Ms. Wortham's Room~216
BEAUMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL
  • WELCOME
  • Language Arts Units
  • History Units

Literature & Writing

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” 
―    Maya Angelou

HOME READING:

Picture
This is a weekly activity. Students are assigned to read fifteen or more minutes each evening in preparation for quarterly book projects (please see below).
They then fill in a simple formulaic home reading sheet completely and obtain a parent signature to turn in. Students determine their grade by turning in the sheet on the following Monday for "4 points", Tuesday for  "3 points", Wednesday for "2 points", Thursday for "1 point and Friday for "0.5 points". The goal with this procedure is to give young people some autonomy in determining assessment in this area.  Home reading sheets may not be turned in for credit after Friday or the last day of the school week (unless the student has been absent the entire week. Accommodations are made for those absent at the beginning of the week as well).

BOOK PROJECT
 
QUARTER-I
  Cereal Box Project
​   (300 point project)
Details distributed during back-to-school night or click and download below:
​ cereal_box-new_2017.docx
DUE: 10/17/2019

Picture







Students receive detailed project rubrics for this assignment in class.

 BOOK PROJECT   
 QUARTER-II
Scrapbook Project
​   (400 point project)
Details distributed during back to school night or click & download below:
scrapbook_project-3-3.docx
​
DUE: 01/09/2020

Picture





Students receive detailed project rubrics for this assignment in class.

   BOOK PROJECT
QUARTER-III 
Book Jacket Project
​   (200 point project)
Details distributed during back to school night or click & download below:
book_jacket-2018-19.docx
DUE: 03/12/2020

Picture
Students receive detailed project rubrics for this assignment in class.

BOOK PROJECT
QUARTER-IV
News Magazine Project
​    (500 point project) 
Details distributed during back to school night or click & download below:
​    book_projects.docx

DUE: 05/21/2020  

Picture








​Students receive detailed project rubrics for this assignment in class.

                                LANGUAGE ARTS

The goals of our language arts class include building reading, writing, and speaking skills.  Students study a variety of literary genres, writing modes, and engage in both informative and persuasive speeches and quarterly debates.  Language arts coursework and our novels' central themes and/or settings are intentionally aligned with our work in history to provide integrated units of study. There will be one formal persuasive/argumentative essay writing assignment each quarter. Topics are based on seventh grade medieval history themes or contemporary issues of controversy.

QUARTER-I [8/28-10/31]
With our first unit, "Unsolved Mysteries," students examine mystery and science fiction genres. The contents herein will enable them to better differentiate fact from fiction, make inferences, evaluate data, and draw realistic conclusions through evaluating the classic work of Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, W.W. Jacobs, Frank R. Stockton, and southern tales collected by Patricia McKissack in The Dark Thirty. 
QUARTER-I essay "The Fall of Rome"- Final due>>10/02
​........................................................................................................................................................................

QUARTER-II [11/04-01/24]
Our second quarter unit of study begins with our class novel, Crispin, the Cross of Lead, by Avi.completing work from the previous unit. We continue our quarter with a unit on "Poetry." Students critique both classic and contemporary works as well as mimick style and tone. They engage in writing formulaic poetry, traditional forms (some that incorporate iambic pentameter [we save the more difficult meter for high school :-) ]), free verse, and finally participate in the more modern art form of slam poetry. 
QUARTER-II essay"Benefits & Detriments of Chinese Isolationism-Final due>>12/20
........................................................................................................................................................................

QUARTER-III [01/28-04/03]
The third quarter unit of study centers around various African short stories and Suzanne Fisher Staples' novel, Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind. Students evaluate this piece of (fairly recent) historical fiction and its multiple concepts presented (tradition vs. modernization, gender roles, use of natural resources, religion...) in the story using varied cultural lenses. They're introduced to a variety of literary devices present and apply their benefit to story development.
QUARTER-III essay "Capitol Punishment"-Final due>>3/19
​........................................................................................................................................................................

QUARTER-IV [04/07-06/05]
Our fourth quarter unit of study includes reading abridged Shakespeare. Plays include 'Romeo & Juliet,' 'Othello,' 'MacBeth,' 'Hamlet,' 'The Tempest' and more.
QUARTER-IV essay "The Right to Bear Arms"-Final due>>5/20


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from theresac