Monday, August 24, 2015

Welcome 7th Graders!

7th Grade Reading Syllabus
Mrs. Julissa Barrera
Ac2E Middle School
Room #7064

Grading Policy:
Class work, homework, class participation, quizzes, shall have the value of 45 % of the six-week grade.
Projects will be 15% of the six weeks grade.
Six Weeks or Novel Final Exam shall have the value of 25%.
A minimum of 2 grades per week will be given.
The semester grade will be the average of the three six-week grades.

Materials Needed:             
One 3 Subject Spiral Notebooks
One Composition Notebook
The assigned reading novel
One pack of crayons
Scissors
Elmer’s Glue stick
2 packs of No. 2 Pencils
One pack of Markers
 (*Students are required to have a pen or pencil to write with.)
                                               
Expectations:       
Throughout the course of the class you will be presented with various genres of literature. The material is designed to make you a more confident reader. Throughout the school year, you will gain the necessary skills and knowledge to excel, not only in middle school, but in high school and college as well. The class is designed to discussion based student participation is a priority.

Assignments:       
Students will be required to read a different novel every six weeks. The students will read one chapter to two chapters a night and be required to answer discussion questions for each chapter. Homework needs to be completed every night and brought back the next day for 20pts or 25pts depending on the week. At the end of the week the points will accumulate to 100pts and will be taken as an assignment grade. Class participation on chapters assigned and discussion questions, along with activities from the novel will also be graded.  
Every day the students are required to keep a journal, journal topics will be given by teacher, and be graded every Friday; this will also be a weekly grade.     

Projects:               
There will be several projects throughout the six weeks based on the novels we are reading. Students should be prepared to work on their own or in groups. Projects will consist of classroom activities as well as project that will be assigned to done at home. The students will be given the information for the projects ahead of time and will be given plenty of time to complete them.

Late Assignments:              
Being present in class every day is important. Every day will build on skills needed for completing assignments. Students are responsible for missed assignments/topics when they are absent. They may ask one of their classmates, or myself, for missed assignments. Missed assignments must be turned in within five days of the absence. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE FIVE DAY GRACE PERIOD.


Attendance:        
It is imperative that you attend class on a daily basis, as failure to do so will result in you missing out on important information. *AFTER 3 ABSENCES, STUDENT WILL BE REFERRED TO AN ADMINISTRATOR*


Participation:       
Participation in all class activities is necessary to gain a better understanding of the material being covered. A grade will be issued for participation and on class discussions over topics and or chapter questions on novels.

Tardiness:
Be in (as opposed to near) your assigned seat when the bell rings and remain there until the teacher dismisses the class. In the event that another teacher or staff member detains you, a signed excuse should be brought to me as soon as possible.

The teacher will decide whether the tardy is excused or unexcused.  Tardies accumulate all day and start over at the new six weeks.  They will be referred to the office for the tardy.
                Tardies 1-4 Teacher records and warns to student
                Tardy 5 - Referral to administrator.  Parent contact.
                Tardy 6 – Referral to administrator.  Parent, Teacher, Administrator Meeting.
                Tardy 7 – Referral to administrator.  ISS at home campus assigned.
                Tardy 8+ - Referral to administrator.  Student will be transferred to home campus.

Hall Privileges:
You will have adequate time to take care of business between classes. I will allow you to make restroom trips as you feel necessary UNTIL it becomes an abuse. I reserve the right to take away restroom privileges. If you have a medical condition that requires you to need to go to the bathroom frequently please bring me a medical excuse so that I can be aware of it.

School Wide Violations:
School wide rules are strictly enforced. Violators will receive a warning as a first offense, a call home will be the second offense, and a parent/teacher conference request would be the 3rd offense. At this point, if you are not making an effort to correct the inappropriate behavior, a disciplinary referral will be issued.

Cheating Policy:
Anyone who participates in cheating on a test, project or other assignments will receive a zero for that grade. There is no reason why cheating is ever excusable. If you did not understand an assignment, then let me know and I will explain it to you and grant you an extension.

Class Rules:
Be prepared to apply yourself
Be respectful of yourself and others
Be responsible for what you say and do
Be Diligent with your time
Be safe for yourself and others

Daily Arrival Procedures:
I expect you to abide by the following procedures without me having to call your attention before I make my way to the front of the room:
Come in to the classroom. If the door is unlocked and I am not inside, please make a line outside the door and wait until I arrive. This prevents accidents from occurring inside the room while it is unsupervised.
Grab your journal, and interactive notebook from the appropriate shelf.
Take a seat.
·         Start journal topic for 5 -7 minutes (DO NOW)
Have a pencil to write with. Not having a pencil is no excuse to not be ready for class. If you need a pencil, find one BEFORE I start teaching.


When We Have a Visitor:
- When we have someone come into our classroom that is not part of our class (teacher, administrator, student, parent) you are expected to follow the same classroom rules and procedures. You are expected to be polite to the visitor. Do not talk to the visitor unless he/she is talking to you directly. Continue working on your assignment as usual.
- If the visitor needs to speak to me privately, I expect you to remain in your seat without talking until I finish speaking with the visitor.

Two minute dismissal checklist:
To have things run more smoothly, I expect you to do the following when I say “2 minutes” & you hear the appropriate alarm:
Put your unfinished homework away; Turn in any completed assignments.
Put away your binder and journal in the appropriate shelf, neatly.
Gather all of your belongings; Throw away any trash around your table and chair.
Stand by your desk and wait to be dismissed. This does not mean to crowd the classroom door waiting for dismissal.
Cluster Planning:
If you have any questions feel free to come in and see me during my 8th and 9th planning periods which are from 1:50p.m. to 3:35 p.m. You may call me at 352-6324.

Blog
This class will have a blog where I will be posting reminders, due dates, discussions questions, quotes to discussion, and other topics that pertain to the class. Sometimes it will be daily and sometimes it will be weekly depending on the information that needs to be given. Students should check the blog daily to make sure that no new information has been added. Students will be able to comment on blog and participate in discussions on blog. www.ac2emsj.barrera.blogspot.com.

Tentative Schedule for 7th Grade Reading:
Required Novels:               
1.       The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
2.       The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
3.       Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
4.       A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
5.       Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
*Students are required to purchase their own novels. They may purchase novel on electronic device. However, they may NOT purchase audio version of novel *
(If you have any questions or concerns please let me know)