Stringer ELA 7
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http://msstringerela.weebly.com/
Dear Parent(s):
I am pleased to have your child in my English Language Arts class this year. As a member of the Blackmon Road Middle School team, I look forward to a positive and rewarding school year.
The overarching intent of Language Arts instruction in grade seven is for students to value, appreciate, and demonstrate literacy through expressive and receptive language skills, and to investigate and understand the self, others, the culture, and the environment. Processing skills in Language Arts domains are critical to the development of higher levels of literacy. I aim to establish a Language Arts curriculum that is diverse in meeting the needs and expectations of all students and learning styles.
We will focus on grammar and literature, including but not limited to short stories, novels, autobiographies, biographies, mysteries, plays etc. and we will write in class as well as do several projects throughout the school year. Encourage your child to share his/her work with you. Your child’s grade will be determined by results of tests, notebook, homework, classwork, projects, accelerated reading program/log and class participation.
Students will have homework four nights a week in my class. Students are required to read their Accelerated Reader book at least 30 minutes each night and will be required to turn in a reading log on a weekly basis with your signature affixed. Also, there may be additional assignments depending upon what we accomplish in class. In addition, students will be given Chomp warm ups daily. Tests and quizzes on grammar and literature will be given upon completion of each particular unit. All assignments will be due on time. Projects will not be accepted late. All make up work for excused absences must be made up within 3 days of the absence. It is the student’s responsibility to get any work that is missed.
As mentioned above, students are required to read and participate in the Reading Program. Under Georgia State Standards, students are required to read a minimum of 25 books per year. In an effort to meet this requirement and engage students in meaningful and entertaining reading activities, students will be immersed in a literature-rich environment and have plenty of opportunities to select materials from a variety of sources. They will be asked to read a minimum of 4 A/R books on their Lexile/reading level each 9 weeks (12 total for the school year). Students will be assigned a book report each nine weeks. Book reports will be various styles.
The school year is divided into four grading periods, nine weeks per period. Please check Parent Portal to see grades as they are entered. About half way through each nine weeks, a hard copy progress report will be sent home. This report must be signed and returned to school immediately. PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF YOUR CHILD’S PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. The grading scale is as follows: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 69 or below = F.
Classwork and or homework turned in one day late will receive an 80. I will deduct 20 points each day it is late for a maximum of a 60. Students are encouraged to turn in work even a week late for a partial grade rather than a zero.
When I check for homework, I am checking whether or not the student has it; I am not necessarily checking for accuracy. We will check for accuracy together in class.
Organization, responsibility, and time management are becoming more important in a seventh grader’s life. A student should set aside a definite time and place to do his/her homework. It is important to do each day’s work as it is assigned. Also, before bed each night, preparation for the next day eliminates the morning rush of gathering work and supplies and avoids completed assignments from being left behind. No late assignment will be accepted for an unexcused
absence. Any long term assignments or projects received before an absence must be turned in on the given due date.
All students must follow the school and class rules as stated or they will receive consequences. Our grade level/team will provide positive reinforcement for good behavior and academics. All major class disruptions will be sent to the office. Please refer to the Blackmon Road Discipline Policy and the MCSD Handbook for all other school rules.
Class expectations are as follows:
♦ Bring all materials to class
♦ Enter class promptly, quietly and begin working
♦ Raise hand to be recognized; Remain seated
♦ Complete all assignments on time
♦ Be respectful of others
♦ Follow directions
Weekly classwork and homework will be posted on the BRMS Website at http://blackmon.muscogee.k12.ga.us/ . Click “Homework” and then click “Ms. Rebecca Stringer”. Please check it daily to keep up with assignments, due dates, upcoming tests and projects. Students will still be expected to write down homework and assignments from the board in class each day. www.teacherweb.com
If I can be of any assistance to you in monitoring your child’s progress this school year, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your support.
My email address is: Stringer.Rebecca.A@muscogee.k12.ga.us
Sincerely,
Rebecca Stringer
Gifted English Language Arts
Student Council Sponsor
http://msstringerela.weebly.com
2017-2018
Classroom Course Objectives Stringer Language Arts
Students will be taught to do the following during the course of the school year:
- Develop good listening and research skills
- Recognize various literary genres and elements
- Experience cultural diversity through literature
- Improve reading comprehension skills
- Discover and cultivate the writing process
- Develop study skills and test-taking techniques
- Develop good communication skills
- Cooperative team work; research based strategies have
Classroom Procedures:
- Students will have assigned seats.
