7th Grade ELA Syllabus
Queen of Heaven School 2015-16
Teacher: Mrs. Lynn Bala
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 674-5206
The mission of Queen of Heaven School is to educate children in a faith-filled Catholic environment that provides a foundation for life by fostering academic excellence, moral integrity, and service to others.
Course Description: The goals and objectives of 7th Grade ELA Class concentrate on four major areas; literary fluency, writing for specific purposes, speaking and vocabulary development, and grammar. This class will offer a study of various literary genres as well as a writing workshop designed to help students grow into critical readers, confident writers, and develop their metacognitive awareness.
Alternating each week, the students will be engaged in lessons focused on literature study and vocabulary development or writing strategies with an emphasis on grammar conventions. Each class will begin with an explicit mini lesson and students will spend the remainder of their class time actively immersed in reading and writing activities. Literature study will include reading and responding to a variety of texts from their Prentice Hall Anthology and participating in literature circles, wherein students will use graphic organizers to guide their discussions of story elements and use active reading strategies to make connections and inferences about the stories. While in writing workshop students will work through the steps of the writing process; prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing and refine their piece using the 6+1 Traits. Students will have the opportunity to receive specific feedback on, revise and share their work during peer and teacher conferencing. Students will be expected to complete and publish their piece by Friday of each week and add it to their writing portfolio.
In addition, students will use both print and electronic sources to research self- selected topics of interest. There will be an emphasis on the importance of reading critically to formulate inquiry questions and clarify information.
Homework Policy: Homework will be assigned most nights of the week and will take usually 45 min. to 1 hour. However, daily lessons that are not completed in class are expected to be finished for homework and turned in the following day. It is compulsory for students to give their best effort while doing their homework and develop the habit of handing it in on the due date, as it is a way for me to assess their understanding of the day’s lessons, and thus, determine if re-teaching is necessary. It is my expectation that homework will not always be correct and often times will be graded based on effort rather than on accuracy.
Late Policy: Class assignments and projects that are not turned in on the due date will receive a 10 pt. deduction for each day they are late. Projects will be introduced well in advance of the due date and will be accompanied by a rubric listing clear criteria which we will have discussed in class. It is a Junior High policy that all incomplete or late homework assignments will receive a grade of 0. Of course, accommodations to this policy can be made when extenuating circumstances arise, wherein the student discusses the need for an extensionahead of time.
It is imperative as students prepare for high school that they develop the ability to plan and organize their time around their often busy lives if they are to be successful.
Grading Components:
Grades in this course will be comprised of:
My Expectations: I expect that all students come to class prepared with their texts, notebook, loose leaf paper, journal and pen/ pencil, complete all assignments on time, and participate fully each day.
Materials needed:
Cheating/Plagiarism: Early in the year, students will participate in a lesson and follow up discussion about academic integrity and what constitutes Plagiarism. Students will learn how to cite information properly. We will discuss the importance of doing their own work and using their own original thoughts and ideas, whether completing a homework assignment or doing research for a research paper. If it is found that a student has cheated on an assignment, the student will need to redo it. Again, it is important for students to develop the habits of mind, skills, and pride in their work if they are to become lifelong learners that are prepared for the rigors of high school and college.
I encourage you to call or email me with any questions that you may have. Please know that I will be working to develop my teacher web page within the next few weeks. When up and running, students and parents will be able to use it to check for important classroom information as well as the week’s assignments. I look forward to a great school year!
Mrs. Bala
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 674-5206
The mission of Queen of Heaven School is to educate children in a faith-filled Catholic environment that provides a foundation for life by fostering academic excellence, moral integrity, and service to others.
Course Description: The goals and objectives of 7th Grade ELA Class concentrate on four major areas; literary fluency, writing for specific purposes, speaking and vocabulary development, and grammar. This class will offer a study of various literary genres as well as a writing workshop designed to help students grow into critical readers, confident writers, and develop their metacognitive awareness.
Alternating each week, the students will be engaged in lessons focused on literature study and vocabulary development or writing strategies with an emphasis on grammar conventions. Each class will begin with an explicit mini lesson and students will spend the remainder of their class time actively immersed in reading and writing activities. Literature study will include reading and responding to a variety of texts from their Prentice Hall Anthology and participating in literature circles, wherein students will use graphic organizers to guide their discussions of story elements and use active reading strategies to make connections and inferences about the stories. While in writing workshop students will work through the steps of the writing process; prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing and refine their piece using the 6+1 Traits. Students will have the opportunity to receive specific feedback on, revise and share their work during peer and teacher conferencing. Students will be expected to complete and publish their piece by Friday of each week and add it to their writing portfolio.
In addition, students will use both print and electronic sources to research self- selected topics of interest. There will be an emphasis on the importance of reading critically to formulate inquiry questions and clarify information.
Homework Policy: Homework will be assigned most nights of the week and will take usually 45 min. to 1 hour. However, daily lessons that are not completed in class are expected to be finished for homework and turned in the following day. It is compulsory for students to give their best effort while doing their homework and develop the habit of handing it in on the due date, as it is a way for me to assess their understanding of the day’s lessons, and thus, determine if re-teaching is necessary. It is my expectation that homework will not always be correct and often times will be graded based on effort rather than on accuracy.
Late Policy: Class assignments and projects that are not turned in on the due date will receive a 10 pt. deduction for each day they are late. Projects will be introduced well in advance of the due date and will be accompanied by a rubric listing clear criteria which we will have discussed in class. It is a Junior High policy that all incomplete or late homework assignments will receive a grade of 0. Of course, accommodations to this policy can be made when extenuating circumstances arise, wherein the student discusses the need for an extensionahead of time.
It is imperative as students prepare for high school that they develop the ability to plan and organize their time around their often busy lives if they are to be successful.
Grading Components:
Grades in this course will be comprised of:
- Tests- All tests and research papers
- Classwork/ Quizzes- Writing pieces, outlines, research paper components
- Independent Practice- Homework, journals, literature response questions, spelling, vocabulary and grammar assignments
- Participation- class participation, preparedness, responsibility
My Expectations: I expect that all students come to class prepared with their texts, notebook, loose leaf paper, journal and pen/ pencil, complete all assignments on time, and participate fully each day.
Materials needed:
- 4 folders with pockets
- 1 package of loose leaf paper wide rule
- Highlighters- 4 different colors
- Journal notebook
- 3 subject notebook
- Sticky notes
- Index cards 3x5 size
- Several sharpened pencils
- 2-3 pens
Cheating/Plagiarism: Early in the year, students will participate in a lesson and follow up discussion about academic integrity and what constitutes Plagiarism. Students will learn how to cite information properly. We will discuss the importance of doing their own work and using their own original thoughts and ideas, whether completing a homework assignment or doing research for a research paper. If it is found that a student has cheated on an assignment, the student will need to redo it. Again, it is important for students to develop the habits of mind, skills, and pride in their work if they are to become lifelong learners that are prepared for the rigors of high school and college.
I encourage you to call or email me with any questions that you may have. Please know that I will be working to develop my teacher web page within the next few weeks. When up and running, students and parents will be able to use it to check for important classroom information as well as the week’s assignments. I look forward to a great school year!
Mrs. Bala