Tuesday, September 8th, 201 5

To be successful in life, students must be adequately prepared and able to communicate effectively with others in the English language. The curriculum for Sixth Grade Language Arts is designed to continue students’ exposure to a variety of literary texts with adequate understanding, and to refine grammar skills and improve writing through the writing process. We also prepare the students to take the state mandated PSSA Test, which will be given in the spring. This year the students will be expected to read a variety of fiction and non- fiction including novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. Novel activities will include a variety of comprehension skills, writing, and art interpretation. The writing pieces will model the different writing styles. Writing assignments will include timed responses, journal writing, essays, critiques, and creative pieces. Vocabulary, spelling, and grammar assignments will also be an important part of this class. Because the classroom will be a community of learners, the students will also be expected to work periodically in group situations and to present information to their peers in groups or individually.

●40 minutes Period 3 on Day 3 & 4 ●All students ●Smaller groups ●Led by 6 th grade teachers: Mrs. Coyle, Miss. Killian, Mr. Lampus, Miss. Nasser, Mrs. Nichol, and Mrs. Zollinger ●Focused instruction in math and reading ●Math – Day 3 ●Language Arts – Day 4 ●Group determined by PSSA tests, study island pretest, classroom observations and will change based on student needs.

Recognizing the students who “Do the Right Thing” ● Each student begins each 9 week grading period with 0 points. ● Students who have 19 or less points at the end of the 9 weeks will qualify for an award.

Students who continue to accumulate points: ●If your point value reaches 20 o You will receive a verbal warning from your teacher. o Your parents will be notified. o You will not be a part of the behavior reward ●If your point value reaches 40 o Your parents will be notified. o You will be written up for lunch detention ●If your point value reaches 60 o Your parents will be notified. o You will be written up for 3 after school detentions ●If your point value reaches 80: o Your parents will be notified. o You will be referred to Mr. Dell for consequences.

5 POINT INFRACTIONS ● No student planner ● Not ready for start of class ● Inappropriate remarks/questions ● Inappropriate language ● Talking without permission ● Not following directions ● Insufficient use of class time ● Disturbing others ● Lack of group participation ● Not returning materials to proper place/leaving area messy ● Out of seat without permission ● Failure to return home correspondence ● Inappropriate hallway behavior ● Chewing gum ● Using property without permission ● Recess behavior/late to line ● Bathroom behavior/wrong bathroom ● Lunch behavior 10 POINT INFRACTIONS ● Disrespect toward student ● Inappropriate group behavior ● Tossing/throwing objects 15 POINT INFRACTIONS ● Disrespect toward teacher/staff member ● Pushing/shoving

●Students will earn positive points for good behaviors! ●**Note: positive points will decrease the number of negative points for consequences

●View your behavior totals online at ●You will receive login information the first week of school in STEM/Keyboarding class. ●When viewing behavior point totals make sure you are viewing the current grading period.

● You will need a folder for each subject. ● One for reading, one for grammar, and one for writing ● Folders are cleaned out at the end of each chapter or unit.

Black EXTRA Fine- tip marker Colored Pencils Dictionary and Thesaraus Dry erase markers Sock to use as an eraser for whiteboards

●HW Buddy or teacher writes down HW ●Papers in absent folders ●Assignment sheet in your class period folder ●Upon return, student: o gets assignment sheet and checks absent folder for your class period.

●Student homework will not be sent home each day o Absent work sent home after a 3+days of absence. ●If you do want work sent home: o Please call the office

●Every day ●Every subject ●No blanks ●Fill out even when absent ●Parents should monitor planner ●Take to Advisory

● Homework o 1 day late = half credit o 2 days late =zero credit ● Projects & other assignments o Teacher discretion

BRAND NEW ●The online pulse of 6th Grade ●Assignments posted daily on a calendar ●Will take some tests via schoology ●Some assignments completed using schoology ●Teachers can post handouts, links, etc... for each class ●online discussions, surveys ●and much more!

Which do I use? Mrs. Nichol’sWebsite SchoologyPowerSchool BEST STARTING POINT Will find: General Information Syllabus Incentives for Success Links to other Tools ANYTHING SUBJECT RELATED Links & videos used in class Notes/handouts Daily posting of HW Some assignments and quizzes completed here Online Discussions Reminders of deadlines Online community To check your grades Check Attendance

I nteractive Presentations Schoolhouse rock videos & others Student whiteboard practice Practice book pages & worksheets Tests & Quizzes Analyzing texts with a focus on grammar skills

●5 Paragraph Essays Encompassing all Types of Writing Conventions, spelling & grammar focuses assessed ●Typically one essays every other month ●Essays assessed using “student friendly” version of state writing rubric ●Do not edit at home!!! We will be following the complete writing process in class, editing and revising included.

● Sentence types and fragments ● Parts of speech ● Subjects and predicates ● Compound sentences ● Punctuation and Capitalization ● Following the writing process ● Proofreading written work ● Writing all types of essays ● Poetry ● Fictional story writing ● Using correct spelling, grammar and conventions in writing ● Public speaking ● Develop love for writing!!!!

Reading

● Skills include: ● Vocabulary/Word Study ● Comprehension ● Fluency ● Written Responses ● Variety of genre's will be presented. ● Dictionary/thesaurus skills reinforced and utilized during vocabulary/word study. ● A skills assessment test and vocabulary test will be given at the end of a novel study.

● Novels ● Students will read at least 8 novels this year. Novels will replace the reading book. Reading skills will be taught with the emphasis on written responses, comprehension strategies, and vocabulary.