Course Syllabi
Course Syllabus:
Students learn about Ancient Civilizations starting with the Fertile Crescent. Other ancient civilizations are explored including: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Nubia, China, India, Greece and Rome through Medieval times. Information presented ties ancient civilizations to the conditions in the modern day and the focus is on history, geography, multiculturalism, world religions, humanities, citizenship, debatable issues and current events.
Brandywine Heights Area School District
200 West Weis Street Topton, PA 19562
Course Syllabus for 6th Grade Reading
Overview
In this class, your child will have the opportunity to grow as a reader, writer, speaker, and listener. Students will read a variety of novels and short stories from different genres and authors. Students will demonstrate critical thinking while reading and focus on supporting their ideas with evidence from all types of literature. Throughout the year, students will continue to develop their independent reading strategies and become more proficient and independent readers of all genres of literature.
Textbooks and Other Resources
My Perspectives English Language Arts Pearson Education, Inc. 2017
www.pearsonrealize.com (to access online version of textbook)
Class Novel Choices (these may change at teacher’s discretion)
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Self-selected Novels
Selected from home, classroom or school library, or teacher recommended novels for literature circle and independent reading assignments
Grading Policy
All district gradebooks will utilize a weighted scale. Summative assessments will comprise 60% of a student’s quarterly grade, and formative assessments will comprise 40%.
Summative assessments = a measure of student learning at the end of an instructional unit (i.e. - Tests, Quizzes, etc.)
Formative assessments = an ongoing measure of student learning used by the teacher to guide instruction (i.e. - Classwork, Homework, etc.)
Assignments
Tests/quizzes
Projects
Classwork
Homework
Retesting
On summative assessments, students wishing to demonstrate higher levels of content mastery are allowed/encouraged to retest
Students must “earn” the right to retest (e.g. - Make test corrections, complete an alternate assignment, etc.)
Students may only retest one (1) time per assessment
Students will earn the higher of the assessment results (original or retest - not an average of the two)
Students have a maximum of two weeks to complete the retest
Outline of Content (order and choice of these units may change at teacher’s discretion)
Unit 1: Childhood
Nonfiction Narrative Texts: Memoir, Public Document, Magazine Article, Poetry, Essay, and Short Story
Reading Skills: Memoir & Poetic structure, Context clues, Central Idea and details, Author’s purpose, and Theme, Point of View, Citing evidence
Speaking & Listening Skills: Class discussion, Partner/Group discussion, Oral presentations
Novel Study: Tuck Everlasting
Unit 2: Animal Allies
Informative/Explanatory Texts: Memoir, Historical Fiction, Poetry, Essay, Short Story, Fable, and News Article
Reading Skills: Author’s purpose, Point of view, Memoir structure, Multiple meaning words, Context clues, Historical Fiction elements (setting, plot, conflict, theme), Characterization (appearance & behavior), and Poetic elements, Citing evidence
Speaking & Listening Skills: Class discussion; Multimedia presentations; Group discussions and presentations
Novel Study: Where the Red Fern Grows
Unit 3: Modern Technology
Argumentative/Persuasive Texts: Short Story, Blog Post, Podcast, News Article, Poetry
Reading Skills: Theme, Author’s perspective, Persuasive techniques, Context clues, Central Ideas and details, Citing evidence
Speaking & Listening Skills: Class discussion, Partner/Group discussions, Multimedia Presentations
Novel Study: Hatchet
Unit 4: Imagination
Fictional Narrative Texts: Drama, Poetry, Reflective Essay, Short Story
Reading Skills: Dramatic structures, Context clues, Poetic devices, Figurative language, Characterization, Author’s purpose & influences, Citing evidence
Speaking & Listening Skills: Class discussion, Partner/Group discussions, Multimedia presentations
Unit 5: Exploration
Argumentative/Persuasive Texts: Memoir, News Article, Epic Retelling, Blog, Opinion Piece, Informative Article, Nonfiction Narrative, Historical Fiction
Reading Skills: Central Idea and details, Inferences, Context Clues, Author’s style, Citing evidence
Speaking & Listening Skills: Class discussion, Partner/Group discussions, Multimedia presentations