Helios 8 Team Letter-2022-2023
E/LA Course Expectations/Syllabus: 2022-2023
Course Syllabus: 2022-2023
Period 3: E/LA
Period 4: E/LA
Period 5: AIG E/LA
Period 6: Regular/Inclusion E/LA Co-taught with Mrs. Cantrell
Grades are weighted for all 8th grade E/LA students as follows:
Formal Assessments: 60%
Informal Assessments: 40%
2022-2023: Numeric Standards-Based Grading Rubric for Cabarrus County Schools
90-100 (A): Student is able to demonstrate mastery of the standards and can apply knowledge above and beyond the standard.
80-89 (B): Student is able to demonstrate mastery of the standards.
70-79 (C): Student is able to demonstrate understanding of the standards most of the time and is making progress towards mastery.
60-69 (D): Student is able to demonstrate some understanding of the standards, however, lacks proficiency in key areas.
0-59 (F): Student is able to deomonstrate little to no understanding of grade level standards.
Parents use the link below to access the Parent portion of Canvas.
Parents register for Canvas
Please contact any member of the Helios 8 Team if you do not wish your child to watch a PG-13 movie. There are slips that were filled out during Open House and went home to grant permission. Please sign and have your child bring back to the Home Base teacher.
Supplies: Worksheets, handouts and "paper' will be stapled or placed in your Composition notebook, file folder or loose-leaf binder. I will try to provide marble notebooks for the beginning of the year. Whatever works to keep you organized is fine with me as long as you have your materials. Ear buds, computer chargers, Chromebooks, library books, highlighters, pens and pencils will be needed. Backpacks will be located in the classroom lined up against the perimeter walls.
Optional Additional Items: Sharpies, colored pencils, markers, tape, handheld pencil sharpeners, masks, tissues, and anything you want to donate for STEM projects.
Students may bring in and use Chromebooks and phones (sometimes) for educational purposes only.
Our Standard Course of Study is broken down into the following units:
Unit One: Agency and Independence-Launching the Reading Workshop
Unit Two: Memoir Writing
Unit Two: AIG-Soil and Water Public Speaking Contest: Water . . .the Cycle of Life (optional)
Unit Three: Developing Analytical Reading Practices-Interpretation
Unit Four: Tackling Complex Texts
Unit Five: Literary Essay-Argumentative Writing (MLA Format)
Unit Six: Nonfiction Reading
Unit Seven: Developing Critical Lenses for Informational Reading
Unit Eight: Informational Writing: Research Paper (MLA Format)
Unit Nine: Reading for High School/EOG Test Preparation
All 8th Grade E/LA classes have the following weighted gradebook percentages:
Formal Assessment/STEM Projects/Tests/Research Papers 60%
Informal Assessment/Multiple Day Assignments, Classwork, Homework, Reader Responses, in class work, Time on Task, Group Work, Progress Monitoring, etc.: 40%
AIG Year-long theme: How Does Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely? Dystopian Literature Focus
Regular and Inclusion Year-long theme: Fate or Choice? All novels have been vetted by our NW 8th grade E/LA Department.
The Wave by Todd Strasser
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
In The Mind's Eye: Truth Versus Perception-CCS AIG Materials
Finding Freedom: CCS AIG Materials
Literary Selections:
Memoirs: As of 8/2/2022, all memoir selections will be taken from CCS's approved Clever app called CommonLit. Depending on lexile and EOG scores, students will read memoir excerpts based on that data and will have some choice. Specific titles are located in Canvas and the Week at a Glance.
Short Stories
"Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
"Charles" by Shirley Jackson
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
Drama
Adapted Hamlet-READ magazine
No Fear Shakespeare-Hamlet (AIG only)
The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs
Poetry
"Oh Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
"Dover Beach" is referenced in the novel Fahrenheit 451 (AIG)
"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes
"Grass" by Carl Sandburg
"Cool Tombs" by Carl Sandburg
"Mending Wall" by Robert Frost
"The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls"
"Shiloh"
"I, Too, Sing America"
Speeches
The Gettysburg Address-Abraham Lincoln
"I Have a Dream" Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
George Bush's 9/11 Speech
Myths
Why the Waves Have White Caps
The Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon
Memoir Writing using SWAY program in Office 365
STEM Project for Unit 5/Argumentative Writing-Creating a Public Service Announcement-Choose from Screencastomatic, weevideo, or Canva
Nonfiction
The Greensboro Sit-in
I Have a Dream speech-Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
9/11-Oval Office speech/Bulhorn speech-Former President G. W. Bush
The Gettysburg Address-Former President Abraham Lincoln
J.F.K. Inauguration Speech 1961
Book of the Month (Regular and Inclusion Classes) Formal Assessment Reading Grade
September-due in October
October-due in November
November-due in December
December-due in January
January-due in February
February-due in March
March-due in April
April-due in May
Movies that correspond with our reading
The Wave-two 30 minute parts shown on YouTube, Very 1980s! (Periods 1 & 6)
Fahrenheit 451-1967 version (Periods 1 & 6) I wish someone would make a contemporary version.
Animal Farm movie (optional)
Lord of the Flies movie (optional)
Short movie adaptation of "Thank You, M'am" (1971)
The Monkey's Paw-modern adaptation adding a different ending. I liked the old VHS version better.
Old black and white movie version of "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Lifetime made for television movie adaptation of "The Lottery" with Keri Russell (1996)
Dead Poet's Society with Robin Williams
DVD transfer from a reel to reel movie. Short movie version of "The Lottery" (my favorite) Look for a young Ed Begley! (1967)
The Book Thief-I showed this movie to the stayback students not attending the Washington, D.C. trip. Since Covid 19, students have not had the opportunity to attend this trip.
Hamlet with Mel Gibson and Glen Close-End of the year after EOG testing and reading the adapted play.
The Great Gatsby-This is the 1972 movie starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. This movie supports the social studies curriculum. This is not the Leonardo DiCaprio movie!
Week at a Glance
