Syllabus

Dear Students and Parents/Guardians: September 2024

Hello and welcome to seventh grade Language Arts, taught by Mrs. Tracy Reynolds. This is my seventh year at Webb Middle School; however, I previously taught at Reedsburg Area High School. This different path has had me “returning to my roots,” so to speak, as I taught seventh grade when I first began my educational career in sunny California.

In this class, students will read and discuss various genres of literature including: drama, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, while developing an understanding of literary devices and terminology.  Students will also learn multiple writing techniques to help them produce personal, argumentative, informative, and creative pieces, projects, and presentations. In addition, students will study and apply grammar rules and build vocabulary.  Also, students will read independently and explore public speaking. Essentially, we will focus on the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards of reading, writing, listening and speaking, and language.

Using the seventh grade grading scale, overall grades will be based on assignments, quizzes, tests, and projects. Students are graded using both formative assessment (assignments totaling 20% of the grade) and summative assessment (tests/quizzes/essays/book reports totaling 80% of the grade). I do not give much homework, BUT I expect students to be reading at least 20 minutes each weekday night. I will accept late work, with a reduction in points, and missing work will be recorded as such and worth no points. PLEASE SEE MY LATE WORK POLICY BELOW.

A special note regarding homework: Monthly, students will have homework in the form of an Article of the Month (AoM), which will be assigned the first Friday of each month, worked on in class, and collected the following Monday. I encourage you to work with/speak to your student about this assignment, as each is worth 30 points (this changes from a formative to a summative grade at semester.). Also, students should always be reading an independent novel for class (We will read six total, and complete six unique reports/projects as well.).

7th grade LA students need the following materials in class: 

1. 1 LARGE, (2 and a half to 3 inch) three-ring binder with 4 dividers, for ENGLISH CLASS ONLY! 

2. loose leaf paper, about 30 sheets

3. mechanical pencils… my sharpeners for regular pencils are highly unreliable and noisey! 

4. colored pencils (An 8-count pack will be fine.)

5. highlighters (4 colors)

Please feel free to contact me via email at treynolds@rsd.k12.wi.us with any questions or concerns. I look forward to a fantastic year!

Mrs. Reynolds’s late work policy:

Simply stated, I believe students learn best when provided with timely feedback.  When work is promptly returned, discussed, and fixed, students are better prepared for the next assignment, the next essay, the upcoming quiz, and/or the unit test. This process is impeded by late work, as I cannot return completed and graded work when I am awaiting late and missing work. Also, timely work provides up-to-date grades in Skyward, and learning to be on time is a much-needed life skill. Please encourage your child to turn his/her work in on time!

Late work penalties:

Assignments which are practice/formative (Usually these are worth 10 to 30 points.), will lose two points each day they are handed in late.

Work that is summative, such as quizzes, tests, essays, and projects (Usually these are worth 50 or more points.), will lose five points each day they are handed in late.

Work, including assignments, quizzes, tests, essays, and projects, will not be accepted for points/a grade after they are two or more weeks late. 

Obviously, there are exceptions to all policies. A few include:

• Students who are absent are given the amount of time they have been away to turn in work.  For example:  If a student is absent Monday and Tuesday, he/she will be given two additional days upon his/her return to make up/turn in work, making the work due Thursday. If your family is planning a vacation, please call the main office to have an “absence sheet,” filled out ahead of time and sent to all of your child’s teachers.  Also, my Google Classroom will briefly explain and provide links to most of what we cover in class daily, and this will be posted in the stream weekly, each Monday.

• Students who experience unforeseen circumstances or emergencies are encouraged to speak with me about late and missing work extensions.  Parents/guardians too may contact me at: treynolds@rsd.k12.wi.us.

• Students who have Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) are exempt from this poilicy.

*Additionally, if your child is struggling/needs additional help, please encourage him/her to reach out to me for extra help either before or after school, during his/her study hall, or during lunch.