8th Grade English Language Arts Syllabus
Miss Kristen Hanzer
Bunn Middle School

(919) 496-7700

kristenhanzer@fcschools.net

Virtual Office hours: [Wednesday 12- 1 pm] via [Google Hangout/Email]; students can access links for these hours from either Gmail (Grades 6-12) or their Google Calendar (Grades K-12) sent from their teacher(s).  Paper packets for K-8 students that were distributed for April 6-20 can be found HERE.

Students will access course information by going to [https://classroom.google.com/].  Students will need their FCS google account username and password for access.

PARENTS:  To Request to be a Google Classroom Guardian, please contact your student(s)' teacher(s) via email.  What will parents view as a Guardian?  Google Classroom Guide for Parents

August 26, 2019

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to 8th Grade English Language Arts at Bunn Middle School My name is Kristen Hanzer and I will be your English Language Arts Teacher for the 2019- 2020 school year! I want to start out by telling you how excited I am about this upcoming school year and the opportunity to work with each and every one of you! Just to share a little background information about me….. I have a passion for helping and working with children, reading, and of course writing. I have a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. I truly enjoy teaching and believe it is in fact my purpose in life.
8th grade is a very crucial year for students for many different reasons, and I am here to help you navigate your way through in order to prepare you for the EOG’s, and high school! Throughout our time together we will focus on comprehension strategies that will help students better understand and retain what they read. In addition to developing critical reading skills, and expanding their written and spoken vocabulary. We will also focus on literary analysis, annotating texts, paraphrasing, and citing textual evidence. We will read a variety of materials including short stories, novels, poetry, and other literary works. The class will focus on the development of informational, argumentative, and narrative writing skills. Below is the list of novels that we will be reading throughout the school year. This information can be found on the homepage of Canvas as well, along with additional information. It is my goal to engage, challenge, and improve the academic performance of my students through exciting and meaningful lessons and activities.
Building a strong learning community with parental involvement is very critical. My email address and phone number are listed above. I encourage you to communicate with me if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to a successful and productive school year!

Sincerely,

Miss Kristen Hanzer
8th Grade ELA Teacher
Bunn Middle School
Novels
Inside and Back Again
To Kill a Mockingbird
Unbroken
Omnivoreś Dilemma