Castro's PreAP Reading Syllabus for 99-00
Expectations
Materials
Schedule
Scope and Sequence
Literature Circles


Expectations

Scholarliness:
Scholarliness is not just a set of expectations for all students to obey, it involves building character. Because scholars throughout all disciplines are examples of success, students should want to model their academic careers after those who exhibit scholarly behavior. Scholarliness is meant to encourage students to behave appropriately in the classroom and in society.

THE STUDENT WILL…

Regulations:

Because we are scholars, it is important to remember that we must abide by certain guidelines.

  • Bring all materials to class everyday!
  • NO HUNTING!This means that students are not to put each other down.
  • Respect yourself and others.
  • Come to class prepared to learn and be challenged and expect others to do the same.
  • Encourage others.
  • Participate and accept responsibility.

Grading scale:
Six Weeks Exams 15%
Exams 40%
Quizzes 25%
Homework 10%
Daily 15%

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Materials
  1. looseleaf paper
  2. two pens
  3. two pencils
  4. three ring binder(can be shared with other classes)
  5. five dividers
  6. Expandable folder for portfolio

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Schedule

In an effort to make the best use out of our 90 minute block schedule (split into red and blue days), I have developed a basic layout of my teaching schedule.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Rubberband Activity Rubberband Activity Rubberband Activity Rubberband Activity Rubberband Activity
Independent Reading Read Aloud Read Aloud Read Aloud Read Aloud
Journal Writing Journal Writing Journal Writing Journal Writing
Shared Reading Shared Reading Shared Reading Shared Reading
Independent Learning Exploration Lesson/ILE Lesson/ILE Lesson/ILE Lesson/ILE
Silent Sustained Reading Silent Sustained Reading Silent Sustained Reading Silent Sustained Reading
Games Closure Closure Closure Closure

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Scope and Sequence

The following list is a tenative syllabus for this year.

  1. Scholarliness
  2. Tunes for Bears to Dance To
  3. Hound of the Baskervilles
  4. The Light in the Forest
  5. O.Henry and irony
  6. Scholarliness Review
  7. The Pearl
  8. Frederick Douglass
  9. Poetry
  10. Greek Mythology
  11. A Midsummer Night's Dream
  12. The Giver

Several of these units have Lessons on-line. Be sure to check them out!
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Literature Circles

Instructions:

From the following list, each student is to pick about twenty books to read for this year. Students will read the chosen book along with a minimum of two other people. While students read this book, they will create stickums, post its used for notes, for the classroom discussion. Each student will also have a role in the discussion, so they will need to read daily and come prepared to discuss.

Book list: The following is a list of books for literature circle activities (please note that some of these books are also on the Accelerated reader list and may be used to receive points on that program):
Author Title Author Title
Avi The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Beals Warriors Don't Cry
Conley Crazy Lady Cooney Face on the Milk Carton
Cooney Voice on the Radio Cooney Whatever Happened to Janie
Crutcher Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes Cushman The Midwife's Apprentice
Cushman Catherine, Called Birdy Duncan Don't Look Behind You
Duncan I Know What You Did Last Summer Duncan Locked in Time
Duncan Ransom Duncan Third Eye
Duncan Twisted Window Hinton The Outsiders
Hunt Lottery Rose Hunt No Promises in the Wind
Juster The Phantom Tollbooth Keyes Flowers for Algernon
Koningsburg View from Saturday Lenski Indian Captive
London Call of the Wild Meyers The Glory Field
Meyers Scorpions Peck A Day No Pigs Would Die
Peck Are You in the House Alone? Rochman Bearing Witness: Stories of the Holocaust
Stevenson Kidnapped Stevenson Treasure Island
Taylor Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Ten Boom Hiding Place
Tolkein The Hobbit Verne Around the World in 80 Days
Voigt The Wings of a Falcon Wallace Shots on Goal
Wallace Wrestling Sturbridge Wells The Time Machine
Yoks So Far from the Bamboo Grove Zindel Doomstone
Zindel The Pigman

Requirements: As mentioned before, there are several roles that each student will be assigned for each literature circle group. These roles must be prepared before each class period. Students will be reading a different book every two weeks; therefore, students MUST have the book he/ she has chosen every day in class.

Grades: Students will receive a daily grade for having the stickums, notes prepared, and book in class. Students will receive a major grade for what is found in the folder at the end of each two weeks: roles filled out, readers response journal, notes taken in the class discussion and a group grade for having everything turned in.
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updated July 20, 1999

The URL for this site is http://www.crpc.rice.edu/CRPC/scastro
These pages were developed through GirlTECH, a teacher training program sponsored by the Center for Research on Parallel Computation (CRPC), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center. Pages copyright July 1999 by Sarah Fattore-Castro.
Thanks to the RGK Foundation and EOT-PACI for its generous support of GirlTECH.