WELCOME TO CURRICULUM CHAT AT

LIBERTY PINES ACADEMY

CURRICULUM CHAT 2017MRS. JOSEPHSON

LANGUAGE ARTS 6TH

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME…

This is my fourth year of teaching 6th grade and third year at LPA!

Prior to teaching at LPA, I taught in Indiana for one year in the same school system I attended!

I got married in January 2015 and my husband, Jay, was relocated down to Jacksonville due to his job in sales. I joined him that following summer as soon as my school year was over. We love it here!

I attended Purdue University and earned my bachelors degree in Elementary Education. On campus I was also a member of the Purduettes, the female choral ensemble, and was chosen as part of the senior Mortar Board honor society.

LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM

Sixth grade Language Arts focuses on developing literacy appreciation and skills through reading, writing, and oral communication.

The purpose of this course is to continue the development towards mastery of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and vocabulary skills and processes with the ultimate goal of attaining college and career readiness.

WHAT ABOUT READING?

•Students will be able to interpret literature and cite specific textual evidence that most strongly supports their analysis of the text.

•Students will be able to determine central ideas and themes in literature and understand their development and relationship with characters, setting, and plot.

•Students will be able to analyze how dialogue and story incidents propel the action and reveal aspects of the characters in the text.

•Students will use strategies to determine and interpret words and phrases as they are used in the text, acquiring new vocabulary, through utilization of context clues, multiple meanings, meaningful word parts, and reference materials when applicable.

WHAT ABOUT READING? (CONT.)

•Students will demonstrate understanding of figurative language and word relationships, and demonstrate independence in gathering new vocabulary.

•Students will analyze text structure, point of view, and author’s purpose.

•Students will be able to read and understand complex texts independently and proficiently.

WRITING FOCUS

Students will be able to write with persuasive, explanatory, informative, entertaining, and narrative purposes, utilizing the writing process and all of its elements.

Students will be able to conduct research projects while assessing credibility of sources and drawing from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

Students will practice and work towards mastery of the conventions of standard English Grammar and Usage when writing or speaking, including proper usage of capitalization, punctuation and spelling.

WRITING REFLECTION/ GRADING CONFERENCES

Essay Feedback Reflection- Prior to your student receiving their grade, they will complete this reflection sheet. We will then conference to discuss their writing.

First, read your ENTIRE essay from title to conclusion.

Based on your reading, what observations can you make about your essay? What did you do well? What did you do not so well? Write THREE observations below.

Next, look over the feedback I wrote on your essay. Between the feedback and your reading, what TWO questions do you have? (Ideas: How to fix something. What is wrong with something. Why something is good or not good)

Finally, ON THE RUBRIC, go through the requirements and give yourself a grade. Underline the aspects of the rubric that help you make your decision. You can give yourself ½ points and then tally up the total.

What does AVID look like in our

classroom?

• Students will maintain organization with the use

of a binder or folder and student planner.

• Students will be taught note taking through

two/three column notes and the STAR strategy.

• Students will learn how to evaluate their level of

thinking. (Focus on citing evidence to EXPLAIN

thinking.)

• Students will learn how to collaborate and ask

questions. (We will do Socratic Seminar and

Philosophical Chairs this year)

• Students will be monitored to evaluate their

organizational skills, note taking skills, and

inquiry skills. (Reflection of unit SMART goals

and use of scales.)

WHAT ABOUT GRADES?

Grading Scale Across All Content Areas:

A 90-100%

B 80-89%

C 70-79%

D 60-69%

F 59% and below

WHAT ABOUT GRADES?

Summative Assessments are assessments designed to measure mastery. These will include, but are not limited to:

Tests, Exams, and Projects – 75%

Classwork – 20%

Homework – 5%

Formative assessments in the form of pretests, writing prompts, and in class assignments, better described as “practice,” will be assigned regularly and should be finished on time, as one cannot be successful and master the required standards without having completed assignments. Through formative assessments, we can better shape teaching to meet student needs.

WHAT ABOUT TESTING?

Each quarter students can expect to have a minimum of 4 summative assessments, given approximately every other week. These assessments should generally consist of 3 tests and 1 essay/project in a quarter. A portion of each test will include a cold read to assess the standards focused upon in that quarter. Standards for each quarter were provided on the syllabus.

1st & 3rd quarter school exams will given at the end of the quarter, and will count as one of the above mentioned summative assessments.

WHAT ABOUT TESTING? (CONT.)

A district common 1st-semester exam (midterm) will be administered at the end of the first semester and will count as a summative grade. They you also be 10% of their grade.

Students will take the state-mandated FSA in April.

A 4th-quarter school exam covering 4th quarter material will be administered during the final exam schedule in May. This exam will also count in the summative category for the 4th quarter.

MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADE RECOVERY POLICY

Students scoring 69% or below will be eligible for retesting.

Students are responsible for requesting a retest by the means of a completed retesting contract.

Once tests and essays have been graded, posted on HAC, and returned, students must complete remediation and retesting within the following week.

The highest grade entered in the grade book will be a 70% after retesting.

Students can retest only once.

Only specific assessments qualify for retesting. Students must submit a Retake Contract, complete with parent signature - this is your ticket into Grade Recovery testing.

HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR CHILD?

Be involved, but please remember that we are also trying to foster independence!

Have your children take responsibility and be accountable –Give them the code and encourage them to check Home Access Center.

Check planner and Schoology– I update Schoology daily –giving a synopsis of what happened in class and what should be completed for homework. I always attach the resource materials provided in class.

Help with homework – If nothing specific has been assigned, they should be reading for Journey through Genres quarterly. I recommend 15-20 minutes daily.

HOW CAN YOU OR YOU CHILD REACH ME OR ACCESS IMPORTANT INFORMATION?

E-mail – Jenna.Josephson@stjohns.k12.fl.us –I will be quick to get back in touch with you.

Schoology – I provide as much information as possible and check posts regularly.

6th Grade Website –http://teachers.stjohns.k12.fl.us/lpa-grade6/

Planner – write me a note.

THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WORK

WITH YOUR WONDERFUL CHILD! WE HAVE A CHALLENGING AND

FUN YEAR AHEAD!

BURNING QUESTIONS?

PLEASE WRITE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE NOTECARDS PROVIDED AT YOUR TABLE. LEAVE THEM WITH ME AND I WILL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.