•                                                                                                

     

    Teacher: Ms. Petiote

    Room: 215                                                                                                                            Room: 215                                            Email: petiotma@orangek.k12.nj.us https://www.orange.k12.nj.us/Domain/461

     

     

    Welcome to Our 8th Grade ELA Class!

     

    Course Description:

    8th grade English Language Arts is comprised of four areas viewed by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards – reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will engage with a variety of print, visual, and auditory materials in order to increase acquisition of content, fluency, and vocabulary with the intent of being on the path towards college and career readiness.

     

    Student Supplies

    The classroom will have some emergency supplies for students to use in class, however it is expected that each student comes fully prepared each day.

    • 1 subject spiral notebook
    • 1 folder
    • Headphones/Earbuds
    • 1 box of tissues
    • Pencil case with the following supplies:
      • 1 package of pens (blue or black)
      • 1 package of pencils
      • 1 package of highlighters
      • 1 package of post-its

     

    Reading Plus

    Students will be actively participating in an online reading intervention program called “Reading Plus”. They will be expected to complete (5) Reading Lessons each week to improve their literacy skills in class. If these lessons are not completed during the allotted class time, then the student must finish them outside of class before the end of the week. The total comprehension score from these lessons will result as a homework grade in Genesis.

     

    Independent Reading Program

    During the course of the school year, students are expected to read (2) choice texts per month and keep track of their reading on Reading Rewards during specific times in class. These texts can include, but are not limited to, graphic novels, young adult literature, and literary magazines. Students may take out books from our classroom library, the OPA school library, or purchase their own books outside of school.

     

    Grading Policy (per district standards)

    • 25% of overall grade consists of Tests (may include mid-unit assessments, content District assessments)
    • 25% of overall grade consists of Authentic Assessments/Projects (may include research, projects, essays, speeches, performance assessments)
    • 20% of overall grade consists of Class work and Class Participation (inclusive discussions, daily kick-offs, assignments, group work, presentations)
    • 20% of overall grade consists of Quizzes (focused on learning objectives)
    • 10% of overall grade is Homework (reading checkpoints, check-ins for long term projects)

     

    Behavior Policy

    All students will follow the Orange Preparatory Academy Behavioral Code located in the student handbook. Students will also abide to the Classroom Norms that will be posted in the classroom each day that were created together during the first week of school. For our classroom, each student will be held accountable to the following discipline plan:

    • 1st Time Offence: Verbal warning
    • 2nd Time Offence: Written warning home and to be signed by guardian
    • 3rd Time Offence: Lunch/After school detention
    • 4th Time Offence: Phone call home
    • 5th Time Offence: School disciplinarian action

     

     

    Late Work/Absences

     

    Students will be able to make up any missing assignments.

    ut off bottom and returned signed)

    __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

     

    I, __________________________________, have read and understand the classroom rules and norms of our 8th grade ELA class and pledge to follow these expectations for the duration of the 2018-2019 academic year.

     

     

    Student Signature: ________________________________________   Date: ____________

    Module 1 – Finding Home: Refugees – Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

    • Focus: Reading Closely and Writing to Learn
    • Students consider the challenges of fictional and real refugees. They read the novel Inside Out and Back Again, analyzing critical incidents that reveal the dynamic nature of Ha, a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl whose family flees during the fall of Saigon. They also read complex informational texts to learn more about the history of the war in Vietnam, the historical context of Ha’s family’s struggle, and the universal themes of refugees’ experiences of fleeing and finding home.

    Module 2 – Taking a Stand – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

    • Focus: Working with Evidence
    • Students will read several speeches from real people who took a stand, and then immerse themselves in a study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. They engage in a character study of Atticus—analyzing his actions and words, and what others say about him—to better understand his willingness to take a stand for others. Students also consider “the Golden Rule” and how it surfaces in the novel.
    •  

    Module 3 – Japanese-American Relations in WWII – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

    • Focus: Understanding Perspectives
    • Students study the important yet divergent experiences of war and conflict, specifically WWII, as they read Unbroken, which tells the story of Louis Zamperini, an American prisoner-of-war in a Japanese camp, alongside an informational text about a Japanese American who was interned in a relocation camp in the United States.
    •  

    Module 4 – Sustainability of the World’s Food Supply – The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

    • Focus: Research, Decision Making, and Forming Positions
    • Students learn how to make evidence-based decisions as they consider the issue of how to best feed all of the people in the United States. They analyze Michael Pollan’s arguments and evidence (as well as the arguments in other informational texts and videos) to determine whether sufficient and relevant evidence has been used to support the claim.

