Grit is…

hard work to meet the adversity of rigorous expectations

persistence in overcoming rigorous expectations

perseverance over the rigorous expectations

passion for long-term goals

living life like a marathon

the missing link between what you are able to do and what you

are doing

the determining factor for success no matter where your natural

abilities lie

the get-it-done personality

sticking with it where others might be distracted by boredom,

failure, adversity, or plateaus

Grit…

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

The determining factor for success no matter where your natural

abilities lie.

Getting “your hands dirty” with schoolwork.

Seeing the teacher as a “coach” pushing along, rather than a

person to go to when “I don’t get it.”

“Clenching your teeth” and persevering through the “rough spots”.

Students will receive direct grammar instruction using

their G.U.M. workbooks. G.U.M. lessons are exercises

in the grammar, usage, and mechanics of writing.

Students will be expected to utilize the lessons learned

during grammar instruction throughout their writing.

Students will also be quizzed at the end of each

grammar unit, which will fall about every two to three

weeks.

Students will work on building a stronger vocabulary

using their Wordly Wise workbooks. Each week,

students will be introduced to new vocabulary through

the online program. Rigorous vocabulary activities will

be completed through the course of a week. Finally,

there will be a vocabulary quiz each Friday. The students

are also expected to spell the vocabulary words

accurately each Friday. They may practice the correct

spelling of each word on spellingcity.com in preparation

for the quiz.

During reading instruction, students will see us model a

skill. Then, they will participate in guided practice of that

skill. Finally, during their independent practice, students

will apply what they have learned to their grade-level

novel or another text.

For most ELA units, there is a grade-level novel that

accompanies instruction.

Our scoring guidelines for Achieve 3000 are available for you to view on

the “Homework” section of Mrs. Henry’s website.

To supplement the reading instruction and strengthen non-fiction

reading skills, students will typically be assigned two Achieve3000

articles to complete each week. Achieve3000 is a lexile-based,

online program that adjusts each article’s text complexity

according to that particular student’s lexile level.

For the first writing unit, students will be working on a

personal narrative.

In addition, students will be working on open-ended

writing prompts, in both timed and untimed conditions.

Open-ended prompts will be scored according to the

New Jersey Registered Holistic Scoring Rubric.

•Taught once a week as a homeroom.

•The lessons will be adapted from The New Jersey State

Bar Foundation’s Bully-Busting Curriculum and Social

Decision Making/Social Problem Solving for Middle

School Students.

•The lessons taught become an integral part of

classroom management.

In our classroom DIFFERENTIATION will look like…

•Each middle school student has one.

•To be used at school for academic purposes.

Homework will be assigned on a daily basis, and the nightly homework for ELA should

take approximately 20 minutes.

Homework will be checked everyday. For core subjects, there should be a minimum of

10 graded homework assignments per unit. Our procedures for grading homework have

been approved by administration. Homework will be assessed on a 10 point basis. A

score of 10 is earned when assignment is complete and accurate. Occasionally, there

will just be a “spot check” just to see if homework is done.

Most assignments for reading will require text-based evidence. If the homework handed

in lacks text-based evidence to support answers, the top score would be an 8.

Comments and feedback are written ON the assignment and/or in Jupiter. Then, it’s

handed back.

If a student fails to complete an assignment when it is due, he or she will have one

opportunity to make it up for half credit if it is turned in the following day. However, it is

up to the student to hand it in; the teachers will not ask them for it.

To get to the homework link...

Got to the Mountz homepage. Click “Our Teachers”. Click “Henry, Ann Marie”.

Scroll down, and select the link for Oncourse. Once that link opens, click

“Homework” and find it on the calendar. .

First Trimester Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade English Extra Credit

If you choose to do extra credit for the first trimester, your job is to use

Achieve 3000 to gather 10 articles related to the unit of study for your

particular grade. Up to two points can be earned in the “Tests/Large

Projects” category through this curriculum-based extra credit.

Grade 6: Taking A Stand

Grade 7: Characters with Character

Grade 8: Adolescence and Growing Up

To receive the full points for extra credit you MUST do each of the

following:

Select 10 articles that match our unit of study and have them approved by

the teacher.

Complete the activity quiz and receive a score of an 88% or better for each

article on the FIRST TRY.

Complete the “Thought Question” for each of the 10 selected articles. You

will be assessed on this using the NJASK rubric for open-ended reading

questions (1-4 scale).

Due Dates:

All Extra Credit Work MUST be approved by the teacher at an appointment AFTER

school! All of your work must be kept in an organized folder, labeled with your

name and “First Trimester English Extra Credit”.

Friday, October 4th: 10 articles selected and approved by teacher. You must come

with a Googledoc listing the ten articles you will be using

Friday, November 1st: First 5 articles: Activity Quiz and Thought Questions completed.

You must come with:

1) a printed out copy of your quiz results

AND

2) a printed out copy of your response to the thought question.

Friday November 22nd: Second set of 5 articles: Activity Quiz and Thought Questions

completed.

You must come with:

1) a printed out copy of your quiz results

AND

2) a printed out copy of your response to the thought question.

If any of the due dates are not met, the student is no longer eligible to participate in the extra credit project.

Scoring Rubric

Student completed all 10 articles with a score of 88% or 100%

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Article 1: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 2: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 3: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 4: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 5: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 6: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 7: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 8: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 9: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Article 10: completion of Thought Question 4 3 2 1

Total Score=_______________/50=________________/25= ___________Extra Credit Points Earned towards “Tests/Large Projects” English average

Mrs. Ann Marie Henry: ahenry@hwmountz.k12.nj.us

Thank you all for coming.

Mrs. Nicki Orr: norr@hwmountz.k12.nj.us

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•Contact is easiest through email. Please do not hesitate to

contact us if you have any questions or concerns