Mrs. Williams Class

Welcome to 7th grade Language Arts and Literature. Language Arts is the study of grammar, spelling, and writing. Students will use the writing process to produce paragraphs, essays, and personal stories. Literature is the study of the written word and how it affects the reader. Students will read from the Literature book and from self-selected books. In both classes students will keep journals.

Materials needed: 3 ring binder (2"), index cards, blue or black ballpoint pens, red checking pens, loose-leaf paper(white only, wide lined), two reams of 8 ½ X11” copier paper (one per semester), two boxes of facial tissue (one per semester), and at least two single subject spiral notebooks. Students are expected to keep their textbooks covered at all times. As our budget is severely limited, there will not be extra copies of duplicated work.

Grading: Grades are based on homework, tests, journals, reports and projects. Homework will be assigned at least four nights a week. It is impossible to master the skills in just class time, and so homework will be used for reinforcement and practice. Students with excused absences will be assigned makeup work with a due date. No late work is accepted. Missing assignments will receive a zero. Grade averages will be reported to the students at least twice in a six week period, at mid term and at the end.

Absences: It is very difficult to learn if you are not here. Please try to be here everyday. After an absence, check first with the weekly assignment chart to see what you missed. Look in the "Make-up Work" folder to see if there are papers for you. Talk to a classmate. If you are not still unsure, talk to me.

Grading Scale: A 100-90, B 89-80, C 79-70, D not used, F below 70

Since 70% is minimum passing, grades below 70 are failing.

Class Rules: Be Prompt (Be in assigned seat at tardy bell)

Be Prepared (Have materials and work ready)

Be Polite (Respect others and your environment)

Be Productive (Use time and resources wisely)

Be Positive (Even though we all have bad days!)

Consequences of misbehavior will include verbal warnings, contacts with home, and referrals to the office. Recognition for positive and appropriate work will be in verbal and written form as well as in Thank-you passes which can be used for extra credit. Students are expected to follow school rules. Please read the student handbook together. Contact us with questions.

Procedures: All papers must have a correct heading (full name, period and date+. Incorrect headings will be penalized. Nameless papers receive a zero. If a student is absent he/she should check the makeup work folders for papers and check with another student or with me for the assignments. It is the student's responsibility to get the work and get it in on time.

Language Arts: Every Tuesday we will correct and collect a packet of spelling work. We will take that test and start the next packet. Other days students will be copying and correcting sentences or writing from prompts. DOL sentences will be due every Friday. If a student is interested in extra credit, packets are the place to earn it. Students will keep a Language Arts journal which will include writing on prompts and Word-within-the–Word work. The journal will be collected and graded. Long term writing assignments will usually have written directions and timelines.

Literature: Selections of the Lit. book will be used for vocabulary and literary analysis. Students must have something to read with them everyday. My class library will be available. Rules about its use will be discussed and signed off by a student before books may be checked out. The journal for Readers' workshop in which your student will write about books he or she has read will be major part of the Literature grade. The student will be reading from an AR book at home everyday for at least 30 minutes. Reading logs are collected and graded each Friday. Your student should read 1 book from the Battle of the Books list each six weeks. You are to sign the reading log at least once a week to verify that your student is reading. As in Language Arts, most of the Literature work will be in packets with due dates. Some packets will have extra credit.

Contact between school and home: The best way to contact me is with a note. If I get a note during homeroom, I can usually have a reply by the end of the day or, at the latest, by the end of the next day. Since we have so few phone lines, it is not always possible to get through at specific times. Please let me know if you need more than one copy of grades, if information needs to be mailed rather than hand delivered, or other information which would impact our communication. I will rely on your student to be an accurate reporter of our classroom.

Copies of much of the work is on my page of the Grant Middle School site. After you have gone to www.gms1111.com, find me under staff and select on line class. Everything I can think a student may need is there. If you think of something I need to add, please let me know.

Please read this letter together. If you have questions I can be reached with a note or by calling school (299-2113). Please sign below and return only the signed page. Keep the letter for your information.

We are going to have a wonderful year!

Mrs. Helen Williams

Room 100

willliams_h@aps.edu