Gunnison Middle School

WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW-The following document is a year long, daily plan with unit breakdown and is subject to change. 2019-2020 Yearly Plan

TAYLOR CHALLENGE!!! The first 3 weeks of English for 8th graders will focus on Taylor Challenge. Please have all paperwork, payments and a sports physical completed and turned in by Monday August 27, 2018! I am looking forward to an amazing year!

ENGLISH 8     

8th grade English is a combined study of writing, reading, grammar and vocabulary.  The standards will be achieved through the following units:  Who Am I?, The Alchemist, Power and Politics of Story Telling and Poetry, What is Love?, Teens as Agents of Change, Exploring Perception.   Students will be involved in the writing process and working towards mastery of summary, analytical essay, literature response with support from text, expository essay, and poetry.  The focus of writing instruction will be to increase the level of sophistication in written work through improved sentence structure, higher level vocabulary, and supporting personal claims and opinions with evidence from the text.  Students will also be introduced to MLA format and required to use it in all written work.  Some of the units will be collaboratively planned with Social Studies and other content areas.

Socratic Seminar and dialogue will be a major focus in the 8th grade.  Seminars will be done both independently and in conjunction with Mr. Murtaugh’s Social Studies classes.  Students will be expected to participate through individual think sheets, partner/small group dialogue, whole group discussion and reflective writing post seminar.

Grading Policy

Gunnison Middle School - 2017/2018

Percentage Grades

A+ 100 - 97.5%

A 97.4 - 92.5%

A- 92.4 - 89.5%

B+ 89.4 - 87.5%

B 87.4 - 82.5%

B- 82.4 - 79.5%

C+ 79.4 -77.5%

C 77.4 - 72.5%

C- 72.4 - 69.5%

D+ 69.4 - 67.5%

D 67.4 -62.5%

D- 62.4-59.5%

F 59.4% & below

Guidelines and Practices

1. It is the teacher’s discretion to allow corrections and re-dos.

2. It is the teacher’s discretion to set deadlines for work turned in. (Be it a week after the due date, by the end of the unit, etc.)

3. Put a ZERO in right away if no work is turned in on due date.

4. Students that correct assignments can only earn a B on assignments.  

5. Tests are only taken once.

Work Habits and Citizenship

We use the labels, EXM, PRO, PP, and NE, so at a glance students, parents and teachers can discern the difference between academic grades and WH/CIT when looking at or entering grades.

EXM (exemplary) = 95% equivalent to an A (No one is 100%),

PRO (proficient) = 80%, equivalent to a B-

PP(partially proficient) = 60% Passing at a D

NE (not evident ) = 50% Failing

Work Habits: Be prepared, Be productive, Be prompt (this includes on time to class and with assignments)

EXM – Always prepared for class, uses class time productively, no late and or missing assignments, on time to class.

PRO – Usually prepared for class, uses class time productively, few late and/or missing assignments, mostly in time to class.

PP - Frequently unprepared, does not use class time productively, significant late and/or missing assignments, frequently late to class.

NE – Unprepared, unproductive, excessive late and /or missing assignments or tardiness to class.

Citizenship: Be positive, Be cooperative, Be respectful

EXM - Outstanding citizenship/leadership, always polite and cooperative

PRO - Good citizenship/some leadership, usually polite and cooperative

PP – Needs improvement on citizenship, leadership, and/or cooperation

NE – Frequently disrupts class, often impolite, or uncooperative