MEDT 7461 - Atlanta Public Schools



SYLVAN HILLS MIDDLE SCHOOL

8th Grade ELA (English- Language Arts) SYLLABUS

Semester/Year: Fall 2012 & Spring 2013

Teacher Name: Mrs. L. Thompson-McGhee

Class Location: Room #236

Tutorial Day and Time: Wednesdays 3:45-4:45

Telephone: 404-802-6200

E-mail: lthompson@atlanta.k12.ga.us Web Page Address: atlanta.k12.ga.us

SYLVAN HILLS MIDDLE SCHOOL’S MISSION & VISION STATEMENTS:

Vision

Sylvan Hills Middle School will provide a nurturing and safe environment where students become critical thinkers, problem solvers, lifelong learners, and productive citizens.

Mission

Our mission is to provide a nurturing, yet challenging, learning environment that ensures high expectations for all students while implementing instruction that fosters individual learning styles through real-world applications and technologies in order to promote the exchange of knowledge and skills based on Common Core State Standards. We commit to a comprehensive system of support to ensure this outcome.

MAJOR UNITS (THEMES):

➢ Ever-Changing Adolescent Identities in Literature

➢ Success-Defining it, Measuring it, & Setting/Achieving Goals

➢ Georgia Authors

➢ Dystopian Literature

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In a class period, we will cover grammar, literature (which may be a novel), writing, mechanics, vocabulary, spelling, and using available resources/research. This course is aligned and taught using the 8th grade English-Language Arts Common Core Standards that are designed to allow students to have ample opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conservation (as part of the whole class, in small groups and/or with a partner) built around important content in various domains. Each student must be able to contribute appropriately to these conversations, to make comparisons and contrast, and to analyze and synthesize a multitude of ideas in accordance with the 8th grade Common Core standards.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The learning outcomes are derived directly from the Common Core Standards, which enable and ensure that each student is college and career ready through use of Standard American English, acquiring and using vocabulary as he/she articulates her or himself through written and spoken language as well as an analysis of literature and texts through various genres, cultures, and centuries. The instruction provided daily would help each student gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications, which will ensure success in the real world.

The students will have a firm control over the conventions of standard American English, as it is essential for students to assert and defend claims daily, showing what they know about a subject, and conveying what they have experienced, imagined, thought, and felt. Students will need to know how to combine elements of different kinds of writing to produce complex and nuanced writing. They will use technology strategically when creating, refining, and collaborating on writing. Each student must have the flexibility, concentration, and fluency to produce high-quality draft text under tight deadlines.

TEXTS, READINGS, AND INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES

Required Text: Prentice Hall, Literature--- The book issued to you at the beginning of the year is your responsibility until it is turned back in at the end of the year or upon transfer to a new school. In the event that the book is lost or damaged, the book must be paid for in full.

Supplemental Texts:

➢ Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers;

➢ A summer Life by Gary Soto

➢ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

➢ Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

➢ Knots in My Yo Yo String by Jerry Spinelli

➢ Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton

Suggested Readings:

➢ The Lighthouse by Eugenia Price

➢ The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

➢ The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

➢ The Hobbit by J. R Tolkien

➢ While the World Watched by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

➢ Freedom Riders by John Lewis

➢ Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges

➢ The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis

➢ Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

➢ The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

➢ I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

➢ Gifted Hands by Ben Carson

➢ Trapped Between the Lash & the Gun by Arvilla Whitmore

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|Useful Websites: |

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|Activities and Assessments: |

|*Daily READING assignment ***Daily Writing assignment ****Read 25 novels |

|Expository writing prompts |

|Argumentative/Persuasive writing prompts |

|Narrative Research & Writing |

|Research to support learning |

|Research topics: “Who are the Ninety-Nines?”, stereotypes, sharks/shark attacks |

|Research: History of Aviation, Harlem, the 1940s-1960s |

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Evaluation Procedures:

The school-wide assignment tasks and assigned weights include the following: Homework (10%), Classwork/Participation (25%), Quizzes (15%), Projects (30%), Exams (20%). It is our school policy that a minimum of two (2) grades per week will be entered into the Infinite Campus Grade book and available for you to review on the Parent Portal (see Counselor for further details). Progress reports will be sent home monthly.

Grading Policy: (A) 90 – 100%= Excellent Achievement (B) 89-80%= Above Average

(C) 79-70%= Average Achievement (F) Below 69%= Failure to Achieve

CLASS POLICIES

Each teacher has the right to teach; each student has the right to learn. Mrs. Thompson-McGhee’s expectations for conduct and academic standards are high. With your participation in and out of the classroom, we can look forward to a productive, creative, and enjoyable year together. Please follow all classroom rules, procedures, and expectations. Respect everyone!

Class Rules:

1. PROMPT: Arrive to class on time and be in your seat working on warm up by the time the door closes. Have assignments on top of desk ready to turn in & begin following agenda promptly.

2. PREPARED: Come to class with supplies (paper, textbook, pen, homework & agenda) and assignments. Restroom needs should be taken care of prior to class.

3. POLITE: All students will respect the rights and property of their peers, teachers, administrators and adults. STOP, LOOK and LISTEN when the teachers or peers are speaking; keep your hands, feet, objects and unnecessary comments to yourself, and ask permission to use others property. All students and teachers will strive to speak to each other in a pleasant voice. Be respectful and courteous to all adults and students. Refrain from disruptions that include talking or moving about in class, lunchroom, or hallway without permission. Always raise your hand so that the teacher can recognize you; therefore, do not speak until called upon. RESPECT everyone-especially yourself!

4. PARTICIPATE: Follow rules in handbook or any directions given by any adult employed at SHMS. Dress according to dress code policy. Book bags, personal grooming items and electronic devices are not allowed in the classroom. Make an effort-not an excuse!

Class Procedures:

1. No yelling or running in the halls. Please enter the classroom in an orderly manner and proceed directly to your assigned seat.

2. Copy the entire warm-up & choices in your composition book then show all work and not just your answers, unless you are specifically told otherwise.

3. Please follow the rules for class discussions and participation (get permission before speaking).

4. Class is dismissed when I dismiss you. Please remain seated until dismissed.

5. Please record all your grades in your notebook.

6. If you are absent, you are expected to find out what you missed. If assignments are due on the day of absence, it is the student’s responsibility to turn in the work on the first day he or she returns to school. Be sure to check the make-up box in the window seal.

7. Please keep work area clean and neat at all times. Put trash in its proper place as you exit the classroom. However, do not get out of your seat without permission.

8. EATING, DRINKING, SLEEPING, PROFANITY, DISRESPECT, or CHEWING GUM IN CLASS IS NOT PERMITTED.

----Mrs. Thompson-McGhee

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Atlanta Public Schools and Sylvan Hills Middle School demands academic honesty and integrity; therefore, students are expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty. Student work should be their own.. Talking and any other type of communication during a test of any kind is considered cheating.

Contact

Please feel free to contact me during my planning period from 9:40–10:40 daily at (404) 802-6200 or any Wednesday from 3:45-4:30. If you are not able to speak with me or contact me during these times, please leave me a message, and I will promptly return your phone call. You may also e-mail me anytime at lthompson@atlanta.k12.ga.us. I look forward to working with you this year.

Mrs. L. Thompson-McGhee

I have read and I understand the expectations in the 8th grade ELA syllabus.

Name _________________________________Signature ___________________________________

Phone #________________ Guardian’s name ____________________________________________

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