Syllabus

COURSE FOCUS:

  Students will read and comprehend text across the curriculum and will read and respond to a variety of text.  Students will also write for a variety of audiences, purposes, and contexts while applying their reading and writing skills to demonstrate learning.

COURSE GOALS:

• Analyze how chapters of a book, scenes of a play, or stanzas of a poem fit into the overall structure of the piece and contribute to the development of ideas or themes.

• Gain knowledge from materials that make extensive use of elaborate diagrams and data to convey information and illustrate concepts.

• Evaluate the argument and specific claims in written materials or a speech, and distinguish claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.

• Present claims and finding to others orally, sequencing ideas logically, and accentuating main ideas or themes.

• Write arguments that provide clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources.

• Write brief reports that examine a topic, have a clear focus, and include relevant facts, details, and quotations.

• Conduct short research projects to answer a question. Draw on several sources, and sharpen the focus based on the research findings.

• Review and paraphrase key ideas and multiple perspectives of a speaker.

• Recognize variations from standard English in his or her own and others’ writing and speaking, and use this knowledge to improve language use.

• Determine the correct meaning of a word based on the context in which it is used (e.g. the rest of the sentences or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence).

RULES:

1.)   Be Prepared- Students should bring all necessary materials with them to class.  This includes their composition notebook, pencil, paper, and homework.

2.) Be Respectful- Students should always be courteous and polite toward other students and adults in the classroom.

3.) Be On Time- Students should be quietly sitting in their assigned seat before the bell rings ready to work.

HOMEWORK POLICY:

It is my expectation that students turn all homework in on time.  

ABSENCES/MAKE UP WORK:

  It is the responsibility of students to determine what work they have missed due to absence.  Questions for the teacher about missed work should be asked at an appropriate time.  This could be accomplished during class, through email, or by looking at Google Classroom.

 COURSE OUTLINE:

First Quarter  

Theme:  Relationships/Perspective

Skill Focus:

• Cite textual evidence

• Determine theme

• Elements of a story

• Point of view

• Narrative writing

• Writing process

• Use of context clues

• Greek/Latin affixes and roots

• Demonstrate command of standard grade-level conventions

• Pronouns (subjective, objective, possessive, intensive)

Second Quarter  

Theme:  Self Discovery

Skill Focus:

• Analyze how pieces of text fit into overall structure

• Compare/contrast texts in different forms and genres

• Cite textual evidence

• Determine central idea

• Author's point of view

• Information/research

• Draw evidence from text as support

• MLA/parenthetical citations and bibliography

• Adapt speech to contexts and tasks

• Present claims and findings

• Figurative language

• Distinguish between the connotations and denotations of words

Third Quarter

Theme:  Communication

Skill Focus:

• Compare/contrast a written story, drama, or poem to another media version

• Integrate information presented in different media to develop understanding

• Trace and evaluate an argument and its claims

• Compare/contrast one author's presentation to that of another

• Write arguments to support claims with evidence

• Determine reasons that are supported to those claims that are not

• Present claims and findings with appropriate eye contact, volume, and pronunciation

• Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations

• Use knowledge of language and its conventions when reading, writing, speaking, reading, or listening

Fourth Quarter 

Theme:  Human Spirit

Skill Focus:

• Continue to read and comprehend literature proficiently 

• Encounter a diverse range of engaging text that motivate the desire to be literate

• Read both independently and collaboratively to be media literate

• Continue to write routinely over extended and short time frames

• Review speaking, listening, and language skills previously taught.