Teacher InformationTeacher: Erin GarryRoom: 247Email: erin.garry@gmail.com

OverviewLiterature is one of the cornerstones of modern society. Great works of literature are influenced by world events, but also influence world events, themselves, as they expose the evils of society that are often hidden from the public. Over the past two years, we have explored various genres through class readings and independently selected texts. This year, we will focus on building our knowledge of classic pieces of literature, how literature has evolved and changed over time, and how literature has impacted society. During the next ten months, we will journey through many different times and places – fictional, real, past, present and future – as we delve into great works of both historic and contemporary literature. Our reading will range from dystopian novels by George Orwell, Margaret Atwood and Suzanne Collins written in the past hundred years, to modern narratives chronicling the lives of child soldiers in Sierra Leone, all the way back to the works of William Shakespeare written in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As we move through our year, we will learn to critically examine texts of varied genres and investigate the connections between these texts and society both then and now. You were specially selected for this class based upon your classroom performance, critical thinking skills, and work ethic over the past two years at Global Leaders. This course is designed to prepare you for high school literature and writing classes.

GoalsIn addition to setting your own personal goals for ELA, we have Big Goals for our entire class. We will work together to track and accomplish these goals. For ELA, we have four big goals:

Goal #1: Growing as a reader is very important. Because of this, our goal for reading this year will be for 100% of students to successfully complete 25 books of varied genres over the course of the year. This means that students will completely read fifteen books of appropriate level (including assigned class texts) between September and the end of June. Progress towards this goal will be tracked on a public chart in the classroom. In order to accomplish this goal, students will need to independently read about one book each month, in addition to class texts. Students will be given the opportunity to read during class, but will also need to read at home.

Goal #2: 100% of students will increase independent reading and writing stamina. This means that students will increase the duration of time they read and write for during a single setting. At the beginning of the year, you will take independent reading and writing time “baselines” in which you time how long you can sustain independent reading and writing without stopping to have a snack, run around your apartment, watch a movie, or sit on your computer. After we know how long you can sustain independent reading and writing, we will set individual goals based upon this assessment. Over the course of the year, we will gradually increase how long we read and write in class and at home in order to reach our goals.

Goal #3: 100% of students will attain mastery of the 8 th Grade Common Core English Language Arts Power Standards . As a school, all students at the School for Global Leaders will be focused on mastering specific Common Core Standards for ELA. Each unit we participate in this year will focus on some or all of these “power standards,” which address important skills and strategies for all students. You will be able to showcase your mastery of each standard in a variety of ways, which we will discuss over the course of the

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The School for Global LeadersCourse Syllabus: 8th Grade Honors English Language ArtsTeacher: Erin GarryDates: September 2011 – June 2012

year. This year’s power standards are can be found posted in our classroom. We will track mastery of each of these standards on a public chart.

Goal #4: 100% of students will receive scores of 3.25 or higher on 85% of weekly writing assignments. Each week, students will be required to complete a weekly writing assignment, as outlined in the syllabus. As the year progresses, students will be expected to improve their scores. At the end of the year, 85% of these assignments should receive a score of 3.25 or higher.

Daily Classroom Policies, Guidelines, and ExpectationsWe will be moving very quickly through a lot of difficult material this year, so it is imperative that we gain the most out of our learning time together. You will be expected to adhere to the same rules, routines, and procedures that have been in place for the past two years.

Entering the ClassroomWhen your class arrives outside of room 247, form two straight, silent lines. The first line to be quiet and straight will be admitted first. Once you enter the classroom, you must turn right and head for your seat in silence. Students selected as notebook monitors will pass out your literacy notebooks. Once you are seated, you will open your literacy notebook, record the lesson name and corresponding page number in your table of contents, copy down the Learning Inquiry and respond to the “Leadership Task” prompt on the front chalkboard. Your homework must be taken our immediately for review and collection. If you fail to adhere to this procedure, you will be asked to leave the classroom and re-enter in the proper manner.

