Mrs.

Hedarias
8th Grade English
August 8th, 2016

Year 2016-2017

Welcome!

Contact Information
Mrs. Hedaria

Welcome to 8th grade English! I am

extremely excited to have you in my class
this year. We are in for a really exciting
year filled with lots of learning and fun activities.

I prefer to be contacted by
email but you are more than
welcome to call me.
Email:
jhedaria@coralacademy.org
Phone: (775) 323-2332
Website:
hedariashogwarts.weebly.com
(Please leave a message with the
office and I will call you back as
soon as I am available.)

I have listed my contact information on

the side, please don't hesitate to contact
me for any reason. Thank you for joining
me on this exciting journey through the
wonderful world of English.

This syllabus is designed to inform you

and your parents/guardians about my expectations, rules, and the common procedures of my classroom. I full heartedly believe that parents/guardians are the first
educators in their childs life and this year I
plan to work with not only every student
to reach success but every parent/guardian
to help their child unlock their potential
and be successful in their 8th grade career.

Course Description and Goals

Inside this Syllabus
Course description

Attendance/Grading Scale

Scope & Sequence

IR Reading

Rules/Consequences

Materials

This course is designed to

introduce the literary classics
and teach the fundamentals of
language arts skills. All of these
skills will be discussed and
strengthened over the
coursereading, writing, listening, speaking, and researching.
Over this course we will be
highlighting different genres of
literature as well as writing.
The list includes but is not limited to: poetry, non-fiction,
fiction, short story, newspaper
articles, blogs, mythology, etc.

Through the exposure to

different writing mediums
students will learn to appreciate the importance of
each genre.

dents to dig deeply into

literature and strengthen
their own writing abilities.

Students will be able to

write effect essays that go
At the completion of
through the writing procthis course students will be ess and successfully master
able to determine and unthe steps of an effective
derstand plot, point of view, editing cycle.
character development,
All of these goals
tone, and reand outcomes are
searching, among
aligned with comother things.
mon core stanThe goals of
this course are
to challenge stu-

dards and Springboard curriculum

in mind.

Page 1

Grading Scale
The grading scale of this class
falls into that of Coral Academy of Sciences grading
scale. It is a point value system. We do have a +/- scale
score as well.

The breakdown of my class is as following, (they

are broken down further into the % of the overall
points available.)

25%

Homework
Worth 10 pts

Extra Credit is not given.

Students should be working diligently and by meeting all assigned deadlines.

25%

Classwork
Worth 20 pts

25%

Projects
Worth 30-50 pts

25%

Quizzes/Tests
Worth 50-100 pts

Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty
is the purposeful reproduction of material that was not
created by yourself. This
includes copying homework,
copying internet material
without properly citing it,
cheating on tests/quizzes, or
taking credit for work you
did not perform.

This is a serious
crime and is considered
plagiarism, which is punished harshly in the
world.

"I understand that academic

Consequences of breaking
Academic Dishonesty are as
following.
1st offense: a conference with
me and half credit.
2nd offense: a call home and
zero credit.
3rd offense: results in a parent
teacher conference and office
referral.

dishonesty includes copying from

a friend or internet source,
cheating on tests, or otherwise
taking credit for work I did not
perform. I also understand the
consequences for academic
dishonesty."

Attendance, Tardies & Make-up Work

Attendance is of an upmost importance, if youre not in class
youre missing all the material. I
give homework so missing class
means youre missing the class assignments and notes. (Attendance
will follow Coral School protocol.)

a consequence system. I will not

add additional fuel to the fire
however I will contact parents if it
is a habitual occurrence in my
class.
Make-up Work

I understand life happens, so if

Tardies can become a chronic
you are absent for any reason
problem real fast so in order to alle- please check my website to find
viate this issue Coral has put in place your missing work. Additionally

when you come back to class my

absent file will have the missing
work for you as well.
Students are responsible to check
both places for all missing work as
well as the calendar on the board
for what they have missed.
I accept absent work the amount of
days you were absent plus one
upon your return..
Page 2

Classroom Scope and Sequence

This course is designed around units
that will encompass two embedded assessments and one big midterm/final.
Each unit will also have mini quizzes.
The curriculum follows Springboard.
Unit #1: The Challenge of Heroism
Unit #2: The Challenge of Comedy
Unit #3: The Challenge of Utopia
Unit #4: The Challenge to Make a
Difference
The assignments in this class are essays, end of reading book projects,
Springboard activities, vocabulary, and
tests/quizzes.
Essays: There will be a major essay
due for each unit, in which we will go
through extensive editing processes designed to encourage mastery of the writ-

ing skills. Multiple tiny practice essays

will be given at teacher digression.
Homework: If homework is assigned
it is because you didn't have time to
finish it in class, or it is essay writing.

wards a grade. It is also a rule of

thumb to finish a book every two
weeks, this gives you just enough
time to finish it and remember it!
Anything over this and it is hard to
remember what you have read.

