Classroom Procedures:

Opening Procedures:

• Students will quietly line up, single file against the wall outside of our class. They will be greeted and encouraged to enter the classroom quickly and quietly. 

• Students should not be walking around or disrupting others at any time.

• Students should immediately sit down, take out their iPads, their planners, and copy the Daily Agenda from the side board. 

• If homework has been assigned, students will take it out at this time to be collected.

• Once students have all of their materials out, they need to tuck their backpack and belongings under their seat.  At no time, should any items be in the walkways. They are a tripping hazard.

• If an adult is not present, students should remain in the hall until a staff member arrives. They are NOT to enter any classroom on campus without teacher permission.

Exiting Procedures:

• Students must clean up after themselves and check the desk and floor for any papers, wrappers, or trash. If you see trash or things out of place, either throw them away (trash) or put them away (materials), even if they're not yours. 

• Students may pack up their belongings no more than fifteen seconds before the bell rings.

• They may stand up and wait behind their chair until the bell rings. 

• Once it rings, students must push in their chair before leaving the room. 

• At no time should any student go and wait by the doorway. Students should not be walking around or disrupting others at any time.

• Remember, the teacher excuses the students, not the bell. If the classroom is messy, I will hold you after the bell rings. 

Tutorial Procedures:

Leaving the classroom for your Tutorial class:

• Students that have been stamped by another teacher are the only ones allowed to pack up.

• Students must clean up after themselves and check the desk and floor for any papers, wrappers, or trash. If you see trash or things out of place, either throw them away (trash) or put them away (materials), even if they're not yours. 

• Students may pack up their belongings no more than fifteen seconds before the bell rings.

• They may stand up and push in their chair before leaving the room. 

• Students that have been stamped will line up by the bookcases with their PAWS card out. I will verify that you have, indeed, been stamped and will excuse you when the bell rings.

• You are to WALK, slowly and quietly, to your Tutorial classroom.

Entering the classroom for Tutorial:

• Students that have been stamped by me will quietly line up, single file, against the wall outside of our classroom. They are to wait there QUIETLY until those leaving have been dismissed. They will be greeted and encouraged to enter the classroom quickly and quietly and immediately sit down and get out their PAWS card.

• Students should not be walking around or disrupting others at any time.

During Tutorial:

• All students should immediately take out their PAWS cards and pass them to the person sitting at the center aisle.

• Students should organize their PAWS cards by date so that I can quickly and efficiently stamp their cards. Once it is stamped, put your PAWS card back in your planner. BE ORGANIZED!

• Students should not be moving around the classroom to sit with their friends or chit chat. 

• This is a study period. It is NOT a social period. Save that for lunch and nutrition.

• If you do not have any homework to complete, READ A BOOK. You are not allowed to play games on your iPad.

• Exiting Procedures for tutorial are identical to those above. 

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Expectations: 

Our focus here at Parks is on each student being a positive contributor and doing the right thing.

• Each day you are expected to be on-task, focused, and ready to work with a charged iPad, silent reading book, planner, pen/pencil, and all required assignments.

• Disrupting others and being off-task will not be tolerated.

• For every action, there is a consequence.  

• Consequences can be positive or negative based on your actions.

Rewards: 

• Students who follow these guidelines can earn up to nine PBIS points daily and/or Golden Tickets. 

• PBIS points can be redeemed at the online PBIS store for food or prizes. 

• Golden Tickets can be turned in for prize raffles or spent at Friday Pop-up stores during lunchtime activities. 

Consequences: 

• This behavior plan follows our PBIS model. 

• An uncharged or forgotten iPad or gum chewing will receive one warning. 

• Further violations will result in a consequence.

• 1st Violation: Verbal Warning. I will say your name and say STOP! Stop whatever you are doing that violates the matrix. This is your opportunity to correct your behavior. 

• 2nd Violation: Verbal Warning. I will say your name again and say WARNING! Correct your behavior. If you continue this behavior, you will receive a consequence.

• 3rd Violation: I will say your name a third time and say CONSEQUENCE! I am filling out a MINOR violation form and contacting your parents. You will take the form home to be signed and bring it back to me. This form will be turned in to the office.  Three violations = Lunch Detention.

• 4th Violation: If you continue to disrupt class within the same period, you will be sent to the office. I am writing you up with a MAJOR violation form and contacting your parents. The office will assign your consequences. 

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Syllabus: This year we will be focusing on reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and writing. 

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Assignments:

• In ELA, we will be using paper and digital resources. Our digital textbook is called StudySync. We will read, answer questions, take quizzes, and write within this digital platform.