During classAs previously mentioned, we have a huge amount of material to cover this year. DO NOT interrupt me during the mini lesson unless I ask a question, in which case you will raise your hand to respond. Please refrain from calling out. During small group work, you will be permitted to speak in low voices. There is no talking during independent work time unless you have a question.

You are to remain in your seat at all times. If you need to leave your seat to get looseleaf, a tissue, etc., please do so quietly and respectfully. Once you enter the room, you should have all of your necessary materials in your personal workspace. You are responsible for supplying your own pens and pencils. If you do not have a proper writing implement, you may purchase a pen for $0.25. If you wish to return the pen at the end of the period, you will get your money back. Your literacy notebook, which you will use for notetaking, will be left in the classroom unless it is taken home to study or to make up missed notes. You must have this notebook in class EVERY day.

If you finish your independent work early, you will complete an enrichment assignment that will deepen your knowledge and allow you to further practice the skills you have learned during class. These assignments will be available in the enrichment assignment folder on the conference table in the back of the room.

Bathroom and WaterTo avoid excess trips out of the room, I will permit water bottles during class. No soda, juice, etc. Water ONLY. Bathroom breaks are for emergencies only. DO NOT ask to use the bathroom during the Mini Lesson or during the first/last five minutes of class. If you leave the class for any reason, you must take the hall pass and sign out in the “sign out notebook” by the door. I will keep track of who leaves the room each day to use the bathroom, and those who attempt to take advantage of these privileges will have them revoked. Throughout the day, all teachers will track who leaves the room during each period, so do not try to leave class every period to go to the bathroom or get water.

FoodJust like last year, you will have lunch around one in the afternoon. I understand this is late in the day, and you may be hungry before then. For this reason, I will allow healthy, non-messy snacks during class time.

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Healthy, non-messy snacks consist of (but are not limited to) granola bars, apples, fresh vegetables (carrots, celery, etc.), and unsalted nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts, etc.). Do not bring gum, candy, egg sandwiches, fast food, or anything unhealthy – I will take it and toss it. Healthy food feeds your body and your mind. Junk food does not. If I find wrappers, crumbs, or any remnants of food in 247, snacking privileges will be revoked.

Exiting the ClassroomAt the end of the period, all materials must be returned to their proper places. Once you have put away all of your materials and cleaned up your workspace, you will sit quietly with your hands folded and wait to be called to line up in two lines outside of the classroom. When you leave your desk, you will push in you chair, stand quietly in the appropriate line outside of the classroom and wait to be escorted to your next class.

The Classroom LibraryAs you will be reading each night, you will have the opportunity to borrow books of the appropriate level from the classroom library. Books are categorized by genre and level. When you borrow a book from the library, you will add it to your library card located in an envelope on the bulletin board. Your library card must follow the same format as the model card. This will help you to keep track of all of the books you have read over the course of the year. Your library cards will be checked periodically to ensure they are used properly. You will not be permitted to borrow a book from the library if you have any outstanding books. You must ask permission before going to the library to borrow a book.

Official GuidelinesYou will be expected to perform in accordance with the School for Global Leaders Guidelines as listed in your student handbooks, as well as by the following classroom rules:

1. Speak at appropriate times, with a appropriate language, volume and tone2. Respect yourselves, your peers, your teachers and your school.3. Come to class on time, organized, prepared to learn and with a positive attitude.4. Thoughtfully respond to the ideas and contributions of others.5. Be an active listener and learner.6. Manage your time effectively.7. Ask for help when necessary.

Consequences and IncentivesStudents who do not adhere to the guidelines, routines and procedures put in place in the classroom will be subject to the following consequences:

First offense: Verbal warning Second offense: Parent phone call Third Offense: Working lunch and writing reflection Fourth Offense: After school detention Fifth Offense: Meeting with parents and principal, behavior management plan

Behavior that is persistently negative will be addressed with in-school and out-of-school suspensions.

