7th Grade
English Disclosure 2013-2014
Mrs. Shannon Cannon
Blog: www.mrscannonsenglishblog.blogspot.com
7th Grade English Class Goals
and Description
Dear 7th
grade students and parents:
I am so
excited to begin this school year with you.
I love teaching 7th graders because of your enthusiasm and
eagerness to learn. Maeser’s mission
describes best what I will be working hard to inspire, that is for “each
student to be empowered to learn continually, think critically, and communicate
effectively through Socratic methods in order to better themselves and their
community.”
I hope to
help each one of you see that you have incredible potential to do great things
in this world, to help you get excited about educating yourself to become
powerful by exercising your beautiful brain just like you would your super-buff
biceps, and then to use your powers for good.
That’s all.
There are
so many incredible things to learn about and discuss this year. I have the great pleasure of reading,
writing, studying, and preparing for the things we will learn together and I
expect you as my students to take seriously your responsibility to do the
same. 7th grade is a lot of
fun, but it is also a lot of hard work.
Please note that you will have reading assignments each day and a short
writing assignment each week.
Parents:
Consider carving out some time to do the readings along with your
student and discuss them together. You,
your student, and our entire class will benefit greatly from this practice and
it will reinforce the ideal and joy of life-long learning.
Class Content:
Writing
– One of my loves is helping students become better writers. In order to improve writing, students must
write – a lot. Therefore, every Thursday a short writing
assignment will be due and a new assignment will be given. These assignments will help the students to
master the five different types of writing we will work on this year: poetry,
narrative, persuasive writing, research writing, and personal essay.
Note: All of these writing assignments must be typed in MLA style and printed, so
access to a working computer and printer is vital.
Great
Literature and Discussions – Maeser has chosen some great books, stories, and
poetry to read, study, discuss and experience.
Every day students will have a new reading assignment.
Bookmarks
(Annotation) – Students will learn to think deeply about the principles found
in their reading. We will be doing this
by annotating and collecting quotes, thoughts, reactions, and open-ended
questions about the reading on annotation bookmarks. This will help the students actively read and
prepare for our class discussions of the books. I STRONGLY recommend that students complete
these bookmarks as they read. It is
difficult to go back and remember what your thoughts were if you wait until
long after the reading is finished. Each
week, we will spend significant time discussing ideas from the book we are
reading. Students should come to these
discussions prepared with ideas, quotes, open-ended questions and thoughts to
discuss. Because these discussions will
go much deeper than basic comprehension, students will need to think more
deeply as they read in preparation.
Elements
of Literature and Writing – In class, students will be doing activities and
taking notes about various literary devices and elements of writing. Students will learn to recognize these
elements in the books we will be reading as well as learning how to use them in
their own writing.
Below are
the books that we will be reading on this year:
Little
Britches by Ralph Moody
White
Indian Boy by Elijah Nicholas Wilson
Animal
Farm by George Orwell
Red
Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang
Angel
on the Square by Gloria Whelan
Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The
Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Tales
from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary
Lamb
Selected Short Stories
Selected Poetry
Note: Books
are provided by Maeser. They are checked out to the student for their use and
must be
returned in
good condition at the conclusion of the unit. A charge of $25.00 will be made
for lost books.
Any student
is welcome to purchase their own copy of the books.
Writing
journals - Daily assignments in our writing journals will help us gather ideas,
resources, and develop our personal writing style and voice. Often, these will be completed in class, but
50 pages of the notebook must be completed each term, so it is highly
encouraged that students carry their journal with them often to collect any
interesting lists, characters, dialogue, quotes, song lyrics, story ideas, or
poems that they run into in daily life.
I have trained myself to do this and it takes some focus and thought,
but it is one of the first steps to becoming a better writer.
Materials:
·
wide-rule, 200-page, composition notebook to use
as a writing journal. This must be
brought to class EVERY day. You
may not use a spiral-bound notebook.
·
pencils and pens
·
access to a computer with a word processor and a
connected printer
Earning a Grade
The grade for the class will be a reflection of the student’s level of
mastery demonstrated in two main categories:
Academic Behavior Skills (ABS): 100
points/term. The student will be awarded 100 points at the beginning of each
term and points will be subtracted only if a student fails to meet the ABS
criteria which include college and career readiness skills such as:
·
note-taking
·
turning in assignments on time
·
respecting others
·
being on time and prepared
·
wearing the uniform properly
·
following rules of the school and the teacher
·
communicating effectively in class, both in
writing and discussions, and
·
contributing positively to a college-ready
culture.
