Mr. Burke’s Curriculum Night ELA / Social Studies

Mr. Burke Contact Information – ext. 326

Be Prepared Your child needs to have these materials in class every day. –Binder with supply of loose leaf paper and folders –Writing utensils –Agenda –Textbooks –Reader’s and Writer’s Notebooks. –The book your child is reading. Be ready when the bell rings!

Backpacks Your child is assigned a cubby so he/she can store textbooks when they are not needed. There is no need to carry all of the books.

Homework Students are expected to complete homework assignments daily (Mon. – Thurs.) Occasionally, weekend homework may be given. Everybody starts off with a 100 homework grade. Incomplete or missing homework will result in a reduction of the homework grade. –5 points for each missed homework. –Lack of preparation will also result in a deduction of the homework grade. At the end of the semester, the homework grade will be used as a quiz grade. In addition, reading logs will be completed throughout the week and will be collected on Fridays. Occasionally, Reader’s and Writer’s notebooks will be collected to make sure reading progress is being made.

Grades Quarterly grades will be based on tests, quizzes, homework and projects. Tests count twice, quizzes count once.

Extra Help Extra help sessions will be held after school from 3:05 – 3:35 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. If your child would like to come to extra help, please let me know. Extra help is a time when questions for clarification can be asked.

Absences and Lateness If for any reason your child misses class, it is your child’s responsibility to make up the work. It is your child’s responsibility to make sure all notes are completed. If your child arrives late to class, he/she will have to get a late pass from the office or the teacher that kept him/her. If any work needs to be make up or clarified, your child can accomplish this in extra help.

Class Rules -Show respect for yourself and others. -Be prepared and involved in class. -Every student has the right to learn. -Do not abuse the privilege of leaving the room for the bathroom. -Food, drinks (other than water bottles), candy and gum are not permitted in the classroom.

Upcoming Events Refer to monthly calendar for upcoming events. Trip to Brookville State Park is November 7 th, –We are planning more trips for the year. –More information will follow.

ELA Curriculum This year, the sixth graders will prepare for their ELA test in April.

Reading We have started our Reader’s Workshop. The novels will be student chosen and the skills will reflect a mentor text that we will be using. Your child’s Reader’s Notebook is a place for your child to write about their reading experiences. The focus of these journals should reflect the Teaching Point of the day.

Writing An emphasis will be placed on process writing as well as ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and presentation. Modeling of excellent writing and author studies will enhance student awareness and allow for creativity and risk taking. We will also work on improving our grammar and editing skills through our written pieces. We will be incorporating Writer’s Workshop into our writing curriculum this year.

Listening and Speaking Listening / Speaking – Several times throughout the year, your child will be given the opportunity to verbally present to the class. A critique sheet with suggestions and / or comments will be given after each verbal presentation in order to make your child aware of areas that need improvement and areas that are successful.

Social Studies Curriculum The focus of our study is World History. We will use a combination of two text books. –Eastern Hemisphere –The World Your students will use notes from the Power Point Presentation to understand the given lesson. We will also be utilizing the Smart Board this year to enhance our curriculum.

Note Taking Students will view good notes, through the power point presentations, and begin to develop strategies that will help them take notes on their own. The importance of note taking will strongly be emphasized.

Writing Our Social Studies curriculum allows us to blend writing into our study. There will be many chances for students to combine the subjects of writing and history.

Skills Based Learning Our Skills Based Learning class will target ELA skills. Reading and writing skills will be addressed here. It allows us to work closely with the students on the skills they will need to reach success. This is a pass or fail course. Read About – This program will concentrate on non – fiction pieces of literature. It will work to both support and enrich nonfiction reading skills.