Curriculum Night

Dear 8^th Grade Parents:

Here is a detailed overview of my class.

Important information:

· Contact me at denise.galang@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

· Check my blog for assignments and lessons: msgalangenglish.blogspot.com. 

· Sign in to Jupiter grades to check your child’s grades (jupitergrades.com); I update this as regularly as possible. I sent out emails with your temporary passwords. If you need it again, please let me know. Both parents and students have their own passwords and can sign up for automatic updates. Please be aware that the grades fluctuate throughout the year based on scores and assignments. Use this as a way to see where the students excel and what they need to work on. Encourage the students to talk to me about their grades as well. 

* When students need help with their work, they can email me and make an appointment to see me (lunch is the only period during which I can meet students)

* Read your child's blog and have discussions about books:-)

8^th Grade ELA Curriculum

I. Reading and Responding to Fiction (September)

a  Establish reading rituals: choosing books in a creative way,stopping, thinking, and annotating as we read, discussing books, writing thoughtfully about what we read through notebook entries and published reading responses 
b. Read short fiction: "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville

c. Learn how to notice and analyze important details; focus on analyzing character, structure, and theme; begin to think more critically about social and controversial issues in texts

d. Create blogs for reading responses; teach and model strategies for writing reading responses

II. Reading and Responding to Nonfiction (October)
          a. Annotate and notice important details; make connections between texts
          b. Plan and write a debate and argument essay on the topic of banning books
          c. Read and respond to Upfront magazines

III. Reading and Writing Picture Book for Social Action/Justice (November-December)

a. Read a variety of texts and genres that expose students to social issues

b. Read and understand structure of picture book

c. Write a picture book on a social issue

d. Learn how to research

e. Write research-based foreword on the issue for picture book

IV. Reading and Writing Poetry for Social Action/Justice (January)

a. Readvariety of poetry on social issues

b. Writeshort anthology and foreword

c. Learn/review figurative language and other poetic devices

V. Romeo and Juliet (February)

a. Learn critical reading skills for reading difficult texts including Shakespeare sonnets

b. Learn/apply drama skills

c. Prepare for high school English

d. Write literary essay

VI. Test Prep (March)

a. NYS ELA Test: April 14-16
b. Become familiar with the test structure and how it is evaluated; practice test-taking skills

c. Learn and apply reading and writing skills for test

VII. Coming of Age (April-June)

a. Read texts and watch films that follow journey of characters going through coming of age

b. Write a multi-genre paper around this theme

VIII. Requirements of the class:

a. Independent reading –

i. Students must read at least 30 min’s every night – book of student's choice and at appropriate level, 5 x a week; they should also log their daily reading and annotate throughout the book; (link to log)

ii. Students must be prepared with their independent reading books, annotations, and logs every day

iii. Log completed books on blog

iv. Write 2 reading responses on the blog each month due on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday; read and comment on group's blogs every month

* Please encourage your children to read nonfiction as well as fiction. Do book clubs together whenever possible. Also, order books from Scholastic catalogs - we get lots of bonus points and free books this way. I have the catalogs though you can also order online. I also have a link to an Amazon book wish list on my blog.

b. Language Study –

As part of our writing units, students will learn vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and/or mechanics; students will have quizzes on the content taught. 

Other focuses:

c. Critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking

d. Fostering identity, community, and responsibility

e. Preparing for High School English and beyond…

IX. How you can help:

a. Encourage your children to get excited about reading and writing; take them to book stores, libraries, etc. See my blog for an Amazon 8th Grade ELA Book Wish List and other on-line lists and reviews of books that are appropriate for them.
b. Please volunteer to chaperone on trips! More information to com...

Curriculum Night Quiz:

1.     What is the minimum requirement for independent reading per week?

2.     What else must students do in addition to reading their independent reading books?

3.     When are blog posts (reading responses) due?

4.     When is the next blog post due?

5.     Extra credit: What is your child’s blog URL?

Thank you for coming. I hope you have a better understanding of what your child is learning in my class.  

Sincerely,

Denise Galang