1st and 3rd Period 8th Grade Literacy Classes

2010 – 2011 Syllabus

Ms. Watts
Technology Room (Conn1)

Course Description
In this class, the students will create print media on various subjects that are read in this
class or their other classes. The majority of the class will be taught using the Blackboard
Learning System. This will give the students access to work on their assignments at
home when they fall behind, are absent, or would just like to do extra work.

First nine-weeks – Newspaper (expository – read informational texts and information

from science, social studies, math textbooks)

Second nine-weeks – Magazine (expository – read informational texts and information

from science, social studies, math textbooks)

Third nine-weeks – Website (wiki – read short stories – historical information associated
with the short story, plot structure, mood, tone, etc.)

1st – 3rd nine-weeks, will include book reviews (they will have to read the novels and use
the plot structure to write the review), advertisements (persuasion), advise column,
cartoons, sports, interviews, editorial, entertainment, tourism (sights to see in ga or the
world and why they are important to see), cooking/restaurants (reading menus),
style/fashion, school news/dates, administration, polls (math), events in history and
current events (social students), cool experiments (science), crossword puzzles or content
words area, game section about figurative language and analogies, historical articles,
poems, how to articles.

If the teachers and administrators cooperate, I would like the students to conduct
interviews with adults and students so that they will be putting real student information
into everything that they write. They will tape the interviews and transcribe the tapes to
make sure that they have correct information. Then they will have to let the interviewee
review their final copy to make sure everything is accurate before it is put into the
product.

Students will also have a camera to take pictures that they think would go well with their
article.

Fourth nine-weeks – Children’s book (narrative) – students will take everything that
they have learned in the first – third nine-weeks to create a children’s book. They will
focus on characterization; plot structure, mood, tone, setting, and theme.
Supplies Needed:
1. Jump drive
2. (2) Reams of white copy paper

Grading Scale:
Final projects 50%
Warm ups and Ticket out the door 10%
Portfolio 20%
Critiques and assessments 10%
Accelerated Reader 10%

Students will create an Animoto presentation of the novels (4) that they read each nine-
weeks. Students are able to get bonus points if they take the AR test and pass it at 80%
or higher.

Classroom Expectations:
1. Students are expected to be in class on time and if by chance they have to be
absent or they check out early, they are responsible for keeping up with their
work on Blackboard.
2. Students are expected to respect the teacher and their fellow students by staying
focused, on task, and by completing all the work that is required if they are
working with a partner or a group.
3. Students are to respect and handle all technology used in this class with care. Any
misuse of equipment will mean that the student will have to work at home
because they will not be able to use the technology at school.
4. Students are NOT to change any settings on the computers including printers and
backgrounds.
5. Students are not allowed to bring food or drink into the lab; all they basically need
to bring with them to this class is their jump drive and binder.
6. Students are responsible for their own jump drives. It is the not the responsibility
of the teacher to keep up with lost jump drives. If they are lost or broken, the
students are responsible for making up all the lost work. I suggest putting the
jump drive on a lanyard and keeping it around their neck.
7. Students are expected to know how to do all the technology taught in class. NO
excuses will be tolerated i.e. forgotten passwords, not knowing how to save to
a jump drive, etc.
8. Students are expected to go above and beyond on all assignments and to be as
creative as possible.
9. Students are expected to act accordingly because they will be trusted to be out of
the classroom to interview, take picture, etc. If they break the trust, they will
not longer be able to leave the classroom.
10. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and if a student plagiarizes it will result in the
grade of an “F.”
Standards:
Scholastic Area that Course Is Active In: Language Arts
Strand: Reading and Literature

ELA7R1 Comprehension/Literary text

The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation
of a variety of literary and informational texts. For literary texts, the student identifies the
characteristics of various genres and produces evidence of reading that:
Element: ELA7R1.a
Distinguishes between the concepts of theme in literary work and the author's purpose in an expository text.

