“EDUCATION IS NOT THE

LANGUAGE ARTS 6 • FILLING OF A PAIL, BUT THE

LA | 6
LIGHTING OF A FIRE.”
o W.B. YEATS

LET’S TALK OVERVIEW

COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS
Aldermhn@pwcs.edu
Burgejg@pwcs.edu Class Outlines  Class Discussion of Readings  Group & Individual
Larsonsj@pwcs.edu Projects/Presentations  Nightly Reading (For At Least 30 Minutes a Night) 
Treminnl@pwcs.edu Minor/Major Papers  Peer Reviews & Editing of Writing  Grammar Study  Vocabulary
Study  Annotation (Note Taking & Critical Thinking) of a Variety of Readings  Research
https://ronaldreaganms.pwcs.edu  Quick Checks/Quizzes  Entrance & Exit Slips  Book Talks
Class Pages/Grade Level Teams/6 th Grade Team Name

Conferences upon request: 571-402-3500

Class Messenger LEARNING TARGETS +

E-MAIL ALERTS STANDARDS-BASED GRADING
We have determined five major themes in language arts, which we call Power
Standards. Every lesson and assignment connects to these standards. Students will
The school website allows teachers to
be able to work on:
communicate to parents via Class Messenger.
Please have a good email address in our system to
receive class alerts for updates on home practice, VOCABULARY  READING  WRITING  MEDIA LITERACY & COMMUNICATION
quick checks, tests, and other important dates.
Students will be setting daily learning targets (goals) and be able to track their
performance throughout the school year. We will focus on standards-based grading
which means each grade in the gradebook will directly reflect the student’s mastery
of a specific skill. The process, outlined by Kelly O’Shea, often looks as such:

CLASS MATERIALS

5 dividers
loose leaf
paper
40-in-40 book

1 ½”
annotation tools (pens & binder
pencils)
n
[
1. Class Outlines
2. Grammar Gurus
To really understand standards-based grading it is important to look at the terms
3. Very Important Papers (VIPs)
formative and summative. Check it out.
4. PRREP (Writing)
5. Assessments
 GOODNESS CONTINUED...

FORMATIVE & SUMMATIVE DIFFERENCES

There will be formative and summative activities in this class. FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENTS help to inform you, and me, about your thinking.
It allows for you to get feedback and to try new things without the fear of making a mistake. In essence, it is practice that is used to support
you on summative activities. These assignments may include home practice and some classwork. Although recorded in the gradebo ok,
formative assessments are not weighted in the calculation of the overall class grade.

SUMMATIVE ASSIGNMENTS come at the end of a unit, and are used to see your mastery of a topic. They act as a summary of your
performance. These assessments include quick checks, quizzes, products, presentations, and benchmarks. The scores on these as sessments
are what make up your grade in the course.

HOME PRACTICE RESOURCES

Home practice will be assigned to support
students graded work. If an assignment is not
completed, an NHI (Not Handed In) will be
placed in the gradebook; however, this will not
be calculated in your overall grade. Some work
may require sometime outside of the
scheduled classroom time in order to complete.
These assignments, which provide evidence of
mastery of a skill or concept, will be graded. If
these assignments are not completed, students
will receive an INC or Incomplete. Therefore,
the overall grade in Parent Portal will show up
as an INCOMPLETE. If students have not
completed the assignment by the end of the
unit, the score will be altered to an NHI, and
will be calculated into the grade.
We will use a variety of rich resources and learning materials to build our knowledge of
literature. In order to foster critical thinking, bolster text complexity, and heighten analytical
skills we will be engaging in self-selected book clubs as well as reading and writing workshop.
Students will be reading book club texts in class and continuing their reading practice at home
with independent books and mentor texts. They will be participating in the 40-in-40
Challenge in which they will self-select 40 books in a variety of genres to be read within 40
weeks, ending the beginning of June.
COMMUNICATING GRADES
Students and parents are encouraged to check both SCHOOL MESSENGER and PARENT
PORTAL for updates on grades and assignments. Through School Messenger, I will provide
several support materials including: class outlines, handouts, and presentations. Moreover,
scheduled parent conferences allow for open-dialogue about student areas of opportunity.
These worthwhile conversations can be scheduled directly through me.

GRADE
DESCRIPTION DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
A 100-90 4 We will be using technology often in the classroom as a tool to enhance and support our vast
level of learners. It is a privilege to be able to participate in technology-enhanced projects and
B+ 89-87 3.4 this engagement requires respectful and conscientious student participation. Students will be
required to uphold the County’s Code of Behavior when participating in our online efforts.
B 86-80 3

C+ 79-77 2.4
✄
C 76-78 2
I have read and understand the rules and expectations for Language Arts 6. I know it is my
responsibility to contact my teacher if I have questions or concerns. I know that this
D+ 69-67 1.4 syllabus, assignments, calendar reminders, and resources are available on our class
website. I know that I am expected to give my best work because that’s why Reagan
D 66-60 1 Scholars do!

F 59-BELOW 0 SIGN HERE >> ________________________________________