Welcome to Seventh Grade Language Arts. I am very excited about the opportunity to get to know you and am looking forward to a positive and productive school year!
All supplies are due no later than Monday, September 12, 2016. It is imperative that all students have their school supplies on this day as we will be working as a class on putting our materials together for the upcoming year. As a reminder, all the supplies needed for Language Arts are listed below.
The following supplies are need for Language Arts:
· Ear Buds
· Black or blue pens (at least one dozen)
· Colored pens (at least one dozen)
· Pencils with erasers (at least 2 dozen)
· Eraser caps (at least one package)
· Highlighters (colors of your choice)
· Sticky notes (post-its, color and size of your choice)
· A one-subject spiral notebook (at least 100 pages, to be decorated and left in classroom)
· Decorations (photos, stickers, etc.) for writer’s notebook – decorations should be cut to size and placed in a Ziploc bag or envelope with student name on it.
· Lined notebook paper (no less than 100 sheets)
· One 2 1/2 or 3 inch, three ring binder (to be left in classroom)
· A pack of tabbed dividers (8-10 tabs) Welcome Supplies 3
· One 2 pocket folder (for homework)
· One box of tissues for the classroom
**During the course of the school year, students may need to replenish their supplies. Students should always have their required materials with them in class each day. Not having required supplies on a daily basis will be considered unprepared for class. **
CLASSROOM RULES
In order for the class to run smoothly, all students are expected to follow the Classroom Rules.
· Be on time, be on task, and be prepared.
· Listen carefully and follow directions.
· Respect yourself, your teacher, other students, and property.
· Use Chromebooks only as instructed.
· Behave appropriately at all times.
· Always be your best and do your best.
Failure to follow these rules will result in a reduction of class participation points for the marking period. There will be no exceptions to these rules.
HOMEWORK
All students received an assignment calendar for recording homework assignments. This is designed as an organizational tool. Students will record homework assignments; updates will occur as needed. It is recommended that parents and students work together to ensure the assignment book becomes a habit.
Additionally, homework and test dates are available on my website through Google Sites and on Google Classroom. Both students and parents should take time to become familiar with the classroom; it is a valuable resource.
Whenever possible, documents handed out in class may be linked in Google Classroom and on my website. It is the responsibility of the student, however, to keep track of hard copies handed out in class.
**Please note that due dates are subject to change. Student planners and the homework board are the primary sources for accurate due dates.
** Additionally, students are required to independently read a book every day.
HOMEWORK POLICY
Homework will be graded as follows:
· Day homework is due = 100%
· One day late = 50%
· Two or more days late = 0%
· Homework will NOT be accepted late for unexcused absences.
**It is important to note that homework is LATE if a student does not bring it to class during his or her regularly scheduled class period.
Students will not be allowed to retrieve homework from their lockers or another classroom during their regularly scheduled class period.
When a student shows the work to the teacher EITHER the next period OR the next day, it is then considered late and scored at 50%.
If a student is in school but excused from Language Arts class for SOAR or Band, he or she must submit all homework prior to going to these sessions.
If a student is absent on the assignment due date, but was in school on the day the assignment was given, the assignment is due one day after his or her return to school. Additional time to complete the assignment will not be allowed.
MISSING WORK
There will be times when students miss class for a variety of reasons.
Any missed classwork or homework will be clipped to the whiteboard in the front of the classroom. It is a student’s responsibility to meet with a teacher upon his or her return to school.
If a student misses a quiz or a test due to an excused absence, he or she will have one week from the day he or she returns to school to make up the required assignment(s). It is the responsibility of the student to schedule make-up assessments.
If an absence is unexcused (i.e., vacation), students will be required to make up any work missed one day after his or her return to school. This includes tests and quizzes.
When a student misses class, the student’s name will be written on the board for one week as a reminder that he or she has outstanding work. After one week, the name will be removed from the board, and the student will receive a zero in PowerSchool for that assignment.
The literature textbook can be accessed at: http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com
The username is the student’s first initial, last name and grade @vvs. (ex: Jane Sagan would be jsagan6@vvs). The password is student18.
It is strongly recommended that students bookmark this website on their chromebooks for future use. This will allow students to catch up on reading classwork when not in school.
Work missed throughout the marking period will not be accepted at the end of the marking period.
SOAR and BAND LESSONS
Students in SOAR and Band will be pulled from class periodically.
Students should first come to the classroom to inform the teacher that they have SOAR or Band. At that time, students may turn in any homework and receive any classwork/homework they will miss during class.
Students MAY NOT attend SOAR or Band if there is a test in class or if they have outstanding work.
