Issaquah Middle School
400 1st Avenue SE, Issaquah, WA 98027-4246
phone: (425) 837-6800 • fax: (425) 837-6855
www.ims.issaquah.wednet.edu
Seth Adams, Principal • Tim Baynes, Assistant Principal
Mrs. Galler’s Eighth Grade Advanced Language Arts
Course Description & Syllabus for 2015-2016
Email: gallerb@issaquah.wednet.edu
Phone: 425-837-6840
Room: 315
My goals and visions as a middle-school educator:
 In the short term, to prepare 8th graders for high school. In the long term, to prepare young people for lifelong learning in a multicultural world;
 To encourage reading of various genres and responsive writing to those readings using the literature textbook,
novels, primary sources, and teacher read-alouds;
 To encourage writing for different audiences and different purposes, such as narrative, argumentative,
descriptive, explanatory, and business writing;
 To encourage a balance of independent and group effort in class projects and discussions.
Language Arts “Essential Questions”:
1. How does following the process of writing strategy help my writing?
2. How can understanding the writing rubric's six analytical traits help my reading and writing?
3. How can understanding the elements of English grammar affect my reading, writing, and communicating?
4. Why is understanding the five purposes of writing important in my communication skills?
5. Why are reference materials important tools for my reading, writing, and communicating?
6. How are the genres of literature different?
7. What are the elements of prose and poetry, and how do they compare and contrast?
8. Why is recognizing universal themes critical to my understanding and enjoying of literature?
9. How can I communicate in public speaking more effectively?
10. How does the study of vocabulary affect my reading, writing, and communication
skills?
Overview of Language Arts Curricula
Language
 Emphasis on understanding sentence components and structures to increase sentence fluency in writing.
 Vocabulary development through our readings and through the lexicon of the elements of literature.
 Research skills, including note-taking, outlining, and use of MLA format and in-text (parenthetical)
citations.
Writing
 Students will have timed, in-class writing opportunities to write such short essays, such as one-page book
reviews (literary analyses) and character analyses.
 Each trimester we will focus on a specific form of writing:
• Trimester 1: Personal Narrative
• Trimester 2: Explanatory/Informative
• Trimester 3: Argumentative.
• (The latter two essays will include research and the use of MLA format and in-text citations.)
Literature/Reading
Students will explore many different genres of literature this year, including fiction in the form of novels and
short stories; nonfiction in the form of essays, articles, and memoirs; opinion and argument pieces; drama; and
poetry.
 Textbook: McDougal Littell Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2008. Print (in-class) and online (at home).
 Supplementary books:


Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (classic American fiction)
Warriors Don’t Cry (Unabridged for Advanced LA classes) by Melba (memoir)
Speaking / Communication
Students will have formal and informal opportunities for public speaking each trimester. These include, but are
not limited to:
 Socratic Seminars (literature discussion groups)
 Dramatic readings
 Formal Speeches
General Syllabus for Advanced Language Arts
(Approximate; subject to change)
Trimester 1 Units:
The Elements of Poetry (approx.. 3-4 weeks)
 McDougal Littell, Unit 5.
 Communication: Poem interpretation and recitation presentation.
The Six Traits of Writing (approx.. 2 weeks)
 Teacher hand-out of Wallace Stegner’s essay “Thoughts in a Dry Land.”
Narrative Non-fiction Unit (approx.. 3 weeks)
 Focus on Memoir and Autobiography readings throughout the McDougal
Littell Text.
 Essay # 1: Personal Narrative: “The Place I Love; the Geography I Cannot
Forget.”
The Elements of Literature Unit: Short Stories (approx.. 4 weeks, into Tri. 2)
 McDougal Littell Readings in Units 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6: Selected short stories.
Communication: Students Listen-with-Intention to teacher read-alouds.
 In-class writing: Character Analysis from a short story reading.
 Communication: Dramatic interpretations/play-acting of novel’s scenes.
Trimester 2 Units:
Finish Elements of Literature Unit: Short Stories
Novel: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. (approx.. 3-4 weeks)
Informative Non-fiction Unit: (approx. 4 weeks)
 McDougal Littell - Unit 8 and other teacher models of informative non-fiction
reading.
 In class-writing: Themes of Tom Sawyer.
 Review of MLA and Research Methods and Processes.
 Essay # 2: Explanatory Essay (research-based; use of MLA style in-text
citations and Works Cited page)
Trimester 3 Units
Historical Non-Fiction/Memoir: (approx.. 4 weeks)
 African American folktales and teacher read-aloud: The Magical Adventures
of Pretty Pearl by Virginia Hamilton.
 Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals; unabridged edition.
 Watching and listening to “Eyes on the Prize,” documentary of Civil Rights
Era.
 In-class writing: Comparison/contrast between Warriors Don’t Cry book and
the PBS documentary “Eyes on the Prize.”
 Socratic Seminars about “Eyes on the Prize.”
Argument Essay: (approx.. 4 weeks)
 McDougal Littell – Readings in McDougal Littell, Unit 9 and other teacher
materials.
 Essay # 3: Argument Essay (research-based; use of MLA style in-text
citations and Works Cited page)
Grading and Categories for Advanced Language Arts
The grading scale is the district’s and is located in the IMS Student Planner:
A=
93-100%
C+= 77-79.99%
A-=
90-92.99%
C=
70-72.99%
B+= 87-89.99%
C-=
67-69.99%
B=
83-86.99%
D=
60-66.99%
B-=
80-82.99%
F=
0-59.99%
My categories and their respective weights are as follows:
 Daily Work: 10%
o
Includes the work ethic traits of punctuality, preparedness, appropriate use of class time, selfcorrecting of work, in-class note-taking, and participation in small and big-group discussions.
 Homework: 15%
o
Late homework is not accepted except in cases of a family emergency. Students should meet
with me before school or before class to quietly discuss any situations. I want to instill in
students that we’re all human; students should feel free to meet with me to discuss any
homework issues or problems.
 Quizzes: 30%
o
Includes brief assessments based on night-before readings, vocabulary quizzes from current
texts readings, and in-class writing opportunities.
 Tests: 45%
o
Includes end-of-literature unit assessments and the three major essays.