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Class Handbook
Our Class Handbook 7th Grade English 2008-2009 Welcome to 7th grade! This is an important year for you, filled with opportunities and challenges. In English class, you will be reading stories, learning about different types of writing and literature, and creating stories and masterpieces of your own. You will also broaden your vocabulary to support your widening reading and writing abilities. In addition, we will have discussions about what we learn and how it matters to us today. All of these skills will help you learn how you can be a successful citizen in the future. What to Expect After reading this section of the handbook, you will have an understanding of how our class will run on most days. These are procedures that will help us communicate better, get things running smoother, and stay focused on what we are learning. You will find that life is full of procedures, like brushing your teeth, getting dressed, eating, and cleaning your room. We may not understand or like every procedure, but understanding and following procedures are an important part of being a good citizen. When you walk in the door: You will see my smiling face. I will usually greet you at the door with a smile. This is my way of showing respect and kindness to you; in return, show respect and kindness to your fellow classmates and me. Where do you sit? When you walk in the door, you will see a diagram of the classroom on the board. Your name will be typed within one of the desks on the board, and that is your seat. We assign seats so that you can get a chance to work with many different people throughout the year. There are some days that I may let you sit with someone you know, and your assigned seat may change at anytime, but if you choose not to sit in your assigned seat, you will be responsible for the consequences, which are listed in the consequences section. When you find a seat, notice who is sitting around you. You will most likely be working with these people at some point. Also, there are isles between the desks that your classmates and I will be walking back and forth on, so please keep your books and supplies under your desk to avoid any embarrassing (and dangerous) injuries. What next? Once you are seated, take a look at the white board. There will be some instructions written on the board, and you are to follow them. This might be to take out your homework, start working on a journal entry, start reading form the text, or something entirely different. If there is nothing written on the board, take out something quiet to do at your desk. The class will start as soon as all the students enter; so if you have a book to read or some doodles to work on, feel free. Just stay in your seat, and do not raise your voice beyond your desk space. When class starts: Class starts when I close the door. When you hear the door close, that is your indicator to be ready to learn. This means that you should be quiet and looking at me or whoever is teaching the lesson that day. When the teacher is talking: A good way to remember how you should act when a teacher is speaking is to remember the word SHARK. Each letter stands for how a good citizen (you!) will act when a teacher is talking. Silent – if you are talking to your neighbor it is distracting them as well as distracting you from the lesson. Head-up – I know you can get tired and bored, but in order to show the speaker respect, and insure the highest learning potential, your head must be off your desk, books and arms. Appropriate actions – Depending on the lesson, you may need to be taking notes, reading along, or another activity. You should not be doing work for other classes, writing notes to friends, talking to your neighbor, or any other action that is not appropriate to the class period. This is especially important because you need to be… Ready for Anything – At any time during the lesson, I may ask you a question, or request that you start an assignment, or have you move around the room, or anything else. You need to be ready for this. If you are paying attention and displaying appropriate actions, you will always be ready for what is coming next. Keep in Your Seat – You will have time to sharpen your pencil during the class, please do not do so while I, or another teacher, is speaking. However, if you need a Kleenex or have a bathroom emergency, by all means, get up. If it is not an emergency, remember that you are responsible for making this classroom a comfortable place to learn, and getting out of your seat distracts other people, and the teacher. Activities/assignments: When you are asked to complete an activity or an assignment, you are expected to follow the directions that are given. That may mean working silently, with a partner, around the room, or whatever else is asked. If you finish an assignment or activity early, you are expected to return (or stay) in your seat and quietly work on other work (you are also free to read a book or doodle if you wish). However, this is not a good time for writing notes to friends or sleeping (you may have figured out that there is never a good time for writing notes to friends or sleeping in English class). These activities take away from the learning atmosphere that you are helping to create. Shifting Gears: During class time, we may have multiple activities that we participate in. As your teacher, it is my responsibility to prepare you for any transitions that will take place. This may be a sentence saying, “OK, put away your journals and get ready for