Class Info




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Welcome to Ms. Kosmoski's Class for the 2018-2019 Year!
Please take time to read the course syllabus for each class below.
Period 3: American Literature
Email: mkosmoski@sapublicschools.com
This course reflects a hope that students will understand and appreciate stories that have affected our nation.  This course will expose students to a wide variety of multicultural authors.  The text is in chronological order, and novels will be read between the major stories in the units.  Many of the novels will be read in an abridged form to encourage students to read independently.
This course is designed to satisfy national and state standards, and student competencies. 
Materials: 
reader, novels, binder, loose leaf, pens/pencils, highlighters, teacher-made outlines/worksheets/tests to accompany stories
Class Rules:
These will be posted and discussed in the first week of school.  The basics include respect for yourself and others, arriving to class on time, and keeping a positive attitude to learn each day.
Coursework:
There will be journals to complete from popular topics, and local/world news, tests, quizzes, and projects.
Grading:
There are two types of assessments:  Summative 60% (tests, projects), and Formative 40% (quizzes, classwork, participation).  The grading policy is the same as the middle/high school's scale.



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Period 6: Life Science
Email:mkosmoski@sapublicschools.com
This course provides a basic understanding of general science concepts and how science actually works in the world around them.   This basic, comprehensive science program provides multiple learning opportunities for students to explore concepts taught in the class.  There are student texts, worksheets, laboratory experiences, reviews, and tests.  The student text covers information that all students need to know, and the activity sheets and other projects in the series reinforce that information.  There are lists of vocabulary words in the text for quick reference, full-color visual aids, such as charts and diagrams, and full-color photographs and illustrations.   The worksheets include a variety of activities,such as multiple choice, true or false, matching, fill-in-the -blank, short answer, and crossword-puzzle activities. This course taps in every learning modality: seeing, hearing, saying, hands-on, manipulating objects through demonstration and project-based activities. This curriculum aligns to the New Jersey State Standards of Science, as well as the National  Science Education Standards. 
Materials:
Student text, worksheets, l(the remainder are teacher-provided): loose leaf, binder, pens, pencils, crayons/markers/colored pencils, project and experiment items
Class  Rules:
These will be posted and discussed in the first week of school.  The basics include respect for yourself and others, arriving to class on time, and preparing to learn in a positive manner.
Course Work:
This program has a hands-on component.  A laboratory experiment is included in each chapter studied.  Students will learn the scientific method of creating a hypothesis, the procedure, data collection, analysis, and conclusion.  They will also practice keeping a journal of these activities.  
For assessment, each of the chapters studied will be enhanced with reviews, worksheets, and tests.
The Life Science curriculum will cover cells, heredity, reproduction, bacteria, viruses, protists, fungi, plants, animals, and the systems of our human bodies.
Grading:
There are two types of assessment: Summative 60% (tests, projects), and Formative 40% (quizzes, classwork, participation).  The grading is the same as the middle/high school's scale.

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Period 7 - Earth Science
​​Email: â€‹â€‹mkosmoski@sapublicschools.com
This course provides a basic understanding of general science concepts and how science works in the world around them.  This unique science program was designed to assist students in understanding complex science concepts.  The student text covers information that all students should know, and the related activity sheets and projects reinforce that information.   Each section of the text features vocabulary and definitions for easy reference, full-color visual aids, such as charts or diagrams, and full-color photographs and illustrations.  The worksheets practice their reading comprehension skills while responding to content -area recall questions.  There are a wide variety of activities on these pages: multiple-choice, true or false, matching, fill-in-the-blank. short answer, and crossword puzzle activities.  This curriculum also taps into the students' modalities of learning, such as seeing, saying, hearing, manipulating, and creating projects.  There is also the laboratory experiences where students participate in creating a hypothesis, procedures, data collection, analysis, conclusion, and then synthesizing what they have learned.  For assessment purposes, students will review information, as well as take a test.  All New Jersey State Standards and the National Science Education Standards have been included in this curriculum.
​Materials:
Student text, worksheets, (the remainder are teacher-provided): loose leaf, binder, pens/pencils/markers/colored pencils, project or experiment items.
Class Rules:
These will be posted and discussed in the first week of school.  The basics include respect for yourself and others, arriving to class on time, and forming a positive attitude to learn in class.
Course Work:
This program has a hands-on component.  Laboratory experiments have been included in the chapters.  Students will practice and learn steps of the scientific method, which includes hypothesis, procedure, data collection, analysis, and conclusion.  They will synthesize what they have learned from reading the student text.  To assess, the program has corresponding reviews and tests.  The focus in this course is on the general concepts of the Earth and Space.  They will learn about systems of Earth,  biosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and the solar system.
Grading:
There are two types of assessment: Summative 60% (test and projects) and Formative 40% (quizzes, classwork, and participation).  The grading is the same as the middle/high school scales.