31 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.b
Interprets a character's traits, emotions, or motivations and gives supporting evidence from a text.
47 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.c
Relates a literary work to information about its setting or historical moment.
327 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.d
Analyzes recurring and similar themes across a variety of selections, distinguishing theme from topic.
30 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.e
Identifies events that advance the plot and determines how each event explains past or present action(s) or
foreshadows future action(s)
22 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.f
Analyzes characterization (dynamic and static) in prose and plays as delineated through a character's
thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions; the narrator's description; and the thoughts, words, and
actions of other characters.
47 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.g
Explains and analyzes the effects of sound, form, figurative language, and graphics in order to uncover
meaning in literature: i. Sound (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, internal rhyme, rhyme scheme) ii.
Figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole) iii. Graphics (e.g., capital
letters, line length, word position).
3 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.h
Identifies and analyzes how an author's use of words creates tone and mood, giving supporting evidence
from text.
10 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.i
Identifies and analyzes similarities and differences in traditional literature from different cultures.
255 Resources

Comprehension/Informative Text
The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation
of a variety of literary and informational texts. The text are of the quality and complexity illustrated by the
Grade Seven reading list. For informational texts, the student reads and comprehends in order to
develop understanding and expertise and produces evidence of reading that:
Element: ELA7R1.a
Analyzes common textual features to obtain information (e.g., paragraphs, topic sentences, concluding
sentences, introduction, conclusion, footnotes, index, bibliography).
31 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.b
Identifies and uses knowledge of common graphic features to draw conclusions and make judgements (e.g.,
graphic organizers, diagrams, captions, illustrations).
47 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.c
Applies knowledge of common organizational structures and patterns (e.g., logical order, cause and effect
relationships, comparison and contrast, transitions).
327 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.d
Recognizes and traces the development of the author's argument for and against an issue.
30 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.e
Identifies evidence used to support an argument.
22 Resources
Element: ELA7R1.f
Understands and explains the use of a simple device by following technical directions.
47 Resources

ELA7R2 Vocabulary
The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing; the
student
Element: ELA7R2.a
Determines the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues (e.g. contrast, cause and effect, etc.)
Element: ELA7R2.b
Uses knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes to determine the meaning of
unfamiliar words
Element: ELA7R2.c
Identifies and explains idioms and analogies in prose and poetry.
Element: ELA7R2.d
Determines word meanings through the use of definition, example, restatement, or contrast.
1 Resources

ELA7R3 Fluency
The student reads aloud, accurately (in the range of 95%), familiar material in a variety of genres of the
quality and complexity illustrated in the sample reading list, in a way that makes meaning clear to listeners
by
Element: ELA7R3.a
Using letter-sound knowledge to decode written English and using a range of cueing systems (e.g. phonics
and context clues) to determine pronunciation and meaning.
Element: ELA7R3.b
Using self-correction when subsequent reading indicates an earlier miscue (self-monitoring and self-
correcting strategies).
Element: ELA7R3.c
Reading with a rhythm, flow, and meter that sounds like everyday speech (prosody).

Strand: Reading Across the Curriculum

ELA7RC2 Discussion
The student participates in discussions related to the curricular learning in all subject areas; the student
Element: ELA7RC2.a
Identifies messages and themes from books in all subject areas.
30 Resources
Element: ELA7RC2.b
Responds to a variety of texts in multiple modes of discourse.
1 Resources
Element: ELA7RC2.c
Relates messages and themes from one subject to those in another area.
Element: ELA7RC2.d
Evaluates the merits of texts in every subject discipline.
5 Resources
Element: ELA7RC2.e
Examines the authors' purpose in writing.
540 Resources
Element: ELA7RC2.f
Recognizes and uses the features of disciplinary texts (e.g. charts, graphs, photos, maps, highlighted
vocabulary).
1 Resources

ELA7RC3 Vocabulary in Content Areas

The student acquires new vocabulary in each content area and uses it correctly; the student
Element: ELA7RC3.a
Demonstrates an understanding of contextual vocabulary in various subjects.
Element: ELA7RC3.b
Uses content vocabulary in writing and speaking.
Element: ELA7RC3.c
Explores understanding of new words found in subject area texts.

