Standard Language Arts Syllabus 2013-2014
Mr. O’Malley 674-6010 (x41110)
Grade 8 pomalley@phm.k12.in.us
If you want to be a better writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things.
-Stephen King
Wise man, that Stephen King. You know he wrote plenty of books himself: Under the Dome, Carrie, It, The Green Mile, Cujo, The Mist, and Pet Semetary just to name a few. Who am I to argue with someone as prolific and successful as he is? Which brings us to why we are all here. Welcome to language arts where we will be reading and writing...wait for it...a lot. Along the way we’ll also be speaking and thinking, connecting and analyzing, and studying and learning about literature, verbal and written expression, language mechanics and vocabulary while reinforcing our skills in these areas based on the state accepted standards. Here’s a bit more detail.
Reading: Hey, guess what. We will spend a significant amount of time reading over the next nine months. We will draw our readings from the 8th grade literature text book, the Interactive Reader and plenty of other outside sources including The Giver by Lois Lowry. There will be a pretty even mix between fiction and nonfiction material. In addition, poetry will be used throughout the year to aid our understanding of what we read and extend our analytical abilities.
Writing: We will be taking time to review and strengthen our understanding and use of the writing process: prewriting, composing, conferencing, revising, editing and publishing. Our writings will be assessed on the traits stressed in topic specific rubrics as well as more standard rubrics for less formal pieces. We’ll be writing poetry, we’ll be writing on the stories and articles we’ll be reading, and we’ll be writing on the ideas we bring up in class. That makes for a lot of writing.
Speaking: Do you love talking in front of the class? You’ll have your chance this year! We’ll all be getting up in front of the class and making presentations. It might be an oral response to literature, a group presentation, an impromptu speech, a memorized poem or a formal speaking activity.
Vocabulary: There are always new words to learn, and hopefully we’ll be doing a lot of learning. We’ll study words from what we read, words that are domain specific (can anyone tell me what irony is?), and words we’ll learn about through their suffixes, prefixes and roots. Don’t worry, it’ll be some work but we’ll try to have fun with it.
Language Mechanics: I’m sure this isn’t high on your list of things you love about school, so I’ll try to make it as painless as possible. The focus areas will include punctuation, grammar, usage, spelling and verb tense.
Participation: Look, this is important. I won’t undersell it. We all need to be actively participating in the class. I’m sure we have some shy people in here who would just prefer to go 180 days without speaking. But, honestly, you’ll get so much more out of the class--and have a lot more fun too--if you get involved. Make it a point to participate in some way at least once each class.
Late Work: Homework, drafts, reading assignments, writing assignments...they’re all due on the assigned date. Sure, I’ll take it if it’s late, but points will be lost. Major writing assignments will take a ten percent hit each day late.
I utilize a total point system. Thus larger assignments (papers, projects, tests) will be worth many more points than daily homework or quizzes. Grades will be available on the Home Access Grade System. I will adhere to the school wide grade scale which is as follows:
A+ 100-98 C 77.9-72
A 97.9-92 C- 72-70
A- 91.9-90 D+ 69.9-68
B+ 89.9-88 D 67.9-62
B 87.9-82 D- 61.9-60
B- 81.9-80 F 59.9-below
C+ 79.9-78
I have four simple expectations:
1) Be prepared.
2) Be respectful.
3) Participate.
4) Give your personal best.
There are four simple consequences too:
One-on-one discussion 2) Phone call home 3) Parent meeting 4) Disciplinary write-up
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I have read the syllabus and understand what is expected of me.
___________________________ ______________________________
Student name printed Student signature
I have the read the syllabus and understand what is expected of my child.
___________________________ ______________________________
Parent name printed Parent signature
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PARENTS!!
At your earliest convenience, please send me an email with your child’s name referenced so that I may add it to my address book should I need to contact you for any reason. Thank you.
My email is pomalley@phm.k12.in.us
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