Our Year in ELA
(Team Yellow ELA Syllabus)
Texts
The Breadwinner, by Deborah Ellis
Loser, by Jerry Spinelli
The Tiger Rising, by Kate DiCamillo
Fever, 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson
McGraw-Hill Grammar & Composition Handbook
Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop -- Level A
Departmental Approach. The ELA department at AMS prepares students to be successful readers and writers in high school, college and beyond. AMS uses the Massachusetts State Standards for ELA to ensure that students obtain the literacy skills necessary for a lifetime of learning.
Grading Policy. We attempt to grade all written work within two weeks to ensure that the feedback is meaningful. Most tests and quizzes will be graded within a few days, and will appear in iPass fairly quickly.
Weights
Homework 10%
Writing Projects and Presentations 30%
Reading Assessments 30%
ELA Content Assessments 30%
Written Assignments.
When responding to text, we utilize an 8-sentence paragraph structure which focuses on writing strong topic sentences that directly answer the writing prompt, crafting two points with supporting evidence from text using direct quotes, explanation sentences that incorporate the students own thinking and interpretation, and lastly, a meaningful closing sentence. As students begin to grow in their writing over the course of the year, they may break out of this format.
Reading.
We try our best to encourage a love of reading in a variety of ways; one, by offering core novels that we read as a class that students at this age tend to respond well to, and two, by offering an opportunity to read what they are interested in at home through our Reading Log assignments.
Word Parts and Vocabulary. We will be exploring vocabulary through the Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop series. We also emphasize roots, prefixes, and suffixes throughout the year as a method of promoting vocabulary growth.
Please visit the Team Yellow ELA website. We regularly post assignments and links on the Team Yellow ELA website along with scanned copies of any materials you might need to complete an assignment at home.
Extra Help. Mr. Van Wyhe will be available every Wednesday afternoon after school to assist with homework and writing until the late bus arrives at 3:40pm. Ms. Stanislawzyk will be available every Tuesday afternoon after school to assist students in a variety of content areas, including ELA, as well as with studying for upcoming assessments, with long term projects, and with overall organization.
Make-up Policy. Late work can still be completed, but it loses 10% of its value for each day it is not turned in after the due date.
Reading Logs. We will complete ten reading logs over the course of the year. Each reading log will cover a ten-day span, allowing us to see, in total, one hundred days of student reading. The reading logs are only meaningful if they are completed carefully and honestly. The reading logs will be graded for completion and turning it in on time with a parent signature. There is no penalty for reading less than other students, but our district expectation is that each student will read at least twenty minutes per night throughout the school year. Often, this is the homework that each student should be completing.
Contact Information.