Literacy~ Mrs. Magee
2015-2016
Welcome to the Lanier Middle School 8th Grade Readers and Writers Workshop!
I am very excited about the new school year, and I look forward to getting to know our students as the year
progresses. Here are a few things to note about Literacy class for the 2015-2016 school year.
For the Fall semester, all students will need a hard copy of the following books:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (any edition)
Night by Elie Wiesel (2006 translation if possible)
For the Spring semester, all students will need a hard copy of the following book:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (any edition)
These 3 titles are our class reads for the year and each student will need their OWN hard copy of the books.
They do not need to be new- check your shelves at home, Half-Priced books, or deals on Amazon.com. And
PLEASE let me know if you have any problems getting any of the books.
Supplies:
-2 hard cover composition notebooks
-2 glue sticks
-2 packets of post-its
-1 box of Kleenex
Grading Policy:
A student will earn a “0” on an assignment only if the student receives unauthorized information or
plagiarizes a piece of writing. Otherwise, at Lanier we operate on a Total Points system for all grades and
subjects. Each assignment is attached to a Category, and each Category has range of total points available to
be specified by the teacher.
Categories for Language
Homework (10 points)
Classwork (20-50 points)
Quizzes (40-60 points)
and Literature:
Projects/Tests (100-200 points)
IB Grades (weighted @ 0)
Objective Tests (weighted @ 0)
For notebook grades, a student can take a penalty of -5 points and turn in a NB ONE day after the due date.
This means that since the student has Literacy R2, he/she must hunt me down and give me the NB the very
next day (a P day) even though they do not my class that day. I do not accept notebooks more than ONE day
late. For major projects or final writing pieces, a student has one week after the due date to get the
assignment turned in for a POSSIBLE 80%. I do not accept major assignments after one week from the due
date.
The Literacy late work policy is strict for many reasons: 1. The reading and grading of major writing
assignments (for roughly 150+ students) takes a significant amount of time outside the work day; therefore, at
some point, the grading needs to end for the sanity of all involved parties; 2. The class moves immediately into
the next unit of study once an assignment is turned in; 3. It is important to learn to work within (and stick to)
deadlines.
Contact info:
Email: smagee1@houstonisd.org
Website: http://www.purplepups.org//Domain/4737
*All major due dates and assignments will be posted in the classroom AND on the HUB. The HUB is the newly remodeled
online communication HISD system. I am learning it as we go. Please be patient.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I am really excited to teach and grow with our young
Readers and Writers!
Thank you!
Summer Magee
Literacy Coach (grades 6-8)