7th and 8th Grade English

Mr. Abaroa

Room 202 and 222

2025-2026

Course Description

Welcome to Mr. Abaroa’s Seventh-grade and Eighth Grade English. In these courses we will explore great works of Western Literature. Seventh graders will study from Ancient Babylonian Tablets to Shakespeare. Eighth Graders will explore the themes of The American Revolution to the stark warnings of Animal Farm. The themes of these works will teach students how to seek inspiration, read critically, and find meaning in the works that have shaped our culture. We will also study grammar and expand our vocabulary.


Contact Information 

Email: tabaroa@bfcsaz.com

Please feel free to reach out to me by email with any questions or concerns. I typically answer all emails within 48 hours. 

Website: Mr. Abaroa Lesson plans, homework assignments, a copy of the syllabus, class announcements, and other important information will be posted on my website. Please check it regularly to stay up-to-date on what is happening in our class! 

Tutoring hours: Tuesday-Thursday 2:45-3:30. Please come see me as soon as you encounter a problem! I am here to help you.

PowerSchool: Assignment grades will be posted on PowerSchool as soon as they are available. Students are responsible for checking PowerSchool regularly to remain updated and informed about their progress. If you need login information, please contact the front office. There is also a PowerSchool app that you can download onto your phone for your convenience.

Materials: Materials will be checked daily as part of each student’s participation grade, beginning the first Friday of the school year. The needed materials are listed below:


Required Texts

All texts can be found by following the links below, or by copying and pasting the ISBN number into Amazon. The books are also available for purchase at BFHS during Charger Days, or at Barnes and Noble in the Benjamin Franklin section. 

7th Grade Reading List


8th Grade Reading List


Content Note

This class will survey literary texts from a wide range of cultures, time periods, and locations. It would be impossible to understand these works thoroughly without studying the major influences on their cultures, authors, and original audiences. With this in mind, the class will be learning about the religions, political views, social values, and historical events that influenced our texts. We recognize that some of these issues can be sensitive and deeply personal, and we respect the diverse beliefs of each student. Religious and political topics will be considered in a strictly historical context for the purpose of enhancing comprehension of the literature. Class discussion will center on the literature itself; the personal beliefs of teacher and students will not be discussed or debated in class. If you have any additional  questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me! I would be happy to discuss this further and put your mind at ease. 


Teaching English Rhetorically 

At Benjamin Franklin High School, the English department strives to select literature that touches on deep themes and profound moral truths that relate directly to the human condition. As such, we, as a school, adamantly seek to lead our students to that which is true, good, and beautiful. However, for students to be able to fully recognize that which is true, good, and beautiful, sometimes they need to be able to see its inverse.

We have a moral obligation to learn from the human experiences of the past; we cannot understand where we are going unless we know where we have been. We do that by studying past humans who have lived, how they addressed their current issues, and how they imagined their futures. The best way to do that is to read what they wrote and to try to understand it from their time period.

To that end, we teach literature rhetorically:

From literature, we learn about the transformative power of stories, the gift of imagination, the pleasures of reading, and the importance of craft. From rhetoric, we learn about critical reasoning, the structure of arguments, the tools of persuasion, and the significance of context. Combining the two gives students the best of both worlds. (Jennifer Fletcher, Teaching Literature Rhetorically)

Through explicit guidance, our teachers provide students with a controlled environment in which they can carefully guide their students through difficult themes. Where other schools may shy away from such a task, our students get to confront and develop healthy and correct responses to and/or rejections of hatred, selfishness, bigotry, and rage. Studying novels wherein the characters have experienced those traumas, we inoculate our students and inculcate them with ideals of wisdom, self-control, respect, and love for those around them.

Upon our students' graduation, it is our hope the literature and philosophical concepts we have discussed will have prepared them to enter the world as virtuous adults, adults who cling to what is good while knowing how to identify and firmly reject what is morally unjust. 

