ELA8CourseSyllabus

ButlerMiddleSchool201617

SabrinaRolliELA8
EnglishLiterature&SpanishLanguage,UWWhitewater
MastersinTeaching,CardinalStritch,Licensure300English
Room100
srolli@waukesha.k12.wi.us
2629701159

JessicaProkopySpecialEducation/ELA8
BSEUWWhitewater,Licensure801
Room100C
jprokopy@waukesha.k12.wi.us
2629702991

ContactInformation:Welookforwardtoworkingwithyouandyourchildthisyearandare
excitedforthisopportunitytogrowandlearnasweprepareforyourchildstransitiontohigh
school.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorconcernsatanypointduringtheschoolyear,pleasedonot
hesitatetocontactyourchildsteacher(s).

Itiseasiestandmostconvenienttocontactususingemailaswecheckthisseveraltimes
throughoutthedayhowever,ifthatisinconvenientforyou,pleasecallourroomnumberandyou
willbedirectedtoourvoicemail.Remembertoleaveyourname,phonenumber,andyourconcern
andoneofuswillreturnyourcallassoonaspossible.

CourseLearningTargets:
Target1Comprehendandanalyzeliteraryandinformationaltexts
Target2 Evaluateandintegratetextsandmediatodemonstrateunderstandingofatopic
Target3 Interpretthecraftandstructureofvarioustexts
Target4Effectivelycommunicateinawaythatisappropriateforpurposeandaudience
Target5Produceclearandcoherentwritinginwhichthedevelopment,organization,and
styleareappropriatetotask,purpose,andaudience.

GuidingPrincipleofWaukeshaforLearning:
Studentslearnbestthroughasystemofclearlearningtargets,qualityassessments,timely
anddevelopmentalfeedback,andtheopportunitytorespondtothatfeedbacksostudent
gradesaccuratelyrepresentwhatstudentsknowandareabletodo.

SummativeAssessments

Summativeassessmentsevaluatestudentlearningattheendofanaunit.Theseassessments
arereflectiveofastudentsgrowthandareanopportunitytoshowtheirbestwork.
Reading:comprehensionandanalysis
 Writing:Argument,Informational,Narrative
SpeakingandListening:SocraticSeminars,classroompresentations,
Language:GreekandLatinwordstudy,sentenceanalysis
CrossCurricularConnections:willbebuiltbetweenHistoryandLanguageArtstoincreaseexposureto
specificskillsandenhancelearning.Mostoftheseassessmentswillbedualgraded.

FormativeAssessments

Formativeassessmentsgivestudentsanopportunitytopracticeandimproveskillsthattheywill
eventuallybeassessedonsummatively.Theseassessmentsareanimportanttoolthatinformsthe
teacherofstudentneedsandprogress.
Reading:comprehensionandanalysis
Writing:Argument,Informational,Narrative
SpeakingandListening:socraticseminars,classroompresentations,
Language:GreekandLatinwordstudy,sentenceanalysis

LiteraturePhilosophyandPractice

PhilosophyOfTextChoices:
ItisourmissionintheSchoolDistrictofWaukeshatoprovideeachofourstudentswithnovelsthatpromote
criticalthinkingskillsandlearningaroundavarietyofthemes,pointsofview,characters,cultures,and
conflicts.Inordertomeettheneedsofeachofourlearners,weimplementstrategicandpurposefulmethods
whenwedesigninstructionaroundnovels.Weutilizewholeclassnovels,literaturecircles,andchoicebooks
inourcurriculumtofosterstudentengagementwithatextandtodeveloplifelongreadersandlearners.If
atanypointduringtheyear,youoryourchildisuncomfortablewithanovel,pleasedonothesitateto
contacttheteacher.

WholeClassNovels:
Wholeclassnovelsarebooksthata llstudentsareexposedtoforaparticularcourse.Thesenovelsare
chosenbyateamofteachersandalignedwiththestandardsthatthedistricthasadopted.Wholeclass
novelsaredesignedandimplementedintotheclassroominordertoprovidearichcurricularexperiencefor
allofourstudents.

