Syllabus

7th Grade ELA Syllabus 24-25

Mrs. Dunivent-Fix

RM 209

[email protected]

  In class, students will analyze authors' moves to become better readers and writers. We will use mentor text to guide our writing and grammar; we will use inquiry to guide our minds. We will develop the skill of discourse and support our thinking with evidence. We will come home, talk to our family members about our endeavors, and earn extra credit for sharing our learning. In short, we will develop fortitude, empathy, insight, and balance, which will help us lead a life centered on Christ.

Year at a Glance

          Novels

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

• To be determined

• To be determined         

While novels are enriching, I will teach the skills required to analyze text using shorter pieces of text, mentor texts. Thus, we will read a wide variety of genres, excerpts, short stories, articles and more. 

          Reading Homework: I ask that you have your student read every evening. Please encourage them to read and talk about what they are reading. The goal here is to read texts they will enjoy and share their excitement; we want to create life-long readers.

          Vocabulary: Vocabulary from Classical Roots Grade 7

1. Describe what they notice.

2. Compare and contrast with another sentence.

3. Try the observed strategy in pairs or independently.

4. Share their work with the class.

5. Apply the pattern in new sentences.

6. Explore how editing changes meaning or effect.

Writing: We will be writing daily. Writing may take the form of quickwrites, literature responses, notes, levels of questioning, annotating the text, formal essays, creative writing, text based evidence writing and more. The goal here is to create students who are comfortable with writing, to enjoy the process. 

Classroom Policies and procedures

       Grades

• 60% of student’s grades will be summative assessments in the gradebook

  • Examples of what may be in this section include but are not limited to tests, quizzes, essays, and projects. 

• 40% of students’ grades will be formative assessments in the gradebook

  • Examples of what may be in this section include but are not limited to journals, vocabulary lessons, grammar lessons, and reading assignments. 

Late Work and Absences

• Late work and absence policy follows the student handbook and middle school policies and procedures.

• Late work will be accepted with a 10% penalty each day that it is late. If they do not have me the next day, they should still make an effort to come to my classroom to turn in their late assignment. Once an assignment reaches 50% (1 week late), that is the highest grade they can receive and will be graded starting at 50%.   

• When a student is absent, they will have as many days as they were absent to make up the assignments. It is the student’s responsibility to come to me to find out what assignments were missed after an absence. 

           Homework

• Reading is encouraged every night. 

• In addition to this, students may need to finish anything they did not finish in class.  

• Students may be given the opportunity to complete extra credit at home. For example, they received extra credit the first full week of school if they taught someone Costas’ Levels of Thinking.

             Due Dates

• I have an agenda on the whiteboard in the classroom. The agenda list the big items for the week, and I write a daily agenda that is more specific. 
  

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Email is the quickest way to contact me with questions or concerns. 

         Amazon Wish List

  I have completed a list of items for student use in class. As the year progresses, I may add some novels for student reading. Please do not feel you have to purchase anything, and please know, everything you purchase is greatly appreciated.

  Link: Amazon Wish List