8th grade ELA
|
Alexa Tanney
8th Grade ELA atanney@thebellacademy.com |
Welcome to 8th Grade ELA!
I'm so excited to begin the 2019-2020 school year with each and every one of you! 8th grade is an imperative year for all students, as we will be working on strengthening their reading, writing, and speaking, listening skills to prepare for high school and beyond. My goal as the 8th grade ELA teacher is to ensure that all students have an engaging, rewarding, and informative year.
This year...
I have designed the course to be a rich, engaging, and thought-provoking experience to help every student become a better reader, writer, listener, speaker, critical thinker, and member of society. This year, we will focus on real world issues through literature and resources. My philosophy as a teacher is to equip students with transferrable skills that will not only help them in the classroom, but also in real life. Ten years from now, it will not matter if students can remember every little detail they learned in ELA. What will matter is their ability to think critically and creatively, respond to texts and media, communicate effectively with other humans, understand different perspectives, and use the power of literacy to change their life and this world for the better.
We will...
We will be reading several novels that focus on key, pivotal moments throughout history. Additionally, we will be expanding each of these novel's units using news articles, short stories, poetry, music and lyrics, photographs, videos, and more. I encourage all students to think outside-the-box in the ELA classroom and utilize supplemental texts and media as much as possible when focusing on themes, symbols, and central ideas. We will also be working on all students writing this year, ensuring that every student is able to grasp citing evidence with a strong, well formatted analysis. Along with this, we will be working on independent journals, Socratic Seminars, fish bowl activities, mock trials, debates, group projects, creative writing, and other creations that can help students become strong, critical thinkers.
Essential Learnings:
Grading Policy:
25% Classwork, Discussions, and Participation
25% Homework Assignments
25% Test, Quizzes, and Projects
25% Summative Assessments and Tasks
Absent Work:
Students who are absent with a note can make up all work when they return to school. I have a designated area in the ELA classroom that will hold all work for absentee students to collect when they return to school.
Late Work:
Late work will be accepted for 50% off the grade, with up to 2 days. Summative and final assessment work will be accepted late with 50% off, with up to 2 days.
Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Cheating, copying work, or plagiarism of any form will result in a failure of the assignment.
Google Classroom:
Google Classroom will be used for online homework, in-class assignments, and workshopping papers. Students can login using their BELL Academy e-mail addresses. Additionally, I will post any important announcements and information on each class page.
I look forward to having a fun, engaging, and prosperous school year. If you have any questions at anytime, feel free to contact me!
Best,
Ms. Tanney
8th Grade English Language Arts
atanney@thebellacademy.com
I'm so excited to begin the 2019-2020 school year with each and every one of you! 8th grade is an imperative year for all students, as we will be working on strengthening their reading, writing, and speaking, listening skills to prepare for high school and beyond. My goal as the 8th grade ELA teacher is to ensure that all students have an engaging, rewarding, and informative year.
This year...
I have designed the course to be a rich, engaging, and thought-provoking experience to help every student become a better reader, writer, listener, speaker, critical thinker, and member of society. This year, we will focus on real world issues through literature and resources. My philosophy as a teacher is to equip students with transferrable skills that will not only help them in the classroom, but also in real life. Ten years from now, it will not matter if students can remember every little detail they learned in ELA. What will matter is their ability to think critically and creatively, respond to texts and media, communicate effectively with other humans, understand different perspectives, and use the power of literacy to change their life and this world for the better.
We will...
We will be reading several novels that focus on key, pivotal moments throughout history. Additionally, we will be expanding each of these novel's units using news articles, short stories, poetry, music and lyrics, photographs, videos, and more. I encourage all students to think outside-the-box in the ELA classroom and utilize supplemental texts and media as much as possible when focusing on themes, symbols, and central ideas. We will also be working on all students writing this year, ensuring that every student is able to grasp citing evidence with a strong, well formatted analysis. Along with this, we will be working on independent journals, Socratic Seminars, fish bowl activities, mock trials, debates, group projects, creative writing, and other creations that can help students become strong, critical thinkers.
Essential Learnings:
- I can support my analysis and understanding of a text by citing relevant details from that text.
- I can analyze similar themes across multiple texts by comparing and contrasting the development of those themes as well as the specific details surrounding them.
- I can analyze the author’s choices regarding the development of characters, ideas or themes, the setting, as well as the structure of the text.
- I can analyze and evaluate how effective an argument is.
- I can determine the author’s purpose in a text and analyze the effect it has on the text itself.
- I can analyze literary devices as well as word choice in order to better understand a text.
- I can determine the meaning of words using context clues and roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
- I can use English grammar and conventions appropriately and correctly.
- Apply the writing process through planning, drafting, revising, and editing.
- I can write an effective argumentative essay.
Grading Policy:
25% Classwork, Discussions, and Participation
25% Homework Assignments
25% Test, Quizzes, and Projects
25% Summative Assessments and Tasks
Absent Work:
Students who are absent with a note can make up all work when they return to school. I have a designated area in the ELA classroom that will hold all work for absentee students to collect when they return to school.
Late Work:
Late work will be accepted for 50% off the grade, with up to 2 days. Summative and final assessment work will be accepted late with 50% off, with up to 2 days.
Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Cheating, copying work, or plagiarism of any form will result in a failure of the assignment.
Google Classroom:
Google Classroom will be used for online homework, in-class assignments, and workshopping papers. Students can login using their BELL Academy e-mail addresses. Additionally, I will post any important announcements and information on each class page.
- 801: [u05fq5]
- 802: [xctrf7]
- 803: [lckmfo]
- 804: [sb48x8]
I look forward to having a fun, engaging, and prosperous school year. If you have any questions at anytime, feel free to contact me!
Best,
Ms. Tanney
8th Grade English Language Arts
atanney@thebellacademy.com