6th Grade Language Arts Meredy Smith mesmith@kyrene.org 480*541*5901

A little about me: Grew up in Nebraska and went to the University of Nebraska. Started teaching in the Midwest and moved to Phoenix in 1994 and have been at Akimel since. I am the Gifted Mentor at Akimel Kyrene family- Husband works at Altadena, girls have attended Kyrene schools. I coach the high jump at Desert Vista and my family is involved in the community.

Curriculum Language, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening Informational and Literary reading & writing defending responses with evidence from the text Annotation, analyzing text Making notes as they read and making connections Spelling/vocabulary using Greek and Latin roots, context clues, academic vocabulary (infer, context, defend, etc.) Google docs, student email accounts for collaboration

New ELA Curriculum Resources My Perspectives; Pearson Student editions are consumable (will stay in class) Unit Themes Childhood Animal Allies Modern Technology Imagination Exploration

Expectations for Advanced Language Arts Class Vocabulary book (Classic Roots) SAT prep Reading Responses with in-depth evidence Expected to maintain a “B” average or above Quicker pacing Higher quality work, discussions, thinking Shakespeare study- continued through 8th grade Independent learning projects Higher level Lexile reading (novels) Freak the Mighty Hero’s Journey Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Great Books titles

Organization of text Students will use the “stoplight” method to highlight information in a text. They will use the same method to structure their writing. Green- topic Yellow- main ideas/points Red- examples, evidence

Grading Students may receive grades for classwork and homework. This includes daily “walk-in” work. (20% of grade) Larger assignments such as assessments, projects, reader’s response, research, creative writing work will receive more points than daily work. These are considered formal and informal assessments. (80% of grade) Use the Parent Vue Portal on Kyrene website to check grade and work completion status. Students can check grades via Student Vue with their student number. Contact school office 541-5800 if you need an account.

Learning Goal Scale

Homework Read (for enjoyment and book reflections, literary elements) Interactive Notebook- glue, cut, practice Spelling/vocabulary/grammar practice Unfinished classwork Pre-reading of upcoming text Additional research/writing time for projects Absent/make-up or missing work

Supplies 2 Composition books Two pocket folder with three prongs Highlighters- green, yellow, pink, blue Sticky notes (little ones) Toolkit/pencil pouch- with general needs (see handout from team)

Things to ask your kid… Can I see your agenda? Did you reflect on your nightly reading? Do you need to replenish your supplies? Are you working on any long term projects? Have you cleaned out your backpack recently? Do you have a reading book in your backpack?

Best way to reach me: mesmith@kyrene.org 480-541-5901 Class website- resource, rubrics, and handouts Emails and text reminders- look for paperwork on Thursday. Thanks for coming!