What We Will Be Working On1/4-1/8

Tallman & Williams ELA

Vocabulary Quiz Wednesday 11/6- 

Study using vocabulary sheets and/or Quizlet https://quizlet.com/_1v4ec1

Ramp up lessons 26-29

• New vocabulary words
• Practice reading children's stories in order to prepare for memoir writing and the field trip to read to children
• set goals/ due dates for memoirs 

• theme, finding theme, and teaching theme to children
• introduction to mock trial and characters

12/14/2015-12/23/2015

What each 9th grade ELA class will be working on the next 2 weeks of school:

Mrs. Tallman ELA: This week will will have a vocabulary and comprehension quiz on Tuesday on Swallowing Stones. Students will be finishing their book talk presentation and we will begin presenting book talks on Wednesday or Thursday. In the next few days we will be working on lessons 21-23 trying to wrap up Swallowing Stones before the break. Soon we will figure out what will happen to Michael! Then after break we will begin preparing our mock trial of Michael to see if he is truly guilty or not.

This is the rubric we will be using to prepare our book talks:

Mrs. Williams ELA: This week we will be wrapping up our letters to about Swallowing Stones or the student's independent reading books. We are taking a lot of time writing a rough draft, going over the expectations, and writing a final draft so make sure the students know this is important and will be graded as a test. We will also be working on lessons 22-24 trying to wrap up Swallowing Stones before the end of break. Then after break we will begin preparing our mock trial of Michael to see if he is truly guilty or not.


Notes: Interim Reports go in Wednesday, December 15th. During December break we have no school from the half day on 12/23-1/4.

How to Access Eschool to Check Your Child's Grades and Attendence

eschool is a great way to check your child's grades (past and present), progress, and attendance.

To access eschool you must go to https://esphac.scsd.us/HomeAccess/ .

It will look like this:

If you already have a username and password login. If not you will need to register by clicking the blue underlined "here" button at the bottom right.
Or click this link: https://esphac.scsd.us/HomeAccess/Register/default2.aspx

The registration page should look like this:

Once you type in your information click register.

Then you will be able to check your child's grades and attendance!

Week 12/7-12/11

We will continue to read Swallowing Stones in class. This week we will be completing lessons 21-23 and reading chapters 21-23.
We will be following the procedures from the previous blog post (Swallowing Stones Classroom Procedures).
The Whole-class instruction will consists of

We will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday December 11th (12/11). This quiz will be on lessons 16-20.
Vocabulary:
inhale
exhale
hyperventilating
narrative
impose
deceit
inconspicuous
intrusion
circumstances
remorse
preoccupy

Use your vocabulary packet, vocabulary flash cards, and quizlet.com (click to see quizlet.com how to post) to study.

Swallowing Stones Classroom Procedures

Currently we are reading Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald in our ELA class. 

Procedures that we follow in class are:

• Students pick up materials as they enter the classroom: independent reading book, workbook, Swallowing Stones book, reading log/reading strategy sheet, homework sheet
  (read 30 minutes 4 nights a week and then write a 5-7 sentence summary of what you read), and vocabulary sheet.  
• When the bell rings students read silently for 15 minutes and teachers conference with the students
• After reading for 5 minutes students complete their reading log (write two sentence summary about what you read) and complete 1 reading strategy 
• Next is vocabulary: normally there are two vocabulary words which students need to write on their vocabulary sheets along with the definitions, synonyms, antonyms, part of speech, meaningful sentence, and in text citations. 
• Then students will complete a read aloud/think aloud with Swallowing Stones where they will listen to 1-2 chapters aloud and follow along in the book pausing at vocabulary words and to complete reading strategies. 
• Then the students participate in a classroom conversation where they verbally answer prompts about the reading using evidence from the reading to support their claims
• Last the students will complete the whole class instruction where they will practice a reading skill such as making inferences, predicting, character tracking, plot chart, writing, utilizing vocabulary in daily conversation, study skills, and literary elements. 

Students will repeat the above procedures until the book is finished. 

Syllabus

English 9 Mrs. Williams & Ms. Wylie

Henninger High School

swilliams7@scsd.us    bwylie@scsd.us

WHAT IS THE CURRICULUM?

The Ramp-Up Literacy I course is structured as an integrated reading and writing workshop.  The one-year course is divided into three units.  The first unit explores literary fiction and nonfiction.  The second unit covers issues in social studies, and the third investigates concepts in science.  In each of these units, students read both narrative and non-narrative texts.  During the topic studies students use texts, acquire specialized vocabulary, and prepare and present reports on what they have learned.

*Unit 1:  Dilemmas of Youth

*Unit 2:  Migration Stories

*Unit 3:  Endangered Species

After School Help:  Everyday from 2:30-2:50.

Absences/Late Assignments:  To gain from the experience of our class, you must be present and ready to work.  If you are absent from class, make sure to provide me with a legal excuse form issued to you by our attendance office.  It is the student’s responsibility to find out what assignments, materials and notes that were missed after being absent, the day the student returns to school.  If absent on the day of assigned classwork or a quiz/test you will be required to make it up within 2 days.  Late assignments will be given an incomplete or a 0. 

Types of classroom activities:

v  Whole Group Instruction                                  Written Expression

v  Classroom Conversation                                   Oral Expression

v  Group work/Projects                                          Reading Comprehension

v  Independent Work                                              Listening Activities

v  Tests                                                                       Note Taking

v  Journaling                                                             Other(s)

Classroom Procedures:

I.                      Rules and Expectations:

·         Be on time to class.

·         Cell phones and music players are not to be seen or used during class.  (See agenda for policy)

·         Be prepared with proper materials (i.e.: English notebook, composition book, agenda, independent reading book, paper, pens, etc.) English class is for English work only unless permitted by teacher.

·         Be ready to learn and work.  (Look at the starter and daily agenda at the beginning of class everyday)

·         Stay awake in class. 

·         Be respectful of others, yourself, and the things around you.

·         Take responsibility for your learning and actions.

·         Dress according to the SCSD dress code. (See agenda for policy)

·         Stay in your seats until you are dismissed.

·         Passes will not be provided during class time.

II.                    Discipline Policy:

1)       Verbal Warning

2)       Brief Conference

3)       Removal from classroom and/or referral to an administrator.

4)       Refer to SCSD Policy Handbook for additional policies.

**On occasion, these policies and consequences may be altered depending on the behavior**

III.                   Grading:  Grades will be distributed each marking period based on a scale of 0 to 100.

The grading system is as follows:

·         Classwork:   35%

·         Tests/Essays:  40%

·         Homework:  10%

·         Presentations 15%