group work,” or a class discussion about the next activity’s topic. Whatever it is, it will help you be ready for what is coming next. So pay attention, you may need to put something away, get something out, or get out of your seat. Being Prepared: Every single day in class, you will need your English folder/binder, paper, and a writing utensil. If an assignment is due, you are expected to have it with you, and if you need to bring something else, it will have been written on the white board the day before. If you do not have access to pens, pencils, or paper items at home, let me know and I can help you out. Also, I will have extra materials at the front of my room if you forgot to bring them that day, but if they run out, you may be out of luck. Good citizens are prepared, and that is what I expect you to be. You will not be allowed to go to your locker to get materials or assignments that you left in there. When we part ways: Sadly, our class time does not last forever. After our class time, I will tell you that it is time to pack up and leave. Until I do this, the class is not over, and you are not to start leaving the room or packing up your things. As you leave, take the respectful atmosphere with you and display appropriate behavior in the halls, in your other classrooms, and in your home. An easy way to determine if an action is appropriate is to ask yourself, “If someone did this to me, would I like it?” If the answer is no, then you should not continue. Also, if you need to leave the class during the class period, a pass needs to be issued to you. However, if you have personal emergency (like being ill) then please do not get a pass, just go. Class discussions: There will be times when I will call on students for discussion; if you have a question, comment, or another way to add to the discussion, please raise your hand and I will be glad to call on you. Talking without raising your hand is stealing time from other students and will cause you to miss out on what they have to say, and they will miss out on the learning experience. So please, show respect to the class and to yourself by raising your hand. There will be other times when you will be working in groups, and then you will be free to talk as you please. In order to respect the learning of all the groups, keep your voice low. Also, when other students are talking, use SHARK to guide your actions as well. Assignments: All of your assignments for the week will be written on the whiteboard. You will be responsible for completing these assignments and turning them in on their due date, which will also be written on the whiteboard. When you turn in an assignment, please put it in the “IN” box. Also, if you notice a stack of papers in the “OUT” box, it is my responsibility to schedule time to hand them back. I may ask a few students to help me do so, and I will always try to get your assignments back to you in a reasonable time. Uh oh! Forgot an assignment? If you forget to do an assignment or it is late for another reason that was not excused, I will still accept it from you. However, points will be taken off. After two weeks, the assignment will not be accepted, unless you had an excused absence. The important thing is that you do the work; I want you to learn and succeed. But I also want you to become a good and responsible citizen, which means respecting me by doing your assignments on time. So if you forget to do an assignment don’t give up! There is hope! Eyes up front: If the class is working on a group activity or engaged in free conversation and I need your attention up front, I will ring my small bell. When you hear this, you should stop what you were doing, have your eyes on me, and your ears open for my announcement/instruction. We missed you yesterday: If you are absent from class, you were definitely missed. Each person makes the class what it is and without you, things are not quite the same. When you get back from your absent day, there is a simple procedure to follow. Check the whiteboard for assignments, and ask a classmate if you need any other information to complete the assignment. If they cannot help you, or if you feel you need something more, please ask me after class and I will be glad to help you out. For however many days you were absent, you have that many days to make up your work with no penalty, just write “ABS” at the top of your assignment when you turn it in. It is your responsibility to get caught up, and saying “I was absent” is not a “freebee” to get out of an assignment or for not understanding what’s going on. Guests: When someone enters our room, no matter who they are, they are a guest. They are to be treated with respect. This means that you are to remain in your seat, and to continue as you were doing. If you are in a group activity, bring your voice down a little lower to show them more respect and allow them to comfortably speak to whom they came to see. Also, a substitute teacher is a guest in our classroom. It can be hard for a person to go into a strange place, so please treat every substitute with respect and dignity. You know the classroom procedures, and when a substitute is present, it is your time to shine. Show the sub (and me) that you are a good citizen by helping him or her with whatever he or she needs, and behaving appropriately. If I know I will be absent ahead of time, I will prepare you for this, and give many of you specific responsibilities to help class run smoothly when I’m not here. Behavior Guidelines After viewing the procedures of our classroom, there are a few general ideas for behavior that we can apply to all of our actions. 