Spectrum Humanities
Ms. Breanna Whited

Contact Information:
Email: bdwhited@seattleschools.org
Phone # 206-252-8981
Room Number: 111
When available: 10:35-11:50 or by appointment

Ms. Whited's Bio:
I am a 1990 graduate of Western Washington University with a degree in English and Education. I have been teaching at Denny Middle School since 1991. I have taught Reading and Drama in the past, but I am currently teaching Language Arts and Washington State History and World Geography. Many old students know me as "Miss Johnson" since I taught at Denny under that name for twelve years before getting married in 2003. I enjoy reading and scrapbooking in my spare time. I currently live in West Seattle with my husband, cat and my wonderful son, Quinton, and newborn daughter, Addison.

Academic Standards Addressed:
Language Arts:
WRITING: 1. The student writes clearly and effectively. 2. The student writes in a variety of forms for different audiences and purposes. 3. The student analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of written work.

READING: 1. The student understands and uses different strategies to read. 2. The student understands the meaning of what is read. 3. The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes. 4. The student sets goals and evaluates progress in reading.
Washington State History:
History Essential Academic Learning Requirements:
1.1 Understand and analyze historical time and chronology
1.2 Understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping United States, world and Washington State History.
1.3 Examine the influence of culture on United States, world and Washington State

Geography Essential Academic Learning Requirements:
2.3 Identify the characteristics that define the Pacific Northwest and the Pacific Rim as
regions.
Civics Essential Academic Learning Requirements:
2.1 Understand and explain the organization of federal, state, and local government
including the executive, legislative and judicial branches at, and among, the three
levels of government
World Geography:
Geography Essential Learning Requirements
1.1 1.1  Use and construct maps, charts, and other resources to gather and interpret geographic
information
2.1 Describe the natural characteristics of places and regions and explain the causes of their
characteristics
3.1 Identify and examine people’s interaction with and impact on the environment

Course Description:

Humanities is a block class that combines Language Arts and Washington State History/ World Geography. In Humanities, our focus will be on literacy as well as the content in our units. The Humanities classes are two hours long and allow us delve deeper into the course subject matter presented daily. The blocked time allows us to further develop relevancy, rigor, and relationships in the course of our academic work in the classroom. The expectation of Spectrum is to be learning one year above the regular eighth grade standards.
· Washington State history and government is a one-semester course for eighth graders that builds on previously acquired knowledge about the State and reinforces basic skills attained in social studies classes. Broadly, the course surveys Washington’s physical geography, government, resources and economy, Northwest Native American cultural characteristics, and state history. The successful completion of the course is required for high school graduation.
· World Geography during second semester explores earth and its patterns organized around five themes: location, place, human/environment interaction, movement, and region.
· Language Arts is a year-long course that is designed to help students develop and improve their writing and reading skills and confidence in preparation for the WASL, incorporate grammar and usage skills, and master the use of literary terms to aid in the critical reading of literature.
Washington State Topics of Study:
The following topics will be included in our study of Washington State: Introduction to State Geography: Physical Features, Washington Overview: State Profile and Symbols, Review the Structure and Function of the Federal Government, Washington State Government: Structure and Function, Voting, State’s Natural Resources, Northwest Native American Cultures: Coastal and Plateau Culture, Indian-Washington Settlers’ Wars, Removal to Reservations, Early Explorations and European Claims to the Northwest, Statehood, The Modern Period.

Language Arts Topics of Study:
We will focus on writing and reading great literature. In this class, students begin writing rough drafts and advance through various stages of conferencing with peers and the teacher until they are ready to produce a final product. The writing portion of the WASL demands that students be able to produce a clear, organized, logical piece of writing. Students in the eighth grade will primarily practice expository (observing and reporting) and persuasive (constructing an argument) writing.

