Saint Paul's Lutheran School Kingsville, MD
Mr. Skip Osbourn
What to expect:
In our Language Arts class, we will be focusing on improving our writing and grammar skills, speaking skills, and adding new vocabulary to the words we already use. The main focus of our Language Arts class is communicating through writing. As we write, we discover our ideas and learn more about ourselves and our topics.
Our writing workshop approach will allow more flexibility for student choice and interests as we work on a variety of writing genres. The workshop time includes specific writing mini-lessons that focus on skills necessary for developing and strengthening our writing. There will also be daily writing time, and opportunities for peer and teacher conferences which give us a chance to learn from each other.
As we improve our writing style and form, we will use the 7 Traits of Writing to ask ourselves important questions about the process of writing. The 7 traits of writing are: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation. These 7 traits will help us work on specific ways to communicate our ideas creatively and effectively. They are also the basis of evaluation for the pieces of writing that are turned in for a grade.
Every week we will learn ten new words taken from the writing of well-known authors. Using our Vocabu-Lit textbooks and review games, we will apply these words to our writing.
What to bring to class:
Vocabulary textbook
Language binder with loose-leaf paper
Blue or black pen/pencil
Different colored pen to correct papers, edit and revise rough drafts
Daily writing notebook
Grading
60% Daily writing, final copies, workshop participation
40% Vocabulary, Grammar (20% quizzes + 20% homework)