Welcome!
Mr. C’s 7th Grade Language Arts
P.K. Yonge Developmental ResearchSchool
University of Florida
August 18, 2008
Welcome to 7th grade Language Arts.I’m glad you’re here.
This letter is long (had all summer to write it) but very important. Please read all of it.And there may be a surprise hidden in here somewhere…
I have in mind a few goals for you this year.I’ll list those, then explain what we need to accomplish for the FCAT and Florida’s Sunshine State Standards.I’ll then talk about what our daily routine will look like.
Goals
- Read more and read better than you ever have before.
- Become someone who reads for fun…for the rest of your life!
- Toughen up your reading skills so things that are hard or boring don’t give you trouble.
- Write like an author and really enjoy reading what you write.
- Produce work so good that you want to share it.
- Write expository text that is just as “alive” as your narrative text.
- Speak in front of class well and without (much) fear.
- Work together well.
FCAT and the SunshineState Standards
What’s fair: students being compared to other kids just like them, whether they’re all rich or all poor or whatever? Or students being compared to a list of grade-level skills that teachers all across the country have agreed to?People like me who believe in “standards-based education” think that all kids should be held to the same set of rules – that kids from poor schools, with perhaps poorly-trained teachers, should have just as good an education as kids from rich schools.
Sounds nice, but if there is one set of “skills” for everyone, then there has to be a way to “measure” whether kids are able to do those skills.And teachers love to say “measurement” when what they really mean is a TEST!
Ta-da!The FCAT!Now, if you’ve read carefully to this point, you deserve a prize (shhh).The science of measuring kids’ brains is called psychometrics.Psycho means “of the mind,” and metrics means “measure” (your definition of psycho is an abbreviation of psychotic or “diseased mind”).Quietly say “psychometrics is psycho” to me and I’ll give you candy.
Every teacher has standards, or a set of skills to teach.You can read them if you want, but they’re written in “teacher-speak” (where they say “measure” instead of “test”).The ones for my class are all about reading well, writing well, speaking-listening-watching well, knowing about the English language and knowing about literature.Hey! They’re a little like the goals from earlier.Hummm.
Our daily routine
To help us be successful, my room has three very simple rules:
·Be Nice
·Be Calm
·Be Your Best.
This will all be explained in excruciating detail, but for now:
When the bell rings you are in your seat, planner out, backpack put away (don’t whine).
Write the agenda EXACTLY as it is written and highlight your homework (don’t whine).
You’ll begin the “bell ringer” activity listed on the board – usually a journal prompt.You’ll write constantly until I tell you to stop (don’t… guess what I’m thinking).
Then there’s Direct Instruction time.I tell you stuff and you listen.Maybe reading instruction, or writing, or grammar and usage (by the way, that was a sentence fragment – did you see a verb? I have a license to use those ‘cause I know what I’m doing.Really).
Then there’s practice.It’s usually done in small groups or partners.
And there’s ALWAYS silent time to read.And it really is SILENT.
So, that’s enough to get us started.Again, I’m glad you’re here.I’m going to do whatever I can to make this yourbest school year ever! Don’t forget the “phrase that pays!”
Sincerely,
Mr. C
Course Overview
Course Title: Seventh Grade Language Arts (1001040)
Teacher: Greg Cunningham
Contact Information:
Work Phone: (352) 392-1554 x292
Home Phone: (352) 377-4416
E-Mail: gregc@pky.ufl.edu
This course is designed to satisfy the Sunshine State Standards and Course Level Expectations which can be viewed at: http://etc.usf.edu/flstandards/la/index.html
Course Description:
This class will provide integrated educational experiences in the language arts strands of reading, writing, listing, viewing, speaking, language and literature.
The class will be organized as a Book Club (see http://www.planetbookclub.com/home.html) with an emphasis on reading strategy instruction, and will integrate Florida’s standards in a variety of contexts. These contexts for learning – which range from reading independently to sharing ideas with the whole class -- overlap constantly while they support and enrich one another.
Course Goals:
As per the Sunshine State Standards, this class will provide students with the skills to:
Demonstrate understanding and use of appropriate and effective vocabulary.
Read informational, technical, and literary selections for literal, inferential and interpretive meaning.
Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics and elements of literary selections and other appropriate texts.
Use process writing strategies and the conventions of standard written English to write for a variety of purposes and audiences.
Use listening, viewing, and speaking skills to obtain and convey information and ideas.
Select and use appropriate media tools for effective visual, oral and written communication.
Apply reference, study and test-taking skills.
The year will be divided into the following units. See unit plans for more information.
|
Unit 1 |
Unit 2 |
Unit 3 |
|
Tampa Boy: Reading Strategies, Summer Adventures |
The Scary Story |
One Book, One School/Individual Text-based Research |
|
8/18-10/1 |
10/2-10/31 |
11/1-12/15 |
|
Unit 5 |
Unit 6 |
Unit 7 |
|
TBA (UF student intern will co-develop) |
Text inteaction strategies, reading stamina strategies, standardized testing skills |
All About Me Magazine Project/Community Action Research Project |
|
1/3-3/1 |
3/1-3/15 |
3/15-6/5 |
State Grading Scale
Florida statues establish the following grading scale
A: 90-100
B: 80-89
C: 70-79
D: 60-69
F: 59 and below
Grading Policy:
Each quarter grade will be averaged as followed:
Home reading / homework 10%
Reading Response Journal 20%
Formal writing 20%
Quizzes and Tests 30%
Projects/presentations 20%
Each semester grade will be averaged as follows:
Quarter 1 40% Quarter 2 40% Semester Exam 20%
Quarter 2 40% Quarter 2 40% Semester Exam 20%
Year/course final grade will be the average of the two semester grades.
Attendance:
Academic success is based on active involvement in daily class activities. Students have 48 hours to complete missed work due to an absence. After that, the assignment(s) will be subject to the late assignment policy. It is the student’s responsibility to ask the teacher for the assignments he/she has missed, as stated in the Code of Conduct.
Late assignments will be lowered one-half letter grade for every class period they are late, at the discression of the teacher. Half credit will be given for any late work turned in after a progress report as long as it is received within one week from the time that progress reports are sent home.
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