Long Branch Middle School
Where Children Matter Most
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Welcome Back!
This year will be my tenth year teaching Language Arts at Long Branch Middle School. I graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelors degree in English. I then continued my education at Monmouth University where I received a Masters in Teaching (Secondary English) and a Masters in Education with a focus on curriculum and instruction.
This year we will be focusing on the reading and writing standards as outlined by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. See link below. We will be covering a variety of literary genres during the year to introduce students to as many different types of texts as possible. The ultimate goal of the class to encourage students to feel confident in their education and help them adjust to their time here at the middle school.
NJ Student Learning Standards 6th Grade ELA
Homework:
Each week students will be required to use an online vocabulary program called membean for 80 minutes per week. Students can do 20 minutes per day M-Th or they can break down the 80 minutes in a way that best fits their schedule. The 80 minutes must be completed by Friday. Homework will count as a formative grade (30%). If students do not have access to a computer at home, they may make arrangements to come to my room during lunch or in the morning, go to homework club after school, or use the Long Branch Public Library.
Homework Link - Membean
Contact Information:
Email: mcampbell@longbranch.k12.nj.us
Phone: 732-229-5533
Availability: I am available for extra help before school, during the students' lunch period, and on Thursdays after school.
Course Outline - September
Weekly Focus:
Week 1 - 9/4-9/5 - Getting to Know the Class
Week 2 - 9/9-9/13 - Baseline Testing (SRI, Reading and Writing Benchmark)
Week 3 - 9/16-9/20 - Goal Setting and Narrative Writing
We will be setting individual goals based/class goals based on the Benchmark Data.
We will be revising the summer reading essay, "20 Year Promise".
Week 4 - 9/23- 9/27 - Getting to Genres and Short Story Terms
We will be discussing the different types of fiction genres.
We will be revisiting short story vocabulary.
October
Week 1 - 9/30-10/4 - Short Story Terms and SCR Writing
We will be revisiting short story vocabulary.
We will be reviewing the parts and expectations of a short constructed response.
Weeks 2 & 3- 10/7-10/18 - Main Idea and Supporting Details
Students will be able to identify the difference between topic, main ideas, and supporting details.
Students will be able to recognize main idea and how an author supports that main idea in a nonfiction text.
Important Documents
"What Exactly Is a Hero?" Vocabulary
Week 4 - 10/21 - 11/1- Identifying Parts of the Plot
We will be reviewing the parts of the plot in a short story.
Students will be able to identify the parts of the plot in a short story.
November
Week 1 & 2 - 11/4-11/15 - Research Simulation Task Writing
Students will be learning what a research simulation task is.
They will gather information from multiple sources to identify the similarities.
Students will learn the structure and characteristics of this style of essay.
Week 3 & 4- 11/18-11/27 - Author's Purpose and Point of View
Students will be able to understand the different purposes that authors have for writing.
Students will analyze a variety of nonfiction texts to identify different purposes that authors have within their writing.
Students will be able to identify the point of view of an author within a nonfiction text.
December
Week 1 - 12/2-12/11 - Types of Conflicts in Fiction
Students will be able define the different types of conflict in fiction texts.
Students will bale to identify conflicts in a fiction text and explain what type they are.
Week 2 & 3 - 12/12-12/20 - Identifying Arguments and Argument Strength
Students will be able to identify arguments as presented in a text.
They will be able to determine the strength of an argument based on the information given.
Students will be able to understand the term bias.
Week 4 - 12/23-12/31 - Winter Break - No School
