Northwestern Middle School

Subject: French Level 1

Syllabus 2019-2020
Grade 8

1. Teachers: Sally Cook and Karl Myrthil

2. Textbook: Vista Higher Learning, D’accord Level 1, 2017 $95.00, Workbook $20.00
3. Standards:
a. Communication – students will engage in conversations, understand and
interpret spoken and written language, and present information on a variety of topics.
b. Culture – Students will learn about target culture products, practices and perspectives.
c. Connections – Students will connect aspects of their target language learning with
information acquired in other subject areas such as math, science, social studies,
English and the arts.
d. Comparisons – Students will demonstrate an understanding of the nature of
language and culture, making comparisons between those of the target language
and their own.
e. Communities – Students will find and engage in the target language outside of the
school environment and show evidence of building a life-long skill for their own
personal enjoyment and enrichment.

4. Fulton County Schools World Language Goal: The goal of Fulton County Schools World Languages is to guide
students in their mastery of the FCS World Languages Prioritized Standards [adopted from the American Council on
the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) national performance standards] by providing proficiency-based
instruction that is personalized to student needs. Specific proficiency targets for middle school fall in the Novice and
Intermediate-Low levels of the ACTFL Proficiency Scale.

5.Course Description: Spanish 1 is a HIGH SCHOOL level course. Students may begin formal language study in either
sixth or seventh grade by selecting the one language, offered at their school, they would like to pursue. At the
conclusion of both the grade seven and grade eight world language program, students will have completed the
equivalent of the level one high school course and may be eligible for level two language study in grade nine. Students
who successfully complete the grade eight course may receive one unit of credit toward high school graduation.
Successful completion can be defined as four (4) semesters of the same World Language in which the student has
received a grade of 70 or above. A passing grade is necessary in the first and second semesters of grades seven and
eight in order to receive a High School credit. Passing scores are based on individual semesters and are not averaged.
6.Proficiency Level:The following chart outlines the end of the year proficiency target for each level:
The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines are a description of what individuals can do with language in terms of
speaking, writing, listening, and reading in real-world situations in a spontaneous and non-rehearsed context. For
each skill, these guidelines identify five major levels of proficiency: Distinguished, Superior, Advanced,
Intermediate, and Novice. The major levels Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice are subdivided into High, Mid,
and Low sublevels. Students in a Spanish 1 level should perform at Novice-High levels except for Interpretive
Reading where Intermediate-Low is the standard.

Novice Low Novice Mid Novice High Intermediate Low Intermediate Mid
7. Course Outline:

First Semester Second Semester

Review of 7th grade material and Unit 4 Au Cafe

Unit 3 La Famille et Les Copains

8. Teacher/Parent Communication:
Teacher will post weekly updates on her website home page
Email – is the most efficient way to contact teachers
Conferences – may be scheduled based on each student’s need & o set conference days
Interim Report Cards – come home every 4 ½ weeks
Home Access Center – please check frequently for your child’s progress
Please ensure you are also registered on Infinite Campus so you can view your child’s grades.
Teachers will post grades within 2 weeks of test dates or project/assignment due dates.
Email: Madame Cook: cooks3@fultonschools.org Monsieur Myrthil myrthil@fultonschools.org
Website: https://northwesternmiddleschoolfrench.weebly.com/

9.Grading:

Category Grading Percentage Description

Progress reporting 30% Speaking and Writing PBA

(3 speaking and 1 writing per semester)

