Course Expectations

August 20, 2018
Dear LMS 8th grade Pioneer Parents and Students,

I am delighted to be your English Language Arts teacher for the 2018-2019 school year. This is my third year at LMS. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with each of you! This letter is a little lengthy, but I hope you’ll find it communicates valuable information about your Pioneer English Language Arts experience.

This is going to be an extraordinary year! I hope to help grow each of you as a reader and writer through daily practice and the utilization of reader’s workshop and writer’s workshop. We will practice a variety of writing styles and will develop skills and strategies to enhance reading skills. In addition to the books students will select to read for class, students will spend time independently reading a book of their choice. It is an expectation that students have an independent reading book to class with them at all times. Students should read at home for at least thirty minutes every single day. This is the majority of the homework students will have. Completion of at-home reading will be crucial for in-class activities, assignments, and discussions.

Reading allows us to safely encounter our fears and challenge our beliefs. I encourage students to explore books of varied genres and reading levels. I will encourage students to use resources such as goodreads.com, links on the LMS library website, and Award Winning Book lists to select their next read. Links to these resources can be easily accessed on my website under the Reading Resources tab. I cannot possibly know all the details of the books that students select, and I will not put a tight filter on what students choose for their independent reading. It is ultimately the responsibility of the parent and student to determine what is appropriate for the individual child. Sometimes, though, the books that seem most uncomfortable are the books that we can learn from most. If you would like more information about a book your child is reading, please visit the American Library Association website, Goodreads.com, the School Library Journal website, or even Amazon.com.

I have a large selection of books in my classroom library. Students may check out a book from my library by using the free Classroom Organizer website by Booksource, classroom.booksource.com. Students can do this before school, after school, at lunch (with advanced notice), or during down time in class. Students may also access the school library before school from 7:45am-8:10am. The school library is open after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 4:10pm.  

My classroom is an environment where students should feel comfortable and safe; a place in which all students will learn. My expectation is that students will come prepared and ready to learn each and every day. I will hold students to high standards, and I expect they set equally high standards for themselves. In my classroom, students should REACH for success at all times.
· Respect: Respect yourself, others, school, materials, etc.
·  Effort: Pay attention, listen carefully, do your best.
·  Attitude: Be positive, courteous, and helpful. (No crabby patties, please!)
·  Cooperation: Be willing to work with anyone. We’ll use many cooperative learning strategies in this class!
·  Honesty: Always tell the truth (even when it is hard)!

Parents, I am asking for your help to maintain those expectations. Please check your student’s Infinite Campus in order to stay current on what we are working on in my classroom. You can also encourage students to check on google classroom for extra copies and resources. Together, we can form a partnership to ensure this is a successful year for your student.

My goals for this year are to utilize the workshop model to guide each student as he/she develops the reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills necessary to be successful in the 21st century; to prepare each student for the next step in their educational journey; to promote growth both academically and socially; to mold well-rounded citizens, and finally to make learning challenging, engaging, and fun! I can’t wait to get things rolling this year; I know it’s going to be fabulous! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time: rhuelsing@ladueschools.net. or (314)983-5980. I will get back to you within 24 hours (please note it may be longer if you contact me outside of school hours).

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Rachel Huelsing

Pioneer English Language Arts 8- Mrs. Rachel Huelsing 2018-2019
ELA Workshop 1 and ELA Workshop 2

Course Descriptions:
English Language Arts - Reading: Through a workshop structure, ELA 8-Reading emphasizes growth in fiction and nonfiction reading—both assigned and students’ choices within a reading workshop framework. Students will learn to manage texts of steadily increasing complexity and be able to gain more knowledge from what they read. Students will develop critical literal, interpretive and analytical reading skills.

English Language Arts - Writing: Through a workshop structure, ELA 8-Writing emphasizes student growth in writing, as measured by improvement in structure, development and language (grammar, usage and mechanics). Students will receive instruction in writing narrative, informational and argument pieces, and in research skills. Students will use mentor texts and skills from instruction to develop their writing techniques and styles. Effective discussion and oral presentation skills are embedded in each unit.

Academic Expectations: Students are expected to come to class prepared with all necessary materials: Chromebook, red pen, blue or black pen, pencil, highlighter, 3 subject notebook, loose leaf paper, a folder or binder specifically for English Language Arts, assigned text, independent reading book, and completed homework. Students are to pay attention in class, participate in class discussions, and use time wisely. Homework is assigned daily, most of which is the student's outside reading and written reading response. Parents can take an active role in monitoring the reading homework by inquiring about the stories. Essay writing is taught as a process; breaking down each step into manageable chunks. Final drafts should be typed in google docs. While students are always encouraged to email me in the off hours, please know I may not always respond until returning to school. Students who feel they need extra help may come in by appointment before school, after school, or at lunch.

Grading Policy: Grades will be issued at the quarter and semester. Grades will be determined by points accumulated in the following areas: Reading Skills, Independent Reading, Writing Structure, Writing Development, Writing Conventions, and Writing Process. See handbook for grading scale. Grades will be updated regularly in Infinite Campus. Students and parents should use this as an ongoing record of student's progress. Daily planners are also provided to students to help them keep track of daily and long-term assignments. The day’s agenda and homework assignments will be written on the front board daily. Any homework outside of the daily independent reading and reading response will also be posted on Infinite Campus.

Tardies: See handbook. The LMS tardy policy will be strictly enforced. Multiple tardies will affect your citizenship grade for ELA. Please be in your seat when the bell rings!

Late Work: Late work will be reflected in the citizenship grade. The LMS handbook policy for late work will be followed.

Citizenship Criteria: In my class, all students begin the week with a Citizenship grade of “satisfactory” (2). If students continue to meet expectations, they will maintain the “satisfactory” score for the week. Students have the opportunity to increase this to an “outstanding” (3) by going above and beyond expectations. Citizenship scores will be reduced to “needs improvement” (1) or “unsatisfactory” (0) if the student is not meeting expectations for the week by missing an assignment(s), acting inappropriately in class, or demonstrating other behaviors that are distracting to the learning of others. See handbook for additional information.

Homework/Make-up Work: When a student is absent, the student should always continue with reading and reading responses. They should also check google classroom for additional resources and assignments. Students who miss class for any reason should plan ahead for missing work when possible. Students who miss class unexpectedly should make it their responsibility to get the work they missed upon their return to school. Students will be expected to make up missed work within the week they were absent for full credit. Students will have many opportunities to revise and edit essays before the final draft and are encouraged to seek help from the teacher before the final draft is due. Make an appointment with the teacher during lunch, before school or after school for additional assistance with assignments.

Terms that you may see on Infinite Campus:
-Late- the student has turned in an assignment after the due date.
-Missing- the student has not turned in an assignment, but can still turn in the assignment for a grade.
-Missing with a Zero- student has passed the allotted time to turn in the assignment.
-Exempt- the student is not responsible for turning in an assignment or the assignment will not count in the overall grade.

Finally, I just want you to be aware that I often try to show movies that correspond with our novels. Many of these are rated PG13. Let me know if this poses a problem. Please contact me (rhuelsing@ladueschools.net or 314.993.5980) if you need additional information.
Let’s have a great year!!!!

(DETACH AND SIGN BELOW)
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HUELSING-English Language Arts 8
Student name____________________________________ period(s)______
Parents: Please sign this paper indicating that you and your child have read the English Language Arts guidelines on my teacher website and have your student return it to me by Friday, August 24.
Parent Signature______________________________________________________________
Parents’ email address (please print clearly) ____________________________________________________________________________