Consistently positive behavior will be rewarded in the following ways: Quarterly incentive trips Phone calls home Cupcakes/cookies/other treats

In Case of AbsenceYou should not miss school unless you are ill or have another emergency. It is your responsibility to make up any notes and assignments missed if you are absent. A copy of assignments missed will be located in the “Absentee Assignment Folder” located next to the chalkboard, underneath the assignment calendar.

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After an absence, you must check this folder to get any missing work. You can get a copy of the notes by asking a responsible classmate to borrow his/her notebook. If you know ahead of time that you will miss class, let me know beforehand so I can give you the appropriate work so that you do not fall behind.

Course AssignmentsThe Writer’s Notebook Over the course of the year, you will be required to keep a writer’s notebook. This is going to be different from your writer’s notebook last year – it will not be where you write drafts of essays or brainstorm for class projects, but where you live your life as a writer. We will create unique notebooks that represent each of us as individuals and discuss how a writer’s notebooks can help us to improve as writers. Three to four times a week, you will collect an entry in your writer’s notebook -- a poem, short story or other narrative, song, list, description or a response to a prompt – so that you can practice and improve upon the strategies we learn in class and so that you can just WRITE! Your writer’s notebook is for you – you can share as much or as little as you want of it with others. However, I do have to give you a grade. You will be able to choose which entries you want me to read and flag them on collection days. Your notebook will be collected bi-weekly and scored according to a rubric that will be distributed when we begin our writer’s notebooks in class.

Weekly WritingsEvery week, you will receive a prompt which you will use to construct a 1-2 page essay defending an opinion you have about a topic related to what we are learning in class. Topics for writing assignments will be posted on Mondays and your assignments will be turned in on Fridays. All writing assignments must be typed or neatly handwritten in ink, following all regular publishing guidelines, and will be graded according to a rubric, and will count towards the assessment portion of your grade for class. They are meant to help you to refine your argumentative writing, which will be assessed on the NYS ELA Exam. At the end of each unit, you will receive a score for all of your weekly writings based upon your effort, improvement, and achievement. I do not expect your first few weekly writings to be perfect; I expect to see improvement and evidence that you have reviewed your prior work.

Daily ReadingJust like last year, you will be required to read every day. However, you will have less independent reading and more assigned reading than in 6th and 7th grade. Due to the volume of reading and varied assignments related to in-class reading, you will not complete daily S&R papers. Instead, you will track the themes of the books you read on a “theme book mark” and record your daily reading on a reading log. Once you have completed a book, you will be responsible for creating a book recommendation card for your file. In addition, you will complete a One-Pager on each completed book. I recommend that you work on your One-Pagers as you read each book, by keeping track of important quotes, vocabulary, and themes. Completed One-Pagers will be inserted in your portfolio. You should complete a minimum of one One-Pager per month. This alternative type of book report will show me that you understood your book and gained something from it as a reader.

The Literacy NotebookYou will keep the majority of your work for ELA in a composition notebook. This notebook will contain a table of contents that lists the page number and date for each lesson and classwork assignment, and will be randomly checked and assigned a grade for completeness. Be sure to keep up with all of your work!

Unit PublicationsDuring each unit, you will be required to produce a piece of writing that goes through the entire writing process. This piece of writing will be entered into your portfolio after it is graded. Over the course of the year, you will publish seven assignments. For a list of unit publications, please see the curriculum overview.

On Demand Writing

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In addition to genre-specific unit publications, you will also produce one “on demand” assignment per unit. This assignment will be of the same genre as the unit publication, but will be done in class during a single period. These assignments are meant to assess your ability to produce writing of a specific genre in a short period of time.

Class DiscussionsIn class discussions will be a large part of our work together this year. These discussions will range from pairs, to small groups, to whole class, depending upon the activity and objective of the lesson. Your participation in class discussions is required and will account for 10% of your grade.

