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Welcome to sixth grade language arts!
This class will help you to improve your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. These skills are obviously important while you are in school, but they will be crucial to you in your life outside of school and long after you have graduated.
The types of things you will read for this class include…
· fiction, including novels and short stories
· nonfiction, including factual and informative writing, magazine/newspaper articles, and essays that express opinions
· poetry, myths, and legends
Usually we will read things together, and I usually choose these “whole-class” readings. I use these shared readings as a starting point for teaching specific writing, reading, and thinking skills as well as new vocabulary. You will also choose some reading you do for this class. In general, I will expect you to read, each week, for at least one hour independently.
One of the ways you will show what you think about your reading is by writing short responses in a journal. Other types of writing will include:
· descriptive paragraphs
· personal narratives
· letters
· summaries
· short informative reports
Your writing scores will be based on the “Six Traits” writing model, which I will explain and refer back to many times during our year together. The “Six Traits” give you plenty of room to be creative, as well as plenty of practice fixing spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors.
I expect you to succeed in language arts, and I do whatever I can to help you do so. Grades are based on a combination of several things:
· journal responses and quizzes based on our whole-class readings
· independent reading, assessed through reading logs and journal responses
· pieces of writing completed in class or at home
. occasional quizzes over vocabulary, punctuation, and grammar
· the “notes folder,” usually collected twice per quarter, containing assignments completed in class, class notes, and some homework assignments
· homework practice sheets
To do well in language arts, you must work hard to do your best in all of these areas. One question I often get from sixth graders concerned about their grade is, “Can I do extra credit?” You should know now that I am interested in extra credit assignments only when they are turned in AFTER required assignments are completed, clearly connected to what we’re doing in class, and going beyond what we have done as a class. I rarely "give" extra credit. I do like to see students come up with ideas they wish to work on independently.
So that you will have everything you need to do your regular work, as soon as possible, bring these materials with you to language arts:
· a composition book to use as a journal (NO SPIRAL NOTEBOOKS!)
· loose-leaf notebook paper
· pencil
· blue or black pen
. colored pencils
· TWO different folders: one to be used as a “notes folder” and another in which to keep other work, including work that has been graded. (One folder must be a two-pocket folder. The second folder could be another two-pocket folder, or a section in your three-ring binder, if you use a binder.)
Since I’m on the topic of what you’ll need to be responsible for, I should tell you that language arts textbooks are usually not sent home, except when you have been absent. However, you will sometimes be responsible for carrying an assigned book back and forth between home and school.
At any time, if you are not sure what I expect from you, if you are confused about something we are studying, if you have fallen behind and don’t know how to catch up, or if you need to talk to me about anything (not limited to language arts), please ask me. I may not be able to help you with your problem during class time, but we can agree meet before or after school or during advisor/advisee time. You can call me at school at 696-5964. My e-mail address is klefevre@amphi.com.
I look forward to working with you this year!
Sincerely,
Ms. Lefevre
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