1. Advisory with Mrs. Fontana &Mrs. Gordon Advisory Period: 8:20-8:30  Notes and office announcements Role of Advisor  Your child’s adult advocate at school  Can assist with general questions and concerns Specific class questions: ask teacher Specific administrative questions: contact the office directly Advisory Periods  Focus on team building, conflict resolution, leadership, bullying, setting goals How to reach me:  847-853-3818  jfontana@kenilworth38.org jfontana@kenilworth38.org  lgordon@kenilworth38.org

2. 6 th Grade Language Arts Grammar Units  Includes daily homework checks  Grammar assignments focus on the parts of speech, sentence structure and review of standard conventions  Final grammar assessment after each unit Writing Units  Exposure to a variety of different writing genres throughout the year

3. Grammar Text: Elements of Language  Grammar will be taught in sequence according to our junior high English textbook – alternating grammar units with writing units.  Lessons will emphasize sentence structure, parts of speech, verb tense and punctuation.  Students will take notes throughout our different grammar units using their LA spiral.  Additional grammar practice and review activities available online (through IXL).  Students can also find chapter by chapter reviews on my Haiku page.  Each student should have the grammar Holt Handbook textbook and should keep this at home to use as a resource for the year.

4. Writing The writing process: pre-write, draft, editing, revision and final copy Six Focused Traits: idea, organization, word choice, sentence fluency, voice, and conventions Writing instruction will focus on the following:  Writing strong, focused paragraphs  Cross curricular units to link with social studies, science and literature  Genre focus every month descriptive narrative/personal narrative expository persuasive and argumentative science fiction mythology research  Poetry  Formal outlines Informal to the Formal Write…  Students will have an ongoing writing portfolio kept in class

5. 6 th Grade Literature Comprehension Skills Literature Analysis Word Study (vocabulary/spelling) Independent Reading Reports

6. Reading Comprehension We will focus on the following key comprehension skills:  Monitoring for Meaning: knowing when you comprehend and when you don’t.  Determining Importance: deciding what matters most and what is worth remembering.  Connections: using background knowledge (schema) to connect what you are reading with what you already know.  Questions: asking questions while you are reading.  Inferring: combining background knowledge with information from the text to predict, conclude, interpret, etc.  Images: using sensory and emotional images to deepen understanding.  Synthesis: the process of adding new information with background knowledge to gain a new understanding or confirm what you already know.

7. Close Reading and Critical Analysis With each literature unit, students will be connecting to the text on a higher level Close Reading Activities: Close reading means discovering the layers of meaning that lead to deep comprehension. To achieve this understanding, students need to reread deliberately and reflect on the meaning of individual words and sentences. In other words, there is a close connection between the author and the reader.  Among the key concepts of close reading are the following : looking carefully and analytically at the text focusing attention on the central ideas and supporting details of the text monitoring one's thinking based on new information from the text rereading with a definite purpose learning to ask oneself text dependent questions--including craft and structure questions as well as those that require integration of knowledge/ideas

8. Close Reading and Critical Analysis With each literature unit, students will be connecting to the text through a variety of written responses across both fiction and nonfiction texts CEAC writing responses: The objective is to develop evidence-based explanations to questions posed from our various literature units. Written responses will be focused on developing strong, well- organized literary responses through the following:  C laim – a position on a given topic.  E vidence – the text evidence/data that supports the claim.  A nalysis – students further explain in their own words how the evidence supports the claim using background knowledge, relevant connections and reasonable speculation.  C onclusion – a concluding sentence to summarize and conclude the claim of the paragraph.

9. Evidence-Based Explanation CEAC Model Paragraph Based on our reading of The Cemetery Path, do Ivan’s character traits impact the final outcome of the story? In Leonard Q. Ross’s short story “The Cemetery Path”, Ivan’s personal character traits clearly impact the final outcome of the story. Ivan, the main character in the story, was described as being a timid and fearful man and therefore mocked endlessly by the people in his town. After much teasing from fellow soldiers, Ivan was given a challenge to cross the town’s cemetery in the middle of one winter night in order to win a bet. In the morning, the townspeople found Ivan dead with “his face was not that of a frozen man’s, but of a man killed by some nameless horror.” The reader can infer that Ivan’s terror of the unknown ultimately led to his unfortunate demise. In this way, it is evident that Ivan’s timid and fearful personality impacts the final outcome of the story.

10. 6 th Grade Literature  Short Stories  The Breadwinner  Peak  Homeless Bird  Boys Without Names  The Greek Myths  Biography: The Life and Times of Socrates  Shakespeare Unit  Poetry  The Giver

11. Junior High Word Study Expansion of vocabulary is an important junior high goal Reinforcing vocabulary from the literature studied, our social studies curriculum as well as a variety of academic words Word study list of 8 –15 vocabulary words Consistent word study activities (definition, synonyms/antonyms, written connection, visual representation) Word study list formally assessed in conjunction with our literature units (every 3-4 weeks) Assessment will cover both the spelling and definition of each word, as well as focusing on the students’ ability to apply each vocabulary word in a sentence.

12. Independent Reading Students will be assigned approximately two independent reading reports per trimester (IRR). They may choose any book they want to read. However, as the year progresses, we will explore different genres and students will be asked to choose a title from this genre of study. Students need to choose a book with at least 150 pages. I encourage students to choose titles that will be challenging. Students are required to complete a project for each book. Projects will include writing, artistic connections and oral presentations. The central focus of the report is to follow directions and write clearly about the book. Due dates for projects will be given when the report is assigned. Projects will be broken down into 2 or 3 sections to help students keep organized. The first IRR assignment sheet was handed out to students this week detailing our first project. Each IRR assignment is posted online on my Haiku website (as a subpage under Literature).

13. English Assignments Students are required to use their HW planner. Time will be given daily at the start of each class period to record assignments. English homework (across both classes) will include word study (vocabulary) activities, grammar, reading assignments, writing responses/essays and long-term projects. Long term assignments will be broken down into chunks and several due dates will be given to students at the start of each long term project. Students may also refer to my Haiku page online to check the HW assigned for both the LA and Literature classes.

14. Work Expectations Grades will be reduced as follows for major assignments that are late:  1 day late – 10% grade reduction  2 days late – 20 % grade reduction and parents are called  3 days late = 60% final score with HW completed in HW Center Daily Homework Checks With grammar HW, literature packets, etc., students will receive 3 pts. (full credit) for completed assignments. No credit will be given if HW is not complete. After 3 late assignments, parents will be notified. Students are expected to make up all late work. Students will not be allowed to retake tests or create extra credit to boost grades.

15. Grading Scale Supplies 100-99: A+ 98-93: A 92-91: A- 90-89: B+ 88-83: B 82-81: B- 80-79: C+ 78-73: C 72-71: C- 70-69: D+ 68-63: D- 60-0: U Students are expected to have their supplies in class. These supplies include, but are not limited to, the following: writing utensils, spiral notebook, flashdrive, HW planner and novels.

16. Mrs. Fontana’s Haiku Website

17. Communication Phone number: 847-853-3818 Email: jfontana@kenilworth38.orgjfontana@kenilworth38.org I am looking forward to a great year!!