Open House 2014

Ms. Clavin

8th Grade Language Arts

What to Expect from 8th Grade Language Arts

• For your child to feel comfortable and appreciated in the classroom

• For your child to be treated fairly

• For your child’s deadlines to be strictly adhered to

• For your child to learn things that are relevant and significant

• For your child to read at home daily

Grading Policy

• Unit and Performance Assessments are worth 40% of your child’s grade (tests and projects)

• Skill Assessments are worth 30 % of your child’s grade (quizzes)

• Skill Building Activities are worth 20% of your child’s grade (homework & class work)

• Effort and participation are worth 10% of your child’s grade (class discussions & preparation)

Required Materials

• Journal (for response to text)

• Flash drive

• Writing utensil

• Binder with four sections dedicated to LA

• An independent reading book in class daily.

Behavior Expectations

• Rule 1: Respect yourself, your peers, and your teacher.

• Rule 2: Act in a way that enhances your learning and the learning of others, not in a way that interferes with learning.

Verbal/written warning Teacher detention

School detention Conference

Contact Me!

• Please feel free to contact me at any point during the year. – Ask about a grade– Let me know your child is having trouble with

an assignment– Or even just check in on how your child is

doing in class.

jclavin@ledyard.net

Extra Resource:

• We have a class website. It can be found by typing the following into your browser:– http://teacherweb.com/CT/

LedyardMiddleSchool/Clavin/apt1.aspx

• Or by “googling” the following phrase:– “Teacher Web Ms. Clavin”

• The site contains due dates & printable handouts

Unit 1: Making of a Good Story

• Unit Focus: Elements of a Narrative Text– Emphasis on types of character and types of

characterization– Cause and Effect in narratives – Impact of point of view on the reader

(including dramatic irony)

• Assessments:– End of Unit Assessment & Narrative written

work. (RAFT)

Unit 2: Analyzing Craft and Structure

• Unit Focus: Analyzing parts of a text to make the whole text more meaningful– Connotative meanings– Impact of word choice, figurative language,

and literary elements on tone & theme– Close-reading– Non-Fiction & Fiction text structures

• Assessments: End of Unit Assessment & “I Am” poem

Unit 3: What’s the Big Idea?

• Identifying theme and main idea in a variety of texts– Development of theme/main idea through a single text– Many different formats, including art and music– Analyze different formats for effectiveness in

presenting “big idea”

• Assessments: End of Unit Assessments and creation of objective & subjective summaries

Unit 4: Finding the Evidence

• Unit Focus: Writing Informative and Argumentative pieces– Incorporating research with increased independence– Applying MLA formatting rules to writing– Utilizing direct quotes and paraphrasing in accurate

and sophisticated ways.

• Assessments: Humanitarian Conflict Informative Piece & Humanitarian Award Argumentative piece (two-part thesis paper).

Unit 5: Communicating for a Purpose

• Unit Focus: Analyzing a variety of classic and contemporary texts (speeches) to improve personal public speaking skills.– Analogies and their impact on the audience– Using knowledge of written tone to predict elements

of speech– Collaborative discussion– Determining the traits of an effective speaker

• Assessments: End of Unit Assessment & a variety of student-composed speeches to be presented independently and in small groups.

Unit 6: Investigations

• Unit Focus: Gaining independence in source evaluation & combining narrative and informative elements to compose literary non-fiction pieces. – Source relevancy & reliability– Assessing author’s success in creating literary

non-fiction pieces.

• Assessments: “Big Question” assignment & End of Unit Assessment

Unit 7: Understanding the World Through Text

• Unit Focus: Analyzing how modern texts draw upon traditional texts– Plot, character, and setting archetypes in multiple

texts and formats– Allusions– Analyzing the reasoning behind changes between

classic tales and contemporary (for example, gender roles).

• Assessments: End of Unit Assessment & Debate: Traditional Tales vs. Contemporary

The End

• Thank you for coming to LMS Open House! -Any questions?