GEOGRAPHY

MR. LEAVITT ROOM 230

EXPECTIONS

Students will respect each other and their property.

Students will arrive to class on time, be prepared and have something to write with. Late students will need a pass signed by the teacher or administrator who is responsible for their tardiness.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Homework assignments will either be preparatory for the next class or reinforcement of the previous class. I do not believe in giving “busy” work. Many assignments will be related to project completion. Large projects are divided into smaller easily managed assignments.

Each class will begin with a warm up. This could be a word of the day, a trivia question, higher order thinking question or reading response. These will be recorded in a journal that each student will maintain.

Block Scheduling in seventh grade does not have “skinnies”. Besides the longer class time, the biggest challenge will be overcoming procrastination (the habit of waiting until the last moment to get something done).

GRADING PROCESS

Tests, quizzes, projects and homework will be graded on a point system. Each homework assignment is generally worth 10 points. Tests, quizzes and projects will vary in point value depending on their content. If, for example, a test were worth 50 points, a student who answered 48 of the 50 questions correctly would earn a 96% on the test. Remember, Mr. Leavitt doesn’t give good or bad grades. Students earn their grades and Mr. Leavitt only keeps score.

PROJECTED JOURNEY

This year will be a lot different from past years as we follow a traditional block schedule format. I will be making changes from what was taught last year as I adjust my teaching to the new block schedule. Below is a rough outline of what we will be learning this year. It is not a concrete outline and subject to modification as the year progresses. These larger categories will be broken into smaller units as we work through them. For example, there are 8 elements of culture. Each will be a unit unto itself.

What is Geography?

Tools and Uses of Geography

Earth

Elements of Culture

Demographics

USA Physical Geography

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