Welcome to Language Arts! Mrs. Monaco

Background Information Twelfth year at Hillcrest Masters of Arts in Teaching from Sacred Heart University Sixth Year from Mass. College of Liberal Arts Previously at Trumbull High School Worked in the business world for 3 years I have a wonderful 9 year old daughter (Lyra) and a 6 year old son (Louis)!

Contact Information Hillcrest Website www.trumbullps.org/hms My email address: monacoch@trumbullps.org School’s Phone Number: (203) 452-4466 Extra Help is Monday The library is open Mondays and Wednesdays after school.

Overview The Language Arts program is a balanced program of writing, literature, grammar, speaking and viewing. It seeks to develop in students the ability to share, explain, and support written responses to what they read, write, hear and view.

Writing Overview Narrative (personal and/or fictional) Argumentative Informational/Explanatory Writer’s Notebook Brief Writes Reader response Story analysis Creative writing/poetry Research

Units of Study- New Curriculum * What Makes a Good Story Meaningful? * Presenting a Strong Argument * Analyzing and Interpreting Historical Facts * Analyzing the Impact of Society’s Traditions and Roles * Studying the Importance of Family, Faith, and Fear in Our Lives * Writing and Language Analysis * Understanding the Big Idea * Grammar Concepts * Pieces of literature: novels, short stories, poetry.

Skills * Identifying and explaining significant passages/quotes. Some skills that we will focus on developing and strengthening throughout the year include: * Annotating text for inferential meaning, connection, and critical stance. * Identifying and explaining significant passages/quotes. * Selecting appropriate evidence to substantiate opinions and claims. * Using a thesis as a controlling idea for literary analysis and elaborating on ideas to show relationships between thesis and text citations.

Goals Help your child become a more effective communicator. Learn essential life lessons. Encourage students to become more active participants in their learning through a metacognitive approach. Maintain open communication with students, parents, and staff in order to best serve each student’s needs. Discover new things.

Career Assignment Career Night- Thursday, October 5th Naviance Survey-September 18 or 19 Career Night- Thursday, October 5th Students are required to attend with a parent/guardian. Research- October 23th-24th Note Cards, Source Cards, Works Consulted Oral Presentation-October 26th-October 27th 

Grading Ingredients Tests/Essays/Projects = 50% Quizzes (including responsibility) = 35% Class work/homework (reading & writing activities) = 15%

Wisdom from Maya Angelou I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

to a great year! “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier I am looking forward to a great year!