Welcome to 8th Grade EnglishMr. Zaiden

Blog:

http://jzaidenenglish8.blogspot.com

Please make sure to register yourself on the classroom blog.

Because of the limited nature of Power School, the blog will be used to elaborate on class and homework assignments, post informational articles, videos, and extra credit.

We will also be using Google Docs and Google Classroom. As of right now, parents do not have direct access to Google Classroom as of right now.

Outline of CurriculumWriting

Our goal is to prepare students for high school English as well as reviewing specific genres and technical writing skills.

Annotative Journal: Analyzing specific and relevant quotes.

One formal essay per semester.

Chunk Paragraph (short, concise written responses).

Examples:

Research Paper/Narrative: Daughters of the American Revolution Contest (English and History)

Written literary analysis of short stories, books, poetry and informational reading.

Speech: End of the year promotion speech.

Many of these will be embedded within a Project Based Learning assignment.

Daily Writing, Reading and

Vocabulary/Grammar

Students keep a writing journal (Google Docs or physical journal) where they are assigned topics that pertain to the current unit of study.

Prompts, videos and Power-Point presentations will be used to respond to literature.

Vocabulary will concentrate on Tier Two and Tier Three vocabulary.

For grammar we will be using NoRedInk.com

Reading Schedule (Schedule Subject to Change)

September/October- Review Summer Reading Books

November/December – Animal Farm

January – The Diary of Anne Frank (Play)

February/March – Soldier’s Heart

April/ May – Flowers For Algernon

Note: We will also read various short stories, news articles (New York Times Educational Website) and other informational materials throughout the year.

Homework

Homework is posted on the homework board and blog site. All major writing projects are (usually) due on Fridays.

I will email you if your student does not turn homework in a timely manner but please remember that it is always the student’s responsibility to keep track of his/her homework assignments and grades are posted on PowerSchool for parents and students.

Late Assignments

Late assignments will be accepted for most projects. Ten percent will be subtracted for each day work is missing.

*Late reading journal entries are not accepted if we review them in class the next day.

Writing Contests and Publishing

Over the past eleven years, our 8th grade students have won multiple writing contests and/or have been published in literary magazines and online journals. We will continue the tradition.

All writing contests and publishing opportunities will be posted on the class blog.

8th Grade Team Communication:

Due to our schedules and school commitments, we cannot accommodate drop-in conferences. To schedule a meeting with a teacher, please email a brief message and we will schedule an appointment that will include our team of teachers, you and your child.

*We will respond to all emails within 24 to 48hrs. Thank you.

Finally…

Visit the class blog enter your email address for instant updates.

Let’s have a great 2014-2015 school year!