1. Welcome Back to School! Honors English 7 Ms. Macias Room 221 Bienvenidos!

2. Classroom Rules 1.Be in your uniform and assigned seat when the bell rings. 2.Bring all your supplies to class daily. 3.Raise your hand for permission to speak or to get out of your seat. 4.Do not bring gum, food, or beverages (except bottled water) to class. 5.Respect yourself and others. Consequences for Breaking Classroom Rules 1.Teacher will issue a verbal warning. 2.Teacher will call home (ed-connect) 3.Student will be sent to a neighboring classroom/possible after-school detention. 4.Student will be sent to the Magnet Office/ parent conference and/or class suspension.

3. Materials Needed Pens (blue/black) Pencils (#2) Paper (lined and unlined) Highlighters (various colors) 3X5 Index Cards Three-Ring Binder Subject Dividers USB Flash Drive (8GB+) Access to a computer outside of school Access to a library outside of school

4. Grading Policy I use a “Total Points” system to determine grades. However, reading is worth 10% of your final semester grade. Grading Scale 90-100%= A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%= D, and 0-59%= F Homework Policy Homework is assigned as often as needed, usually 3-4 times a week. One late assignment will be accepted during the first ten weeks of school with a note. No late work will be accepted during the second semester unless there are extenuating circumstances.

5. Name of Student: ________________Period: ______ Name of Parent/s and/or Guardian/s: ______________________________________ Home phone number: _________________________ Cell phone number: _________________________ e-mail address: _________________________ X______________________________________ Parent/Guardian Signature

6. English Language Arts Curriculum 2012-2013 Narrative Unit Characterization Short Story Structure Literary Elements* Vocabulary Development* Study of Fiction 25 Book Campaign* Response to Literature Revisit Narrative Unit Recurring Theme Essay Unit (MLA Style) Critical Thinking* Novel Reading* * On-going focus throughout the year Expository Unit  MLA Style Reports  Research skills  Computer skills/presentations  Patterns of Organization  Note-taking*  Non-Fiction and Informational Material Persuasive Unit  Tracing an author’s Argument  Socratic Seminars and Debates  Study of Propaganda and identifying Stereotyping and Bias in text and media  Public Speaking*

7. GATE/Honors vs. Regular English All students should be: Thinkers Problem solvers Self evaluators Life-long learners However, GATE/Honor students have special needs, so we modify the following:

8. CONTENT Depth and Complexity Icons -are words or prompts that activate higher levels of knowledge, help students to decode meaning, and allow students to gain expertise in a domain.

9. Process Grouping (pairs or small groups that are heterogeneous or homogeneous -Independent Work to respect individual’s pacing ability and/or need for additional challenges Instruction (varying teaching methods, use inductive, deductive, or hands-on strategies, alter pace- compacting

10. Product Many (to add rigor) Varied (more independent choice) Authentic (to foster mastery in a domain)

11. We read and write daily!

12. What We Have Read So Far…  “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto - focusing on characterization (change over time) and theme (lesson learned)  “The Scholarship Jacket” by Marta Salinas -focusing on making inferences, characterization, figurative language, and theme  Chapter 1: A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer -focusing on cause and effect/s, figurative language, and memoir writing techniques and applying Abraham Maslow’s “Pyramid of Needs” to analyze the main character

13. Students must read a book every two weeks! Students must use their agendas every day! Students must show you their weekly progress report every other Friday- please sign it and return it to me for 10 points!

14. Students must read every day!

15. Thank you for coming! Gracias por venir!