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South House – Emerald Team
Course Topic: ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
OVERVIEW
- The purpose of this course is to develop and strengthen reading, writing, speaking, thinking, and listening skills
- This course is aligned with:
- South Kingstown Language Arts Curriculum
- RI and NH Local and State Grade Level Expectations
- NECAP State Grade Level & Grade Span Expectations
- Grading/Assessment (one letter grade per quarter: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F)
Grades will be based on the following:
*tests and quizzes *completion of WEB activities
*reading assignments/projects * completion of homework
*writing assignments/projects * oral reports and presentations
*reading responses * participation in small group and whole class
discussions and activities
- For projects, students and teachers will use rubrics, criteria sheets, and checklists to guide and assess performance as compared to the standards. Students may resubmit an improved project within the timeframe set by the teachers.
- Retakes on tests/quizzes will be determined on an individual basis
- A parent/guardian signature will be required for any test score below 70%
Tools: Students should come to the class each day with the following:
- A pencil and a pen (blue or black ink only!)
- Completed homework
- WEB folder
- BBooks and/or other materials assigned
Behavior:
- Students will follow all school rules
- Students will encourage their peers in the learning process
- Students will put forth their best effort at all times
Work Presentation:
- All work will be neat and complete
- AlAll written work will have a heading (including first and last name)
Learning Strategies:
- Students will record daily homework and projects in their planners
- Students will plan out long-term assignments
- SStudents will keep all materials organized and in good condition
- We will be using The Four Block Literacy Model - a Balanced Literacy Program –
to guide instruction. Daily instruction of The Four Block Model includes:
WORD DEVELOPMENT Purpose: Gives students strategies for determining the meaning of unknown words Gives students strategies for learning to spell high frequency and commonly misspelled words |
SELF-SELECTED READING Purpose Students develop fluency and
stamina Students recognize and discuss literary elements |
READ ALOUD Purposes: Students experience immediate contact with a variety of genres and authors
Teachers model effective thinking processes
Students hear written language which is different from spoken language |
TEACHER DIRECTED WRITING Purpose: Students receive specific instruction involving a variety of text structures **OR**
TEACHER DIRECTED READING Purpose: Students receive specific instruction involving comprehension strategies that will enable students to acquire, interpret, apply, and evaluate text
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- We will be using the Writing Process and The Write Traits writing program to guide instruction.
The steps of the Writing Process are:
PREWRITE DRAFT REVISE EDIT PUBLISH |
The Traits of Good Writing are:
Ideas |
Organization |
Word Choice |
Sentence Fluency |
Voice |
Conventions |
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