Parker, Ed. S.

Vision Academic

Integrity

Class Core Rules

Class Consequences Grading

Scale

Class

Material

Student Accountability

Objectives

Bell Work Journaling Note Taking

Teacher Mini

Lessons

Class Work

Writing Center Rotations

Test/Exams Projects Make-up Policy Contact Information

• National Board Certified Teacher• 19 years of teaching experience • Teacher Certification (K-8) • Endorsements: Educational Leadership, Ed. S.• Bachelor of Science-Elementary Education-The University of Southern

Mississippi • Master of Education-Elementary Education-William Carey College• Specialist of Education - Educational Leadership and Administration-

The University of Southern Mississippi • Outside of school, my focus is on my own family. My husband, Ronald,

and I have been married for 17 years and we have two marvelous, intelligent daughters: Raina (15) and Reann (12).

“Writing is lifework, not deskwork.” (Calkins, 1990)

• Within our classroom “Writing City,” my personal goal is to elevate students’ capacity to communicate to help them learn more about communicating effectively and powerfully to diverse audiences for a variety of purposes.

• In order to achieve this goal, students will be immersed with explicit, direct instruction that is embedded in the context of their own real writing.

• Students will be encouraged to express their own ideas verbally and in written form.

• Plagiarism, which is cheating, will not be permitted.

• At the 6th grade Nathan Walker Academy, which embodies academic integrity, students will be motivated to create original works.

All students must:• Be punctual and bring all supplies to class• Keep hands, feet, and belongings to

himself/herself• Remain seated unless otherwise instructed• Raise your hand to speak unless permission is

granted for conversation during learning centers• Follow directions

• Step 1. Warning-Behavior Card signed

• Step 2. Parent Contact

• Step 3. Time Out

• Step 4. After-school detention (Friday 3:00-4:00)

• Step 5. Office referral

(Major offenses may go immediately to Step 5 and

repeat violators will be referred to an intervention

team)

• Class Helper

• Stickers

• Pride Parties

• Healthy Snack

• Free Choice Centers

93-100 A

85-92 B

76-84 C

70-75 D

0-69 F

• (1) 5 Subject Notebook

• Pencils, red/blue/black pens

• Glue

• Markers, crayons, colored pencils

• Loose leaf paper

• Scissors

• This class is a study of the writing process and English grammar. Students will work individually and in groups to compose and edit different types of text.

• Students will continue to practice and build on their knowledge of the parts of speech, punctuation, sentence composition, and grade-level appropriate spelling.

3. Express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively.

a. Use and reflect on an appropriate composing process (e.g. planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas with a focus on texts of increasing complexity and length. (DOK 3) 1) Planning - Plan for composing using a variety of strategies (e.g. brainstorming, drawing, graphic organizers, peer discussion, reading, or viewing) 2) Drafting - Draft with increasing fluency 3) Revising - Revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, and rearranging text based on feedback on teacher/peer feedback, writer’s checklist, or rubric 4) Editing - Edit/proofread drafts to ensure standard usage, mechanics, spelling, and varied sentence structure 5) Publishing/Sharing - Share writing with others formally and informally using a variety of media

3. Express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively.

c. Compose narrative text utilizing effective organization and vivid word choice

containing multiple events with specific details. (DOK 3)

1) Stories or retellings

2) Narrative poems

3) Biographies and autobiographies

4. Apply standard English. a. Use Standard English grammar to compose or edit. (DOK 1)

1) Nouns (e.g. singular, plural [including irregular forms], common, proper, singular

possessive, plural possessive, concrete, abstract, compound [one word: bookcase;

two or more words: prime number/ Yellowstone National Park/ George

Washington: hyphenated words: editor-in-chief]); predicate nominatives; direct

and indirect objects

2) Verbs, helping verbs, irregular, linking, transitive, and intransitive

3) Verb Tense (e.g. conjugation and purpose for present, past, future, present perfect,

future perfect)

4) Subject verb agreement in sentences containing collective nouns, indefinite

pronouns, compound subjects, and prepositional phrases separating subjects

and verbs

5) Prepositions

6) Interjections

4. Apply standard English. b. Use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit. (DOK 1)

1) End punctuation (e.g. period, question mark, exclamation point)

2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g. titles of address, days of the week, months

of the year)

3) Commas (e.g. dates, series, addresses, greetings and closings of letters, quotations,

introductory prepositional phrases, appositives, nonessential appositive phrases,

interrupters, introductory clauses, and nonessential clauses)

4) Capitalization (e.g. first word in a sentence, proper nouns, proper adjectives, first

word in greetings and closings of friendly and business letters, the pronoun “I”,

days of the week, month of the year, holidays, titles, initials)

3. Express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively. d. Compose informational text clearly expressing a main idea with supporting details, including but not limited to the following: text containing chronological order, cause and effect, compare and contrast, or informal problem/solution, procedural, order of importance. (DOK 3) 1) Reports 2) Letters 3) Functional texts 4) Presentations 5) Poems 6) Essays

