Welcome!
I am looking forward to a year filled with great adventures. We will be engaging in lessons from faraway places like Alaska and England, and nearby places like South Louisiana and the Carribean.
We will be using Learnzillion for many of our lessons this year. Some of our units will include reading excerpts from Flowers for Algernon and Frankenstein, The Call of the Wild, "The Tell-Tale Heart" and many more. JCampus will be our format for posting grades, and attendance this year and lesson assignments will be posted using OnCourse Classroom.
In our classroom, we will focus on the skills your scholar will need to be successful, not only in eighth grade and on the LEAP, but also, to be prepared for ninth grade. This is a year of transformational change in which the student transitions from being a child to a young adult prepared to begin the path onward to adulthood. In this light, I will teach and encourage each student to be personally responsible for his/her own behavior, class work, and outside projects. I do not assign a lot of homework; however, when I do it is important that it be done on time and with excellence. We will be working on writing skills throughout the year, we will participate in Socratic seminars, and we will hold a mock trial in conjunction with the unit on "Tell-Tale Heart."
I have included some helpful links that may answer many "how to" questions on my Important Links page.
I am available Monday-Friday between 7:30-3:30 by email or call the school for an appointment.
Diana Bottolfs
8th Grade ELA
985-370-5322