Amy Morgan

404-334-4790
Ext. 821
Contact via kmail

8th Grade English Language Arts Syllabus

School Year 2015-16
Georgia Cyber Academy Middle School Vision Statement:
Virtual learning during the middle school years continues to lay the foundation for
success in high school and beyond. In addition to mastering the standards in a virtual
environment, we encourage our students to be committed life-long learners and
perceptive citizens of the world.
Georgia Cyber Academy Middle School Mission Statement:
We will strive for the academic success of every student. We will create a relationship
built on trust and respect among student, learning coach, and teacher, necessary for a
students successful educational journey.
Students and Teachers Aligned to Reach SUCCESS! (STARS)
GCA is happy to meet your specific learning needs in a STARS homeroom! STARS is a
program that assertively identifies learning gaps and provides students an abbreviated
and streamlined course load with the focus on mastery of skills and content necessary to
meet the standards on the Georgia Milestones Assessment. Adaptability and extra
encouragement give students the opportunity to get on the fast track to completing
middle school and meeting content standards. As a reminder, students need to attend
LIVE classes through Class Connect in the students OLS. While each class will be
recorded, students will receive the most benefit by attending the LIVE sessions. Our LIVE
classes will provide your student with all the information he/she will need to know and
the opportunity to ask questions in order to reach his/her highest potential in ELA.

Weekly Class Connect Schedule:

Advisement Team Time You will see this link
in your OLS. Join us for homeroom time, and
then help sessions for each content area will
be provided.

Friday, 8:30-9:30am

ELA Whole Group Targeted Instruction

(Classes will last 60 minutes and will
appear in your OLS.)

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays

8:30-9:30 am
11:30-12:30 am

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor in order to meet your
students individual needs as prescribed in your students Individualized Learning Plan (ILP).

Amy Morgan
404-334-4790
Ext. 821
Contact via kmail

ELA W.I.N. Sessions (What I Need)

Wednesdays
(These sessions will last 45 minutes and
2:00-2:45
are specific to the need of the individual
2:45-3:30
student. These are by teacher invitation
only.)
**Class Connect sessions are required. Occasionally a Class Connect may be canceled
due to unforeseen circumstances, or a recording will be sent in place of a live class.
These changes will be communicated though kmail and/or on your Monthly Instructional
Calendar.
NOTE: All Class Connect sessions are recorded and students can access recordings via
their OLS shortly after the class has ended.
Grading Criteria:
All Middle School students enrolled in Georgia public schools are required to be given
formal letter grades. GCA students will earn grades by completing and participating in
the various components of our curriculum. An online grade book, Infinite Campus, will be
utilized and both students and parents will have access to the grades. Grades will be
based on the following scale:

Gradebook Categories/Percentages
OLS- only lessons assigned on the Monthly
Instructional Calendar will count as part of the OLS
Grade.
Study Island Pathways (Participation)
Pathway 1
Pathway 2
Pathway 3
Pathway 4
Pathway 5
Pathway 6
Assessments and Writing
Pre-Assessment (participation grade)
Interim Assessment 1 (includes writing assignment - Math,
ELA, Sci, & SS) (actual grade)
Interim Assessment 2 (includes writing assignment - Math,
ELA, Sci, & SS) (actual grade)
Interim Assessment 3 (includes writing assignment - Math,
ELA, Sci, & SS) (actual grade)
Interim Assessment 4 (includes writing assignment - Math,

30%
35%

35%

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor in order to meet your
students individual needs as prescribed in your students Individualized Learning Plan (ILP).

Amy Morgan
404-334-4790
Ext. 821
Contact via kmail

Sci, & SS)

(actual grade)
Posttest (actual grade)
Writing Assignment 4 (ELA only - SI)
Writing Assignment 5 (ELA only - SI)
**Advisement will be a separate category on the report card (GA Futures,
Conference Attendance, Signed Compact/handbook, and Infinite Campus log in.)
2015-2016 Middle School Writing Plan

Writing will be completed as a part of the Interim Assessments in USA Test

Prep for the constructed response prompts for all content areas. ELAs 2
extended response assignments will be in Study Island.
Each non-ELA content area will complete a minimum of 3 required
constructed response writing pieces that are related to content standards.
These will be graded with a rubric that provides feedback to students along
with teacher commentary on the writing piece.
ELA will be completing 3 constructed responses and 2 extended responses
related to content standards.
o The 2 extended responses will be formulated from/similar to text-based
writing critical skills units in the OLS. One will be persuasive/
expository, and the other will be focused on the research process in
order to more directly teach research and the writing process.
o The 3 constructed responses will be standards-based and will apply
skills from composition units and literature units.
o All writing will be graded with rubric and teacher feedback.
o Composition units will provide writing skills support and in-class
composition support rather than prompts that are not aligned to the
standards and testing requirements. Literature OLS units that focus on
writing will be pulled for these purposes more so as they have been
reformatted to fit the new standards.

