Course Content:
“The HKMS Language Arts program develops the skills and strategies of reading, writing, listening, and speaking needed for living literate lives in the 21st century. We follow the workshop model in all grades in concert with Teachers College at Columbia University, which promotes best instructional practices to help all students become powerful and independent readers and writers. In reading workshop, students are explicitly taught the strategies and habits of proficient readers through a brief “mini-lesson.” Following the lesson, students are given the time to practice the skills they have learned through reading a wide variety of books at their reading level and of personal interest. During this independent work time, teachers meet with students individually and in small groups to help them advance their skills and grow as readers. Likewise, in writing workshop, students learn to reflect upon their experiences as they collect their ideas in a writers’ notebook and draft, revise, edit, and publish pieces such as personal narratives, memoirs, poetry, and literary or persuasive essays. Word study and learning the conventions of academic writing are also part of language arts teaching.”
The units of study for reading include author studies, reading across different genres, non-fiction reading, poetry, and historical fiction. The units of study for writing include writing realistic fiction, writing about reading, research-based argument essays, and writing historical fiction or documentaries.
Grading Policy:
Trimester grades will be calculated based upon student progression with and understanding of the skills and aspects of each part of language arts. Students will have one grade for reading and one grade for writing on their report cards in the language arts section. Grades will be determined as follows on back:
Reading:
Constructed responses, long-writes, and summative assessments - 60%
Reading logs, sticky notes, and short-writes – 30%
Work completion (some classwork and homework) 10%
Writing:
Essays, constructed responses, and summative assessments – 60%
Editing and revising - 15%
Fluency, vocabulary, and grammar 15%
Work completion (some classwork and homework) 10%
Some assignments may fall in more than one category.
Other Considerations:
“The HKMS Language Arts program develops the skills and strategies of reading, writing, listening, and speaking needed for living literate lives in the 21st century. We follow the workshop model in all grades in concert with Teachers College at Columbia University, which promotes best instructional practices to help all students become powerful and independent readers and writers. In reading workshop, students are explicitly taught the strategies and habits of proficient readers through a brief “mini-lesson.” Following the lesson, students are given the time to practice the skills they have learned through reading a wide variety of books at their reading level and of personal interest. During this independent work time, teachers meet with students individually and in small groups to help them advance their skills and grow as readers. Likewise, in writing workshop, students learn to reflect upon their experiences as they collect their ideas in a writers’ notebook and draft, revise, edit, and publish pieces such as personal narratives, memoirs, poetry, and literary or persuasive essays. Word study and learning the conventions of academic writing are also part of language arts teaching.”
The units of study for reading include author studies, reading across different genres, non-fiction reading, poetry, and historical fiction. The units of study for writing include writing realistic fiction, writing about reading, research-based argument essays, and writing historical fiction or documentaries.
Grading Policy:
Trimester grades will be calculated based upon student progression with and understanding of the skills and aspects of each part of language arts. Students will have one grade for reading and one grade for writing on their report cards in the language arts section. Grades will be determined as follows on back:
Reading:
Constructed responses, long-writes, and summative assessments - 60%
Reading logs, sticky notes, and short-writes – 30%
Work completion (some classwork and homework) 10%
Writing:
Essays, constructed responses, and summative assessments – 60%
Editing and revising - 15%
Fluency, vocabulary, and grammar 15%
Work completion (some classwork and homework) 10%
Some assignments may fall in more than one category.
Other Considerations:
- Reading: Students will be given 30 or more minutes per day to read in school. Students should read and log a minimum of 30 additional minutes per night at home from a book I have approved for a total of 60 minutes per day. During these 60 minutes, students must read a minimum of 30 pages. If a student is reading less than 30 pages in 60 minutes, a more appropriately leveled text may be suggested. I typically only suggest or approve books that match a student’s interests and independent reading level.
- Preparation and Participation: Student participation and preparation will be reported through parent communication and behavior standards on report cards.
- Redo/Retake: Students will be allowed to redo assignments and retake assessments (with teacher discretion) within two weeks’ time.
- Late Work: Students will be allowed to make-up late work within two weeks’ time with a deduction of 10 points.