ELA7RC4 Context
The student establishes a context for information acquired by reading across the subject areas; the student
Element: ELA7RC4 .a
Explores life experiences related to subject area content.
Element: ELA7RC4 .b
Discuss in both writing and speaking how certain words and concepts relate to multiple subjects.
Element: ELA7RC4.c
Determines strategies for finding content and contextual meaning for unfamiliar words or concepts.
2 Resources

Strand: Writing
ELA7W1 Writing Organization
The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and
engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and provides a satisfying closure; the student
Element: ELA7W1.a
Selects a focus, organizational structure, and a point of view based on purpose, genre expectations,
audience, length and format requirements.
16 Resources
Element: ELA7W1.b
Writes texts of a length appropriate to address the topic or tell the story.
16 Resources
Element: ELA7W1.c
Uses traditional structures for conveying information (e.g., chronological order, cause and effect, similarity
and difference, and posing and answering a question).
1 Resources
Element: ELA7W1.d
Uses appropriate structures to ensure coherence (e.g., transition elements).
1 Resources
Element: ELA7W1.e
Supports statements and claims with anecdotes, descriptions, facts and statistics, and specific examples.
1 Resources

ELA7W2 Writing Genres: Narrative

The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres: Narrative (fictional, personal,
experimental)
Element: ELA7W2.a
Narrative Writing: Engages readers by establishing and developing a plot, setting, and point of view that
are appropriate to the story (e.g., varied beginnings, standard plot line, cohesive devices, and a sharpened
focus).
3 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.b
Narrative Writing: Creates an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.
Element: ELA7W2.c
Narrative Writing: Develops characters using standard methods of characterization.
24 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.d
Narrative Writing: Includes sensory details and concrete language to develop plot, setting, and character
(e.g., vivid verbs, descriptive adjectives, and varied sentence structures).
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.e
Narrative Writing: Excludes extraneous details and inconsistencies.
Element: ELA7W2.f
Narrative Writing: Uses a range of strategies (e.g., suspense, figurative language, dialogue, expanded
vocabulary, flashback, movement, gestures, and expressions, tone, and mood).
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.g
Narrative Writing: Provides a sense of closure to writing.

Writing Genres: Expository

The student demonstrates a competence in a variety of genres: Expository (multi-paragraph expository
composition such as description, explanation, comparison and contrast, or problem and solution)
Element: ELA7W2.a
Expository Writing: Engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a speaker's voice, and otherwise
developing reader interest.
Element: ELA7W2.b
Expository Writing: Develops a controlling idea that conveys a perspective on the subject.
Element: ELA7W2.c
Expository Writing: Creates an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.
24 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.d
Expository Writing: Develops the topic with supporting details.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.e
Expository Writing: Excludes extraneous and inappropriate information.
Element: ELA7W2.f
Expository Writing: Follows an organizational pattern appropriate to the type of composition.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.g
Expository Writing: Concludes with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition.

Technical Writing
The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres: Technical(business correspondence,
memoranda, emails, letter of inquiry, letters of complaint; instructions and procedures,lab reports;
slide presentations)
Element: ELA7W2.a
Technical Writing: Creates or follows an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and
context.
3 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.b
Technical Writing: Excludes extraneous and inappropriate information.
Element: ELA7W2.c
Technical Writing: Follows an organizational pattern appropriate to the type of composition.
24 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.d
Technical Writing: Applies rules of standard English.
2 Resources

