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Parent Letter for 10th Grade
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Parent Letter for 9th Grade
Parent Letter for 10th Grade
California Standards for 9th and 10th Grade English
Please read the parent letter.  Please have your student return a signed note from you indicating that you have read the letter.  I would also appreciate a phone number that I can reach you at during the day time.  Thank you.

 

Chatsworth High School

Elizabeth Ramos, EL Program Advisor

10027 Lurline Avenue

Chatsworth, CA 91311

         

 

 

Re: English 10AB and READ 180

 

Dear Parents:


It is a pleasure to write you this letter to inform you of all the requirements and objectives covered in my English 10AB/READ 180 class.  Your student has been enrolled in a two-hour block of Read 180, which combines the READ 180 curriculum with the English 10 curriculum.  The English 10AB class is a sheltered class and I will be using all the Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English techniques available to me.  Your student may not be an EL (Limited English Proficient) student, but due to the high number of EL students enrolled in this class combo, the class needed to be designated as SHELTERED.  SHELTERED CLASSES ARE GIVEN THE SAME AMOUNT OF CREDIT AS NON-SHELTERED CLASSES.  SHELTERED CLASSES FOLLOW THE SAME CURRICULUM AS NON-SHELTERED CLASSES.  ONLY THE TECHNIQUES USED IN SHELTERED CLASSES DIFFER FROM THOSE OF NON-SHELTERED CLASSES.  

 

Course Description for English 10AB

The major purpose of this course is to provide a balanced language arts program that explores literary themes and genres.  A series of language activities will enable students to listen, speak, think and write about literature and connect literature to their own experiences.  Through literature-based units, students focus on central issues, discuss meaning, and argue interpretations. 

 

Please review the 10th Grade Reading List with your student.

 

READ 180 consists of the following: 

 

Scholastic, in collaboration with Vanderbilt University, created READ 180 to help struggling students break out of the reading failure cycle and turn their lives around. READ 180 a balanced technology and print program builds essential reading skills and develops fluency through a variety of supported-reading experiences.

READ 180 will:

  • deliver individualized, adjusted reading instruction to move students to grade level.
  • provide practice and application of skills in multiple contexts.
  • support and motivate students as they progress toward becoming lifelong readers and learners.

During the READ 180 day, my students participate in three rotations. In addition, your students day begins with whole-group instruction and ends with a three-minute wrap up.

In planning lessons for READ 180, I will focus on the times during which I will be directly interacting with students Whole-Class Literacy Instruction and Small-Group Instruction. During these times, I will decide what type of instruction will benefit my students most and how that instruction will be delivered.

This is a sample of what the READ 180/English 10AB day looks like:

 

 

 

Whole-Class Literacy Instruction
28 MIN.

Dispatch

10th Grade Curriculum (See attached 10th Grade Curriculum)

Rotations

Small-Group Instruction
25 MIN.

Focus on Student Need with English 10 Materials

Instructional Reading
25 MIN.

Students work independently on Topic CDs. Teacher checks in as needed.

Modeled/ Independent Reading
25 MIN.

Students read Audiobooks or Paperbacks independently. Teacher checks in as needed.

 

Whole-Class Wrap-Up
3 MIN.

Answering any questions my students might have.

In order to make this program a success I am asking that you encourage your student to read as much as possible.  I recommend a trip to the bookstore.  Magazines and comic books are great reading materials and lower the anxiety levels of many readers.  I have many reading materials in my classroom that I encourage your student to read at home as well as in the classroom.  Your student will also be enrolled into tutoring.  (More information to follow.) 

 

Other Information

Students will maintain an in-class portfolio.  This portfolio will contain evidence of the Standards taught in my class, along with class report cards.  Students are expected to bring their InterActive Reader Plus to every class.  The report cards are distributed approximately every other week.  Students are expected to get a parent signature for every report card sent home.  I have included a copy of the Standards both in their original and simplified form for you to review with your student.

Overall Grading Scale

 

100 90% = A

  89 80% = B

  79 70% = C

  69 - 55% = D

54% and below = Fail

Cooperation

 

Students will receive a U in work habits if they are missing more than 3 assignments.  Late work will lose fifty percent of its value.  A U in cooperation will be issued only after a phone call has been made to discuss your students behavior in my class.

 

Rubrics

 

I will give your student a rubric (list of what is expected for every assignment and project to receive the grade your student is working for) at the beginning of every assignment.  This takes the guesswork out of how certain grades are given on papers.  The only time I will not give a rubric is when the assignment is a fill in the blank type of exercise.

 

Contact Me

 

Please feel free to call me.  I can be reached at 818-341-6211 x223.  If I am not in, please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible.  My website is under construction at the moment, but your students will receive information on how to access it as soon as the work is completed.  Please write me a note stating that you have read this letter and its attachments.  If you would be so kind to include a daytime phone, I would appreciate it.

 

Thank you,

 

 

Elizabeth Ramos

READ 180/English Teacher/EL Coordinator