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Welcome to 8th grade English!
Dear Parents and Students,
About Me - My name is Anika Rohla and I am very excited to begin this school year at Seiling Public Schools! This is my 8th year of teaching. My husband works as the County Commissioner for Major County and we live on a farm. We have two boys, Eddie (6) and Ethan (4). I am looking forward to working with you and your child! Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.
School Phone Number – 580-922-7382
E-Mail – arohla@seiling.k12.ok.us
Please sign up for my Remind text alerts by texting the number 81010 with the following code: @8throhla to receive important information regarding class.
Supplies – Each day, students need to bring their binder (1.5 inch, clear plastic cover, 5 tab dividers) with plenty of paper (college-ruled), black/blue/red pen, pencils, highlighter, AR book, and their CHARGED Chromebook. Charging will need to happen at home, not class. Additional materials may be requested later.
Course Description – This year, 8th grade English will focus heavily on reading and writing as well as grammar. We will do this in fun, engaging, and creative ways with many chances for each student to have a great time and participate.
Class Activities:
Daily Brainiators: Every class period will begin with a five-ten minute activity. This could be a reading passage, writing prompt, riddle, puzzle, or game that will help us practice skills and get our brains working! As soon as you come in, complete the brainiator and wait for further instruction.
Bi-Weekly Vocabulary: Every two weeks, we will have words that we study as a class. We will work with the words in different activities such as posters, flashcards, using them in writing and more! At the end of the nine weeks, the student will prove they know the words through a test or project.
Writing Workshops: Throughout the school year, students will complete many writing pieces. We will discuss what makes good writing and practice pre-writing, rough drafts, revising, editing, and publishing.
Grammar: We will focus on how grammar improves our writing and the use of grammar in reading materials. We will not have units specific to parts of speech; instead, we will integrate grammar into our other curriculum and learn it through modeling, games, activities, and most importantly, writing!
Literature: As 8th graders, we complete a poetry unit where we read great examples of poetry as well as create our own. Throughout the year, we will be reading short stories, essays, and non-fiction pieces. During the 4th Nine Weeks, we will be reading The Outsiders.
Projects: We will complete a project to honor veterans in November and a Holocaust research project in April. We will also have our Poe and Christmas Unit project. More about these in the coming months!
Quizzes/Tests: We will take quizzes every two to three weeks to check for student understanding. Tests will be every nine weeks over what we have covered during that time.
ENTERING AND EXITING THE CLASSROOM: When you enter my classroom, prepare yourself to learn something new each day. You need to have all materials, look at the bell work (“Brainiator”). You should begin working on it immediately and continue until otherwise directed. When it is time to dismiss, I will alert you. You are to remain seated until dismissed.
ASSIGNMENTS: Assignments are due at the bell in the proper turn in basket unless students are specifically told otherwise. ALL assignments should have the student’s first and last name, hour, date. No name papers will receive a permanent zero. LATE WORK is not accepted. No bonus or extra credit work. There are more than adequate opportunities for students to improve their grades by doing what is asked of them on a daily basis.
ABSENT WORK: If a student is absent for a school/personal reason, it is his/her responsibility to see me PRIOR to leaving to get the work he/she will miss. If the student does not make arrangements prior to being absent, a zero will be recorded for missing work. If a student is absent due to an unexcused absence (illness), he/she will have one day for each day he/she was absent to complete the missing assignment without penalty.
PROGRESS REPORTS: I know you have the ability to check your child’s grades online at any given time. If you would like to visit with me about any concerns you may have, please contact me. Each Friday, we do “Grade Checks” in class. I show students their grades and have them initial that they have seen them.
CHEATING: There is absolutely no tolerance for the act of cheating or helping someone cheat. You will receive an office referral and a zero for any incident.
ABSENCE/TARDY POLICY: It is imperative you are on time to school and class each day. If you are more than 15 minutes late to class, an absence will be recorded and you will need to bring me a note showing you have checked in with the office. Three tardies will equal an absence when calculating absences for semester exam exemption.
AR POLICY: Students will be required to read independent works of their own choosing. When choosing a book to read, students should abide by the following guidelines:
- All AR books MUST be a 4.0 reading level or higher and 130+ pages unless reading a book from this year’s Sequoyah program.
- Students must physically bring the book to me so I can approve it and write it down for “check out”.
- Students may NOT read anything previously read or tested on; therefore, they should ALWAYS check to make sure the book they want to check out with me HAS AN AR TEST and IS AVAILABLE to them for testing.
- Students may change books any time during the checkout window; however, once the AR Checkout Date passes, they will be required to test on the book that is checked out with me at that time. If a student did not check out a book during that window or the book is unavailable for testing and he/she did not follow proper procedure, a zero will be recorded for the coordinating AR DUE DATE grade.
- AR will be recorded as a 150 point grade. (1.5 weight). Students will receive the grade earned from the online test. Immediately after test, bring the iPad to me and I will record your grade. If you do not bring me your test results, a zero will be recorded.
- All AR tests must be taken during the hour the AR is due or prior to that time. Tests are due during your hour.
- Students may read Sequoyah books for AR credit in my classroom.
- Students may earn bonus points by reading additional AR books. The points earned will be added to the total number of points in the grade book at the end of the semester.
- All AR tests must be taken in my presence and with my knowledge in an area designated by me. Anyone who does not follow this rule will not receive a grade for that AR test. Also, if you are caught cheating in any form, you will receive a zero for the AR grade. You are not allowed to “watch” anyone take an AR test.
|
Fall 2016 |
AR Checkout Date |
AR DUE DATE |
|
#1 |
September 9 |
September 16 |
|
#2 |
October 7 |
October 20 |
|
#3 |
November 11 |
November 18 |
|
#4 |
December 7 |
December 12 |
|
Bonus AR |
December 7 |
December 16 |
|
Spring 2017 |
AR Checkout Date |
AR DUE DATE |
|
#1 |
January 16 |
January 27 |
|
#2 |
February 10 |
February 15 |
|
#3 |
March 9 |
March 24 |
|
#4 |
April 13 |
April 21 |
|
Bonus AR |
April 13 |
May 5 |
FOOD AND DRINK: There is to be NO FOOD OR DRINK in my classroom with the exception of bottled water.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION DEVICES: Students are not to have cell phones and other ECD’s in use during class. They need to be turned off, on the door in the holder or in their backpack. Students who inappropriately use ECDs will be subject to the consequences in the handbook and may be asked not to bring any ECDs back to class. Students will use their Chromebooks for other online work.
I am truly looking forward to an awesome year with my students! I thank you in advance for your enthusiasm and participation! Please sign below and return to let me know that both student and parent have read the information. You may keep everything except the signature portion. Let me know if there are any questions.
Mrs. Rohla
8th Grade English
8th Grade ELA Syllabus – Mrs. Rohla
By signing this document, you are acknowledging that these policies have been expressed to you. Please return this document no later than Monday, August 22, 2016. Your child will get a grade for the return of this portion. Also, if you email me, your name and your child’s name, your child will receive 5 bonus points.
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Student Signature Date
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Parent/Guardian Signature Date
Parent Data
Preferred Phone Number: _______________________________________________________
Preferred Email Address: ________________________________________________________