1. Welcome to English
English 8 CLT

2. Introduction Penn State Graduate
Moved from outside of Philadelphia in 2010
5th year at Harmony
National Writing Project TC
Currently growing our little family 
Expected arrival date: Thanksgiving

3. Big Projects National Novel Writing Month in November
Social Justice project and OttW experience in the spring
Two SOL tests – March and May
Emphasis on publication and finding an audience

4. Access to Books
Loudoun County Public Library has an app called Overdrive. Download it onto your device. You will need a library id number, and you will need to give yourself a little time to figure it out.
New classroom libraries!
Harmony’s library
Book club books

5. Parental Encouragement
Form a parent-child book club. Let your child give you suggestions for what to read next.
Help be a model for reading. Talk about what you like about certain books or articles (it can be from a magazine or newspaper!).
Read the book first, then see the movie:
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
A Wrinkle in Time
Red Queen
Ready Player One
A Monster Calls

6. Good Times to Read
Car trips (maybe the whole family can listen to an audio book)
Before bed
Waiting for the bus in the morning
Waiting for dinner to be ready
“Special” family designated times

7. Reading Disclaimers
As always, you can ask us for help! Our goal is for students to be finishing a book at least every two weeks. The county curriculum states that students should be reading 6-8 books a quarter. For slower readers, we would like them to read 4-5 books a quarter. To help with these goals, we have assigned “homework” of 30 min a night / 5 nights a week. Please help us make this a priority for all students.
Finally, we never want students to read a book that works against your family’s values. If you or your child are uncomfortable with a book they have chosen, please let us know. No child has to finish a book that makes them uncomfortable.

8. Writing
There is no specific writing homework requirement, but students need to write at home as much as required to finish the assignments.
For example, students are expected to have 7 pages of drafting on Oct 3 and 4, fitting within the five genres we are studying in class.
During November, please support students in pursuing their own word count goals and creating their own stories. They will have an opportunity to publish their books.
There are many resources for writing help, including the school-run writing center, teacher conferencing, and resource.

9. Writing Resources
-- First all day workshop is Sat, Oct 15th in Winchester.
If you would rather go east – programs are available at:
Become “friends” with NaNoWriMo on social media – they have lots of great writing tips and prompts
Try writing with your child! Keeping a journal with them may encourage them to keep trying! (example: 5-year journal – quick responses!)

10. Twitter: @schiavosarah Youtube: MrsSchiavo
How to reach and find me
Youtube: MrsSchiavo