1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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

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

9. Questions
Do you have any questions about the class?

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