Welcome Parents 6th Grade ELA Team Spartans Mrs. Plotz

Tonight’s Topics Classroom Expectations PowerSchool and Grading policy Teacher Website Curriculum Background

Classroom Expectations Be Responsible On time Prepared (homework completed, materials) Ask questions Be Respectful Listen while others are speaking Be safe Keep hands and feet to yourself Push chairs in Material in desk or under chair Strike 4 system in a Trimester Warning Warning and student-teacher conference Warning and student- teacher conference and parent email Office referral and parent email

Grading Policy I always accept late work for: Trimester 1 – End of Module Trimester 2 – Module mid unit assessment Trimester 3 – 1 week after due date Assignments will be marked in PowerSchool (late or missing) if it applies - a non graded assignment was collected 10 points – homework, entrance tickets, and participation 25 points – quizzes 50 points - tests Grades are earned by total accumulated points PowerSchool Update - at least 1 time every 2 weeks for ELA, sometimes more depending on what is going on in class.

My Webpage The “Calendar” on my webpage is kept updated. I post what was done in class and the homework Any worksheets/packets can be found here under “Resources” I do send many emails about what is happening in class such as important projects and due dates. Always email me at any time if you ever have questions. This presentation will go on my webpage: http://www.antioch34.com/webpages/lplotz/

Honors Criteria Student Placed in Honors using the following information: NWEA RIT scores Placement Essay Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) – verbal scores (6th only) Team Observation Checklist All students placed in the Honors ELA must maintain at least a letter grade of a C each term. Placement in the Honors ELA class is not guaranteed every year; students will be re-evaluated every year. The criteria may change for next year.  We will be determining that at a later date.

Curriculum Aligned to the ELA Common Core Standards Expeditionary Learning - Mentor texts Module 1 - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief Module 2 - Bud Not Buddy Module 3 - World Without Fish AND Flush Module 4 - Frightful’s Mountain Classes are 50 minutes long Homework 2 to 3 nights There are NOT booklets as in the past. We have packets.

Module 1 Focus: Reading Closely and Writing to Learn Title: Myths: Not Just Long Ago Anchor text: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Description: As a whole class, students will closely read several complex Greek myths, and then work in small groups to build expertise on an additional myth. Assessment: Students will develop their narrative writing skills as they create their own hero’s journey narrative.

Module 2A Focus: Working with Evidence Title: Rules to Live By Anchor Text: Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Steve Jobs Commencement Speech from 2005 If by Runyard Kipling Description: How do people formulate and use “rules” to improve their lives and communicate these “rules” to others? Students study: analyze character development, how figurative language contributes to tone and meaning, how ideas are developed at the paragraph, sentence, and word level, compare and contrast how the novel and the poem address a similar theme. Assessment: In an argument essay, students establish a claim about how Bud uses his rules and conduct a short research project related to their own “rules to live by” and then write an essay to inform about one important “rule to live by.”

Module 3B Focus: Understanding Perspectives Title: Sustaining the Oceans Anchor Texts: World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky Flush by Carl Hiaasen Description: Students study how an author develops point of view and how an author’s perspective, based on his or her geographic location, is evident in his or her writing. Assessment: Students write an informative consumer guide about buying fish to be put in a grocery store.

Module 4 Focus: Reading for Research and Writing an Argument Title: Insecticides: Costs vs. Benefits Anchor Text: Frightful’s Mountain by Jean Craighead George Description: Students consider the balance between human needs and environmental consequences as they read the literature and informational texts about the benefits and drawbacks of the use of DDT. They learn how to trace and evaluate an argument in written texts and videos on this topic, and conduct both supported and independent research through structured discussions and decision-making protocols. Assessment: Students then apply their research to write a position paper in which they support that claim with evidence.

All About Me This my 19th year teaching Language Arts Graduated from Carthage College in Elementary Education and with a minor in Speech Communications Masters of Science in Literacy from Walden University Reading Interventionist endorsement from Carthage English 6-12 endorsement from Carthage 12 hours in Gifted Education