Welcome to Ms. Sweiss and Ms. Baranek's Language Arts Class! Throughout the year, we will explore numerous genres of literature, namely fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and folk literature. Students will develop an appreciation for literature, while also developing strategies to read for success.
Contact Ms. Sweiss-- ksweiss@gmail.com Room 47
Contact Ms. Baranek-- kbaranek@gmail.com Room 45
Students will acquire vocabulary knowledge through bi-weekly vocabulary lessons. We also will be doing lots of poetry, especially by doing daily poetry execises. Finally, students will develop writing strategies, such as brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing through Writing Workshop. Students will be able to demonstrate effective writing skills in the various projects that each student will submit throughout the course of the school year.
Classroom Materials:
• Binder with 5 dividers [REV it Up!, Reading, English, Writing, Graded Work]
• Pens and pencils
• Red Pen
• Some sort of coloring supplies
• Highlighters
• Dry Erase Markers
Homework Policy:
Students are responsible for completing their homework and submitting it on time. Homework that is turned in one day late will drop one letter grade, and students will also receive a detention. If students bring in the homework the following day, they may tear up the detention slip and not serve the detention. Students that do not turn in the homework will complete it during the hour of detention. All homework should be neat and have effort put into it.
Homework Schedule:
Students should expect to have homework some of the nights of the week. While students should be reading each night and completing the Reading Log, they should also expect to have the following weekly assignments:
• Tuesdays: Applying Words (due next day)
• Wednesdays: REV it up! Weekly Packets (due following Wednesday)
• Thursdays: Weekly Journals (due following Monday)
Absence and Tardy Policy:
Students who are absent will have two days to complete the homework assignment. Students who are late to class will write lines or an essay about the importance of arriving punctually to class.
Classroom Rules:
• Listen when others are talking
• Follow directions
• Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself
• Show respect for school and personal property
Reading Logs:
Each month, students must submit a Reading Log which documents that the student has read at least 400 minutes. Students should read approximately twenty minutes each night in order to fulfill the 400-minute requirement. Students must read at least one age-appropriate novel. However, students may also choose to read newspapers, magazines, comic books, etc. to fulfill the four-hundred minute requirement. It will always be due on the first school day of the month.