Grading - Percentage/Letter

90-100% A

80-89% B

70-79% C

60-69% D

59%-0% F


English Grade Weights

8% Participation

16% Discussion

16% Classwork/Homework

20% Essays and Long-Term Assignments

20% Quizzes and Tests

20% Final Exam

Semester grades will be calculated as follows:

Semester 1 Grade 

80%

Semester Exam

20%


English Department Policy: Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

“It is more honorable to fail than to cheat.” – Abraham Lincoln

Academic integrity is not just an educational matter but a moral one as well. A major aspect of classical education is instruction on growing in character and our goal of becoming a virtuous person. With this in mind, BFHS takes very seriously the willful misrepresentation of another student’s work as their own. This includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism (intentional or unintentional), cheating on exams, and copying the work of other students.

Every effort will be made by the teacher to discern intentional plagiarism from unintentional plagiarism. In the case of the latter, remediation will take place between student and teacher in order to review how to properly cite others’ work. This is not a punitive measure but rather an opportunity for the student to understand and correct his/her citation skills. On the other hand, intentional plagiarism and cheating will result in a zero on the assignment, suspension, removal from extra-curricular activities or leadership positions held in the school, and, in the case of repeat offenders, corrective action.

BFHS uses a variety of tools to uphold academic integrity via plagiarism similarity reports and generative AI probability. Any papers submitted with a plagiarism similarity report of 25% or more and/or returned as 25% or more of “qualifying text…[being] determined to be generated by AI” may not be accepted for credit. Suspected papers will be reviewed by the teacher and could result in a conference with the student and/or parent. Consequences can include but are not limited to referral to administration and a score of 0 on the paper. Students are encouraged to draft all of their written work using their school Google account and Google Drive. This allows teachers the ability to check version and revision histories to help mitigate plagiarism (intentional or unintentional) as well as the use of generative AI on a portion or all of the writing assignment.

For more information, please refer to the BFCS Handbook.


Participation

This grade consists not only of participating in classroom discussions, but also coming to class prepared, listening attentively to the teacher and other students when they are speaking, having a good attitude, being on task, asking quality questions, delivering quality and thoughtful answers, etc. When a student employs these techniques (and is incentivized to do so), their academic skill set improves and they succeed.

What Counts Toward a Class Participation Grade?


What takes away from Class Participation?

What Participation IS NOT


DAILY ROUTINE 

Class begins as soon as the bell rings. Please be in your seat when the bell rings.

Upon entering the class, 1. please enter quietly, 2. turn in homework, 3. collect all new paper/ assignments, 4. get out other required materials, 5. put backpacks on a hook in the back of the room, and 6. take your assigned seat.

At your seats, you should have all required materials including: the day’s reading, your  notebook, pens, and any homework due that day.

The class agenda will be posted on the board.

Each morning there will be an assignment for you to do at the beginning of class. Please begin the bell work as soon as the bell rings to begin class. We will often open class with a short discussion on our responses. 


At the end of class:

 The bell does not dismiss you. Please do not begin packing up until I have dismissed you.

 Please return all materials to their proper place and leave the classroom as neat and tidy as possible.

Transition Between Activities:

 Class time is valuable and limited. Please transition between assignments and activities as quickly and quietly as you can. All materials that are no longer needed should be returned to their proper place and the new materials acquired.


Bathroom Breaks

I am aware that the need to use the bathroom will arise. Students must ask me to use the restroom. Students may not use the restroom the first ten minutes of class or the last ten minutes of class. Students will be allowed to use the restroom four times per quarter. Further visits will result in a loss in participation points.

Food, Drinks, and Gum

Food is not permitted in the classroom. Gum is not permitted anywhere on the campus. Water is encouraged, but no other drinks are allowed.

Attendance Policy 

Students will be marked tardy if they are not in their seats with all their required materials and handouts when the bell rings. They must also have their backpacks neatly hung on a hook on the back wall. Simply being in the classroom is NOT enough to be counted on time; all students must be ready to start learning when the bell rings to avoid wasting instructional time. Five minutes of lost time each day adds up to almost half a class period per week! Three tardies in the same quarter will result in a detention.


Homework

Students should anticipate homework every night, including weekends.  Typically, homework will consist of reading and answering questions in preparation for the following day’s discussion.  Homework may also consist of writing, grammar, and/or vocabulary assignments. 