Writing across the Curriculum

In accordance with our school mission to strive for the academic success of every
student, this year writing will be included in our Interim Assessments. This plan models
the expectations for the end of grade testing and encourages critical thinking. This will
be a graded part of the Interim Assessments in USA Test Prep.
NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor in order to meet your
students individual needs as prescribed in your students Individualized Learning Plan (ILP).

Amy Morgan
404-334-4790
Ext. 821
Contact via kmail

Middle School Late Work Policy 15-16

Each student has a Window of Opportunity to complete the following:
OLS - Expected progress is due by May 20th.
Study Island Pathways Students must complete 100% of all Study Island Pathways.

Study Island Pathways are due as advertised (September 30, October 30,
December 18, January 29, February 29, and March 31) to demonstrate mastery
prior to the GA Milestone End of Grade Testing.
January enrollees- complete 100% of Pathways 4, 5, and 6. It is recommended to
complete all pathways.

ELA Writing assignments-After the end of the semester, the grade will be a 0 if not
turned in.
Pre-assessment- After the end of the semester, the grade will be a 0 if not completed.
Interim Assessments and Post-test If not completed by due date, a 0 will be earned.
The Interim Assessments and Post-test are an important part of our instructional plan
throughout the year. The results from these assessments give us information of which
standards have been mastered and which ones need to be reviewed. For this reason,
these assessments are time sensitive and need to be completed during the assigned
dates.
PE

60 hours by May 20th

Mid-year enrollees- 30 hours by May 20th

Health

30 hours by May 20th

Mid-year enrollees- 15 hours by May 20th

***Middle School recognizes All A and All A/B Honor Roll at the end of semester one and
end of semester two. For semester one, grades will be calculated through January 11th
for consideration of Honor Roll. Semester one Honor Roll only includes the core content
subjects. For semester two, grades will be calculated through May 17th for consideration

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor in order to meet your
students individual needs as prescribed in your students Individualized Learning Plan (ILP).

Amy Morgan
404-334-4790
Ext. 821
Contact via kmail

of Honor Roll. Semester two Honor Roll includes all subjects (core content, PE, Health,
Advisement and Elective).***
Course Description:
GCAs Middle School ELA department strives to educate students in the discipline of
language arts with a focus on literature and composition in order to reach the goal of
producing analytical communicators capable of meeting and exceeding national and
state standards. ELA teachers use the Common Core/Georgia Performance Standards
(CCGPS), K12 Online School curriculum, and Study Island to help students master the
concepts of reading, writing, speaking, and listening at or above their grade level.
Purpose and Course Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to teach students how to analyze literature and produce
organized compositions that achieve their specific purposes. After successfully
completing this course, students will have an extensive foundation for the reading,
writing, listening, and speaking they will be expected to do at the high school level and
beyond.
Course Requirements:
Online School assignment completion by May 20, 2015.
*OLS will be supplemented by the Study Island Pathways and additional class
reading and writing assignments. The OLS Vocabulary and Composition strands will
be used as supplemental material.
o Literature: 65%
o GUM: 100%
Complete various graded writing assignments throughout the course of the
year, including but not limited to, journals entries and short answer essays. Due
dates will be announced both in Class connect sessions and through monthly
checklists sent via kmail.
Complete required lessons in the OLS per kmailed monthly checklists.
Complete required ELA Study Island Pathways.
Complete pre-assessment, 4 interim assessments, and post test in USA Test Prep.
Attend LIVE sessions (or listen to recordings) of Class Connect sessions.
Successful mastery of standards on the Georgia Milestones End of Grade Test in
person the week of April 25th-29th.

Materials:
Classics for Young Readers, Vol. 8 (book and audio); Vocabulary from Classical Roots, Book C;
Romeo and Juliet; Frederick Douglass Narrative; Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl; English
Language Handbook
NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor in order to meet your
students individual needs as prescribed in your students Individualized Learning Plan (ILP).

Amy Morgan
404-334-4790
Ext. 821
Contact via kmail

ELA Projected Quarterly Topics:

*Please note that the topic lists are just an overview. Monthly
Instructional Calendars will be provided with daily lessons and topics. In
order to stay on track for successful completion of grade level standards,
please make sure to attend classes and work from the material listed on
the monthly course calendar.
Domain
Literature
GUM
Composition

CONTENT
Short stories/story elements; novels; historical/cultural
literature; poetry; informational literature
Sentence structure; parts of speech; punctuation/editing
Persuasive (argument) and Informational (incorporation of
the research process)

ELA GEORGIA STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Common-Core/Documents/ELA-Standards-Grades-68.pdf

NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor in order to meet your
students individual needs as prescribed in your students Individualized Learning Plan (ILP).