1. Welcome Parents! Bigelow Middle School Newton Public Schools

2. Cluster C English Program Rebecca Robles, M.A.T. Bigelow Middle School Newton, Massachusetts September 2008 rebecca-robles@newton.k12.ma.us (617) 552-7800 ext. 2119

3. Major Themes Diversity The Southern Experience Personal Responsibility Social Responsibility The Hero Coming of Age/Loss of Innocence Awareness of Good and Evil

4. Major Units of Study Poetry/Poets Corner Autobiography/Biography The Essay-Part I --Essay Structure -- Personal Essay -- Literary Critique -- Book Review -- Young Adult Novel

5. Year-long Essential Questions I.How do individuals respond to challenge and struggle? II. How do individuals confront prejudice? III. What is identity? How do I define myself?

6. Fiction. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor; Puffin, 1996. Fiction

7. Biography Langston Hughes: An Interdisciplinary Biography by Fredric Lown; J Weston Walch, 1997.

8. The Miracle Worker by William Gibson; Bantam Books, 1964. Miss Keller sits next to a radio in her home in Forest Hills, New York. She is reaching out to touch the radio speaker, circa 1927. © 1998-99 AFB. All rights reserved. Drama

9. Student centered projects that provide children opportunities to use critical thinking skills, make decisions, and collaborate with their peers. Some titles include Dragonwings/Yep, Call of the Wild/London, and Nothing But The Truth/Avi. Literature Circles

10. Independent Reading Book projects/reviews will cover the following genre: Fiction Historical fiction Biography Non-fiction

11. Writing There are three major writing workshops/units throughout the year: Proper composition (multi-paragraph/essay) Open response Creative writing

12. The Write Source 2000 Handbook A student reference handbook that offer assistance on the writing and learning process.

13. Daily Oral Language For five to ten minutes several days a week, students review and reinforce basic skills in the areas of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar and usage. redbank.injersey.com/kids.html

14. Assessment Major/minor writing assignments. Rubrics are aligned with the ELA frameworks. Reading Log Daily Oral Language / classwork Tests, quizzes, and projects Effort is always taken into consideration. Assessment