 | | home > Staff Web Pages > English > LaPointe, Katie > English 7 |  | | home > Staff Web Pages > English > LaPointe, Katie > English 7 | | | Course Overview | | Welcome to Brooklyn Junior High! My name is Katie LaPointe, and I will be your child's seventh grade English teacher. My philosophy is based on my belief that the ability to read and write gives everyone power. This power is used daily to persuade, analyze, entertain, communicate, and discover.
Thus, developing reading skills and habits is a major focus of English 7. Students read a minimum of two hours weekly outside of class and write literature responses about their reading. During class, students read a novel together every trimester, but sometimes students read self-selected chapter books. All books students read are recorded in literature notebooks. Students should strive to read 25 books by the end of the year.
Students also spend time writing nearly every day. They keep a Writer's Notebook and are expected to produce three to five pates of rough draft writing a week. Students bring at least one piece of writing to final draft each trimester. We will use the workshop approach to improve these pieces of writing. Writing workshop days have three parts: mini lesson, writing time, and sharing. Mini-lessons are short, whole class instruction on writing. Students write during writing time, and that's when I meeet with individuals and give one-on-one instruction. Sharing time allows students to have a real audience as well as share what tools work for them as writers.
Finally, students have spelling practice and tests most full weeks of school. Students are also expected to know the meaning of the prefix, root, and suffix. Students will bring home spelling lists near the beginning of each trimester.
Grading will be broken down into the following categories:
Literature = 35%
Writing/Speaking = 35%
Progress/Process = 25%
Spelling/Word Work = 5%
Periodically, students put their best work into a portfolio and growth will be evaluated. That means their grades may change at the end of the trimester.
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