Mrs. Dotty Lewis's Seventh and Eighth Grade at 405 Third Street, Paintsville, KY 41240 US - Home
Welcome to 7th and 8th grade!
The 7th and 8th grade classroom is located on the third floor of Our Lady of the Mountain School. Mrs. Dotty Lewis teaches Language Arts and Social Studies; instruction in Science and Math is provided by Mrs. Rachel Melvin. Students also participate in religion, physical education, art and music, computers, library, sign language and foreign language (Spanish) studies. he math textbook for the 2011-2012 school year is Saxon Math Saxon is a new math series we adopted 2 years ago. It is a spiraling curriculum where instruction is distributed across lessons throughout the entire school year and breaks apart the traditional approach of clumping units together. The areas that will be covered throughout the school year are: Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis and Probability, and Problem Solving. Grading: Assignments will be graded using a point system. Points will vary depending on the specific assignment, content, time, etc. No late assignments will be accepted unless the office excuses it. Students with excused absences will have the proper time to make-up any missed assignments, per the student handbook policy. Students who are pulled from class for other activities (music, etc.) are responsible for getting and completing any assignments on time. Materials needed include a 3-ring binder with 2 tab dividers labeled math and science, loose leaf paper, pencils, and blue or black ink pens.
Subject content includes the following:
SOCIAL STUDIES
Text: Glencoe -- World History, Journey Across Time
The social studies text for this year explores the world's cultures in a sweeping, chronological overview of history from ancient civiizations to the present. The text encourages activer reading and learning for students of all reading levels. We will study geography, note taking strategies, and investigation, as well as learning about the history of the people who populate this planet with us.
The text is an excellent vehicle for students to continue to develop important reading, writing and analytical skills. We will concentrate on map reading skills, summarizing, sequencing, drawing conculsions, distinguishing fact and opinion, analyzing primary sources, and other important skills.
Grading: Homework is given almost every day, Monday through Thursday. Homework is the time for practice but will be given a numerical grade of anywhere from 10-30 points depending on the length of time that is required to complete the work. No late homework will be accepted unlesss there is and excused absence from the office. If the student has an excused absence, he/she will then have the prescribed days listed in the handbook to complete the make-up work. Compositions and Chapter Tests will be worth 100 points. Nine week's grades will be an average of the points assigned during the nine weeks.
SCIENCE
Text: Glencoe Life Science and Glencoe Earth Science
All Year: Scientific Method
August/September: Ecosystems
October: Classification
November/December: Human Body
January: Cells and Heredity
February: Simple Machines
March: Chemical Reactions
April/May: Plants
Grading:
Assignments will be graded using a point system. Points will vary depending on the specific assignment, content, time involvement, etc.
No late assignments will be accepted unless there is an excuse authorized by the office. Students with an excused absence will have the proper time to make-up any missed assignments per the student handbook policy.
Students who are pulled from class for other activities (i.e. music) are responsible for completing assignments on time.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Text: Elements of Writing (First Course)
Prentice Hall Literature (Silver Edition)
Vocabulary Workbook
Various novels
Grammar: Students will continue to work on sentence correctness, proper use of Standard English, correct use of mechanics, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc. These conventions of writing should be mastered by the end of the eighth grade year.
Writing: Students will continue learning and using the writing process of prewriting strategies, writing rough drafts, revising and editing. They will write a variety of papers for different audiences and purposes. In addition, each year the students will write a research paper that will include learning the skills of research, note taking, outlining, and documentation.
Literature: Reading skills such as identifying the main idea, summarizing and paraphrasing, determining word meaning through context clues will continue to be taught through reading, analyzing, discussing, and evaluating literary pieces. However, the main focus will be placed on learning the elements of fiction and analyzing the effectiveness of a piece of literature as it uses plot, character, setting, and point of view to underscore a theme. Poetry analysis will also be taught.
Over the course of the two years, the following novels will be studied:
And Then There Were None
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Old Man and the Sea
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mythology
Speaking: Opportunities for oral reports and speeches will be given throughout the year.
Vocabulary: The Vocabulary Workbook as well as other sources will be utilized.
Grading: Homework is given almost every day Monday through Thursday in at least one fo the Language Arts categories. Often it is given in more than one category. Homework is the time for practice but will be given a numerical grade of anywhere from 10-30 points depending on the length of time that is required to complete the work. No late homework will be accepted unlesss there is and excused absence from the office. If the student has an excused absence, he/she will then have the prescribed days listed in the handbook to complete the make-up work. Compositions and Chapter Tests will be worth 100 points. Nine week's grades will be an average of the points assigned during the nine weeks.
MATH
Students will follow the routine of instruction in the lesson for the day, completing practice problems, mental math and vocabulary. We will also complete review packets the day before a test. Mastery of each lesson is required. Incorrect problems will be reworked until mastery is achieved.
Students will be responsible for keeping a math folder in their binder that they will turn in on test days. The folder should contain five corrected lessons, five mental math warm-up exercises, and a completed vocabulary packet . There will be a test after five lessons are completed, including a matching vocabulary test.