.Welcome to Ms. Zullo's 6,7,8 Language Arts Schoolnotes Page

Work to Believe

and

Believe to Achieve

  Together we can do it!

Have a great summer  and read a good book!

Pardon me while my pages undergo their annual "cleaning."

Supply List for Level IV 6,7,8 ELA 201-2011

1. Composition Book or Spiral Notebook for the

Daily Standard Starts (Warm-ups)

2. 2 inch notebook for ELA class

3. Dividers for the notebook

4. Looseleaf paper (wide or college ruled)

5. No. 2 Pencils 

6. Two pens, blue or black ink

7. Eraser or pencil topper erasers

8. Handheld pencil sharpener

9. Kleenex  

10. Hand sanitizer

          Nice to have:    1. A Reading Helper  (please see link below)

  http://thereadinghelper.com

HAC stands for Home Access Center  It is the brand new way to access your child's grades, attendance records, etc. on-line right from any Internet connected computer!  Please see the letter sent home for details.

Daily Work Report by grade:

Please check out the new link to the Delaware State English Language Arts (ELA) Content Standards and Grade Level Expectations for students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. It lists the skills students need to acquire in order to be proficient  in ELA.

Grades in my classroom closely reflect your child's progress towards achieving proficiency of  the Grade Level Expectations.

Given the Standards Based Grading System I am using this  should help to explain why grades in this class may be lower than in previous years.

You will also receive (along with the report card) a Read 180 report which will reflect your child's progress at their instructional level (reading level).  This score will be higher than that on the report card and should be considered by you when evaluating your child's academic efforts this marking period.

If you have any further questions please call me during my planning time or email me through the link on this site.

Re-test Policy

 In my grading system it is almost impossible to fail. Students can retake any test/assessment up to a week before the closing of my grade book (prior to Interims and Report cards) and receive up to a C or an 80% no matter how many times they test over the material. My goal is that they acquire the skill. It will not be the same test each time, as I want to prevent students from simply memorizing the answers. If you have questions about this policy please call or email me at Fifer.

Extra credit  work for points ( is no longer allowed by school policy), but it will give students extra practice at home that may assist them in achieving success in the skills at appropriate grade level.  

 The best time to reach me is during  6th period (1:00 PM to 1:30 PM) which is my  planning period.

 The planning period  is usually a good time to reach me by phone at the school number 698-8400. You will need to ask Mrs. Price, our secretary, to put the call through to room 131. If she suggests that you use voice mail, please just leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Please call me with any concerns or questions that you may have about Language Arts class. I cannot help to resolve a situation unless you let me know the nature of the problem. I would much rather solve it while it is small than wait for it to become "principal sized."

Good teacher parent/guardian communication makes for a more successful student!

What is Academic Level IV?

Level IV 6,7,8 Language Arts is designed for students who have not yet/may not achieve adequate success in the academic ELA standards.  The class is a double period daily which  combines the Read 180  program with intensive instruction designed to help students reach their full potential.

The goal is for Level IV Academic to be a temporary placement so that students can build adequate skills to return successfully  to Inclusion classes. For some that will be the case, but for others Academic Level IV will be the appropriate placement for instruction and the possibility of DAPA portfolio assessment will be addressed.

The plan at each grade level is:

6th Graders are entirely on the Read 180 Program.

7th Graders will complete portions of the Read 180 Program not completed the year prior and transition into the regular curriculum with necessary supports, appropriate pacing, and limited depth of subject matter. 

8th Graders will follow the regular curriculum    using materials from both the Holt and the Read 180 program, with appropriate pacing, necessary scaffolding and supports, and limited depth of subject matter.

My homework policy:  If there is homework will be  posted on the whiteboard in the classroom, on the Homework Hotline, and on my web page at: http://new.schoolnotes.com/bzullo/

My grading policy: I  am  using a grading  system called Standards Based Grading. This system has already been implemented in several C.R. schools.  PMS has used this grading system quite successfully.  I will try to provide a very simple overview of the general idea. Students are given practice lessons to  introduce concepts, exercises to build the skill, and only then  given a performance  assessment to determine the "grade" on mastery of that concept. The practice lessons often called formative assessments are not "graded" but rather  feedback from the exercise is provided to the student in order to improve their ability to master the concept.  There are no "extra credit" assignments, points for homework,  or points for  bringing supplies  added to the grade.    The grade your child receives in my Language Arts class  directly reflects their progress toward meeting the Language Arts Standards.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me by e-mail or phone. I also welcome appointments to meet in person. You can contact me at 698-8400, ext. 131 or rebecca.zullo@cr.k12.de.us.

Let 's work together to make this the best year ever!

A few of my favorite things!

Hope

by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.

"Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the dignity, the worth, the rights of man...that state is obsolete." Rod Serling

"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere."

--Carl Sagan