Ms. Ortega (Team 8-1) Mrs. Phalen (Team 8-2) Mrs. Delaney (Team 8-3)

What was your favorite subject? Who was your favorite teacher? What was the title of your favorite book? What extra-curricular activities did you participate in? What changes do you notice from when you were in the eighth grade compared to todays eighth grade?

The 8 th Grade Language Arts curriculum focuses on the following concepts: Literary Elements and Devices Literary Discussions & Analysis Literature Responses Organizational Writing Structures Multi-Paragraph Essay Composition Genre Competency Sentence Construction, Deconstruction, & Reconstruction Sentence Structure & Punctuation Vocabulary

All students are expected to come to class on time, prepared, and ready to learn. Students should have the following materials in class every day: 1-inch 3-ring binder with 5 dividers and college- ruled paper Composition notebook Blue and/or black pens USB Drive Student Agenda Personal Reading Book

In order to be promoted to 9 th grade, students must pass the Reading/ELA and Math sections of the Georgia CRCT. Students must also receive a total of 4 credits per semester (8 per year). Of those credits received, students must pass Language Arts and Math.

The writing assessment is administered in January. Students will be given an expository or persuasive writing prompt and will have 100 minutes to compose an essay on the topic given. Essays are scored on a scale of 1-5 and are scored by two raters. Essays are scored on the following domains: Ideas, Style, Organization, and Conventions. Students must receive a score of 200 or higher to meet the writing assessment standard and 250 or higher to exceed.

The Georgia Department of Education requires each middle school student to read a minimum of 25 books per school year. This reading requirement is monitored by the use of reading logs, parent-student contracts, and quarterly book projects. Reading Log Test Grade Quarterly Book Projects Reading Incentives APS Reading Rewards & GA Tech Reading Program

Ms. Ortega (8-1): Tuesday 7:45-8:30 a.m. Mrs. Phalen (8-2): Monday 7:45 a.m.-8:30 a.m. Mrs. Delaney (8-3): Tuesday 3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m. All students will need a pass from their teacher to attend any morning tutorials. Students should obtain a pass the day before to be granted admission to a tutorial session.

Please see counselors to obtain parent credentials.

Thanks so much for coming!