Back To School Night 2013 2014 Mrs Takei

Back To School Night 2013 -2014 Mrs. Takei Math & Science Mrs. Jeffries Language Arts & History

Contact Us: stakei@sunol. k 12. ca. us kjeffrie@sunol. k 12. ca. us • Email is fabulous before 3 pm • Handwritten notes are great • Leave a phone message with the office 925 -862 -2026 • Give us 24 hrs to respond

Daily Schedule: Mrs. Takei’s Room (404) Mrs. Jeffries’ Room (406) 8: 30 -9: 30 7 th Grade Pre-Algebra 8 th Grade Language Arts 9: 30 -10: 30 7 th Grade Life Science 8 th Grade US History 10: 30 -10: 45 Recess 10: 45 -11: 30 8 th Grade Math 7 th Grade Language Arts 11: 30 -12: 40 8 th Grade Physical Science 7 th Grade World History 12: 40 -1: 15 Lunch 1: 15 -2: 00 M-Th Elective: Algebra 1 Fri: 7 th Grade Health M-Th Elective: Student Council Fri: 8 th Grade Health 2: 00 -2: 50 PE w/ Mr. Fererra M/T/F FAME (Mrs. Campbell) - Thurs PE w/ Mr. Fererra T/Th/F FAME (Mrs. Campbell) - Mon

Homework Website: www. sunolglen. weebly. com It is the student’s responsibility to write down all homework in their planner every day. We remind them! This website is a backup for students and parents.

Math/Science Homework Guidelines: • Math – 1 assignment every night (videos/notes/‘you try’ problems) – Monthly Project: 1 -2 weeks to complete • Science – notes, 2 -3 questions, worksheet, lab questions –related to work started in class – Virtual Labs (online labs— 1 week to complete) – One research project or paper every trimester – Science Fair is mandatory • Collaborize Classroom is utilized for science/health discussions and often given 2 -5 days to respond.

Language Arts Texts, Workbooks, and Assignments: • Vocabulary for Achievement (workbook)- 1 Unit assigned each week on Monday, due on Thursday • Spelling Book-Pretest on Monday in class, 1 unit assigned each week on Monday, due on Friday, Spelling Test every Friday • Grammar done in class daily • Study Island assigned every Wednesday Due the Following Wednesday • Literature Text- assigned daily in class (or Novel) • Literature Selection Support (workbook)- assigned daily in class, or other assignment related to literature (or assignment for Novel)

Writing: • Journal/Daily writing • Homework-literary analysis, responses to daily reading • Weekly- different Strategies will be addressed with 1 -8 paragraphs and/or essays being assigned • Writing formal papers/essays • Students will be working on various aspects of writing throughout the year some of the styles of writing will include: • Narrative, Descriptive, Persuasive, Explanation of a process, Short Story (Narration), Response to Literature, Compare and Contrast, Research Report

7 th Grade: Book Projects • Book projects are done outside of class. • 3 -6 for the year, some students will choose their own book, others I will assign and provide the book Novels • Novels are read in class. • The Pearl • A Wrinkle in Time • The Phantom Tollbooth • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry • The Outsiders • The Giver John Steinbeck Madeleine L’Engle Norton Juster Mildred Taylor S. E. Hinton Lois Lowry

8 th Grade: Book Projects • Book projects are done outside of class. • 3 -6 for the year, some students will choose their own book, others I will assign and provide the book Novels • Novels are read in class. • The Old Man and the Sea • Let the Circle Be Unbroken • A Christmas Carol • The Diary of a Young Girl • Adventures of Tom Sawyer • The Glory Field Ernest Hemingway Mildred D. Taylor Charles Dickens Anne Frank Mark Twain Walter Dean Myers

7 th & 8 th History: • Students should expect a history assignment each night. May be reading and taking notes, doing a worksheet, or writing. • For each Chapter in History students will turn in a 3 paragraph typed summary of the chapter • We usually cover one lesson a day in class. • Students will be assigned Study Island on Wednesday with the assignment being due the following Wednesday • At the end of the chapter we spend one day on review. • Then one day on a group activity (often a game that prepares students for the test) • Finally, there is a test at the end of each chapter

7 th & 8 th Health: • Students will attend health class one time per week on Friday from 1: 15 – 2: 00 PM with their homeroom teacher. • Students will be given assignments related to their studies in health that are due the following Friday. • Health assignments and grades can be viewed on Edline under the heading of Health • The Health grade will be incorporated into the PE grade at the end of the trimester and will be one quarter (25%) of the PE grade.

