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Northwestern Middle School

Grade 6 Accelerated Language Arts Syllabus 2018-2019

Teachers: Mrs. Biesiadecki, Mrs. Petty, Mrs. Miller

Textbook(s): Prentice Hall Literature –Grade 7(Pearson Education, 2012); Prentice Hall Writing(Pearson Education, 2012); Selected grade-appropriate informational and literary texts

Course Description:

In Seventh Grade English Language Arts, students continue to develop an appreciation of written and spoken language that now begins to extend beyond the school setting. They broaden their reading experiences through the study and analysis of compelling literature while continuing to develop their own writing styles. They will learn to independently apply the steps of the writing process to produce, revise, and publish narrative, argumentative, informational and literary essays drawn from research. The emphasis on strategic processing, critical thinking, and analytical reasoning continues and helps prepare students for eighth grade and beyond. Because this is an advanced course, students should expect a differentiated curriculum. While following the CCGPS, the curriculum will be compacted and enriched to meet the needs of our advanced learners

ADVANCED Student Performance Standards:

Advanced students will develop more complex research methods and independent study skills, which allows for the in-depth learning of self-selected topics within the area of study.

Advanced students will develop and practice creative thinking and creative problem-solving skills with a variety of complex topics within the area of study, in order to be generators of ideas and products original to the students.

Advanced students will develop and practice higher-order and critical thinking skills in an area of study.

Advanced students will develop improved communication skills that incorporate new techniques, materials, and formats in the development of products and ideas that will be shared with adults and peers.

Course Outline:

|First Semester |Second Semester |

|Reading Focus: Literary Text |Reading Focus: Informational Text |

|Writing Focus: Informative/Explanatory |Writing Focus: Argumentative |

|Reading Focus: Informational Text |Reading Focus: Literary Text |

|Writing Focus: Narrative |Writing Focus: Informative/Explanatory |

Teacher/Parent Communication:

• Email – the most efficient way to contact teachers

• Conferences – may be scheduled based on each student’s needs

• Interim Report Cards/Progress Reports – come home every 4 ½ weeks

• Home Access Center – please check frequently for your child’s progress

Please ensure you are also registered for the Home Access Center (HAC) so you can view your child’s grades.

Teachers will post grades in HAC within 2 weeks of test dates or project/assignment due dates.

Teachers can be contacted via their email addresses listed below:

• Mrs. Petty’s email address is Gleatona@

• Mrs. Miller’s email address is millerta@

• Ms. Biesiadecki’s email address is biesiadecki@

Teachers will communicate via Classroom Messenger each Friday afternoon.

Grading:

• Major Assessments (tests, major projects, major essays): 50%

• Minor Assessments (quizzes, minor projects, minor writing assignments, writing process): 30%

• Class Assignments (classwork): 15%

• Other (homework, etc.): 5%

Along with the writing process and constructing essays, presentations using various technology and creative writing/art projects are part of the assessment strategies used. Homework is assigned as necessary and may take the form of reading, writing, research, long-term projects, grammar practice, or studying for tests.

Fulton County Grading Scale: A: 100-90 B: 89-80 C: *79-70 F: 69 and below

*Probation: Continuation Criteria for Advanced Classes:

Students failing to meet the Continuation Criteria are automatically placed on probation.  Probation may last for as little as one grading period but no more than one school year.  Parents must be notified in writing when a student is placed on probation.  A written plan explaining how a student can be removed from probationary status will be included in notification to the parent and student.   In placing a student on probation it should be considered that unsatisfactory performance in a content area of service would be documented with a grade < 80.

Recovery Policy:

- Only Tests are eligible for recovery.

- Only students who make a 79% or less on the test are eligible for recovery.

- A student cannot receive higher than an 80% on a recovery test unless he/she is failing the course at the time of recovery.

- Student must initiate the recovery process by taking the following steps:

• Student must submit an “intent to recover” letter stating why he/she did not do well on the test, and what the he/she plans to do differently to prepare for the retest. This letter must be signed by both the student and the parent.

• Student must complete any related assignments.

• Student must attend a help session before taking the recovery test.

• Student must attend a scheduled retesting session.

• Up to an 80%, the higher of the two grades will be counted.

Projects are not eligible for recovery. Rubrics and teacher feedback are both provided in class during project construction. Students are expected to use the rubric and teacher feedback to make improvements to their projects before submitting the final product.

Essays: are not eligible for recovery. Rubrics and teacher feedback are both provided in class during the writing process. Students are expected to use the rubric and actively seek out teacher feedback to make improvements to their essays before submitting the final product.

Help Sessions:

|Teacher |Day |Room |Time |

|Mrs. Biesiadecki |Wednesday |625 |8:05-8:35 |

|Mrs. Petty |Tuesday |615 |4:05-4:35 |

|Mrs. Miller |Friday |623 |8:05-8:35 |

           

Absence Make-Up Procedures (FCBOE Policy):

Upon returning to school following an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the teacher or to access the teacher’s website or blog to obtain assignments. The student must complete the make-up work within the same number of days that he/she was absent.

Work not turned in:

All students are expected to turn in all work on the due date. Points may be deducted for each day an assignment is not turned in.

Academic Dishonesty:

Plagiarism in any form is not acceptable. Plagiarized work may receive a grade of zero and referral for academic dishonesty.

Study Guides

Students at Northwestern Middle School will be provided a study guide to use when studying for their assessments. This study guide will include key vocabulary and concepts to be covered on the test and will be provided in class or online one week prior to the test.

Plagiarism Policy:

Academic honesty is very important at Northwestern Middle School.  It is the responsibility of both the student and parent to be aware of what constitutes plagiarism consequences.  

All plagiarizing will result in the following:

1. Parents will be notified.

2. Students will re-do the assignment or an alternative assignment.

3. Possible administrative referral.

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Examples of Plagiarism and Cheating:

• Falsifying laboratory data (both copying and creating it)

• Copying others words, ideas, thoughts and images

• Modifying an image when the assignment requires original work

• Paraphrasing and summarizing without citing the source

• Providing another student with your work, even if you do not know they are going to use it as their own (includes sharing homework answers)

• Providing others with quiz/test answers either before, during, or after the quiz/test

How to Prevent Plagiarism:

• Words/ideas: cite sources for information that is quoted, summarized, and paraphrased.

• Images: cite source of image.

• If an assignment calls for original images, this means they must be created from scratch and not taken/traced from books, magazines, internet, etc. Original work is also not a modification of images from books, magazines, internet, etc.

• Do not wait until the last minute to complete your work.

• If you are unsure if you are plagiarizing, please consult your teacher.

• Grade entered will be a zero until the new assignment is received.

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