1. Welcome to FJH! Mrs. Caserta’s ELA Class
Mrs. Rome’s
8th Grade ELA Class

2. Who is Mrs. Rome?
Born in New Orleans>Slidell>Santa Cruz, CA>Mandeville/Covington area
Married for 5 years with 1 child, Elijah 6yrs old, and 1 child on the way!
1st year at MJH, previously at Slidell High
Have taught 11th and 8th grade throughout my career. (ELA)
Cheerleader Sponsor
Enjoys reading, dancing, singing, theater, and spending time with family

3. What is ELA?
ELA stands for English Language Arts , so it is NOT just grammar nor just English.
It involves any literature (fiction, non- fiction, poetry, etc.…) AND also involves reviewing and learning grammar/English so that you may better understand our language and its structure so that you may become an improved writer.

4. What will I need for this class?
Each student needs to following:
One 1.5” binder with 5 dividers
loose leaf paper (college ruled)
composition notebook
Pens
HIGHLIGHTERS!
lined index cards
copies of the following novels (optional):
Call of the Wild by Jack London
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
What will I need for this class?

5. What will I do for Reading?
Purpose: The purpose for reading and literature is to develop an appreciation for different types of literature, to increase your comprehension skills, and to help you in your future schooling.
You will READ…a lot! You will read 3 novels.
MOST of the reading will be independent. YOU will need to make sure that you keep up with the readings, or you will find yourself overwhelmed and unable to keep up.
You will also read some short stories and non-fiction articles.
You will annotate, and you will be tested on the read material.
You will also complete a weekly assignments which will assess your Literature skills. These will be due on Wednesdays.

6. What is Reading Counts?
Purpose: The purpose of RC is to develop an appreciation for pleasure reading, to increase reading comprehension levels, and to discover the importance of reading as an essential skill for academic success.
You will participate in SSR daily as well as at home.
You will be responsible for ONE novel, of your choice and appropriate for your reading level, per nine weeks. The novel will need to be approved by me by a specific date TBD. The novel reports will be due by the end of the nine weeks.
You are able to change the novel that you are reading, but you MUST get it approved, and it must be by the date given. Also, the novel MUST be read in class (as well as at home) to gain credit for it.  
100 pt Reading grade
To receive credit for each of these novels, you will fill out a provided Reading Counts Log, and the average you receive on the log will be your grade for that novel.
If the novel title turned in does not match the Reading Counts Log, credit will not be given.

7. Lexile Levels
To check Lexile level to see if a book is within the required level, check the website:
Lexile level range for 8th grade: 985L to 1295L  
Novels of choice must be within this range and you must know the Lexile level of your novel

8. What will I do for English (Grammar) in this class?
Purpose: The purpose for English/grammar is so that you can understand your own language, carry it onto other foreign languages, use it in your everyday life to communicate with others, use it in the coming years of school, and so you don’t sound like an idiot.
You will complete a DOL daily (sometimes two, depending on the week).
You will review and learn new grammatical topics and will have an assignment weekly (bingo) for a 50 point grade.
Mid-year, you will begin diagramming sentences and you will no longer have your weekly bingo assignment.
You will write in-class journals as well as essays.
Your vocabulary unit tests will be an English grade.

9. What is DOL?
Purpose: The purpose of DOL is for you to understand the basic structure of English so that you can apply it into your daily language and writing.
DOL, or Daily Oral Language, is a tool used to develop your English skills, while using editing marks.
Each day, you will complete the DOL on the board by writing it correctly on a sheet of loose leaf. These will be turned in daily and checked and initialed if accurate.
Your goal is to receive 10 initialed DOLs by the end of the nine weeks. If you work hard each and every day on DOL, your starting grade will be a 75% C for completion. For every initialed DOL you receive, your grade will increase by 2.5 points.
DOL is worth 10% of your English grade.

10. What about Vocab and Spelling?
Purpose: The purpose of vocabulary and spelling is to develop your written and spoken language, to become better writers and readers, and to understand the English language at a deeper level.
Vocabulary and spelling words come from your DOL. You will receive the list of words on Wednesdays, and you will need to study for your Tuesday unit test.
Along with your test, you will have a weekly written assignment known as bingo, which is given on Wednesdays and due every Monday and is worth 50 points towards your English grade.
Your vocabulary and spelling tests are every Tuesday and are worth 100 points towards your English grade.
You will be assessed on spelling (multiple choice), vocabulary (fill-in-the-blank), and the weekly grammar topic.

11. What kind of writing will I do?
You will have your weekly writing assignment (bingo).
You will have some shorter writings throughout the year such as character sketches, etc…
You will write a series of essays and narratives, which will be timed and worth 100 points each.
You will also have to write a pre, mid, and post SLT (Student Learning Target) throughout the year.

12. What are my responsibilities in this class?
Be prepared for class and for tests-do NOT come in and ask what was due or if there is a test!
Be on time or you will receive a tardy! Do not run in the door yelling that you are “on time”-or you will receive a tardy.
Hand in quality work so that you don’t waste my time!
Pay attention so that I do not have to repeat myself!
Stay organized so that you can find what you need at any given moment!
Ask only important questions!
Raise, raise, raise your hand and do not interrupt me nor your classmates!

13. OMG! What about homework?
ELA is a 2 hour block, so you have PLENTY of time to get most of your in- class work done. If you do not use your time wisely, it will become homework.
You will have “at-home” short story readings as well as novel reading and annotating.
You will have bingo work weekly.
Your main responsibility is to complete your unfinished, in-class work at home and to STUDY!

14. What can I do if I am confused about something or have a question when I’m not in school?
First, check the website:
Faculty>Jaimee Rome>Webpage
Next, me:

15. All things discussed are subject to change at any point
All things discussed are subject to change at any point! Any changes made will be the teacher’s choice and will be communicated to you in a timely manner.
If changes are made, you will be expected to adjust.
We are all growing and learning! I’m human too.

16. Questions?