Course Syllabus

Ms Bradley Hi.png Welcome to Language Arts with Ms. Bradley!

lucy.bradley@ucps.k12.nc.us

Course Outline

UNIT Dates
Narrative Elements (Short Stories) T1 
Dystopian Fiction (Anthem by Ayn Rand) T2*
Literary Non-Fiction (Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly) T3*
Investigative Journalism (various texts) T3/4*
Drama (Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare) T4/5*
Lord of the Flies by William Golding T5/6*
Literature Circles Year Long*
STEMS and VOCAB Year Long

*Please note that the course outline may change in terms of units being studied or their order based on the pace of remote learning, school closures or other factors impacted by Covid-19. 

 

Grading Policy

In 8th Grade at CMS, LA is graded on a "Total Points" system whereby every assignment is assigned a point value based on the depth and breadth of learning being assessed. Some work may be graded on "completion" whereas many assignments will be graded based on how well a student has demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of the learning. 

Typically, the following values will be used: classwork assignment- 10-30 points, tests/projects/essays- 50 or 100 points.

As grades are populated in PowerSchool, a student's grade will be an average of the total points they received, divided by the total points available, multiplied by 100. 

Late work will receive a maximum of 50% of the original grade. No late work will be accepted after end of grading period.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are you really British?

A: No, I'm just really good at mimicking the accent.

 

Q: Do the British use sarcasm a lot?

A: See answer above. 

 

Q: What is the best way to contact you?

Email is probably the quickest way to contact me and my address is at the top of this page. I check my email every morning on arrival to school, during my planning (if I do not have a meeting), and at the end of the day. I will endeavor to respond to you as soon as I have read your email, unless I need to find out an answer to a question or your email requires a longer response, but definitely within 24 hours.

 

Q: When are your office hours?

A: On the UCPS schedule, Language Arts teachers' office hours are between 9:00-10:00am on Fridays. However, I check and respond to emails multiple times per day and will be holding optional LIVE Canvas Conference sessions daily during the last 20 minutes of each lesson. In other words, I will try to communicate with students (and parents) as quickly and efficiently as I can.  Students do not have to wait until Fridays to contact me if they have a question. 

 

Q: What supplies does my child need for your class?

A: Due to the risk of contamination, students and teachers are not meant to be sharing any supplies and so the following list is quite comprehensive. These supplies are what a student may need during a typical face-to-face class. This list was also on my Virtual Open House Video but I forgot to add EARPHONES which will be very useful as students will probably want to watch instructional videos in class. 

  • Pencils with erasers
  • 1 x composition book
  • Earphones
  • Ruler
  • Expo markers
  • Scissors and glue
  • 1x Folder/Binder with sections for loose leaf note paper
  • Loose leaf note paper (college ruled)
  • Correcting pen (green, red or some other color gel pen or biro etc.)
  • Highlighters (pack of 4/5 different colors)
  • Sticky notes
  • Coloring pencils

 

Q: Do I need to buy copies of the whole-class novels?

A: The school will provide copies of all our required reading this year, but I do recommend that parents purchase copies of our two main novels: Anthem and Lord of the Flies. Students will be able to annotate directly in their own copies rather than having to use (and manage) sticky notes. Annotating literature as part of active reading is a very important skill that students will need in high school and college. It is always good for them to practice this as early as possible. 

Here are the ISBN numbers of the versions of the novels we have in class (this is helpful when referencing page numbers):

Anthem by Ayn Rand  ISBN# 9780486492773

Lord of the Flies by William Golding  ISBN# 978-0-399-50148-7

 

Students will also be participating in Literature Circle groups throughout the year, and will be given book lists for each rotation to make their selections beforehand. Due to the number of copies we have in school, I am not always able to give students their first choice. The various titles will be posted before each rotation starts so that students have time to make their choice, and gain parent approval.

 

Q: Do you have a wish list for your classroom?

A: Yes! Any of the following items would be greatly appreciated.

  • Kleenex
  • Disinfecting wipes
  • Hand sanitizer

 

Q: What are your main expectations for students using Canvas?

  • No submission of blank documents or assignments that have not been attempted
  • No marking of an assignment as "done" without showing any proof of work
  • No joining a daily Canvas Conference without having looked at that day's work carefully and attempted it
  • No joining a Canvas Conference and not engaging (this means listening and/or speaking)
  • No plagiarism or cheating including submission of another student's work or copy and pasting information from the internet.

 

Q: How do I become a Canvas Observer?

A: Here are the instructions for how to become a Canvas observer. 

 

Q: How often do you update PowerSchool?

A: I typically have assignments graded and in PowerSchool within two days but often on the same day it was due. For essays, projects or longer pieces of writing, usually within a week. 

 

Q: My child says they turned in their assignment on Canvas but they have a zero on PowerSchool, why is this?

A: Ask them to check Canvas for any feedback from me on the submission screen. This could be that they submitted a blank document, they submitted the wrong document or they submitted no document. If everything looks correct and I have not given feedback, please email me and I will be happy to check if I made a mistake when aligning my grades- it does happen!

 

Q: How does my child submit assignments on Canvas?

Please watch this helpful video which explains how to submit assignments. 

Some teachers ask students to "share" Google documents with them, but I grade everything in Canvas. Therefore, I need all students to submit their assignments through Canvas. If there is no submission option, then that particular assignment does not need to be submitted i.e. it is not going to graded but is likely a part of a larger piece of learning which will eventually have a graded component. 

 

Q: Where can I see on Canvas if my child has submitted an assignment?

A: Visit the "Grades" page using the tab on the left-hand side. When looking at the "Score" column, there are a number of icons and inputs that teachers can use. Please click HERE for a comprehensive list of what all the submission types, submission statuses, grading icons and grade types etc. mean.

 

Q: A link or document you have posted on Canvas is not working, why is this?

Despite often triple-checking everything I post online, I do occasionally make mistakes. Canvas is a complex application with a lot of moving parts and sometimes I have not "Published" something for student view or I may have linked a document that is not accessible without changing some settings. I apologize for any stress this may cause during what is already a stressful time and appreciate any occasion when a parent or student makes me aware of this so I can fix it as quickly as possible. Thank you!