Mrs. Ward   Fall 2007

peg.ward@stwendelin.org

 

8th Grade Language Arts

Course Description:  The aim of this course is to meet, and exceed, the eleven standards of the Language Arts Course of Study of  the Diocese of Toledo for 8th grade, which define high standards of literacy for students:

1. Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency

2. Acquisition of Vocabulary

3. Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies

4. Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text

5. Reading Applications: Literary Text

6. Writing Process

7. Writing Applications

8. Writing Conventions

9. Research

10. Communication: Oral and Visual

11. Study Skills

Reading:  In order to achieve the benchmarks that are part of these standards, the students will be doing varied activities so they will learn to identify and decode words and to develop the skills that become the foundation for independent reading.  Students will acquire vocabulary through exposure to language-rich situations, such as reading books and other texts and conversing with peers and the teacher about what they have read. This course will reflect the belief that reading and learning to read are problem-solving strategies that require the reader to apply strategies to make sense of written language and remain engaged with texts, as well as with novels.  Another of the important goals of reading is to gain information for the purposes of learning new information, researching a project, making decisions or accomplishing a task. By reading literary texts and varied novels which represent a variety of authors, cultures and eras, the students will come to understand the human story.

Writing:  The writing standards require students to become proficient in writing for different purposes and to recognize that writing is a process that includes the phases of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publication.  Students will learn to use the grammatical structures of English to more effectively communicate ideas in writing to express themselves.  Mechanics, Usage, Grammar, and the Structure of words (MUGS) will be stressed as the tools of effective writing in all areas.

Communication:  In addition to mastering skills in reading and writing, students are expected to become effective communicators by speaking, listening and viewing. They will learn to apply communication skills in increasingly sophisticated ways to deliver presentations and to respond to oral and visual presentations.

These skills will be taught using the Language and Reading textbooks, selected novels that fit the Language Arts units being taught, research projects and handouts that cover the required concepts.

 

Materials Required:  Students are required to bring to each class:                             

loose-leaf paper                                 school planner

            Language Arts folder                            pens and pencils, including a red pen

            Writing journal                                      3 different colored highlighters for diagramming sentences

           

                                                                       

Classroom Expectations:  RESPECT is our guide for everything we do.  General classroom rules, which follow that guide are:  students should raise their hands to talk, exhibit effective listening skills, and be positive in their interactions with each other.  In any class periods that have discussion, each student is expected to contribute to that discussion as much as possible.  Each student is accountable to either keep notes on or be able to remember what was covered in class each day. 

 

Homework:  Daily homework will vary depending on the subject matter covered in class.  Examples of homework are:  reading assigned pages, doing the written exercises, writing short essays, doing journal writing, reviewing what we discussed in class to prepare for a quiz, and researching for and writing a position paper about a subject.  The student must have the assignment with him or her and ready to turn in at the beginning of the class when it is due.  In addition, students are continuously expected to have a self-selected book that they are reading throughout the school year, and they will have periodic book chats with the teacher to check that they are continuing to read, to choose novels at their level, and to understand the books they have chosen.

 

Grading:   Each assignment will be graded on a point system.  The use of the point system will automatically weigh assignments according to their importance to student learning and the length of the assignments.  Students will be informed before each assignment how many points it will be worth.

 

Honesty Policy:  Cheating is never acceptable, in any class.  Cheating on a quiz or test or copying another student’s work (other than an absent student copying or any student comparing notes they took in class) will result in zero points for that assignment and an automatic detention.  Plagiarism, whether it is in the form of copying another student’s work or using the same passage of words from a book or internet source, will result in an automatic zero and detention.  When a book is assigned, it is expected that each student does his or her own reading of the book.

 

Absence from Class:  When students are absent, they are expected to come to the teacher and get the assignments they may have missed, ask the teacher any questions they have, and make up the missing work.  Students should choose someone they believe takes accurate notes and get their notes or highlight the same items in their textbook in order to study.  If we took notes that day, I will be happy to make a copy of the notes of the student who was here if you ask.  Students will be given the same amount of time to make up the work as the amount of time they missed (eg., one day of class missed - one extra day back to make up the missed work).  This applies to written homework and setting up the time to take a missed quiz or test.  Students who were absent are responsible for turning in their assignments without being prompted to do so.

 

 

Need Help?  I will be available to help before or after school if you set up a time ahead.  If you find you are having difficulty on tests, don’t wait too long to come and set up a time to study with me.  Sometimes it just takes knowing the style of tests and quizzes to help know how to study best.  If there is something you do not understand, ASK QUESTIONS before we move on to something else.  If you don’t ask, I will assume that you understand, and we will continue to build on the concepts already covered.

 

 

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