WELCOME TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Ms. Jaime Brennan Room 101
ABOUT ME I grew up in a small beach community in NY. My family moved to AZ my senior year of high school. ASU is from where I earned my degree in elementary education, graduating summa cum laude. This is my third year at Altadena. I taught fifth grade for fourteen years, ten of which were at Monte Vista. I ve been in Who s Who Among America s Teachers twice. I was honored to be a nominee for the Educational Mentor of the Year by the Ahwatukee Foothills News and SRP in 2013. I am so excited to be teaching ELA at Altadena again!
LANGUAGE ARTS Reading Skills read it, think it through, understand it one novel each quarter Writing Skills sentence structure, paragraphing at least one extended writing piece each quarter Spelling/Vocabulary/Greek and Latin Roots Grammar Journals Book Reports
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE Common Core State Standards for ELA Clear and consistent standards for teachers, students, and parents Relevant, real-world skills to prepare for college and careers To prepare students to compete in the global economy I Can statements, learning goals, and scales AzMERIT in the spring
READING SKILLS SHARED INQUIRY Shared Inquiry is an active and collaborative search for answers to questions of meaning about a text. It is a research-supported method of learning that promotes deeper thinking through reading, discussion, and writing. It always involves interpretive questions (questions that have more than one answer that can be supported by the text), close reading, collaboration, and reflective and critical thinking.
READING SKILLS (CONTINUED) LEXILE difficulty of the text is considered 6 th grade 850 to 1050 INFORMATIONAL TEXT majority of reading material across core subjects LITERARY TEXT genres, structure of stories, real-life connections, perceptions
COMMON CORE READING Key Ideas and Details 1. Read closely cite specific textual evidence; make logical inferences 2. Determine theme and analyze development; summarize 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact Craft and Structure 1. Technical, connotative and figurative meanings 2. Analyze structure 3. Point of view and purpose Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 1. Integrate and evaluate content 2. Delineate and evaluate claims 3. Analyze two or more texts
WRITING SKILLS Written Responses to Text Journal, notes, short responses Writing Applications Argumentative/Opinion Narrative Expository/Informational Literary Responses
Text Types and Purposes COMMON CORE WRITING 1. Support claims using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence 2. Informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately 3. Narratives to develop real or imagined experiences Production and Distribution of Writing 1. Produce clear and coherent writing appropriate to task 2. Develop and strengthen writing 3. Use technology to produce/publish Research to Build and Present Knowledge 1. Conduct short and long research 2. Gather relevant information from multiple sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each and avoid plagiarism 3. Draw evidence from texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
COLOR-CODED PARAGRAPHS Students will use the color-coded paragraph to structure the writing of quality paragraphs containing at least 11 sentences. Green topic/concluding sentence Blue transition Yellow reason/detail/fact Pink examples/explanation Altadena is a great school. For instance, it is an A+ school. To become an A+ school, you must fill out an application and be judged. It is an honor to be designated as such. Furthermore, they have good food. The variety is greater and the quality is better than at the elementary schools. They even have a Snack Shack! Moreover, data proves that Altadena students attain higher scores than neighboring middle schools. The teachers are great. They have high standards for the students. In conclusion, Altadena is a fantastic place to be.
COMMON CORE SPEAKING AND LISTENING Comprehension and Collaboration 1. Prepare for and participate in conversations and collaborations 2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats 3. Evaluate points of view, reasoning, and use of evidence Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 1. Listeners can follow the line of reasoning; the organization, development, and style are appropriate 2. Use digital media and visual displays of data 3. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks
COMMON CORE LANGUAGE Conventions of Standard English 1. Grammar and usage when writing or speaking 2. Capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing Knowledge of Learning Understand how language functions in different contexts Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 1. Context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials 2. Figurative language, word relationships, and nuances 3. General academic and domain-specific words and phrases
TYPICAL HOMEWORK YES, EXPECT IT. Read 30 minutes each night Writing Spelling/vocabulary practice Grammar practice Unfinished class work
GRADING 80% assessments 20% practice Turn everything in on time. Late homework earns a zero. For each day a project is late, 10% is deducted. Advocate for yourself. This is YOUR education. The 6B teachers love it when a student emails them with a question! Please use the StudentVUE or ParentVUE portal on the Kyrene website to check grades frequently.
OTHER School spelling bee Word games/brainteasers Friendly competitions in class Book orders The ability to read it does not mean it is developmentally appropriate. Our class code for online Scholastic orders is GL76X.
SUPPLIES Supply lists will be given out in 4 th period (PRIDE hour) today. 3-subject notebook (college-ruled) pocket folder with brads ream of college-ruled notebook paper highlighters (yellow, pink, green, and blue) dry erase marker and a sock to use as an eraser Vis-à-vis wet erase marker red pen #2 pencils no mechanical pencils, please If you could come prepared on Monday, it would be greatly appreciated.
WWW.KYRENE.ALT 6B team website: weekly agenda and homework ParentVUE: grades, absences/tardies, contact information Class website Jaime Brennan: links to practice ELA skills The best way to contact me is through email: jaimebrennan@kyrene.org Please put your child s name and period number in the subject line. Join Remind to receive text messages with reminders and updates. periods 2 and 5, text 81010 to @elabre
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO A WONDERFUL YEAR!
ADVANCED ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Students must maintain at least a B average to remain in this class. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT? Vocabulary Classical Greek and Latin Roots Above grade-level literature (seventh grade novels) Higher levels of questioning Challenge the views of the author and discrepancies between texts JOIN REMIND: Text @89ce4 to 81010
Pathway Experiences How is GP ELA different from ELA or AELA? Literature (eighth grade novels/stories) Wordly Wise Level of questioning Product expectations Join Remind: Text @69e8a to 81010