| Dear 8th Grade Parents,
This school year seems to be rushing by at warp speed (for those of
you familiar with Star Trek!). The class is already counting down the days
to the Israel trip. Even though many of them have been there before, they
are excited about touring there with their class friends. It won’t be long
until we are all missing them while they are gone.
I know that many of you were concerned when Abby Johnson chose to
leave this year, but I wanted to give you an update on what has been
accomplished since August. Having her curriculum map available, we have
already covered much of what she laid out for the year. In grammar, we have
reviewed parts of speech, parts of a sentence, pronoun usage, and types of
clauses. In literature, we have read several essays and articles, and we
have studied Of Mice and Men and Johnny Tremain. In composition, we began
with single paragraphs and have moved to multiple paragraph compositions
including essays. And we have focused on vocabulary development both in
Wordly Wise and in the various literature assignments. With this solid
background, I believe they are becoming more and more ready for the
requirements of ninth grade, wherever they attend next year.
This quarter students will read two biographies about famous
Americans. One biography will be assigned, and students will answer five
questions (paragraph responses) as a book report. Then they will all be
able to choose a second biography from among the many assigned from the
library. We will have an in-class assignment for them to compare the two
biographies, as well as a composition assignment. As has become the custom,
students will have five compositions to write, two of which will relate to
the Echoes project they will be doing this quarter. In addition, I will
focus several lessons on identifying the appropriate structure and
organization of essays in order to help all of my students to understand the
difference between essays and other composition forms. In vocabulary, we
will continue to use Wordly Wise lessons 12-15, as well as some review of
Latin and Greek word parts and their influence upon the English language.
For grammar instruction, we will review subject-verb agreement, comma usage,
and verbal phrases—gerunds, infinitives, and participles. In addition to
this enriched curriculum, we will be using the Tennessee Test Preparation
Workbook each Friday to practice skills needed on the Stanford Achievement
test later this spring.
I will continue to give weekly assignments on the syllabus; several
parents have requested I email this to them weekly which I am more than
willing to do for anyone who provides me an email address. As far as the
website is concerned, I update grades weekly, usually by Thursday.
I am also investigating options for improving student conduct. Some
students may continue using the Blue Card system while others will have an
opportunity to negotiate individual contracts.
One final note of significance: Several students have gotten into
the habit of turning in required assignments more than a few days late.
This habit will be a detriment to their success in high school. For that
reason, I will deduct ten points on ANY assignment that comes in later than
the assigned date. This includes homework, compositions, class work, and
Wordly Wise lessons (which are due EVERY TUESDAY). Students who have
excused absences will NOT be penalized for makeup work.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach me at school or
email me at home, NMF2384@aol.com. Thank you for your support and
confidence. It has been a privilege to work with your children; in fact,
this has been the best teaching experience I have had in all my thirty years
of teaching!
Sincerely,
Nancy Foshee
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