Instructor: Mrs. Findley
Course Content:
- Students will complete lessons to familiarize them with all aspects of Reader's and Writer's Workshop.
- Students will participate in Reader's Workshop alternating 2-3 days per week. After training in book discussion groups, Literature Circles, students will participate in one rotation of Literature Circles this first 9-week grading period. Students will participate in the class study of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. Students will produce no less than one formal response to literature describing their reading habits this first 9-week grading period.
- Students will begin working on their 25-book (1,000,000 word) goal. This is a full year goal. Students have the opportunity to document 5 books from their summer reading to begin this goal. Students will be required to be at the 7 book mark by the end of the grading period. Documentation and record-keeping must be accurate and complete. One book = 150 pages.
- Students will participate in Writer's Workshop alternating 2-3 days per week beginning with a persuasion genre study. Students will produce no less than two persuasive pieces during the first 9-week grading period. This is one of the two tested genres on FCAT Writes.
- Students will complete vocabulary building lessons weekly with a focus on SAT words. Students will use SAT Novels and vocabulary books (which are on order and should arrive within the first month of school).
- Students will be expected to read no less that 30 minutes at home 5 nights a week (week runs from Friday to Thursday) and will be assessed by planner documentation with parent signatures on Thursday nights—checked on Fridays.
Specific Course Objectives:
Reading-- pre-reading strategies such as prior knowledge, self-questioning, and predicting; strategies to clarify meaning such as rereading, paraphrasing, summarizing, graphic organizers; author’s purpose—to persuade, to inform.
Writing/Language—compound/complex sentences; coordinating and subordinating conjunctions; clauses—dependent and subordinate, prepositional; vocabulary development with emphasis on SAT vocabulary.
Listening, Viewing, Speaking-- uses responsive listening skills such as paraphrasing, summarizing, and asking questions; listens and uses information gained.
Literature—Identifies story elements: plot, setting, character, rising action, conflict/resolution, climax, theme (recurring/timeless themes in literature); connections with personal life—personal convictions.
Evaluation:
Students will be graded using a point system for determining grades. Each assignment, project, test, or homework assignment has a certain number of points possible. A test or project may be worth 100 points while quiz or homework assignment may be worth 20 points. To determine a student’s individual grade, I will simply divide the number of points earned by the student by the possible number of points in a 9-week period. That percentage will be assigned a letter grade using the following scale:
| 90-100 |
A |
| 80-89 |
B |
| 70-79 |
C |
| 60-69 |
D |
| 0-59 |
F |
Extra Credit:
Some assignments and evaluations may have extra credit opportunities built into them. Students are encouraged to attempt all extra credit offered. Rubrics for larger assignments and projects will be assessed with rubrics that will specify how to exceed the standards and earn full and/or extra points. I will not assign additional extra credit just to pull up a grade or make-up for missed work during the grading period.
Make-up work:
It is the responsibility of the student to ask for make-up work after an absence. The students will have the same number of days to ask for and complete the make-up work as the length of the absence. If a student was absent for one day, they must ask for make-up work the next day and turn it in by the end of the next day.
Late Work:
Late work will be accepted only one day late and points will be deducted for late work. No late work will exceed the standards according to rubrics.
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