Summative Assessments 30% Tests and Projects

Formative Assessments 20% Quizzes, Classwork

language lab activities, VHL activities

Final Exams 15% Midterm and EOST

Homework 5% Home assignments

Progress Reporting: Performance Based assessments (PBA) are used throughout the year, most often at the
completion of each lesson to assess student proficiency in speaking and writing. District-wide Final Common
Assessments are administered at the end of the school year to assess overall student performance.
Summative Assessments: Tests are administered at the end of every lesson and include a may include reading, listening
and culture sections related to the topic of the lesson. Projects will be assigned at teacher’s discretion; announced in
class and posted on teacher’s website. It is an expectation that projects be handed in on the date due.
Formative Assessments: Students will be given daily classwork and are expected to complete all classwork assignments.
At the discretion of the teacher, some classwork may be worked on at home, especially if a deadline needs to be met.
Language lab activities are completed in class and may or may not be a partnered activity. VHL activities categorized as
classwork will be graded as the grade earned in the system. Quizzes are administered for every lesson’s vocabulary and
grammar sections. Some grammar sections may require more than one grammar quiz.
Students are evaluated in a variety of ways including (both teacher-made and commercially produced), oral and written
performance on designated material as well as impromptu situations, responding to questions and other language
expressions, as well as class participation.
Final Exams: Mid-term in December will cover 1st semester material / Final in May is a cumulative FCA county
generated exam. Both exams will have a speaking and writing component.
Homework: is work assigned to be completed at home and is due the next school day at the beginning of class
Fulton County Grading Scale:
A: 100-90 B: 89-80 C: 79-70 F: 69 and below

10. Recovery Policy: Students that wish to participate in the recovery process should contact their teacher to engage
in a remediation activity. To recover an eligible major assessment (major test or PBA) a student must score a 74% or
below on the assessment/PBA. After a student requests recovery and engages in the remediation activity, he or she
may earn up to 75% on the recovery assessment. If the recovery grade earned is higher than the initial grade, it will
replace the initial grade in the gradebook, but will not exceed 75%.
Furthermore, all recovery opportunities expire 5 school days after the assessment has been graded and handed back to
the student.
a. PBAs/Major Tests are eligible for recovery
b. Recovery must be initiated by student
c. Only students who receive a 74% or below on a PBA/Major test are eligible
d.. Those students must complete the following steps in the remediation process:
1.Complete recovery work assigned by teacher
2.Students must attend a study session to review the recovery assignment
e. If the recovery grade earned is higher than the initial grade, it will replace the initial
grade in the gradebook but will not exceed 75%.

11. Work not turned in/late work:· All students are expected to turn in all work on the due date
(unless due to excused absence then policy applies)
Work is considered late if it is not ready to be turned in at the beginning of class.
Homework will not be accepted late.
Late Work Policy - Classwork & Projects - 5 points will be deducted for every day late and the work will not be accepted
after the lesson’s summative assessment.

12. Requirements to Continue in World Language: Rising 9th Graders:

Recommendation guidelines are set in January for the following school year and historically the following has been the
general rule:
a. To be recommended to a WL Honors 2 class a student must have earned at least a 90% first semester grade
and maintained this average through the end of the year.
b. To be recommended for a WL level 2 class a student must have earned an average of 80%-89% first
semester grade and maintained that through the end of the year.
c. If a student fails first semester, he will not be eligible for the high school credit unless arrangements are
made to makeup the course in summer school (details need to be worked out with counselor)
d. If a student does not meet one of the above requirements, the student will be not be recommended for
Spanish 2.

13. Help Sessions: Tuesday-Friday from 8:05 until 8:35 in room 918
14. Study Guide Policy:
Students at Northwestern Middle School will be provided a study guide to use when studying for their assessments.
This study guide will include key vocabulary and essential questions to be answered. It will be available online and/or
hardcopy. This guide will be given at least a week prior to the test and answers will be provided in class and/or online.

15. Absence Make-Up Procedures (FCBOE Policy JBD):

Upon returning to school following an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the teachers to request
make-up work. Make-up work must be completed by the student within the time specified by the teacher. At NMS,
students will be given the same amount of time to make up the work as the student was absent unless other
arrangements are mutually agreed upon. The student will receive the actual grade on the make-up work if the absence
was “excused.”

16. Academic Dishonesty:

Fulton County Board of Education has always expected its students to practice academic honesty.
Adopted March 1998, the Student Academic Integrity policy states: The Board of Education regards academic
honesty as a cornerstone of its educational mission. Cheating will not be tolerated in this school system.
In a World Language classroom, the use of a translator of any kind or asking a peer who may be fluent in the target
language for any help is considered “cheating” and will be considered as such. Additional examples of cheating include,
but are not limited to; copying or “borrowing” from other sources and giving it as one’s own work; seeking or giving
unauthorized assistance on tests or assignments; altering or forging grades, grade books, progress reports, report
cards, or academic records and using substantially identical work in more than one course without the instructor’s prior
approval. Any plagiarism or other violation of Northwestern’s Academic Honesty Policy will be documented and result in
a grade of zero.