Mrs. Kings University of 5th Grade!

GATE English Language Arts

Welcome to our class! As a parent, you will find lots of useful information about our class in this syllabus. If you still have
questions, please email me at kateaking@dorchester2.k12.sc.us

About Our Class

This year our classroom theme is Fifth Grade Grit. I want my students to show evidence of grit throughout their learning
experience. This means practicing a growth mindset when things seem challenging and not giving up. With grit and a growth
mindset, I believe all children are capable of amazing things regardless of IQ or talent.
We will be using many different resources to build our knowledge throughout the year, including novels, textbooks, leveled
readers, internet articles and activities, PowerPoints, projects, and interactive note-booking. Your child will use a 3-subject
notebook for my class. It is extremely important that this notebook comes to school with your child every day in order for
him/her to be prepared for learning. If your child does not understand a question on his/her homework, he/she can generally
find the information to help him/her in their notebooks. It is extremely important for students to keep their notebook
organized so that it can be used as a tool throughout the year.
Our GATE reading curriculum uses many tools. Students will be learning all new skills and keeping an Interactive Notebook full
of foldables that teach and practice these new skills. This is a great reference point when studying or reviewing. We will follow
a literacy model reading structure, where we read for specific purposes and take notes on passages or stories. We will read a
many class novels together and students will also participate in guided reading groups based on their instructional reading
levels. Word work and Grammar will be infused in Reading and Writing. Students will be encouraged to incorporate our new
grammar skills into their daily writing.

School Grading Scale Classroom Library

A: 100-90 B: 89-80 There is a small classroom library in my room for the
C: 79-70 D: 69-60 students. Students need to sign out and sign in borrowed
F: 59 & below books. For students to be able to borrow books from my
Classroom Grading Scale classroom library they need to turn in a signed student and
Classwork/Homework (Caesars English, Reading Log, Daily parent agreement form for borrowing books.
Warm-ups) RI Testing
Papers (Narrative, Informational, Argumentative, Poetry, Students will take the Reading Inventory (RI) several times
Text Dependent Analysis) throughout the year. This test will let students know their
Projects (Book Reports) reading levels so they can set high goals and their
Tests/Quizzes (Writing Assessments, Reading Assessments, independent reading can be tailored to their specific needs.
Grammar Assessments) Independent Reading Novel
Socratic Seminars (Communication Assessments) Students are expected to select a novel to read at home and
*All major assignments will be announced in advance to give during class that is on their Lexile Level. This can be a book
students time to prepare and study. from home, my classroom library (as long as the library
Classroom Rules and Expectations permission form is signed), or the Sires media center.
Follow Directions Students will also be expected to complete a monthly
Treat people how you want to be treated menu of activities that go along with the book of their
GLIDE (Give, Lead, Initiate, Demonstrate, Engage) choice (this will start in September).

Tests & Projects

Tests will be given at the end of each unit. There will be about 2-3 tests per quarter. Your child will know in advance when these
tests will take place and is responsible for writing the date down in his/her agenda. In order to prepare for these tests, your child
should be completing all homework assignments and should study his or her notes frequently. Students will also be working on
 writing prompts throughout the year, focusing on a different type of writing each quarter. The types of writing covered in fifth
grade are narrative, opinion/argumentative, informative/explanatory, and text-dependent analysis. It is required that parents
sign any tests or quizzes with a score of 60% or below. The student has a chance to make corrections and receive partial credit
back. Working on projects, reading, and studying for tests are considered homework and are expected of students. All projects
will be assigned with a rubric. Please read the rubric with your child and if there is any questions or concerns please email me.

Quizzes
Quizzes will be given around once a week. These quizzes assess the skills we have covered throughout the week in reading
comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, word study, and spelling. Quizzes are designed to show how much students know about a
small part of a unit and let me know if I need to help a student before giving a test. As with tests, your child will know about
MOST quizzes in advance and is responsible for writing them down. There may be a few pop quizzes that are given throughout
the year as well. Quizzes can also be studied for in the same manner as tests.

Classwork
Your child will completing classwork during most days of class. Not all classwork is graded in order to give students a chance to
practice skills before being assessed. When classwork is graded, some assignments are given a grade based on completion and
effort and some assignments are graded for accuracy to give a better picture of how much the student understands.

Homework
For the most part, students will be assigned nightly homework in ELA. We like for students to read at least 20-30 minutes from
their library books each night. Please check your childs agenda nightly to see when assignments are due and to see when
upcoming quizzes and tests are. I will not be checking agendas each day, so if you notice that your child is not writing down his or
her assignments, please encourage him/her to write them down. It is expected that students will write their homework down as
part of their routine upon entering the classroom. Homework grades are based on completion, putting effort into the assignment,
and following directions, NOT accuracy. Late work is accepted ONE school day late and will have 10 points deducted (absences
are an exception).

Parent Involvement
We love having parents involved in their childs education. With demanding schedules, we completely understand how hard this
can be. We send home weekly emails and newsletters which indicate when we need extra supplies or extra help in the classroom.
If you would like to contribute or volunteer, please send your homeroom teacher an email and we can work something out! We
truly believe that we are blessed by the children and parents that are in our rooms!

Communicating with Mrs. King

Every Monday we will email home a newsletter. This will contain information for the current week. In this newsletter you will find
our objectives for each subject for that week, any upcoming test dates or other important dates, spelling words for the week, and
any important upcoming events! It is incredibly important that you read the newsletter because it will help you stay up-to-date
on your child and what is going on in the classroom. Student folders will go home every Wednesday with important documents,
as well as their weekly test and quiz grades. It is important that parents look through their grades, and sign and return these
papers the next day! Please dont hesitate to contact me with questions or to let me know important things going on in your
childs life. The more I know about your child, the better I am able to serve him or her!

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Please sign below stating that you have read the syllabus information and have discussed it with your child.

Childs Name: ___________________________________ Parents Name: ______________________________________

Parents Signature: _________________________________________________ Date: ____________________