LiteratureCircleTexts:
Literaturecircletextchoicesaredesignedtoprovidestudentswithavarietyofnovelchoicesthatcaterto
studentsindividualreaderprofiles.Areaderprofilemightincludeinformationsuchas,butnotlimitedto,a
studentsinterests,lexile,andbackgroundknowledge.Literaturecircletitlesusuallyrevolvearoundsome
commonelement(ie.historicaltimeperiod,themes,specificera,etc.)Literaturecircletitlesareintroduced
andprovidedtothestudentbytheteacher,andthesebookswillvaryincontentandtextcomplexity.Ina
literaturecircleunit,thereareusuallyseveralnovelchoicesoffered,andstudentsreadoneofthesechoices
withasmallgroupoftheirpeerswhoalsochosethesamenovel.Employingliteraturecirclesinaclassroom
promotesinquiryandcollaboration.

ChoiceBooks:
Choicebooksarebooksthatthestudentpickstoreadbasedonhisorherinterests/readerprofile.These
booksarenotrequiredreadingforthestudent.Whileteachersmightmakerecommendations,teachersdo
notassignthenoveltitlesforachoicebook.

ThoughtfulRevision

Studentswillhavemultipleopportunitiestorevisetheirevidenceoflearning.Revisionwillbe
basedonselfediting,feedbackfrompeers,andinstructors.Itisthestudentsresponsibility
toinformtheteacherofeachrevisioninordertoreceiveanadjustedscore.

DueDatesandDeadlines

Duedateswillbeestablishedwiththestudentspriortocompletingtheassessmentanditis
theexpectationthatallworkistobefullycompletedbythatdate.
Deadlinesarethefinalopportunityforstudentstoreceivecreditforlatework.Nolatework
willbeacceptedafteranewtermbegins.

GradebookandGradingScale(MiddleSchoolGradingScale)

InfiniteCampusistheonlinegradebookthatwillbeupdatedwithbothformativeand
summativegrades.Gradeswillbeorganizedbylearningtargets:eachassignmentcanbe
foundunderthetargetthatisbeingassessed.

SDWMiddleSchoolPerformanceIndicatorsandScale

Infinite Level:RubricDescriptors Reference
Campus guideand
Symbol HS
enteredby comparable
teachers

ADV Advanced: A
Demonstratesevidencethatsignificantlyexceedsproficiencyinlearning
target/standardAppliesevidenceofhighlevelthinkingofconcepts/skills.

PRO/ADV ElementsofProficientandAdvanced A/B

Proficient:
PRO Demonstratesfullcomprehensionoflearningtarget/standardShows B
evidenceofproficiencyofconcepts/skills.

APP/PRO ElementsofApproachingandProficient B/C

Approaching: C
APP Approachingproficiencyinlearningtargets/standardsDeveloping
understandingofconcepts/skillsWorkingtowardindependence.

BEG/APP ElementsofBeginningandApproaching C/D

Beginning:
BEG Beginningtodemonstratecomprehensioninlearningtargetswithlimited D
understandingInconsistentdemonstrationofconcepts/skillsHighly
dependentuponsupport.
 IncompleteEvidence: IE
INCEVD Thereislittleornotenoughevidencethatthelearningtarget/standard
hasbeenmet.

FAIL Failing F
Attemptswereunsuccessfultocompleteprogressanddemonstrate
learning.

StudentFeedback:

Writtencomments
Emailcorrespondence
Peerreview
Conferringwithteacherandpeers
Infinitecampusgradingandcomments

LearningExpectations

ClassWebsite:O urclasswebsitecanbefoundath ttps://rollisroom100.weebly.com/and

thisistheplacetofindmoreinformationaboutLA8class.Youwillfinddailyinformationas
wellasresources,materialsandrubricsforeveryunit.Ifyourchildiseverabsent,oryoud
justliketoknowwhatisgoingoninclasseveryday,checkouttheHomeworktabofour
classwebsite.

Materials:M ostofourclassworkwillbecompletedusingDistrictassignediPads.
Therefore,allstudentsareexpectedtocometoclasswithc hargediPadseveryday.Iwill
notifystudentsinadvanceiftherearedayswhenweneedothermaterials(pen,paper,).It
isalsostronglyrecommendedthatyourchildhaveanindependentbook/eBooktoread
duringschoolhoursaswewillhavereadingtimesthroughouttheweek.

IntheeventthatyourchilddoesnothavetheassignediPad,itistheresponsibilityofyour
childtocometoclasswithalternatematerialssothathe/shecanbesuccessfulinclass.

21CenturyLearningExpectationsRubrics(clickforrubric)