Course Overview

Materials:

These are the materials that are NEEDED for class. Lack of them results in points off your preparation grade.

- a notebook, (a binder may be substituted instead, as long as you have paper in it)

- a folder or binder for handouts (copies of ALL handouts are available under the "Supplemental Materials" tab)

- a black or blue pen (no other color ink will be accepted for written work that is handed in! Your notes, however, can be in whatever color you prefer)

- a Google docs folder for class work/homework (this will be created the beginning of the school year)

Missing/Late Work:

As middle school students, it is important to learn accountability for one’s work. Email reminders will be sent to students and advisors when work is not completed in a timely fashion. Emails/phone calls will be made to parents should there be an excessive amount of work missing and calls/email inquiries are always welcomed from parents concerning their children. Exceptions will be made for missing/late work do to illness/extenuating circumstances.

Grading Policy:

Each assignment/assessment is out of a certain number of points. At the end of the trimester, a student's cumulative points are added up and divided by the total possible number of achievable points. This final number is the student's overall average for the trimester. For example, a homework assignment may be out of 25 points, a project 100 points, and a quiz 35 points. The highest number possible is 160. If a student earned 145 points, there overall average would currently be a 90.6 or an A-.

Homework is completed fully and handed in on time/completed and located in your Google folder. Late homework and projects are penalized through your Preparation Grade. Specific deadlines are set throughout the year concerning various assignments.

Projects may include presentations, papers, posters, videos/webpages, etc… All written components of a project or essay must be typed (unless an exception has been made) in Times New Roman font, size 12, and doubled spaced.

The participation part of the overall grade is a collaborative effort between student and teacher. Participation does not only mean raising your hand to answer questions. It also includes class behavior in regard to yourself and others. You will be encouraged AND required throughout the year to reflect and access your various levels of participation.

Tests/quizzes are rarely given, but may include a variety of questions, including any possible combination of multiple choice, essay, true or false, map identification, short/long response, definitions, etc… Quizzes will be similar to tests in their make up but are shorter in length.

A NOTE ON RESEARCH:

Middle School is not only a time for learning information, but more importantly, for learning the skills that are necessary to thrive in the 21st Century. Learning proper researching skills, particularly the ability to recognize bias and quality in resources, has become even more important, as access to multiple resources of questionable quality is only a click away. With this in mind, while Wikipedia is acceptable as a tool of reference (ex. What countries does the Nile run through?) it is NOT acceptable as a researching tool (ex. What impact has the Aswan Dam had on relations between Egypt and Sudan?)