Mr. Epperson's Science Class Syllabus


Welcome to 7th Grade Integrated Science

To the Student:

Welcome to a new and exciting year at Murray Middle School. My name is Mr. Epperson and I will be your science teacher. This document is an overview of what is expected of you as seventh graders in our science classroom. This document contains information on what we will be doing this year, safety during labs, and other important issues concerning the classroom. This will be a challenging, yet rewarding year. I only ask that you give 100% and be a responsible person. Who knows, you may even have fun!

To the Parents/Guardians:

I just wanted to welcome your child to the 7th grade. But just as important, I would like to welcome you into the 7th grade as well. The seventh grade team is a very strong, student-centered group of teachers that would like to extend education beyond the school walls. We know that you understand the importance of education and we hope to see you involved with not only the academic realm, but the potpourri of other activities your child will be part of this school year. In my classroom, students will be challenged to be responsible and take charge of their own academic future. The seventh grade is a time of transition. Soon, students will be expected to have a great deal of internal motivation and responsibility toward achieving their educational goals. It is important that we work together to help them understand that success is up to them.


If you have any questions about this document or our classroom in general, please feel free to contact me, I would be glad to talk with you. In addition, please provide an email if you would like quick communication if the need ever arises. I would also like to remind you that you can look up your child’s grades online, anytime you want. Please contact the office for more information and to get your username and password.


School Phone 753-5125 ext. 3205

Classroom Web Site: https://sites.google.com/murray.kyschools.us/epperson/home

School Email: mike.epperson@murray.kyschools.us


What You Will Need

There will be several items that you will need for science class this year. Below are the items published in the 7th grade School Supplies List.


pencils

loose leaf paper

1-two pocket folder (preferably plastic) with brads to hold loose leaf paper

Composition Notebook (not spiral bound) preferably with graphing type paper


An online textbook will be used as an important reference and resource. The URL is https://www.ck12.org/ Another resource that will be used extensively is an online program called Study Island. More detailed information can be found below. Other reference media such as the Internet web pages and videos will also be used. Another good resource is my web site because it will have a plethora of online resources to accompany what we do in class.


Student Participation

Full classroom participation is expected from each student. There will be activities that require you to work individually, in pairs, and in groups. When working with others, part of your success may be based on the work and accomplishments of the group. Being part of a group and working toward a compromise is a very important skill. There are very few jobs or careers that require people to work totally alone, so experiences such as these will help you throughout life.


Helpful Resources and Communication

Seventh grade has several tools to help keep students and parents/guardians informed of the many activities going on this year as well as provide the student with resources for academic work. The first and most important tool is the digital planner. Students should use the planner to keep up with important dates as well as daily homework assignments. A good practice would be for parents to check the digital planner often and consistently based upon how much you want/need to be involved with your child’s education. However, students will need to use this resource multiple times each day. The digital planner can be accessed directly by going here. In addition, teacher web pages or blogs can help immensely. For example, on my web page, you can find resources that supplement what we are studying in class, links to gain access to other sites for in-depth study of material or even get help with homework questions. There could also be photos of classroom activities that will be added from time to time. Please feel free to visit often and offer suggestions for improvement. Click here to go to the home page. We also communicate with parents via the PBIS Rewards app so parents, be sure to sign up for that service. Lastly, email may be used to communicate information to households so please make sure your email address is updated with the office. The school will be using a program called School Messenger and will automatically use the email you have on file with the office.


Absences

In most cases, a student may have to miss one or more classes because of various extracurricular activities, family emergencies, or an illness. The responsibility of making up missed work belongs to the student. It is very important that the student check with me to get specifics on assignments or pick up any handouts as soon as they return to school. After the allotted time period (number of days absent plus one), the assignment will be counted as missing.


Safety

We will be doing labs that involve equipment or chemicals that could injure students that don’t follow rules or guidelines. It is very important that you follow the teacher’s safety instructions. If you have a question, do not hesitate to ask. If at any time you see an unsafe act, bring it to the teacher’s attention immediately. Remember, if you think it is unsafe, it probably is and everyone in the classroom is in this together!


Classroom Guidelines

It is important that the classroom environment be structured in a way that maximizes the potential for students to achieve the teacher’s goals. Every student has the right to participate in a classroom that is safe and free of distractions. To help keep the classroom safe and free of distractions, the 6th-8th grade teachers utilize various strategies and procedures that promote appropriate behavior and provide consequences for inappropriate behaviors. One of the 7th grade management tools is PBIS Rewards. With PBIS Rewards, you as a parent can communicate with the teacher AND keep track of your child behavioral progress. If you are not familiar with PBIS Rewards, please contact your child's homeroom teacher.


Essentially, in our classroom, we use the TIGER Traits as a guide. The traits of a TIGER are:


  1. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

  2. I will always do my best.

  3. Give Respect.

  4. Everyone acts responsibly.

  5. Remember to cooperate with others.



Depending on severity or frequency of inappropriate behaviors, students may receive a student/teacher conference, teacher/parent conference, office referral, academic/alternate lunch, loss of break, etc.


In addition, automatic detentions are given for misbehavior for a substitute teacher, chewing gum on school grounds, writing/receiving personal notes and bullying/harassing.


