- J.P. Case Middle School
- Syllabus
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Syllabus Outline2024-2025
Teacher: Mrs. Christine Casterline
2025 Standardized testing dates: NJSLA-MAP Growth Assessment: This is given three times a year as per district expectations. Students will spend approximately 1-2 class blocks during each "window" taking this assessment. Below are the "windows" in which the assessment will be given:Fall: sometime between 9/9-9/20Winter: sometime between 2/2-2/14Spring: sometime between 5/27-6/6*PLEASE NOTE- The following syllabus may be changed or altered at the teacher's discretion. The activities listed may not occur in the given order.Course Description: In Language Arts, reading and writing are recursive processes. Students are immersed in authentic reading/writing experiences by working with a variety of texts and genres to become proficient readers, writers, and learners. Course writing assignments, reading assignments, and activities will often be differentiated to meet the diverse needs of all students.Below is a list of units with approximate time frames for this year. Incorporated in each unit will be grammar concepts pertinent to each unit of instruction. Reading and Writing Worskshop will also be incoporated.Unit #1: September to October: Studying Tolerance Through History Unit
Students will focus on empathy and tolerance for different cultural and racial backgrounds. An understanding of the historical time periods in each text will also be addressed. Some texts that will be explored: The Seventh Most Important Thing, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Alabama Moon, Stella By Starlight, Port Chicago, March, Inside Out and Back Again, Refugee, Loving Vs. Virginia, Iqbal, Paper Things
Unit #2: November: Personal Narrative Unit
Students will be tasked with the challenge of thinking about a time where they have demonstrated empathy. Students will be
asked to write a narrative explaining and reflecting on their experience.
Unit #3: December to January: Non-Fiction
Students will read multiple books on various non-fiction topics such as: history, sports, math, famous people, animals, science,
etc. Students will accumulate knowledge on these topics and even expand their current knowledge. Texts will be self-selected. Some of the books that may be explored are: Extreme Skiing, Dogs and Cats, African American History Civil War, Causes of the Civil War, Finding the Titanic, For LIberty, Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington, Nature’s Green Umbrella, Planet Earth/ Inside Out.
Unit #4: February to March: Research
Students will be introduced to MLA formatting, plagiarism, in-text citations, and works cited pages. Most importantly, by the end of the unit students will understand how to avoid plagiarism.
Unit #5: March to April: Argument
Students will become familiar with an argumentative essay. Students will also engage in debates on various topics.
Unit #6: April to May: Dystopian Literature
Students will become familiar with characteristics of dystopian literature, learn about the controls often present in dystopian literature and emmerse themselves in various dystopian literature options. Some texts that will be explored: Hunger Games, Divergent, Harrison Bergeron, Uglies, and many more.
Unit #7: May to June: Poetry
Students will analyze and assess several types of poems. Some of the poems in this unit will directly link back to the units we have done this year. Socratic Seminar will be a valuable tool used in this unit to help students converse about the meaning and depth of the poems being explored.