Homework PolicyHomework is an important part of the learning process, and you will be held accountable for successfully completing your assignments each night. Late homework will be accepted up to one week after the original due date. Each day your work is late, however, you will lose 10% of the points for that assignment. Homework will be posted nightly on the class website, which can be reached by going to the Global Leaders website: http://www.schoolforgloballeaders.com , clicking on “Class Pages” > “ELA” > “801 Honors ELA.” If you miss school for any reason, check the website for the homework so that you do not fall behind!

Grading PolicyYour grade in ELA will be calculated as follows:

Homework: 20% Classwork: 10% Class Discussions/Participation: 10% Assessments (includes projects, tests, quizzes/exit slips, weekly writings, writer’s notebook): 60%

All assignments must be turned in on time if you wish to receive full credit. One homework and one classwork grade will be dropped each marking period to calculate your final marking period average. All projects, tests, and quizzes will be assigned a point value based upon their value and counted into your average. No participation or project/test/quiz grades will be dropped.

Required MaterialsThe following materials will be required for use in ELA. Please have these materials in class no later than Monday, September 12th, 2011:

(3) Marble Composition Notebooks (2) 2-pocket folders (3) sealed packages of looseleaf paper(1) package of highlightersDaily supply of pens and pencils

Post-itsColored pencils or markers(1) Box of tissues(1) Container hand sanitizerFlash drive (this will be used for all classes)

Curriculum OverviewBelow you will find the schedule we will be following this year. Dates may vary slightly depending on vacations and how well we learn the material.

Month Unit Reading Focus Writing Publication/ProjectSeptember-October

Utopia and Dystopia Dystopian Literature Dystopian Short Story, Utopia Group Project

November Human Rights Non-Fiction Narrative and Informational Texts

Informational Picture Book

December Reform Conducting Non-Fiction Research

Journalism: Investigative News Story

January-Mid February

Power Reading for Literary Analysis Critical Lens Essay

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Mid February-March

Relationships Reading Shakespeare Performance Choice Project

April Mini Unit: Test Sophistication

Poetry and Test Taking Strategies for Reading and Listening

Paired Passage and Short Responses

May-June Morality and Immorality

Reading for High School: Tackling Complex Texts

Multi-Genre Project

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Unit DescriptionsUnit One: Utopia and Dystopia (September –October)Essential Questions:*How important is it for people to have choices and the ability to make choices?*How does conformity impact the individual and society?

We will be challenged to imagine what disasters could befall our current society and what type of society could take its place. At the end of the unit, we will share our reading and writing work with the class during a publishing celebration.

Unit Two: Human Rights (November)

read various narrative and informational non-fiction texts to support our learning as we learn how to effectively navigate through non-fiction texts. As a culminating project, we will write informational picture books about topics of our choice, focusing on human rights violations throughout history.

Unit Three: Reform (December)Essential Questions: *Why is it important to be aware of various perspectives/points of view?*How can a group balance its own needs with the needs of others?

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During the opening unit, we will look back to our summer reading assignments and look at what a “perfect” world should look like. Through a close reading of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, we will become familiar with dystopian novels as a genre as we learn how a futuristic society came to exist in a state of what looks like perfection on the surface, but, once examined closely, is horrifying. After reading Uglies, we will choose our own dystopian novels to read in small groups. These novels will range from George Orwell’s modern classic 1984 to a world where teens battle to the death in The Hunger Games to the zombie-ravaged world in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. In our groups, we will analyze the settings of the worlds depicted in our novels and use the mistakes these societies have made to create a Utopian – or perfect – society of their own. In writing, we will compose our own original dystopian stories, using our knowledge of the genre from reading workshop and their own original ideas.