Handwritten assignments must be written in neat cursive and in blue or black pen, following the BFHS Style Guide. Homework must also be professional in appearance: clean, legible, containing a properly-formatted heading, and not ripped or severely wrinkled. If an assignment does not meet these requirements, it will not be accepted, and it will count as a missing assignment until it is redone in an appropriately professional manner.

Homework assignments will be posted on the whiteboard in front of the room, and should be written in the appropriate space in the student’s agenda. Homework will also be listed on the website. Homework that is posted is considered assigned whether it is explicitly discussed in class or not. 

Formal writing assignments (essays, etc.) must be submitted through Google Classroom to be counted for credit. 


Absent & Late Work

Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date provided by the teacher. Late work will receive a maximum grade of C (75%). 

In the event that a student struggles with an assignment, he or she should email the teacher as soon as possible with questions. If help over email isn’t sufficient, at the teacher’s discretion, the student may receive an extension to attend a tutoring session and complete the assignment there with the teacher’s help. The point of homework is to help students master the material; making up answers when he/she doesn’t understand, just for the sake of finishing the assignment, isn’t helpful. However, the expectation is always that the student will give a sincere, perfect effort to every assigned task. 

Students are responsible for any material covered during an absence. They will have two school days to make up work for each school day that is missed. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate with the teacher regarding work missed and to schedule any make-up quizzes or tests. Check the homework tab on the teacher’s website for that day’s work. Do not forget to copy the notes you missed from a friend.


Exception: Due dates on long-term assignments, such as essays, will NOT be extended due to absence. Google Classroom can be accessed in a number of ways, which make it possible for students to submit work even if they cannot be present in class. This teaches students to take responsibility for managing their school and personal commitments (e.g. submitting work early because they know they have an upcoming vacation), which is one of the learning goals for seventh grade. In the event of extenuating circumstances, like a serious illness or a death in the family, appropriate arrangements can be made to allow for student success and equitability.

Bellwork

Bellwork is the in class opening exercise that students will complete each day at the beginning of class. This grade is counted as Homework/Classwork. Prompts will be provided, and answers will be written in cursive using a blue or black pen. A weekly Bellwork worksheet will be given on Mondays and collected on Fridays. 

Essays

The art of writing an essay is integral to the educational process. These are long term assignments that will be worked on throughout the course. Many bellwork and homework assignments will contribute to the completion of essays. Students should expect to choose arguments about the literature that is covered. They will choose a thesis, develop an outline, write supporting paragraphs, and finish with a conclusion.


Quizzes

Students should expect regular quizzes covering a variety of topics. Each day that there is a reading assignment, the students will be given a few “possible quiz questions” that could show up on a pop quiz the next day. In the event of a quiz, all of the questions will be chosen from that list, and students will be expected to answer them in multiple-choice format. Students always have the option to come to my desk before class begins and ask me to check their answers. If they’re doing all of the reading, they should be able to earn a perfect score every day. 

Every Monday,  students will receive 5 vocabulary words, chosen from the upcoming week’s readings. We will do practice exercises with the words throughout the week, and take a quiz on the words on Friday.

Every Friday, students will learn a new grammar concept, and then practice it throughout the following week as part of their bellwork. When we reach the end of a grammar unit, a “grammar test” will be scheduled to check their understanding and mastery. 

Students who are absent for a quiz have one week to make it up, or the grade will remain a 0. Students are responsible for taking the initiative to schedule makeups. Please communicate with the teacher regarding any extended excused absences.


Class Standards

Becoming educated (or formed) is a serious project that requires a deep personal commitment from each student. As part of this class community, each person here plays a critical role in the success of their peers: either you help them learn and grow, or make it harder for them to do so. The following rules have been put in place to provide a safe, professional, and productive work environment for all students. 


Consequences for Misbehavior

If a student chooses to break a class rule, he puts his education and that of his peers at risk. To discourage disruptions, the following consequences will be applied*: 

*Severe behavior that warrants immediate attention (e.g. insubordination, violence, unsafe behavior, swearing, ***speaking during an assessment*** etc.) will result in immediate disciplinary action which may not follow these discipline steps.


Final Note

These course requirements and policies are subject to change. In the event that there are changes, the teacher will notify the students and parents via the course website. 


Please visit my website by Wednesday, July 23, to sign this syllabus electronically via Google form!