Course Syllabus

1107 - 8^th Grade Language Arts Syllabus

Mrs. Layne

Email: megan.layne@jenksps.org

School telephone: 918-299-4415

Planning Period: 2^nd Hour (8:45-9:35)

Course Description

The eighth grade Language Arts classes will focus on skills to enable students to become critical thinkers and readers. To demonstrate their abilities to analyze various forms of literature and related literary terms, the students will learn to express and support their own ideas in written and oral communication. A research component will provide the opportunity for students to utilize various information sources. Novel units will be taught in class. Written communication, which may include narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive writing, will apply the proper use of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary. The grammar component will be designed to develop proficient knowledge of the eight parts of speech.  The required texts that will be used during the course of the year are Literature (McDougal Littell, 2008) and English (Houghton Mifflin, 2004).

Course Objectives

• Demonstrate competence engaging effectively in a range of collaboration (one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on 8^th grade topics and texts.
• Demonstrate competence producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• Demonstrate competence using conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing and speaking.
• Demonstrate competence clarifying the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words based on 8^th grade content.
• Conduct short research projects (at least one per quarter) to support literary or informational text analysis, and to write arguments and informative/explanatory texts that draw on information from several sources.
• Demonstrate a wide range of strategies to read fluently and to comprehend a variety of texts through literary and informational experiences.
• Demonstrate competence and effectively advance skills using various forms of technology and media.

Course Requirements

Students will complete all of the following course requirements, but not limited to:

• Read and respond to a wide variety of literature.
• Write compositions that demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English.
• Maintain a lecture notebook used for note taking.
• Engage in class/group discussions; formulate; and effectively articulate ideas, opinions, and thoughtful judgments.
• Complete short research projects on topics chosen from a list taken from selected texts we have read throughout the course.
• Complete oral presentations.

Exams and Other Major Course Assignments

• Objective/Essay tests – multiple-choice, short answer, true/false, matching, definition, fill-in-the-blank, identification, and essay questions.
• Vocabulary tests
• Quizzes over assigned classroom/homework reading
• Various projects/activities

Evaluation

Grades will be determined using a percentage basis.  Daily grades, essay grades, and test grades will be used to determine a student’s average.  The grading scale is the school board-approved scale all 8^th grade Language Arts classes at our school must use:

A = 90 – 100%              B = 80 – 89%                       C = 70 – 79%                       D = 60 – 69%  F = 59 – 0%

N = No grade                 P = Pass                                 W = Withdraw      I = Incomplete

Attendance/Participation

Your active attendance and participation are required.  This is a reading-, writing-, and discussion-centered course; you must come to class prepared, and you must engage with your peers and the relevant texts during class.  It is each student’s responsibility to make arrangements for any make-up work. A student with an excused absence will have approximately the same number of days to make up work as days absent. A student who is truant is not allowed to do make-up work.  Points are deducted for poor group participation and/or poor preparation for class.

Late Work Policy

All class work is expected to be turned in on the due date.  Late assignments will not receive full credit.

• 80 % category (long-term assignments) – Failure to turn in a completed major assignment on the day it is due will result in a minimum 10% reduction of the final grade. Long-term assignments will lose 10% of the earned grade for each day late up to five school days.  After the fifth day, the grade for the project will be a zero.
• 20% category (daily assignments and homework) – Students may turn in daily assignments and homework one day late with a 10% reduction in the final grade. Work that is not completed after one additional day may be documented as a failing grade.  

Plagiarism

The use of someone else’s words or ideas as your own constitutes plagiarism, and it is to be avoided diligently.  There are numerous ways to plagiarize—both intentionally and unintentionally—including the unacknowledged use of only a portion of a larger work, the use of an entire work, or the failure to properly cite a work.  Always check with me if you have a question about it and/or how to cite a source of information.  The consequences for plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the essay/assignment.

Supplies

You will need the following supplies for this class: One assorted pocket folder with brads; Twelve # 2 latex free pencils; Twelve black Bic medium pens; Six red Bic medium pens; One spiral wide rule 8.5” x 10.5” notebooks 70 count. 

These items are a part of the master school supply list; no need to duplicate them.

Students should have these supplies when they come to class on Monday, August 24^th.