Essential Questions: *Why do some people have different rights than others?*What is my role in promoting human rights?Since coming to Global Leaders, we seen many people – both real and fictional – whose basic human rights have been violated. During this unit, we will examine the narrative of one such person: Ishmael Baeh, who was a boy soldier in Sierra Leone during the 1990s. By the age of thirteen, Ishmael was wielding an AK-47, regularly using sharmful drugs, and witnessing and playing a part in unbelievable violence and

Unit Four: Power (January-Mid February)Essential Questions:*How do opposing views of power and morality lead to conflict?*How does the abuse of power change people's thoughts and feelings about themselves and others?The imbalance of power has been the source of many conflicts – both big and small – over the course of human history. Power in the hands of too few, dispersed unequally, or given to those who do not know how to handle it can have catastrophic effects on society. This unit will give us the opportunity to explore power and it’s abuse. We will each choose a book to read in a literature circle of our peers that addresses a major power struggle – World War II and the Holocaust, the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic, the Stalin era in Russia, or the reign of the Taliban in Afghanistan. As we read, we will learn how to pay close attention to the literary devices used in our novels and how they interact with the themes in the novel. During the writing part of the class, we will learn to closely analyze and interpret the texts we are reading by composing critical lens essays.

Unit Five: Relationships (Mid-February-March)Essential Questions:*How do personal and familial relationships impact one another and the choices we make?*How can exploring relationships in literature provide insight into our own relationships?We have all read, watched, or listened to some version of Romeo and Juliet, whether it be Romiette and Julio, Romeow and Drooliet or the Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes film version. This year, we will read the actual text by William Shakespeare. As we read, we will explore the relationships between the characters and how the evolve and change over the course of the text. If you are afraid of tackling the complex Shakespearian verse, fear not: you will have the graphic novel and translated version to assist in your reading. At the end of the unit, you will have the opportunity to write your own Shakespearian scene or translate a Shakespearian scene into modern language and perform it for the class.

Mini Unit: Test SophisticationEssential Question:

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What is one topic that your ELA teacher has been trying to sway your opinion about over the past two years? Take a minute. Think really, really hard. Got it yet? Well. I will give you a hint. It has to deal with the food I choose to eat and the food I choose not to eat. Think I’m trying to make you all vegetarians? Nope. Guess again! Here’s the answer: the food industry. Throughout the course of our country’s history, food processing, food quality, and food production sanitation have been huge issues. During this unit, we will learn how to investigate issues and write about them from a journalistic perspective. We will learn how to interview subjects, dig deeper into research, and create our own unique ideas about a topic based upon the details uncovered during our investigations. By the end of the unit, each student in our class will have produced a variety of journalistic articles and will choose 1-2 for publication. For the final piece of this unit, we will use what we have learned to participate in a whole-class debate about the food service industry.

*How can we apply our reading, writing, listening and note taking skills to the state ELA exam?Just like every eighth grade student in New York State, students at the School for Global Leaders will participate in the New York State ELA Exam in May. During the three-day test, students will answer multiple choice questions and respond to short answer prompts about listening and reading passages and respond to an extended response prompt about reading passages.To prepare for the exam, we will examine a variety of strategies for test-taking and practice those strategies during class. Students will be administered performance series tests throughout the year to target what strategies they need the most work with so that they can be appropriately separated for small-group instruction.

Unit Six: Morality and Immorality (May-June)Essential Questions:*What factors determine what is moral and immoral?*How and why have the definitions of morality and immortality changed over time?

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As seventh graders, we explored the Salem Witch Trials. Most of us came to the conclusion that the witch trails were unfair and should have been stopped, but learned that even though many people felt this way, innocent villagers were still wrongfully convicted and killed. In this unit, we will look at the same issues of morality and immorality in Puritan religion as we explore the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. As we read this text, we will tackle the complex issues in the text as well as how we can use all of the skills and strategies we have learned since sixth grade to help us navigate through a difficult text. This unit is meant to help prepare you for the rigorous reading you will encounter in high school.

Please complete and return this paper.

I have reviewed the course syllabus and expectations for Eighth Grade Honors ELA. I understand the classroom expectations and guidelines, and will adhere to them over the course of the school year.

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I bake for students a few times a year. Please use the space below to let me know if your child has any food allergies:

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The School for Global Leaders8th Grade Honors English Language ArtsTeacher: Erin GarryDates: September 2011 – June 2012

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