Students will forfeit 10 points with each tardy and absence, unless it
is school excused. Students will forfeit
all
of their work skills points for the quarter with a verified truancy/sluff, or
if caught cheating.
Academics: The remainder of the
student’s grade will be determined by student mastery in three academic areas. Mastery implies that you are proficient in
the content or skills required, which are:
1.
Reading critically and annotating effectively to
find and apply principles from the books we read as a class. This will be assessed by:
a.
Accounting for daily reading assignments.
b.
The quality of the annotated bookmarks turned in
at the end of each book.
c.
The quality of preparation and participation in class
discussions about the principles and application discovered in the reading and
other study.
d.
Occasional projects or assignments designed to
internalize the content and depth of the reading.
2.
Writing effective and quality poetry,
narratives, persuasive essays, research essays, and personal essays. This will be assessed in the following ways:
a.
Summative weekly assignments that practice
specific target skills taught in class.
I will assess these writing assignments largely in the form of feedback
about areas the student has mastered and ways the student can improve to
achieve complete mastery in that specific genre. This will give the student a
clear idea of what they need to work on for the final writing project.
b.
Writing journals where students will collect
tips on writing and lots of fun and useful ideas and material for future
writing projects. I have found that
students who embrace the purpose and value of this writing journal truly see
themselves as writers and improve their writing more readily. This will also give students ideas to use in
their final writing project.
c.
Formative assessments will be given as a final
writing project in each genre. Once the
student has mastered that form of
writing according to the mastery description provided, they will receive an A
for that genre. Students are welcome to
submit and resubmit their final writing project as many times as necessary to
attain mastery. Instruction throughout
each writing unit will build students’ skills to improve their writing. If a student feels that they have mastered a
particular form of writing before the end of the unit, they are free to submit
their final writing project early, but should continue work to improve on their
writing skills as they stand.
3.
Mastery of the writing concepts and elements of
literature taught throughout the year.
This will be assessed through:
a.
Quizzes
b.
Application of the principles in student writing
and discussions
c.
Tests after each unit
d.
Final exams at the end of each semester
If special
or unusual circumstances arise, please immediately communicate with me. I will
work with you. However, these issues should be discussed privately and at an
appropriate time. DO NOT interrupt class time to have these discussions.
The grading scale
will be as outlined below:
Percent Range
|
Grade
|
Percent Range
|
Grade
|
93-100
|
A
|
74-77.99
|
C+
|
90-92.99
|
A-
|
70-74.99
|
C
|
86-89.99
|
B+
|
66-69.99
|
C-
|
82-85.99
|
B
|
<66
|
F
|
78-81.99
|
B-
|
D Grades are not awarded at
Maeser Prep
|
Absences and
Late Work: Late work may be turned in
one day late for 75% credit. If work is
turned in after one day late, it will not be accepted. If a student is absent it is up to that
student to find out what they missed, including getting notes from a classmate. The student must complete the day’s
assignments within one day for each day they were absent.
Note about
Plagiarism/Cheating: This will not be tolerated. Students who choose to cheat will receive a
zero on the assignment AND the loss of all ABS points for the quarter. They will have a conference with the Assistant
Headmaster AND the parents/guardians notified.
If this happens a second time, there will be a conference between
teacher, administrators, and parents to jointly decide upon appropriate
consequences.
Additional
Behavior Expectations:
·
Students are expected to comply with the
standards of behavior and dress code set by Karl G.
Maeser Preparatory Academy.
·
Students are expected to treat their peers,
teachers, administrators, the school, and others’ property with RESPECT.
Rudeness will not be tolerated.
·
Students are expected to bring only appropriate
items to class. Food, drink, gum, electronic
devices, cell phones, makeup, toys,
etc. will be confiscated and taken to the Assistant Headmaster, in accordance
with Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy Policy.
·
Cell phones will not be tolerated. I don’t want
to see or hear them, so turn them off and put them away. I get a strange and somewhat twisted pleasure
from taking phones away from students who choose to disobey this policy. Just so you know.
For
other school-wide policies please refer to the Maeser Student Handbook.
Parents and
students,
When you
have read this document and agree to the responsibilities for materials,
assignments, and commitments required of you, please email me at
shannon.cannon@maeserprep.org with your name, your student's full name, class period, and any special concerns or circumstances that I should be aware of regarding your student. Your email will verify that you understand and are accountable for the above
information.
Your response email will count for points on your student's grade.
Thank you,
Mrs. Cannon