• Also, we will read short stories and novels from other sources. Those sources will be posted in Google Classroom. You may have digital or paper assignments.

• The Daily Agenda will tell you where your assignments can be found (paper, digital, StudySync, etc), so that you are not searching through Google Classroom to find them.

• We will use the IXL website, Quizlet, Quizziz, and Kahoot to review reading strategies, comprehension, writing strategies, vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics.

Reading Logs:

• Reading is the most important task you can do to set yourself up for success in life. They say that to be at grade level, a student must read one million words per year just to maintain their grade level. To accomplish this lofty goal, students must read a minimum of 175 pages per week. This can be done all in one sitting or by reading 35 minutes a night, 5 nights per week. 

• Students will have a Monthly Reading Log on paper to track daily reading.

• At the end of each month, I will check your paper reading log and give it a grade based on the number of minutes you have read. Reading logs are 15% of your total quarterly grade. 

• You may earn extra credit points. For every 10 minutes over the required reading, you can receive one point of extra credit.

• Late reading logs cannot earn extra credit. 20% will be deducted from your final grade.

Vocabulary: 

• Vocabulary will come from our literature selections; Greek & Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes; state testing terminology; and iReady tests.

Writing: 

• We will start with sentence and paragraph writing. 

• We will practice using R.A.C.E. (restate, answer, cite, explain) for all short answer questions in order to prepare for the state SBAC test at the end of the year.

• Essays will focus on literary analysis, narrative, and argument. 

  1. Introductions will focus on Grabbers, Summary Statements, and Thesis Statements.

  2. Body Paragraphs will focus on Transition Words, Topic Sentences, Introducing your Evidence, Citing Evidence, and Explaining how it supports your claim.

  3. Conclusions will focus on restating your Thesis Statement and writing a good concluding sentence. 

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Grading:  ELA is different from other courses. We will be spending several weeks on our various units, so you might not see grades updated in Powerschool on a weekly basis. 

• Grades are broken down as follows: Assignments (40%), Tests (30%), Writing/Projects (15%), Reading Logs (15%).

• During our units, I try to post grades at least once a week, usually on Fridays after school. Projects and essays will take longer to grade, so please be patient with me.    

Powerschool:

• Powerschool is our grading platform. Student grades are maintained in Powerschool and can be accessed at any time. It is important for both parents and students to check Powerschool and Google Classroom often. It is much easier to maintain a good GPA if you are aware of missing or late work. 

• You should have received your Powerschool login information at Orientation. If you have lost it, please see the front office for the web address and your access code. 

• Parents, you may set up alerts in Powerschool for low grades or missing assignments.

Google Classroom:

• Google Classroom is where assignments and resources are posted. I maintain a Google Classroom for each of my classes. Students can access the Daily Agenda, digital assignments, and videos at any time. I encourage both students and parents to periodically review Classroom together for updates on due dates, tests, or missing assignments. 

• I also encourage parents to accept the Google Classroom invitation so that you can receive weekly updates on your child’s progress. Each Classroom code will be posted on my website.

Late Work Policy:

• Regular late work will be accepted up to two days late, at full credit.

• After that, late work will be accepted until the chapter test/end of unit, at 50% credit. 

• After the test or unit ends, no late work will be accepted.

• The only exception is if you are sick or have an IEP/504 accommodation. Then, you have five school days to turn in missed assignments and make up any missing tests. You will still receive full credit.  

• If you turn assignments in late, they will be graded last. The “missing” designation will not be changed in Powerschool automatically. It may take up to two weeks for changes to be made because I have to grade your work.

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Supplies:

• Please create a digital folder in Google Drive for ELA. All your work should be placed in that folder for easy access. 

• Please mark a section in your binder for ELA.

• Come prepared each day with a charged iPad, silent reading book, pencil or pen, and completed assignments. 

• You will need colored pencils or markers for any projects we do on paper. 

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Parent/Teacher Contact:

• My website is linked through the Parks Jr. High Staff page. It will contain this overview, as well as a running Daily Agenda of all assignments and due dates.

• Blackboard Connect is used to send email, text, and phone updates and reminders. 

• Email is the fastest and most convenient way to contact me, as I check it multiple times per day. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email: dina_parker@myfsd.org. 

• In addition, you can either text or call my Google Voice# 657-217-2268.

• Emails, voicemails, and/or texts will be returned within 48 hours. 

I look forward to working with you and your student this year.

Best,

Dina M. Parker, M.A.

English/Language Arts and Social Science 7th grade