1. Show respect to everyone. – Respect yourself, your classmates, your teacher, and all guests. 2. Do What is right. – If you wouldn’t want someone doing it to you, don’t do it. If you find yourself in a situation where you didn’t know what you were doing was wrong, communicate this respectfully and at the appropriate time to the teacher. 3. Create an atmosphere so everyone can learn. – Sometimes it’s hard to think of others before yourself. But know that if we do this as a class, then everyone is looking out for you. In this atmosphere, we can all learn, and all feel comfortable to share our thoughts and question things we want to know more about. Rewards You didn’t think you were doing all this stuff for nothing, did you? There are a number of good things that will result from you striving to be a good citizen. PC Points: In English class, we aren’t learning the English language, we are learning to use the language to become better communicators. You are expected to follow the guidelines and procedures of the classroom. There are also opportunities to stand out, and make personal connections in every day. This could be a time when you reached out to someone who needed help, or when you were particularly kind or respectful. Or maybe you showed a lot of improvement in your behavior. If I see you stand out, I will give you a personal communicator point. Simply coming into class and getting seated quietly will get you one pink point. Volunteering ideas and participating in class will get you one pink point. Doing great group work during cooperative learning will get your group a blue point. Five pink points will equal one blue point. At the end of the quarter, your cooperative group will add up all their points and you will get opportunities to enjoy rewards. Here are the rewards offered: -8 points earned: your group gets to bring food and drink to class one day -16 points earned: you can drop your lowest daily grade, in addition to first prize -class avg. of 25 points: 2 day class movie, in addition to first two prizes - 35 or more points earned: prize to be announced The Trust: Sometimes I need extra help. These opportunities to run an errand for me, or to take extra responsibility are only given to those that I know I can trust to act as good citizens. Also, if you have built trust with me, I will be more likely to write you a pass to your locker on occasion, or give you more leeway with other minor situations. Being a good citizen gives you the trust of other people, and making these trustful connections can help you out in ways you may have never thought of. The Pat on Your Back: If I see you being a good citizen, I will encourage you. I will tell you that you are doing a great job. I will give you a pat on the back. I will give you a big smile. I will do my best to show you my appreciation. The Call Home: It seems like teachers only call home when students are being bad or failing their classes. But in this class, if you are standing out to me on a regular basis and showing your good citizenship, you may get a letter sent home or even a call so I can gush about you to your parents (or guardians). Then the benefits of being a good citizen can overflow into every part of your life. To infinity…and beyond! If you continue to be a good citizen in your everyday life, not just in my class, there many other rewards you will see. Some of them include: • Better grades • Happy parents • More freedoms • College acceptances • A great job • Great friends The list goes on and on. What is important to know is that when you invest in becoming the best person you can be, you will see results! Consequences I cannot force you to do anything. You have to choose to follow the guidelines and procedures. You choose to be a good citizen. The power is all in your hands. But with great power comes great responsibility. If you should choose not to follow the guidelines or procedures, here’s what you can expect: The Warning: I may make eye contact with you, or ask you kindly to act appropriately. The Yellow Card: If you do not heed my warning, you will receive a yellow card. This is a sign for you to take a step back and think about your choices. At the end of class, you will need to give me the yellow card back and talk with me about what happened in class and how we can get back on track tomorrow. The Red Card: If you continue to act inappropriately after receiving a yellow card, it will be exchanged for a red card. This means that you have lost participation points for the day. After class, you will need to give me the red card back and talk with me about what happened and how we can get back on track tomorrow. The Detention: This goes on your record and is time spent after school. You will also meet with me and we will talk so we can find a way to get things running smoothly and avoid future detentions. The Referral: If you get three detentions, you will then be sent to meet with administrators and more serious action will be taken in accordance with the school discipline handbook. Serious disruptions or infractions will result in an immediate referral, bypassing the steps beforehand. The Call Home: Upon receiving a referral, I will be calling home to discuss the situation with your parents or guardians. If needed, a conference will be scheduled. Remember, your choices determine your future! The future is in your hands!
Last update: Monday, August 17, 2009 at 2:19:18 PM This site is using the Geneseo Theme theme.
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