Semester One Course Syllabus

McCain Middle School

400 N. Iowa Ave

Payette, Idaho  83661

Language Arts / 7^th grade honors

2013 - 2014

 

Instructor: Kory Gott

Classroom: Room 23
Telephone: (208) 642-4122
E-mail: kogott@payetteschools.org
Office Hours: By appointment
Website: gott7honors.blogspot.com
 

GRADING:

Grading is based on points earned. For each assignment, point values are determined based on criteria such as anticipated time and effort involved to accomplish the task, meeting the goals set forth in rubrics, and overall difficulty. A free-write, for instance, might be worth 20 points, whereas a large project that takes more than a week to complete may be worth 300 points. Tests, assignments, and projects are not broken down by a specific consistent percentage other than the percentage of their point value in reference to the total points possible by the end of the quarter. Percentages for each assignment can be determined by dividing the numerator by the denominator. For instance, 30/30 is 100 percent; 56/70 is 80 percent.

                A regular percentage scale determines letter grades:

90 - 100%  = A

80 - 89.9% = B
70 - 79.9% = C
60 - 69.9% = D
0  - 59.9% = F

Late work is not accepted other than for excused absences as outlined in the MMS Student Handbook. Even if you miss a due date, assignments and projects are still expected to be completed to the best of your ability so that you continue to learn key concepts and are caught up with your peers. However, points will not be awarded unless there are extenuating circumstances that made accomplishing a task on time impossible. (If this is the case, please schedule a conference with me regarding your situation as soon as possible so that your grade does not suffer.) In general, you’re given plenty of time in class to do your work. If you are on-task, you’ll rarely have homework unless you need the extra time for a large project, supplemental reading, or to edit, revise and complete a final draft of writing.

 I encourage you to use Family Link as a tool to know what your grades are for all of your classes. Please keep in mind that I do not correct assignments while I’m teaching, so just because an assignment has been turned in on a specific day, it’s impossible for me to have my students’ papers corrected and scores posted that day. Hand-outs and quizzes are often posted within one to two days of their due date, but writing is another story. Once you get your first paper back with comments and proofreaders’ marks and ink scrawled everywhere, you’ll understand that I sometimes write more on a paper than you wrote to complete the assignment. I try to control myself, I really do, but I feel that each piece of writing deserves a quality response and individual attention regarding specific errors, so stories and essays take quite a long time for me to evaluate.  Please understand that even when I devote a few hours each night and during weekends to grading papers, there will be some lag-time between the due date and the return date so that I can give adequate feedback and better meet your needs as a writer. Each of you will have strengths and weaknesses, and I cater individually to every single one of you so that you grow as a writer based on your needs. A blank on Family Link doesn’t mean that you earned a zero, it simply means that grades have yet to be posted. All papers will be returned to you; it’s your responsibility to share them with your parents.

Finally, if you or your parents have any questions or concerns about a particular assignment or grade, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. (Phone calls are impossible for me to take while I’m teaching or working with students in the library; therefore, e-mail is the best way to reach me.)

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Seventh grade honors language arts is designed to help you better develop your reading, writing, speech, and analytical thinking skills so that you can communicate more effectively and efficiently while broadening your knowledge of the world in which we live. Content is based on the Common Core Standards for Language Arts as adopted by our state. A variety of literature in various formats, fabulous in-depth discussions, outlandishly fun activities, and culminating projects will be used as tools to explore an Essential Question that is designed to pique student interest and thought. The Essential Question is determined by individual grade levels and used across the curriculum. In our pursuit to answer each thematic question, students will actively immerse themselves in a creative journey as they plunge into a world where they’ll employ unique methods for demonstrating their understanding, growth, and experiences along the way.     

 

COURSE EXPECTATIONS:

You are expected to arrive to class on time with all of the materials necessary for you to be an active learner and participant. Grades are not given, they are earned. I want everyone to reach their full potential and be successful in my class, but that means that you’re accountable for your own learning. I expect you to put forth your best effort, participate, ask questions, and be enthusiastic about what we’re doing in class. Always complete your work to the best of your ability and turn it in on time, be prepared to share ideas, and be respectful of other students’ ideas even if they differ from your own. There is a lot to be learned from someone who thinks differently than you do! Our class is a place where everyone should feel free to express themselves and fearlessly explore new ideas. 

 

STUDENT SUPPLIES:

• 3-ring binder with loose-leaf college-ruled paper
• Spiral notebook (for use in this class only; college-ruled paper)
• Pens (blue or black ink; one red pen; no gel pens, please)
• Pencils (mechanical preferred; there is no pencil sharpener in our classroom)
• Eraser (to erase your errors, of course)
• Flash drive (to save your precious documents)
• Two folders with pockets and brads to hold papers in the center (designated for this class only)
• Expo marker for use with mini-whiteboards (dark colors work best)
• Colored pencils
• Glue stick

**Please note that I realize not all of these supplies may have been on your school supply list because only a limited amount of students are in honors. For this reason, do not panic if you don’t already have these items. The world will continue to turn if students don’t have everything on this list until after they return from Labor Day weekend. There’s no telling what the Earth will do, however, if someone doesn’t have a glue stick by then…perhaps they’ll have to—gasp!—borrow one. Everybody stay calm…we will get through this.

 

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS:

• MUGSHOTS: Daily oral language consisting of sentences with grammatical errors and mini-lessons on parts-of-speech, punctuation, capitalization, etc. As a class, we discuss and edit two sentences on Mondays and three sentences on Tuesdays; based on the five sentences and skills from the front of the sheet, you use that knowledge to independently complete the paragraph on the back of the sheet. It is due when you arrive in class on Wednesday. (Frequency: weekly. Paragraph is considered HOMEWORK if you don’t get it finished during class prior to Wednesday. Some shortened weeks MAY NOT have mugshots based on how many days students are here and what other material must be covered.)