Projects: I give projects for every

Quizzes/Tests: Tests will count
novel that is read in class as well as for
IR readings. These projects are a better as embedded assessments, vocabuway of grading understanding and mas- lary quizzes/test, midterm and finals.
tery of the material then tests. These
projects will be given each quarter.
Participation: This includes beIR (Independent Reading) is a secon- havior, preparedness, and general
dary reading portion of the class that is attitudes in class.
to be done outside of class time with
limited reading time done in class. This
is a way to become better citizens.
Reading makes you smarter! You will
be given a set amount of reading to
complete each quarter. You are required to bring a book with you to my
class EVERY day! This will count to-

Late work

Independent Reading

Life happens and sometimes you

fall behind so with sympathy I accept
late work, for half credit, one day after it
was due. Anyone is allowed to turn in
late work. NOW there is a catch! In
order to turn in late work for half credit
two things have to happen.

Independent Reading will be structured so you are reading a book

every two weeks. This time frame allows you to remember what you are
reading and be able to talk about it with others. I will require a few
things to keep this a fluid and continuing process.

1. A late-work letter needs to be filed

out, (it is in my absent file) addressed to
me explaining what happened. I have a
pet shark that eats my homework too.
2. Your turned in
homework stapled
to the letter put in
your class folder,
standing up so I can
see it.

I require weekly check ins, called readers notebooks, assigned each

Monday due the following Monday. Every two weeks I will require a
end of the book summary report, due dates will be set. (If you are reading a longer book or are struggling to meet this deadline, it is your responsibility to talk with me).
I will require a quarterly book talk with me, you will schedule your
own appointment with me during lunch, after school, or tutoring, to
have discuss one of your books. These will be held towards the end of
each quarter.
Reading should be enjoyable so you are free to read any book of your
choosing, fiction or non-fiction. Reading makes us smarter!

Page 3

Classroom Expectations

Consequences
I reserve the right to bypass any consequence
depending on the severity of the infraction. The punishment
will match the crime.

Come prepared for class with all required materials and get to
work immediately.

Respect your Teachers and Peers and all times.

Actively Participate and try your best on everything.

Constantly ask questions and seek clarification.

Be safe at all times and abide by all school rules and expectations.

1. Warning
2. Lose Points/Seating Change
3. Parent Contact/Office Referral
4. Parent Contact/Detention
5. Miss Garlock, Saturday Dentention

I have read and understood the rules. I have read and understood that their will be
consequences for my actions if I choose to break the rules.
Student Initials: ___________

Materials

Folders
I will have a folder in my classroom with every students name on
it, this is where I will communicate
with the students and hand back all
assignments. This is also where you
will turn in all assignments that are
not in the Springboard textbook.
When turning in work you will need
to turn it in standing up so I can see
that stuff has been turned in. will
have the folders divided by classes
and they will be located in colored
crates.
I will use these folders to easily
keep track of turned in work, this is
also where you will turn in all absent or late work with the correct
slip attached.

Students will need to have all of these materials each and everyday in order to be successful. Please let me know if there are any
issues in acquiring these items so I can make
correct accommodations.

3 hole punch 2 Binder

(English Only)

Pencil /Pen (Blue or Black Ink)

Lined Paper

70 page spiral notebook

(English Only)

Composition Notebook
(English Only)

Dividers

Coral handbook

IR book

Assigned Textbook (Springboard)

Highlighters (All colors)

Book treatment agreement

I understand that I am responsible for the
well being of the books that I barrow. I
understand that any damage I inflict on a
poor innocent book I will have to pay for.

Student Initials: ___________

Page 4

Syllabus Signature Section

I have received a copy of Mrs. Hedarias Syllabus. I understand the essential
components to my childs success in 8th grade English. I understand that my student(s) and I will be held accountable for the information, rules, and policies listed
in it. I understand that if I have any questions or concerns that I can contact Mrs.
Hedaria via email or by contacting Coral Academys office and leaving a message.
(Please circle the contact information that you prefer I contact you with)

Student Name:_____________________ Signature:_______________________ Date:__________

Parent Name:_____________________

Signature:_______________________ Date:__________

Parent Phone:________________________ E-Mail:________________________________________

P.S. I tend to have students call home to report about any minor infractions as a way to build self awareness. If this
is not something you wish to have me do please indicate this by circling the NO option.
Yes I am ok with my child calling home as a form of consequence
No I am not ok with my child calling home as a form of consequence

Page 5

Syllabus Signature Section

I have received a copy of Mrs. Hedarias Syllabus. I understand the essential
components to my childs success in 8th grade English. I understand that my student(s) and I will be held accountable for the information, rules, and policies listed
in it. I understand that if I have any questions or concerns that I can contact Mrs.
Hedaria via email or by contacting Coral Academys office and leaving a message.
(Please circle the contact information that you prefer I contact you with)

Student Name:_____________________ Signature:_______________________ Date:__________

Parent Name:_____________________

Signature:_______________________ Date:__________

Parent Phone:________________________ E-Mail:________________________________________

P.S. I tend to have students call home to report about any minor infractions as a way to build self awareness. If this
is not something you wish to have me do please indicate this by circling the NO option.
Yes I am ok with my child calling home as a form of consequence
No I am not ok with my child calling home as a form of consequence

Page 5