Welcome to English, Fall 2010

WELCOME TO ENGLISH, September 2010

It’s another exciting year in English class! In our literature classes, we will explore ideas connected to the notion of being an outsider. In books like The Color of Water, To Kill a Mockingbird and Jack we will examine the ways people are included and excluded, and the rules, both written and unwritten, that lead to this exclusion. What social norms influence the insider/outsider dynamic? How do prejudices shape the ways individuals and groups are excluded? How does inequality shape communities and cultures? What political and social movements have grown out of the struggle for inclusion and equality?

Our writing classes will focus on creative and expository writing, as well as vocabulary building and grammar. The 7^th grade writing curriculum includes units on poetry, persuasive essays, and autobiography. 8^th grade will writing focus on persuasive writing as well, along with units on short fiction and journalism.

Your effort mark for English will be determined through the following five categories:

Participation

Class participation is key, both in our writing and literature classes. Discussion and group work make up a substantial part of our work in class, so please come to class with questions and comments about the readings. Coming to each class session with the necessary materials (books, notebooks, writing utensils, etc) are a part of your participation mark as well.

Homework

You should expect homework on most nights, often short reading and reading response assignments. While many assignments will be short-term, there will be a number of long-term assignments and projects, particularly in writing. One of the goals in 7^th and 8^th grade is for students to learn how to manage time, so if you are given, for example, two weeks to complete an assignment, that assignment should be worked on a little bit each day for the entire two-week period.

Class Journal

This year you have been asked to provide a journal that will remain in class at all times. In this journal I will ask you to respond to a particular idea from the assigned reading. It is meant to be a place for you to deepen your thinking, so my comments and grades for the journals will focus primarily on the depth of your thinking, the detail with which you answer a question and the thought you give in creating your own arguments.

Essays and Formal Assignments

While the journal gives you a chance to figure out your ideas, it is through revision, organization and carefully constructed arguments that each of you will develop your critical and analytical writing skills. Most essays will include numerous drafts, and creative assignments such as character monologues will be written in first and final drafts as well. The focus on revision is key in developing as a writer, so grades for each assignment will look both at the effort you put into the early drafts and outlines, as well as the way in which you use revision to create a strong and thoughtful final draft.

Quizzes and Tests

There will be quizzes, both announced and unannounced, as well as tests on the books we read and for vocabulary. Please be sure to come to class prepared each day, since there will be pop quizzes on a regular basis. Tests will be less frequent. For each test, students will be given ample notice as well as in-class review sessions.

Materials

Please have these materials with you for each of out Triplet and Writing classes:

· Two notebooks

o One 3 subject notebook

o One journal/notebook that will stay in school, at least 100 pages long

· A section in your binder for Literature and one for Writing/Grammar

· An English Folder

· Something to write with!!