     

    Teacher: Ms. Petiote

    Room: 215                                                                                                                            Room: 215                                               Email: petiotma@orangek.k12.nj.us    Site: https://www.orange.k12.nj.us/Domain/461

     

     

    Welcome to Our 8th Grade ELA Class!

     

    Course Description:

    8th grade English Language Arts is comprised of four areas viewed by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards – reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will engage with a variety of print, visual, and auditory materials in order to increase acquisition of content, fluency, and vocabulary with the intent of being on the path towards college and career readiness.

     

    Student Supplies

    The classroom will have some emergency supplies for students to use in class, however it is expected that each student comes fully prepared each day.

    • 1 subject spiral notebook
    • 1 folder
    • Headphones/Earbuds
    • 1 box of tissues
    • Pencil case with the following supplies:
      • 1 package of pens (blue or black)
      • 1 package of pencils
      • 1 package of highlighters
      • 1 package of post-its

     

    Reading Plus

    Students will be actively participating in an online reading intervention program called “Reading Plus”. They will be expected to complete (5) Reading Lessons each week to improve their literacy skills in class. If these lessons are not completed during the allotted class time, then the student must finish them outside of class before the end of the week. The total comprehension score from these lessons will result as a homework grade in Genesis.

     

    Independent Reading Program

    During the course of the school year, students are expected to read (2) choice texts per month and keep track of their reading on Reading Rewards during specific times in class. These texts can include, but are not limited to, graphic novels, young adult literature, and literary magazines. Students may take out books from our classroom library, the OPA school library, or purchase their own books outside of school.

     

    Grading Policy (per district standards)

    • 25% of overall grade consists of Tests (may include mid-unit assessments, content District assessments)
    • 25% of overall grade consists of Authentic Assessments/Projects (may include research, projects, essays, speeches, performance assessments)
    • 20% of overall grade consists of Class work and Class Participation (inclusive discussions, daily kick-offs, assignments, group work, presentations)
    • 20% of overall grade consists of Quizzes (focused on learning objectives)
    • 10% of overall grade is Homework (reading checkpoints, check-ins for long term projects)

     

    Behavior Policy

    All students will follow the Orange Preparatory Academy Behavioral Code located in the student handbook. Students will also abide to the Classroom Norms that will be posted in the classroom each day that were created together during the first week of school. For our classroom, each student will be held accountable to the following discipline plan:

    • 1st Time Offence: Verbal warning
    • 2nd Time Offence: Written warning home and to be signed by guardian
    • 3rd Time Offence: Lunch/After school detention
    • 4th Time Offence: Phone call home
    • 5th Time Offence: School disciplinarian action

     

     

    Late Work/Absences

     

    Students will be able to make up any missing assignments.

    ut off bottom and returned signed)

    __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

     

    I, __________________________________, have read and understand the classroom rules and norms of our 8th grade ELA class and pledge to follow these expectations for the duration of the 2018-2019 academic year.

     

     

    Student Signature: ________________________________________   Date: ____________

    Module 1 – Finding Home: Refugees – Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

    • Focus: Reading Closely and Writing to Learn
    • Students consider the challenges of fictional and real refugees. They read the novel Inside Out and Back Again, analyzing critical incidents that reveal the dynamic nature of Ha, a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl whose family flees during the fall of Saigon. They also read complex informational texts to learn more about the history of the war in Vietnam, the historical context of Ha’s family’s struggle, and the universal themes of refugees’ experiences of fleeing and finding home.

    Module 2 – Taking a Stand – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

    • Focus: Working with Evidence
    • Students will read several speeches from real people who took a stand, and then immerse themselves in a study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. They engage in a character study of Atticus—analyzing his actions and words, and what others say about him—to better understand his willingness to take a stand for others. Students also consider “the Golden Rule” and how it surfaces in the novel.
    •  

    Module 3 – Japanese-American Relations in WWII – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

    • Focus: Understanding Perspectives
    • Students study the important yet divergent experiences of war and conflict, specifically WWII, as they read Unbroken, which tells the story of Louis Zamperini, an American prisoner-of-war in a Japanese camp, alongside an informational text about a Japanese American who was interned in a relocation camp in the United States.
    •  

    Module 4 – Sustainability of the World’s Food Supply – The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

    • Focus: Research, Decision Making, and Forming Positions
    • Students learn how to make evidence-based decisions as they consider the issue of how to best feed all of the people in the United States. They analyze Michael Pollan’s arguments and evidence (as well as the arguments in other informational texts and videos) to determine whether sufficient and relevant evidence has been used to support the claim.