Students attending these pull-out sessions are responsible for all work missed.
INDEPENDENT READING
Students are required to read one teacher-approved, independent reading novel at the student’s appropriate reading level PER four-week cycle. The novel must be available in theAccelerated Reader program.Students will account for their reading progress and complete “post-it notes” as they read. The students will use their “post- it notes” to complete an in-class Response to Reading. At the end of each cycle, students will also complete an Accelerated Reader Quiz. The Response to Reading and Accelerated Reader Quiz assessments will allow teachers to monitor each student’s reading level and move each student up the Grade 6 – 8 text-complexity band.Students areNOT allowed to abandon an independent reading book, so they should choose carefully and ask for advice as needed.
Students have an opportunity to earn extra credit points for reading more than one novel per four-week cycle. In order to qualify, students must complete “post- it notes” and receive an 80% or better on the related Accelerated Reader Quiz.
Students will also complete an Independent Reading Project once per marking period. Students may use any one of their independent reading novels completed during the marking period.
ACCELERATED READER:
Accelerated Reader will be accessed in class during the weekly Reader’s Workshop period. Each four-week cycle as students complete their independent reading books, they will use their chromebooks to take an AR Quiz on their independent reading book.
Students will take Accelerated Reader quizzes throughout the year. At a minimum, quizzes are due at the end of each four-week cycle. Students doNOT need to wait until the end of the cycle to take a quiz. For example, if a student finishes his or her book two weeks into the four-week cycle, he or she may take an AR quiz during the next Readers’ Workshop class.
Accelerated Reader quizzes may only be takenin classduring Reader’s Workshop. Students mayNOTtake an AR quiz in homeroom, ABC, or another class. AR quizzesCANNOTbe accessed or taken at home.
GRADING
· All grades will be posted to PowerSchool weekly.
· Tests and quizzes will NOT be sent home.
· Tests and quizzes will be reviewed in class with students when returned by the teacher. All graded work will be kept in a folder or in student binders in the classroom.
· Parents will be contacted if a student is not meeting class expectations.
· Interim reports will be sent at the midpoint of each marking period if a student is earning a C- or lower.
· Students will receive two grades for Language Arts: Reading and Writing.
***Students requiring extra help should contact me to arrange a time to meet.
***The best way to contact me is via email:
WRITING
Written Responseso Written responses related to our Literature Anthology
o Regular, timed writing assessments / 25%
Process Writing
o Pre-writing assessments related to Writing Workshop
o Writing workshops conducted regularly during class / 15%
Tests
o Grammar Tests
o Various projects related to our Literature Anthology
o Post- writing assessments related to Writing Workshop / 20%
Quizzes
o Scheduled and unscheduled Grammar Quizzes
o Grammar homework occasionally collected and scored as a Quiz / 15%
Homework
o Regularly assigned Grammar exercises
o Additional assignments related to process writing / 15%
Class Participation
o Students start each week with forty class participation points. In order to earn these points, students must:
- Be on time
- Be prepared with all necessary materials
- Participate in class regularly
o Students will lose ten points per day for the following:
- Excessive talking or disruptions
- Failure to stay on task
- Disrespectful behavior
- Failure to participate
- Failure to have required materials in class
- Coming late to class without a pass
- An uncharged Chromebook
o Violations of the code of conduct may result in a zero for class participation for the week or marking period. / 10%
READING
Testso Selections in the Literature text
o Novel study
o Independent Reading Projects / 30%
Reading Responses
o Responses to reading in our literature anthology
o Responses to independent reading
o Responses to Current Events and/or other nonfiction materials / 25%
Quizzes
o Accelerated Reader Quizzes
o Quizzes related to passages in the literature anthology
o Quizzes related to our novel study / 20%
Homework
o Additional assignments related to our reading anthology
o Weekly Smart Notes
o Various assignments related to our novel study / 15%
Class Participation
o Students start each week with forty class participation points. In order to earn these points, students must:
- Be on time
- Be prepared with all necessary materials
- Participate in class regularly
o Students will lose ten points per day for the following:
- Excessive talking or disruptions
- Failure to stay on task
- Disrespectful behavior
- Failure to participate
- Failure to have required materials in class
- Coming late to class without a pass
- An uncharged Chromebook
o Violations of the code of conduct may result in a zero for class participation for the week or marking period. / 10%
Acknowledgement of Language Arts Rules and Procedures
Please return this portion signed and dated.
I, , have read and understand the rules, procedures, and expectations to succeed in my Language Arts class.
Student signature Date