English Language Arts Syllabus - Mrs. Hamilton 6th Grade

English Language Arts includes both reading and writing. We will focus on numerous skills in each of these areas, helping students to become more confident readers and writers.

Reading:  We will read several novels together this year. Two of the novels will be as a whole class, and others will be read independently. We will use our novels as a source for learning about literary devices, making inferences, citing from the text, character development, parts of plot, and more. Close reading strategies which support critical thinking will be employed for a deeper dive into the novel and also a deeper appreciation for style and literary elements, as well as theme and life lessons. Consistent independent reading will allow for exploration of new genres, an increase in fluency, and, hopefully, will foster a love for reading.

Writing:  I love teaching writing and I hope that some of that enthusiasm will transfer itself to my students!  We are all in different places with our writing and I will strive to provide the proper level of challenge for each learner. Some of the items we will work on this year include key word outlines, focused paragraphs, poetry, narrative writing, informative essay writing, argumentative writing, and elements that enhance our writing, such as strong verbs, quality adjectives, transitions, varied sentence openers, and more. A journalism project will give students the chance to research and write about topics of interest to them.

Grammar: We will approach grammar in numerous ways. This will include learning “jingles” about the different parts of speech to help us remember them and a “question and answer flow” to help identify the parts of a sentence. An interactive notebook will be used to explore sentence structure, literary elements, and all things "grammar."

Important Information!

Materials:  There are some items that your student will need specific to ELA.  Each student will need either a folder with three brads for holding pages, or a 1/2 to 1 inch binder for a portfolio of their work. In addition, students should bring a package of 10 to 20 sheet protectors. Colored pencils are often used for grammar notebooks, and a pack of at least 100 sticky notes will be needed in March.

Each student will need loose leaf paper throughout the year as well as a composition book or spiral notebook.

Independent Reading:  Students will read independent novels throughout the year. These will be of their choice, but do not include graphic novels. Reading can be done at home and in school, and it is fine for students to have a novel in each place.

Google Classroom:   We will be using Google Classroom as the year progresses.  Each student will have a password and will be able to access their online classes wherever they have internet access to work on assignments and view instructions, handouts, and due dates. In this way, parents can keep informed about student work and students can work on many assignments even if they are absent.  Students will also turn in written work through Google Classroom. The teacher is able to view student progress and to make comments when appropriate. Some assignments will not be turned in on-line, but most will be included in Google Classroom. Let’s make it a fantastic year!