Writing Genres: Response to Literature

The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres: Response to Literature
Element: ELA7W2.a
Response to Literature: Engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a speaker's voice, or
otherwise developing reader interest.
Element: ELA7W2.b
Response to Literature: Demonstrates an understanding of the literary work.
Element: ELA7W2.c
Response to Literature: Organizes an interpretation around several clear ideas, premises, or images from
the original work.
24 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.d
Response to Literature: Supports a judgment through references to the text and personal knowledge.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.e
Response to Literature: Justifies interpretations through sustained use of examples and textual evidence
from the literary work.
Element: ELA7W2.f
Response to Literature: Provides a sense of closure to the writing.
2 Resources

Persuasive Writing
The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres: Persuasive
Element: ELA7W2.a
Persuasive Writing: Engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a speaker's voice, and otherwise
developing reader interest.
3 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.b
Persuasive Writing: States a clear position or perspective in support of a proposition or proposal.
Element: ELA7W2.c
Persuasive Writing: Describes the points in support of the proposition, employing well-articulated, relevant
evidence.
24 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.d
Persuasive Writing: Excludes information and arguments that are irrelevant.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.e
Persuasive Writing: Creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and
context.
Element: ELA7W2.f
Persuasive Writing: Anticipates and addresses readers' concerns and counter-arguments.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W2.g
Persuasive Writing: Provides a sense of closure to the writing.

ELA7W3 Writing Genres: Research/Tech

The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres. The student uses research and technology to
support writing; the student
Element: ELA7W3.a
Research/Tech: Identifies topics; asks and evaluates questions; and develops ideas leading to inquiry,
investigation, and research.
4 Resources
Element: ELA7W3.b
Research/Tech: Gives credit for both quoted and paraphrased information in a bibliography by using a
consistent and sanctioned format and methodology for citations.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7W3.c
Research/Tech: Includes research information in different types of produces (compositions, multimedia
presentations, graphic organizers, projects, etc.)
Element: ELA7W3.d
Research/Tech: Documents sources.
5 Resources
Element: ELA7W3.e
Research/Tech: Uses electronic media to locate relevant information.
57 Resources

T.ELA7W.3.21
The student selects and uses a variety of technology tools to locate, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and/or
apply information to accomplish a content specific task.

ELA7W4 Writing Process

The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres. The student consistently uses the writing
process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing; the student
Element: ELA7W4.a
Plans and drafts independently and resourcefully.
Element: ELA7W4.b
Uses strategies of notetaking, outlining, and summarizing to impose structure on composition drafts.
Element: ELA7W4.c
Revises manuscripts to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and between paragraphs.
Element: ELA7W4.d
Edits writing to improve word choice after checking the precision of the vocabulary.

T.ELA7W.4.7
The student uses brainstorming/webbing software in planning, organizing, and prewriting.

T.ELA7W.4.8
The student uses a word processing application to create and edit a document that contains text (words,
phrases, and sentences) and images. (Examples might include journals, reports, cards, calendars, flyers, etc)

Strand: Conventions
ELA7C1 Standard English Usage
The student demonstrates understanding and control of the rules of the English language, realizing that
usage involves the appropriate application of conventions and grammar in both written and spoken formats.
The student
Element: ELA7C1.a
Identifies and writes simple, compound, and complex, and compound-complex sentences correctly,
punctuating properly, avoiding fragments and run-ons (adding or deleting modifiers, combining or revising
sentences).
Element: ELA7C1.b
Identifies and writes (correctly punctuated) adjective and adverb clauses.
1 Resources
Element: ELA7C1.c
Uses standard subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7C1.d
Conjugates regular and irregular verbs.
2 Resources
Element: ELA7C1.e
Identifies and uses verb tenses consistently (simple and perfect).
2 Resources
Element: ELA7C1.f
Demonstrates correct usage of comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs.
Element: ELA7C1.g
Demonstrates appropriate comma and semi-colon usage (compound, complex, and compound-complex
sentences, and split dialogue).
3 Resources
Element: ELA7C1.h
Distinguishes differences in meaning and spelling of commonly confused homonyms.
Element: ELA7C1.i
Produces final drafts/presentations that demonstrate accurate spelling and the correct use of punctuation
and capitalization.
6 Resources