Along with writing, the students will also be reading literature from the textbook, Elements of Literature. The selections will range from the famous short story To Build a Fire to excerpts from The Diary Anne Frank. The students keep their textbook in the classroom, so reading of these texts will occur at school. The key focus for the literature program is to have student begin thinking and writing critically about literature. To supplement the text, novels such as Of Mice and Men and A Midsummer Night’s Dream will also be read in class. Activities in which the student will be involved are: writing groups, direct vocabulary instruction, oral presentations, silent reading, word walls, literacy skill building and activities, literature circles, oral reading, answering literary questions, analyzing characters, grammar and usage instruction and drills, rough and final drafts of papers, skits, group work, and visual displays to name a few.

Special Course Features:

· Vocabulary: Each Monday students receive new vocabulary words. Many of these words are from SAT vocabulary preparation websites. Please study these words with your child weekly. These words are not to be memorized and forgotten. A cumulative test over all of the words will happen at the end of each quarter. Spectrum students are to be collecting vocabulary words they find while reading and listening and must define the word. Ten of these words are due each Monday. Classroom vocabulary words may be selected from the words students find. Students also receive extra credit for hearing and reading our classroom vocabulary words outside of class and may bring the word and where it was found on a post-it note for extra credit.
· Book Reports: Students are required to read twelve books this year to more than prepare them to complete the twenty books that must be read by senior year as a graduation requirement for the Seattle Public Schools. To prepare the students for that upcoming standard, we require students to report on twelve books they have read throughout the course of the year in an annotated bibliography format. A book report is assigned approximately every month in order to keep the students on track with meeting their yearly twelve-book goal. Annotated bibliographies are due quarterly.
· At-home Reading Requirement: Students are expected to read at least a total of 2 ½ hours a week outside of school or an average of thirty minutes a day, five days a week. This is homework and will be expected of you for the rest of the year. Students should be reading at least eight books AT THEIR LEVEL that are challenging.
· Special Washington State Project: In addition to these topics, the students will be asked to complete a research project on a topic regarding Native Americans in Washington State History. This project will include writing a term paper and creating and presenting a visual project. These projects will begin in November and will be completed before the Winter Break. They will also complete a project on a county early in the year.
· Purple Writings: Once a week a piece of writing is required from the Honors students. This piece of writing may be on abstract topics such as love, hate, freedom, fear or they may be narrative pieces on any topic the student chooses. The writing may take any form and is to be viewed as a place to have a creative writing outlet. These are to be turned in every Friday. If they are late without an excused absence, they will be graded down substantially since this assignment is the cornerstone for the development of the Portfolio Exit Project.
· Portfolio Exit Project: The exit project our honors class will be completing a portfolio of their work from their middle school experience. This portfolio contains many different writing components and reflections. It also displays the cumulative growth each student has achieved in middle school. Portfolios are due no later than May 4, 2007. A large, three-ring binder and approximately one hundred plastic sheet covers will be required for the completion of the project.
· Current Events: A current event relating to Washington State is due every other Wednesday of first and second quarter. Students will find something happening in Washington State: a political, environmental, business, special interest or other and write a summary and opinion paragraph about the issue. Students must also find and define five words relating to the article.
· Writer’s Workshop: Students will participate in a writing group designed to help them grow as a writer and receive immediate feedback on their work. The groups will follow specific writer’s workshop guidelines that will be modeled and taught in class.

Expected Outcomes:
The goal of Language Arts is that a student will be able to produce a research paper, respond to questions in an essay format, and critically read a piece of literature or non-fiction. The activities will be varied and will steadily build toward the goal of students becoming lifelong readers and writers. The goal of completing Washington State History successfully is for each student to become familiar with the state’s geography, history, and government in order for them to become an informed citizen of our state.

Assessments:
A variety of assessment strategies such as in-class essays, a variety of tests, map making and reading skills, the Gates-McGinitie reading test, informal classroom based assessments, individual conferences, project-based assessments, and writing rubrics will be used to determine a student’s academic progress.

Materials used: Washington State Textbook: The Washington Story (Ruth Pelz, author) Language Arts text: Elements of Literature, variety of novels, Northwest Native American myths and legends.