McGill, Karen at, Dayton, OH 45449 US - Home

Literature

Our literature anthology is Prentice Hall’s Literature:  Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes (silver edition).  In addition to selections from that anthology, we will read some novels.  I will choose from these novels:

MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier (historical period: 1774, American Revolution; themes: decision-making, courage, family values)
THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE by Avi (historical period: early 1800's; themes: coming-of-age, independence, honesty, facing adversity)
THE RIVER BETWEEN US   by Richard Peck (historical period: Civil War; themes: importance of learning, coming-of-age, family bonds)
OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hesse (historical period: Great Depression; themes: coming-of-age, family relationships, dealing with hardship)
THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton (historical period: 1960's; themes: coming-of-age, consequences of decisions one makes, feeling like an outsider)
A WALK TO REMEMBER by Nicholas Sparks (themes: coming-of-age, decision-making, the beauty and innocence of first love) 
Also, we will read the plays, The Diary of Anne Frank and I Remember Mama,  as well as selections from Scholastic Scope magazine and Weekly Reader READ magazine.

Grammar and Composition

Our textbook is Writer’s Choice, which is published by Glencoe-McGraw Hill. We also use a grammar practice  workbook published by Prentice Hall as well as various worksheets and handouts..   In addition to grammar lessons, we will explore descriptive, expository, persuasive, and narrative writing.  Also, students will write some poetry.  Some of the writing will relate directly to the current literature selection.   Students will also write a background research report for the science fair, and they will receive some instruction for it in my class.  They will also  receive a grade on the report for my class as well as for science class.

Vocabulary

We will use the Vocabulary Workshop book.  Each unit will take two weeks.  On Wednesday of the first week, the exercises for the unit are due.  On Wednesday of the second week, students will have a vocabulary-spelling test over the twenty words.  This means that students have fourteen days to learn twenty words.  If a student studies two words a day (spelling and definition), and then reviews during the last days before a test, he/she should do well. Students may make vocabulary flashcards and turn them in on the test day to receive 5 bonus points per unit.  These can be made online at www.flashcardmachine.com  .  A great website to help students (and parents) improve vocabulary outside of school is http://www.freerice.com/index.php


This site is in game-format, and for each vocabulary word that a player correctly defines, rice is donated to the United Nations World Food Program.

Students are required to have a notebook and a folder for my class.    Notebooks may be collected at any time and graded, so it is important for students who are absent to “catch up” on notes by borrowing a classmate’s notebook to copy.