4. Apply standard English. b. Use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit. (DOK 1)

1) Articles and coordinating and subordinating conjunctions

2) Adjectives (e.g. descriptive, comparative, superlative, predicate

adjectives, nominative, objective, reflexive, possessive)

3) Pronouns (e.g. subject, object, reflexive, singular, singular possessive,

possessive, plural possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, relative,

indefinite)

4) Pronoun-antecedent agreement (number and gender)

4. Apply standard English. b. Use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit. (DOK 1)

1) Apostrophes (possessives; contractions)

3. Express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively. b. Compose descriptive texts using sensory details and vivid language. (DOK 3) e. Compose persuasive text clearly expressing a main idea with supporting details, utilizing effective word choice and organization for a specific purpose and audience. (DOK 3) 1) Letters 2) Speeches 3) Advertisement

3. Express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively. f. Compose text of a variety of modes based on inquiry and research. (DOK 4) 1) Generate questions. 2) Locate sources (e.g. books, interviews, Internet, reference materials, on- line data bases) and gather relevant information from multiple sources). 3) Identify and paraphrase important information from sources. 4) Compare and contrast important findings and select sources to support central ideas, concepts, and themes. 5) Present the results using a variety of communication techniques. 6) Reflect on and evaluate the process.

4. Apply standard English. a. Use Standard English grammar to compose or edit. (DOK 1) 1) Adverbs (e.g. double negatives, comparative forms) b. Use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit. (DOK 1) 1) Semicolons/Colons (e.g. compound sentences) 2) Quotation marks (e.g. quotations, titles of poems, titles of songs, titles of short stories, titles of chapters, titles of magazine articles) 3) Underlining/italics (titles of books, movies, plays, and television shows) 4) Colons (e.g. time, before lists introduced by independent clauses, and business letters) 5) Analyze the structure of sentences (e.g. simple including those with compound subjects and/or compound predicates, compound sentences including those with compound subjects and/or compound predicates, and complex sentences including dependent and independent clauses). 6) Compose sentences (e.g. simple including those with compound subjects and/or compound predicates, compound sentences including those with compound subjects and/ or compound predicates, and complex sentences including dependent and independent clauses). 7) Avoid sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices.

3. Express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively.

c. Compose narrative text utilizing effective organization and vivid word choice

containing multiple events with specific details. (DOK 3)

1) Plays

2) Video Narratives

3) Power Point Presentation

4. Apply standard English. b. Use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit. (DOK 1)

1) Produce legible text.

2) Analyze sentences containing descriptive adjectives, adverbs,

prepositional phrases functioning as adjectives and adverbs, appositive

phrases and modifiers, adjective clauses and adverb clauses.

3) Compose sentences using descriptive adjectives, adverbs, prepositional

phrases functioning as adjectives and adverbs, appositive

phrases and modifiers, adjective clauses and adverb clauses.

• Students will be expected to complete a bell work assignment each day upon their entry into the class.

• The bell work assignment will be set up in the format of MCT 2. The work will be collected in a notebook and will count as a daily test grade each term.

• Students are responsible for taking accurate notes and may use these bell work assignments as a self made study guide for tests and exams.

• Students will be authentically engaged in a journaling activity of their choice everyday.

• Journaling is a special time for students because they will be in charge of selecting a topic of interest to them that is related to other content areas in the curriculum.

• Five students will share a journal piece each day at the end of class during share time.

• Students will also receive a daily grade per term for their completion of journaling activities and active participation during share time.

• The teacher will teach a mini lesson each day on objectives outlined in the curriculum.

• Students are responsible for taking accurate notes and studying them for upcoming tests and exams.

• Class work will consist of the writing centers that students will rotate to each day. Students will have experiences writing a variety of literary genres throughout the year.

• Each writing center will have the directions clearly labeled and the work will go in the students writing folder.

• The finished, polished, published products will serve as assessment grades and will be displayed in a prominent location for all to view and delight in the students’ understanding of the writing process.

• Students need to review their notebooks each night to be prepared for weekly mixed practice tests that will be given on each Tuesday.

• The district will administer a mixed practice test every 4 ½ weeks and a 9 week assessment that will serve as an exam grade for each term.

• Students will be expected to complete writing projects that may require additional time at home to complete.

• Rest assured, in the event students do have an assigned project, you will be given a rubric of expectations and notice of the deadline in plenty of time to do a tremendous job on the assignment.

• Class participation is essential to students learning, practicing, and passing this course. If a student is absent, the guidelines in the Gulfport School District Handbook will be applied. It is up to the student to meet with me to discuss a feasible solution to completing the missed work.

• If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

• Gulfport Central Middle School

• Nathan Walker 6th Grade Academy

• marie.parker@gulfportschools.org

• schoolrack.com/marie_parker

• (228) 870-1035