WELCOME Jaguar Parents! Open House Night WELCOME Jaguar Parents! DO NOW Please grab a [name of sheet] . Feel free to read over it as we wait for the bell. What is the purpose of an English/Language Arts class? Think about this question and be prepared to share with the person sitting next to you.

Class Purpose Through building the language skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening, we hope to: Enhance personal expression, communication, and cooperation Prepare students for the language skills needed for high school, college, and career success Create opportunities for students to explore topics and ideas they are passionate about and to use this passion as an active and responsible citizen

Class Outline Units of Study We generally follow units of study by genre as we continue through our year Within each genre, students will have opportunities to explore topics and ideas they find interesting Each unit will adapt Common Core State Standards into middle school friendly language in the form of “I can” statements Students, teachers, and parents can track progress toward each of our goals

Units of Study 1. Reading & Writing Narrative 2. Literary Analysis and Academic Writing 3. The Self and the Community 4. Reading & Writing Informational Texts 5. Reading & Writing Argumentative Texts 6. SBA Review 7. Poetry, Art, Philosophy, Psychology

Academic Support Students who do not meet standards will be given opportunities to continue practicing and learning through a support system. Academic interventionists and para-educators Splitting classes and sharing students Multiple opportunities to improve summative scores

Academic Enrichment Students who meet standards will be given opportunities to enrich their learning Splitting classes and sharing students Extension goals that go beyond basic standards Self-directed group discussions, writing, etc.

Grading 30% Formative (“Practice”) 70% Summative (“Performance”) Journal entries, daily assignments, worksheets, short writing tasks, independent reading work 70% Summative (“Performance”) Exams, quizzes, tests, stories, essays, projects, presentations, speeches, Socratic seminars Rationales 1. Practice should be non-threatening and focused on growth, not performance 2. Kentridge High School has 80/20 system

Communication Skyward SWIFT E-mail List of all assignments and grades All parents have access SWIFT Assignments, activities, documents Everyone has access E-mail Will periodically send out whole-class notifications Best way to contact me about questions and concerns

Questions Do you have any questions about the class?

Exit Task Please read the [name of document]. If you have any ideas, please feel free to begin writing them down.