1. Mrs. O’Neill 8th Grade English Language Arts krista.oneill@wcsdny.org
Van Wyck Middle School
Course Description
Welcome to 8th grade English language arts (ELA)! This year you will all face many academic and social challenges. We will use the New York State Common Core standards as guidelines to help improve your reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. The goal of this course is to prepare you for high school. Therefore, you will be reading various forms of literature, including books, short stories, poems, articles, and plays. Additionally, you will learn about and complete many writing assignments including, essays, poems, projects, and letters.
Independent Reading
Each quarter you will be expected to read a minimum of one book (at least 250 pages). These pages must come from grade level materials (books, magazines, graphic novels, etc.) and will be tracked and stored in the Independent Reading section of your binder. There are NO major projects that go along with your independent reading. Independent reading grades will come from meeting your quarterly page requirement, from our weekly conferences, where I will assess your progress and comprehension of whatever you are reading, and from our Independent Reading Celebrations.
Required Supplies
A 3 Ring Binder
Loose Leaf Paper
4 Tabbed Dividers
Blue or Black Pens
Pencils
A Pocket Folder
Optional Supplies
Post-It Notes
Highlighters
Tissues (to be donated to class)
Package of Pencils (to be donated to class)
Grading
You will earn grades based on your reading and writing homework, classwork, quizzes, tests, papers, and projects. Your grades are all based on a total points system.
Students will be sent home with an itemized list of their graded ELA work every 5 weeks.

2. Late work will be accepted, but points will be deducted.
Late/Make-Up Policy
It is the absent student’s responsibility to check their class’ folder for all missing work, complete the work on their own time, and turn it in the next day.
Late work will be accepted, but points will be deducted.
**I understand that emergencies may occur. Please inform me if there is any reason you cannot complete an assignment and we can work together to solve the problem.**
Daily Procedures
Each day what we do in class will be different, but the schedule of the period will remain the same.
Do Now: Every day when you enter the room a Do Now will be posted on the board. You are expected to enter the room, complete the Do Now, and then sit quietly and wait for instructions.
Mini-Lesson: Most days I will spend 5-10 minutes teaching you about a skill, concept, or topic we will be focusing on during the class period.
Class Work: At this point you will either work alone, with a partner, or in small groups to complete an assignment that requires you to use the skill taught in the mini-lesson.
Wrap Up: To end the period we will come back together as a group and spend 1-2 minutes reviewing the material covered during the period or clearing up any confusion you may have.
Behavior
All students are expected to be both physically and mentally prepared for class. In order to make ELA a fun and successful learning environment, students need to follow the following rules:
Follow directions the 1st time
Respect your classmates & teacher
Raise your hand before leaving your seat or talking
Keep hands, feet, & objects to yourself
If you do not follow these rules, you may receive a verbal warning, a phone call home, a lunch detention, or a written referral to the assistant principal.
Student Signature:___________________________
Parent Signature:____________________________
Signatures will be checked on:__________