- Students will listen and follow directions carefully.
- All absences should be excused in order to be eligible for make up work. All make up work is due within 3 days of the absence. Students are responsible for gathering their own missed assignments when out.
- Students must have all supplies before class begins. Students will not be allowed to return to their locker for any reason during class. Come to class prepared to begin working.
- Students will begin working on the warm up (Chomp) activity as soon as they enter class. These should be kept and neatly organized in their binder for random notebook checks.
- If a student wishes to speak, he or she must raise his or her hand and WAIT TO BE RECOGNIZED before speaking.
- When the teacher raises her hand, the students are to stop, look, get quiet, sit, and listen.
- Students will show respect for the teacher and for each other. Keep your hands, feet, body parts, etc. to yourself. Do not touch anyone else for any reason.
- Consequences for inappropriate behavior are as follows and may be done in any order according to teacher discretion:*
- warning
- parent contact
- silent lunch
- Severe disruptions and/or physical fighting will be directed to the main office immediately.
*Please refer to the BRMS Discipline Policy in the student handbook for specifics.
- If work is completed early, then the student should read their AR book or read a book from my shelf, organize their notebook, etc.
- Cooperative group work will be given periodically throughout the year. Students will have solo projects as well as group projects.
- At all times while walking in the hall, the student should conduct himself or herself properly and refrain from talking loudly or touching any other person. Prior to class, students should line up outside the classroom and wait for the teacher’s permission to enter.
- When class is over, the teacher will dismiss the students or students will have a ticket out of the door assignment.
- Grades will be determined from tests, reading logs, assignments (classwork and homework), projects, Accelerated Reader, and classroom participation.
- CONDUCT: For inappropriate behavior a warning will be given initially, then parent contact, silent lunch, or any combination of these may occur. If behavior is chronic, student will be referred to guidance for counseling and/or the main office.
- All work must be headed in the upper right-hand corner with the student’s name, date, subject, and class period. Work turned in without this information will be returned to the student and given a grade of zero. Work that is turned in without a name will be thrown away.
- If the student needs additional help with understanding the material, it is up to that individual student to let me know. Do not wait until the end of the grading period to say that help was needed; that will be too late.
- I may be contacted by calling the BRMS front office 706-565-2998; callers are encouraged to leave a message when there is a concern. If a conference is needed or required, email me to set one up Stringer.Rebecca.A@muscogee.k12.ga.us .
Our conferences are held during our planning time 8:15 a.m..
- TEXTBOOKS: Holt Handbook and Elements of Literature are the textbooks for language arts. However, we will use additional materials. Students will be issued textbooks the second or third week of school. It will be the student’s responsibility to bring his/her book to class each and every day. Assignments that cannot be completed because the student does not have the textbook will receive an automatic zero and cannot be made up. In addition, the student may be assigned an essay to write.
- Students will have reading homework four nights a week. (Monday-Thursday) Reading logs will begin once students are able to check out books from the Media center. (Approximately 2-3 weeks into the school year)
STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR WORDS AND ACTIONS!
REQUIRED SUPPLIES FOR LANGUAGE ARTS:
- 1 inch 3 ring notebook (hard binders only)
- One three prong pocket folder for reading log (plastic/vinyl is more durable)
- Paper, wide-ruled (holes already punched, no spiral notebooks allowed)
- #2 pencils; Pens (blue or black only)
- Set of colored pencils and markers
- Flash drive for projects and presentations
- 1 black and white Composition wide ruled notebook (7 1/2 X 9 ¾) Journal- ( No spiral notebook allowed- this will be stored in the classroom)
Again, thank you for your cooperation with me. Please let me know if I can answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Please do not wait until the end of the grading period to ask for assistance if you need it. I expect all of my students to behave according to my rules and the school rules. I expect all of my students to consistently perform and produce quality work according to their ability level.
TO BE RETURNED TO Ms. Stringer:
By signing below, I hereby acknowledge that I have received a copy of the expectations, procedures, and objectives for Ms. Stringer’s 7th grade Language Arts class. Further, I hereby state that I have read and I understand said expectations, objectives, and procedures.
Parent’s Signature: ____________________________________ Date ____/____/____
Student’s Signature: ____________________________________ Date ____/____/____
Contact # 1- ___________________________________________
Contact # 2- ___________________________________________
Parent Email address: _____________________________________________________
Do you or your child have any specific concerns or needs of which I should be made aware? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Course Summary:
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