 

• GREEK & LATIN ROOTS: (Frequency: every other week, alternating with spelling. H/O on Mondays, TESTS on Fridays.)

• SPELLING: (Frequency: every other week, alternating with Greek and Latin roots. H/O on Mondays, TESTS on Fridays.)

QUARTERLY ASSIGNMENT:

• While the general language arts course uses Accelerated Reader as part of its supplemental reading program, the honors 7 class values independent reading that focuses on literary discussions, exploration of new genres, journaling, and culminating projects that reflect your evaluation and understanding of a piece of literature. (More information follows; extensive details for each quarter’s project will be handed out in class each quarter. Quarter one will require students to read a mystery book…not a book that I refuse to share with you, but a book that falls into the genre of mystery. Titles of books that will qualify for this assignment will be provided.)

• INDEPENDENT READING / WRITING PROJECT: Your choice of a pre-approved novel from a specific genre that is determined in class. Examination of the Essential Question will be done while reflecting upon the novel and students will analyze the interactions between the individuals, events, and ideas in a text and how they function to impact each other. The CULMINATING PROJECT FOR EACH QUARTER’S INDEPENDENT READING is to pitch the literature selection to the class using tools such as propaganda, rhetorical devices, persuasive speech, and connotation and denotation via creative projects and presentations.

 

FIRST ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What does it mean to be human?

 

READING:

• NOVEL: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

“Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring on her family’s property whose waters grant immortality. Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell Winnie of their experiences watching life go by and never growing older. But then Winnie must decide whether or not to keep the Tucks’ secret—and whether or not to join them on their never-ending journey.” (synopsis from jacket copy)

• VIDEO: Movie version of Tuck Everlasting (compare / contrast, analyze each medium’s portrayal of the subject)

• HAMLET (NexText version): In this retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the play opens on the walls of the king’s castle in Elsinore, Denmark. Two soldiers and a friend of Prince Hamlet are waiting for a ghost to reappear. When Hamlet meets the ghost—who claims to be his father—he hears a horrifying story that torments him and eventually brings doom to his country. I’ve taught this tragedy to honors students for several years and am excited to include it in our curriculum!

• VIDEO: Movie version of Hamlet (with parental permission; compare / contrast, analyze each medium’s portrayal of the subject)

ADDITIONAL READING:

• We will read various excerpts from a variety of sources such as magazines, short stories, plays, poetry, fables, folktales, fairy tales, picture books, newspaper clippings, and more. Class novels will be made known to you via our blog in the event that a parent or guardian would like to read the literature ahead of time. If there are concerns about what we read as a class, please contact me immediately via e-mail. In most cases, alternate literature can be assigned to an individual student if a parent believes that a novel is somehow detrimental to his or her child.

WRITING:

• Writing is a key component in this course. You’ll often write every day, whether it be to explore an idea that we’ll discuss as a class, to provide thoughtful reflection regarding literature or a specific topic, or simply to hone your skills. Countless mini-lessons and writing activities will help you become a better writer—so long as you read the personal responses that are given to you as an individual and you apply the feedback in future assignments.

• Some activities and projects will include, but are not limited to:

Ø  When I write, I… (free-write)

Ø  The Watcher (exploration of your inner-editor)

Ø  Narration in first, second, and third person point-of-view. (NOTE: This will include a large study and application via a biography project in reference to Tuck Everlasting. The project includes interviews that will implement comparison and contrast as well as examination of and reflection upon our Essential Question. In a reflection paper, you will draw conclusions and present your thoughts regarding what you’ve learned from the literature, the discussions, and your personal interviews.)

Ø  Rhetorical devices (apply and present in persuasive speeches)

Ø  Project Hamlet: Includes settings, stereotypes, vocabulary, scripts, outlines, summaries, genre, style, tone, mood, theme, and a presentation.

Ø  Storytelling (the history and the future of how information and stories have been, are, and will continue to be passed on and used in civilization)

Ø  Poetry (in a variety of forms)

Ø  Research

Ø  Advertising and propaganda

SPEECH:

• You will become an effective speaker and are expected to memorize and recite a variety of materials, including, but not limited to poetry, a soliloquy from Hamlet, and short scripts.

CONTESTS

• Love What’s Real (poetry contest)
• Forest Products Week Essay Contest (may be done in science class / TBA)
• Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest (may be done in history or social studies class / TBA)
• Creative Communication (poetry contest / TBA)
• NOTE: I have had several students win cash, gift certificates, publication, and other prizes (such as airfare to anywhere in the continental United States for a family of four), so I am always excited to offer opportunities for you to write and win prizes in competitions!

INDIVIDUAL RESOURCES / ACTIVITIES

• NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month / nanowrimo.org / Set a word-count goal and strive to write a novel in just 30 days!)
• Figment (For aspiring writers. Figment is an online community where you can share your writing, connect with other aspiring writers and voracious readers, and discover new stories and authors. Whatever you're into, from sonnets to mysteries, from science-fiction stories to cell phone novels, I encourage you to sign up and write! Go to figment.com for all of the groovy details.)

 
***PLEASE NOTE: Due dates and time frames for our curriculum are subject to change based on unforeseen circumstances. A more specific breakdown for projects and reading lessons (such as pages read each day) cannot be given at this time as they will fluctuate based on the needs of the class. Also, when “teachable moments” occur, we are likely to veer from our intended path to explore something that is, in that moment, critical to discuss. Finally, interruptions such as assemblies, fire and lockdown drills, and general teenage drama can always impact our lessons for the day. For that reason, I encourage communication between students and parents so that procrastination or large projects don’t go unnoticed. Remember, the website will have information on it to help keep everyone informed of our progress.