Transcript Welcome to Class! - Beaver Dam Elementary

Welcome to Class!
th
7
Mrs. Brooks
Grade
Language Arts
Get to Know Me
My experience
My background
• This is my first year teaching at Ohio
County Middle School.
• I grew up in Hartford, and I still live
there!
• Before this school year, I did my
student teaching at OCMS in 7th
grade Language Arts. I also taught
8th grade Language Arts the last six
weeks of school for a teacher’s
maternity leave here at OCMS.
• I attended Wayland Alexander,
OCMS, OCHS, and Western Kentucky
University.
• Through Western Kentucky
University, I earned a Bachelor’s of
Science in Middle Grades Education
to teach Language Arts grades 5-9.
Communication
• My email: [email protected]
• My phone: 270-274-7893 x 310
• District Webpage: Ohio County Schools Homepage
• Infinite Campus: Infinite Campus Information
• Online Classroom: Coming soon!
Support Staff
• School Nurse—Yvonne Smith
• Youth Service Center—Debbie Gillstrap
• Guidance Counselor—Tammy Minor
Classroom Community
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to
improve the world.”
Anne Frank
Our classroom rules help us get along with each other. We will go over them more
thoroughly in class, but it is important to let your parents know that I take the
classroom rules seriously. Our rules are posted in the room, but we also have
school rules that we must follow in class. These rules act as “umbrella rules”,
which means that they are broad enough to cover several issues. For example
“respect” can mean several things—do you homework, do pay attention to
instruction, etc. With that in mind, we are a team and we will work as such—so
make smart decisions! Your decisions not only affect you, but also your peers.
CHAMPS
OCMS stresses CHAMPS, which is framework that guides the school and classroom
rules. CHAMPS promotes responsibility on the students’ behalf. We will discuss
CHAMPS in more detail during the first few days of school.
Conduct and Tardiness
• Regarding conduct, students will receive a grade. They will begin each nine weeks
with 100 points. For most offenses (i.e. disrupting class), he or she will lose 2 points.
For more serious infractions (i.e. lack of respect/fighting) 5-10 points will be
deducted. However, I do give fair warnings. Parents and students, be aware that I
firmly believe in keeping an open line of communication amongst us. If there is ever
a problem—or a praise, I will definitely call or email parents.
• Regarding tardiness, it is very important for the students to be in class, seated at
their desk, and on task when the bell rings. In fact, I have an activity planned called a
Warm Up. The purpose of this activity is to prepare the students for the daily lesson.
There are school penalties for tardiness, which I must enforce. We will cover it more
thoroughly during the first few days of school. Students and parents, I understand
the lockers and overall newness of OCMS will be overwhelming during the first
couple weeks of school, so I will not count tardiness until we have all settled in.
Curriculum
• Reading
• Informational Texts
The Common Core Standards
Homepage:
• Literature
About the Standards
• Writing
• Speaking and Listening
• Language
Reading
Our first novel will be Schooled by Gordon
Korman, which is about a current-day, middle
school hippie and his struggles. We will also
read various short stories, while covering the
elements of fiction. In doing this, we will use
strategies such as Think-Pair-Share, DirectedListening-Thinking-Activities, and Jigsaw
Group Activities. These are research-based
teaching methods to improve the teaching and
learning process…they’re really fun, too!
Writing
Almost daily, we will write in class. Our Warm Ups will often include writing, and we
will summarize our reading, which is to aid in comprehension. This is also a way for
me to assess your child in the individual reading Our focus in writing for the first nineweeks, however, is a narrative and an argument piece. The argument piece will be
related to Schooled and the themes involved.
Writing Folder Requirements:
Students are required to maintain writing samples to carry on to 8th grade. Actually,
this is a folder that was started as early as kindergarten! As we create our pieces, we
will go through the writing process and save them in a binder. This folder will follow
your child into 8th grade. Students, I encourage you to do your best on your writings—
this can and will make a difference in the level of instruction in my class!
Speaking and Listening
Throughout the year, we will practice speaking and listening skills to master the
Common Core Standards prescribed for Grade 7. Because this tends to be
everyone’s least favorite, we may start out with small tasks, such as book reports
(over the individual readings) and gradually build up to a persuasive speech by the
end of the year. I am also working on some podcasting lessons for this year!
Language
This is the least stressed area of the Grade 7 Common Core Standards, but it is an
area that requires consistent attention. Because of that, I have mini-lessons and
vocabulary builders to incorporate daily throughout the year. We will spend short
periods of time, but it will be a constant.
Assessments
• Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI)—The students will take this reading
inventory three times each year. The first testing will be some time during the
first month of school. The purpose of this test is to gauge the reading level,
which helps me adjust my teaching to suit the needs of each student.
• MAP testing—The students will take the MAP test three times each year. This is
an individualized test, which gradually gets more complex as the students get
the questions correct.
Homework
We will rarely have homework. If we do, it will most likely be an item that we
failed to complete in class that is necessary for the next day. We will also have a
few individual projects throughout the year which may require some out of class
time attention. No homework on Wednesday nights.
Take advantage of the Online Classroom!
Late work will not be accepted unless mutually agreed upon by student and
teacher. (This is where a planner can be very helpful). The purpose of middle
school is the transition the student from elementary into high school and then
onto adulthood—so I feel it is important to help you become more responsible for
your actions.
Grades
All assignments will have deadline dates. Late work will not be accepted after the
deadline, unless mutually agreed upon by the student and teacher. Students will
receive a reminder of work owed and the due date of the work. Extra credit is not
available. Students are encouraged to finish all assignments on time. Students are
strongly encouraged to maintain a planner in all classes. Assignment grades will
be based on 100 points. The OCMS grading scale is: A (90-100), B (80-89), C (7079), D (60-69), F (Below 60). Parents are notified about grades every 4-½ weeks
with either a progress report or a report card. Throughout the year, Parent –
Teacher Conferences will be scheduled, so parents can meet with any teacher, as
needed. ESS may also be offered throughout the year for struggling students.
Supplies
Supply List
• ½” binder (tab dividers optional) to house writing samples in classroom
• ½” binder full of loose leaf paper OR folders with pockets
• A spiral notebook (to store homework and class notes and take back and forth from class to home)
• Endless supply of paper
• Endless supply of pencils
• Erasers
Handy-for-You-to-Have List
• Planner or calendar
• Highlighter
• Ink pen
• Flash Drive to save documents
My Wish List
•
Paper towels
•
Tissues
•
Antibacterial gel
Optional: Periodically, we will use crayons, markers, colored pencils, and other arts/crafts materials. These items would be
nice for you to have on hand (at home or in your locker) since my supply will be heavily shared by other students. I will let
you know when we will be working with these items.
Resources
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• YouTube
• Literature Book and other classroom texts
• Resources within the school, including the Media Center and Library
One Call System
Please be sure to take advantage of the One Call System. This allows us to contact
the entire parent community in one call to announce important information, such
as a school closing, potential emergency, upcoming event, etc.
Remind 101
You and your child may receive classroom messages via text from me. While you
can not reply to these texts, they serve as reminders for class. (i.e. “Don’t forget to
bring your shirt for tie dying tomorrow!”) *Standard text rates may apply.
Please see instructions on link or handout.
https://dashboard.remind.com/classes/2004863/instructions/present
Work Hard, Study Hard
http://youtu.be/A5migDz5JTc
Questions?
Let’s Have a
Great Year!