PREP Academy Middle School

7th Grade Language Arts Syllabus

Mr. Andrew Kovar – Room 112

email: andrew_kovar@dpsk12.org phone: 720.424.8469

 

Welcome to Language Arts!

 

This year we will be studying various areas of English/Language Arts, including reading, writing, speaking, listening and media literacy.  We will build knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts.  We will read, write and speak grounded with evidence from text.  We will practice regularly with increasingly complex text and academic vocabulary.  Through this integrated Language Arts course you will master the Common Core State Standards and the Denver Public School’s new curriculum “Expeditionary Learning.”

 

And, most importantly… We will prepare for success in High School!!

 

Module One: “Finding Home”

Theme:  Survival

 

Essential Questions:

• What is home?

• How do critical incidents reveal character?

• What common themes unify the refugee experience?

• How can we tell powerful stories about people’s experiences?

 

Primary Text:  A Long Walk to Water, written by Linda Sue Park

 

Module Two: “Working Conditions, Then and Now”

Theme:  Adaptation and Change

 

Essential Questions:

• What are working conditions, and why do they matter?

• How do workers, the government, business, and consumers bring about change in working conditions?

• How does reading one section of text closely help me understand it better?

• How can you tell the difference between a useful and a not useful research question?

 

Primary Text:  Lyddie, written by Katherine Paterson

 

Module Three: “Understanding Perspectives”

Theme:  Survival, Resilience, Redemption

 

Essential Questions:

• What gives stories and poems their enduring power?

• How did Douglass’s purpose and audience shape how he told his story?

• When you write a story, how do your purpose and audience shape how you tell that story?

• How can you use language, images, and theme to give the story you write enduring power?

 

Primary Text:  Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, written by Fredrick Douglass

 

Module Four: “Reading and Research”

Theme:  Life and Turbulence and Sustainability

 

Essential Questions:

• How can we balance the needs of people and the environment?

• How does human activity influence the availability of our water resources?

• How should humans manage water resources in a way that is sustainable?

 

Primary Text:  The Big Thirst, written by Charles Fishman

 

Required Materials

 

• Composition book

• Pencils

• Erasers

Grading Scale

90.0 – 100.0% A

80.0 – 89.9% B

70.0 – 79.9% C

60.0 – 69.9% D

 0.0 – 59.9% F

 

Components of Student’s Grade

 

70% of the student’s grade will be based on Product, while 30% of the grade will be based on Process.

Example Product Grade: Test, Quiz, Project

Example Process Grade: Warm-Up, Exit Tickets, In-Class Assignments, Group Work, Homework

 

Homework

 

Homework will be assigned to students every Monday and will be due every Friday. It may consist of finishing assignments from class, small projects, applying concepts from class, or reading documents

 

Missing Work 

 

Upon return of an absence, students will pick-up missing work, complete a make-up work form and have the teacher initial the form when completed. Students have one week from the day they return from an absence to make up any missing assignments and quizzes for full credit.  After one week no work will be accepted. Students who miss more than five full school days in a row will have an individual makeup work plan upon their return. Students who miss a midterm or final must attend Saturday school the Saturday following when the midterm or final was administered.

 

Bathroom

 

It is imperative that students are in class each day for the entirety of the allotted time we meet. Students may use the bathroom on break between class times. If the student decides they NEED to use the bathroom, I will let them go if they ask permission first and it is a good time to go. The student will be responsible for catching up on what they missed. If this policy is abused, we will discuss it.

Cheating

 

Cheating on any assignment or test will NOT be tolerated. If you are caught cheating, you will automatically receive a zero. Plagiarism is a form of cheating that will NOT be tolerated. The instance of cheating will be recorded and the administration will be notified. Students will receive the consequences set out by the administration’s policy

 

Discovery Redirects

 

First Redirect: Students are asked about their attending skills

Second Redirect: Teacher makes a direct observation of student’s behavior

Third Redirect: Hallway conference in which the student is given the opportunity to discuss issues that are causing their negative behaviors. If a student continues to display negative behaviors after three redirects, they will be sent to the In-School Suspension room (ISS Room).

 

Electronics Policy

 

Electronics are strictly prohibited. Phones should be put away and silent. Ear buds and MP3 players/iPods should be put away and turned off. Refer to student handbooks for consequences.