General Language Arts Class Information

WRITING

·       We have writing during Language Arts class, and the students have independent writing time each Tuesday and Thursday during 2^nd period for approximately 30 minutes.

·       We will do creative writing, narratives, memoirs, journal entries, persuasive pieces, reflections on stories, and research papers throughout the year.

·       Students have red writing folders that stay at school in their 2^nd period teacher’s room at all times, and they will keep all final copies in these folders.

·       There is usually one writing assignment per week on which the students will work, and I encourage them to try and finish it during writing time that week so they don’t fall behind when a new writing task is assigned the next week.

READING

·       We will read in the textbook and novels (our current novel is Number the Stars by Louis Lowry, which is 4 AR points)

·       The AR goal in 6^th grade is to get 15 points. AR is also taken as an assignment grade in reading--they will get 100% as a homework grade if they get at least 15 points by the cut-off date. If they exceed the goal by at least 3 points and get 18 or more, they get a reward at the end of each quarter.

·       The assessments cover comprehension and vocabulary, multiple choice, and essay questions.

·       When we read novels, there are many in-class projects and activities for grades that focus on comprehension, the elements of literature, and vocabulary/word study.

·       The students will take STAR Reading each quarter to help determine their books levels for AR.

VOCABULARY

·       The vocabulary terms go along with the stories we are reading and are given each week based on which chapters we are reading at that time.

·       All vocabulary terms (and English notes) go into the child’s red Language Arts notebook.

·       The number of words and/or format of the test your child takes vary depending on the ability level of the child and what is appropriately challenging for the individual.

ENGLISH

·       We have notes that go into the red LA notebook so the students may have them for next year in middle school, and so they may use them to help with homework. These notes include examples too, which can be very helpful when completing homework.

·       Quizzes are often given to assess for understanding in grammar.