Amanda Williams
Houston Jr/Sr High
Language Arts Syllabus
2020-2021
(907)892-9487
Dear Parents/Guardians:
My name is Amanda Williams and I am the Language Arts teacher for sixth grade at Houston Junior Senior High School. This is my thirteenth-year teaching and my third at Houston. I LOVE reading and can usually conquer at least three novels a week and hope to bring and share this passion of the written word with all my students and their families.
This year we get to be Pioneers in Education with a blended model of both in-school and online curriculum available. It is going to be exciting navigating new waters. Our focus in sixth grade is primarily on Elements of Literature with a specific focus on plot, character development and setting. We also focus on strategies including, but not limited to, prediction, questioning and summarizing. I will be working very hard this year on Grammar and Writing. This will include sentence composition, complete answer construction, text dependent analysis, parts of speech, conventions and usage; narrative and expository writing and finally: spelling and vocabulary.
Below I have included some FAQs I hope you find helpful when beginning this journey!
Q: Where do I go to find my work?
A: All classwork will be assigned in the Google Classroom that students will log into on
the first day we meet in class. Assignments completed in Apex will be self-contained to that online domain.
Q: How do I login? Who do I contact for help if I cannot login?
A: Students username is their initials and student ID and a password that they choose.
Students struggling to login to the Chromebook, Google Classroom, or Apex
can contact me via email or by phone: Amanda.williams@matsuk12.us 907-892-9487
Q: When/how often do I have to log in?
A: It is a good idea to log in every day: Monday through Friday. Should we shift to remote learning, I will post assignments in pieces with pacing suggestions for the week.
New assignments will get posted on Sunday afternoon/evening, but students are not expected to start work until Monday. Students can work ahead of the pacing if they wish.
Q: What if I need help with my work?
A: I will have office hours every Friday from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm. There will be an open
Zoom link available for students to pop in with questions. I will also meet with students
via phone or Zoom by appointments.
Q: Grades and Student Feedback
A: Synergy is where all grades earned will be posted. While Apex scores assignments and there is a cumulative grade given for work completed, I will update Synergy for the most accurate up-to-date progress for Language Arts as a whole. Synergy will reflect your grades for everything: classwork, citizenship, tests, assignments, and Apex.
Q: How will late work be handled?
A: Late work is not accepted. Of course, there are certain allowances, but, late work is not accepted. Students will have ample class time allotted to complete assignments and homework is very rarely given.