Class Assignments, Assessment, and Grading


Category Percentage of Term Grade

Formative- Homework and Daily Work 0%

Formative- Quizzes 0%

Formative- Labs and Projects 0%

Summative- Assessments (tests of various types) 60%

Summative- Term Final 40%


Grade Numeric Percentage

A 90-100

B 80-89

C 70-79

D 60-69

F 0-59


Most of the assignments and activities we do this year will be placed in the grade book so that we (me, you, and your parents) can keep track of how you are doing. Remember, your parents can access Infinite Campus and check your grades at any time. However, you may notice above that our daily learning (homework, quizzes, labs, and projects) also called formative assessments will not count toward your final grade in the class. Because many students are still learning during the unit, I do not want to penalize students for the content they have not mastered. These daily grades will still be recorded as activities in the grade book and students are subject to consequences for not doing them. However, these items will not count against your grade.

All students will receive feedback on assigned work, but there will be no portion of daily work counted as part of the overall term average unless it is an assessment that is being used to assess your knowledge at the end of a unit or term. Homework is considered practice and I believe practice assignments should not count toward the grade. However, since homework is an important practice for assessments, if you do not complete assigned work, you will be given consequences. Practice assignments are important to help us understand what you know and can do so we can work together to improve and have you ready for the summative assessment.

Each time we meet, you should be prepared for a quiz or some type of formative assessment over previous material, notes or reading assignments. Although not part of the term grade, these allow you to “check your brain” to see if you are on track with the material we are learning. It is very important that you keep up with reading assignments and notes given in class.

If you don’t do well on a test, you may ask to improve your score. It is up to the student to ask for a grade improvement assignment for a low test grade. Upon asking, you may be offered a retake (with or without stipulations) or you may be offered a bonus work assignment. Before a retake or bonus work can be completed, you may be asked to obtain a parent signature/note and schedule the retake or receive the bonus work. In addition, prior to a retake or bonus work being assigned, students must complete any missing assignments associated with that topic/content. Please realize, the “retake” test may be different from the first test and it will be AVERAGED with the first one. Although these tests may be different, they will cover the same standards. This will help make sure you know the content and not just the test. Bonus work will be worth half the points missed on the original test and typically be improvements on Study Island percentages for the tested topics. Please realize these important things:


  1. Retakes and bonus work are only offered to those with no zeros for that particular unit/topic.

  2. A parent/guardian signature/note may be required.

  3. Retakes or bonus work must be completed within 1 week of getting the original assessment score.

  4. The retake score is averaged with the original assessment score no matter what the grade is and the bonus work is worth half the points missed on the original test.

  5. Term final exams cannot be retaken or receive bonus work for an improved score.


Methods of Instruction

There will be several methods of instruction in our science class. The methods used in class will include, but not be limited to lecture, discussion, demonstrations, hands-on activities and labs. In addition to “doing” science, we will be learning about science and exploring topics by conducting research, making presentations, and writing essays, analyzing articles, and doing investigations.


Study Island

7th grade science class has access to a great resource called Study Island that is used for preparing our kids for their future. This program will help you be more successful in this class along with high school science courses, the ACT/SAT, as well as the state assessment. This web-based program will also help provide you with a foundation for college science courses. You will be provided a username and password within the first few weeks of school. If you have Internet access, you can access Study Island from home. Much of this program will be completed outside of class time, so time and resource management skills will come into play and be very important. The most important aspect of completing Study Island assignments is to answer each question carefully. DO NOT GUESS. Since this is an Internet activity, any answers may be looked up while online. In fact, I ENCOURAGE THIS. To pass a particular assignment, you have a target goal that must be achieved. Once that goal is attained, you are finished with that assignment and get full credit (Blue Ribbon). The minimum number of questions a student must do on regular assignments are ten and the goal for a blue ribbon varies but is usually a 70% or 7 out of 10. Study Island assignments will be used as a test grade during each nine weeks. For example, if a student gets blue ribbons in 4 out of 5 assignments for a grading term, they will receive an 80% for a test grade that counts toward that 9 weeks average while getting 5 out of 5 blue ribbons earns a 100% for a test grade. In addition, at the end of the year the TOTAL blue ribbon count is used as a test grade carrying the same weight as the final exam, so students must keep up and not fall behind.


Academic Dishonesty

Although not usually a problem, it needs to be mentioned. Academic dishonesty is a very serious offence in my classroom. Any student that is caught cheating (using someone else’s work or answers) or completes work for someone else will have his/her parents notified and must complete an alternate assignment. A second offence will result in further disciplinary consequences and a zero on the assignment. THIS INCLUDES HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS!


Middle School Science Core Content

This science course is based upon the state approved Next Generation Science Standards. These are the same concepts being studied by middle school students throughout Kentucky as well as other states around our country. This is one of the years that science is tested by the state of Kentucky. Individual student scores on this state assessment as well as classroom grades and other criteria may impact what science courses your child will be required to take at the high school level. This content is the foundation that future science classes are built upon. Thus, this year is very important, especially if the student has aspirations towards college entry and science or math related career fields. The specific content statements that your child should know and be able to do by the end of the 7th grade year can be found at the following web address:


Kentucky Academic Standards in Science


Although this curriculum addresses what will be assessed by the state, students will be learning much more to prepare them for high school, college, or other avenues of higher learning or future careers. For example, students will be learning to communicate scientific ideas in an appropriate real world manner through analytical writing. Students will learn valuable science skills that will help shape their critical and logical thinking processes. Students will also obtain experiences in planning investigations that have relevance to real-world problems. They will carry out these experiments as well as analyze the data and communicate the results to various audiences. Students will also learn the principles of engineering which is a key component of the Next Generation Science Standards.


I am looking forward to an awesome year. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.


Mike Epperson

7th Grade Science