You are on page 1of 4

Northwestern Middle School Subject: English Language Arts 2013-2014 Grade: 8 1. Teachers: Ms. Boltz, Ms. Gambill, Ms.

Irons, Mr. Robertson Prentice Hall Literature Grade 8 (Pearson Education, 2012) Selected grade-appropriate informational and literary texts

2. Textbook(s):

3. Course Description: In Eighth 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 independently apply the steps of the writing process to produce, revise, and publish informational and literary essays drawn from research. The Middle Grades Writing Test and the CRCT serve as measures of what they have accomplished. The emphasis on strategic processing, critical thinking, and analytical reasoning continues and helps prepare students for rigorous tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (S.A.T.). 4. Course Outline:

First Semester Reading Focus: Informational Text Writing Focus: Argumentative Reading Focus: Literary Text Writing Focus: Informative/Explanatory

Second Semester Reading Focus: Informational Text Writing Focus: Informative/Explanatory Reading Focus: Literary Text Writing Focus: Argumentative

5. Teacher/Parent Communication: Email is the most efficient way to contact teachers Email updates will be sent weekly to parents Conferences may be scheduled with teacher based on each students needs Interim Report Cards/Progress Reports come home every 4 weeks Home Access Center please check frequently for your childs progress. Please ensure you are also registered for the Home Access Center (HAC) so you can view your childs grades. Teachers will post grades in HAC within 2 weeks of test dates or project/assignment due dates.

Ms. Boltzs email is boltz@fultonschools.org Ms. Gambills email is gambill@fultonschools.org Ms. Irons email is ironsb@fultonschools.org Mr. Robertsons email is robertsonp@fultonschools.org 6. Grading: Major Assessments (tests, major projects, major essays): 50%

Minor Assessments (quizzes, minor projects, minor writing assignments, writing process): 35% Class Assignments (classwork): 15% 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 7. Recovery Policy: Tests are eligible for recovery. Student must initiate the recovery process by: Student must submit an intent to recover letter within 3 days of receiving graded test. Letter should simply be students reflection on why he/she did not do well on the test, and what the student plans to do differently to prepare for the retest. Student must complete related assignments. Student can attend a help session. Student must attend a retesting session. The higher grade will replace the original grade. 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 teacher feedback to make improvements to their essays before submitting the final product. 8. Help Sessions: Teacher Boltz Gambill Irons Robertson Day Thursday Wednesday Wednesday Tuesday Room 822 823 817 824 Time 4:05-4:35 8:15-8:45 4:05-4:35 8:15-835 B: 89-80 C: 79-70 F: 69 and below

9. Absence Make-Up Procedures (FCBOE Policy): Upon returning to school following an absence, it is the students responsibility to contact the teachers to request make-up work. The student must complete the make-up work within the same number of days that he/she was absent. 10. Work not turned in: All students are expected to turn in all work on the due date. 11. Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism in any form is not acceptable. Plagiarized work may receive a grade of zero and referral for academic dishonesty. 12. 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 essential questions to be answered. This guide will be given at least a week prior to the test and answers will be provided in class and online.

13. 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. 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. 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please sign and detach the below indicating that you have read the syllabus and plagiarism policy and return to your teacher by Friday, August 16. Keep the syllabus for future reference. Student Printed Name: __________________________________________________________ Students Signature: ____________________________________________________________ Parents Signature: _____________________________________________________________ Parent Phone Number(s): ________________________________________________________ Parent E-mail Address: __________________________________________________________

You might also like