Writing Format MLA Style Formatting is always used and taught. Students will be provided instruction on proper formatting. The sheet they are given is attached. www. easybib. com (creates your bibliography for you in MLA style!) • • • Typing: 12 pt font Double spaced Times (Times New Roman) 1” margins Cover Page (see sample) *Formal writing assignments will be typed students need to turn in 2 copies (one to www. turnitin. com and one to the teacher). *www. turnitin. com is a plagiarism check program. Any plagiarism greater than 1% will receive an F.

Grading: • • • Most assignments are graded for completeness. However, an occasional score will be taken once or twice a week in order to gauge student understanding and mastery. Completeness: 10 pts – done accurately and according to directions Missing: “M” = 0 Incomplete: “I” = 0 Absent: “A” = 0 – Students may turn in a missing assignment for maximum of C- credit (7/10 pts = 70% = C); the deadline for missing work is the Tuesday following the week the assignment was given (example assigned Tuesday of week 9 must be turned in no later than Tuesday of week 10) – After the Tuesday, the “M” & “I” will change to “ 0” and not be accepted after this point. – Absent work will be given a deadline for turning in assignments. The usual guideline is to give the student the same number of days to make up assignments as the number of days that they were absent. • It is the student’s responsibility to track their teacher and the assignments down. The website is great for this! • However, we often will suggest an alternative situation, excuse some assignments, and give a weekend to recover and catch up. • Come speak to the teachers! A “grade check” is required each week for every student (7 th & 8 th). A sample is on page 7. Student can pick one up in class or they are posted on weebly on the forms page.

Test Corrections • Tests may be corrected and turned back in for ¼ of the points that were missed. • (LA, History, & Science –not Math). • (Received 80 out of 100, complete the test corrections, new score 85%) – (60/100 = D- 60%, corrections 70/100 = C-) • Tests come home for a signature. Signatures are worth 5 pts each and can not be “made up” later (This is for Mrs. Takei’s classes). The idea is for students to share both good and bad with their parents so that we can all work together to support students as needed.

Grades (History, LA, Science) 60% Tests and Quizzes 20% Homework/Classwork 20% Essays, Projects, Labs, Other (Math) 15% 25% 10% 25% Interim Assessments Formative Assessments (Pacent) Mental Math Homework Projects/Quizes/Textbook Tests

Follow Their Progress • • • Edline. net (LA, History, Science, Health, PE, Elective) mypacent. com (math) Grades updated online every Friday Math printouts will be given out every Monday/Tuesday and required to be signed and turned in the next day. Grade Checks need to be completed and signed by a parent and turned into the homeroom teacher each Tuesday. All missing/late/absent work should be stapled to the grade check. Progress Reports Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3 Thursday 10/10 Thursday 10/24 Thursday 1/23 Thursday 2/13 Thursday 5/1 Thursday 5/22

Finals Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3 Thursday 11/7 Friday 11/8 Tuesday 11/12 Wednesday 11/13 History Science Language Arts Math Thursday 2/27 Friday 2/28 Monday 3/3 Tuesday 3/4 History Science Language Arts Math Tuesday 6/3 Wednesday 6/4 Thursday 6/5 Friday 6/6 History Science Language Arts Math

Extras Study Island: www. studyisland. com This is a website that all 6 th-8 th grade students are enrolled in. It is an online standards based program that will offer students additional practice and learning through multiple choice questions as well as games. **Families without computers/internet access daily should speak to one of us so that we can make a plan for your student to be successful and receive the additional support offered through this program. Collaborize Classroom: http: //mrsjeffriesclasses. collaborizeclassroom. com http: //takeiclasses. collaborizeclassroom. com • • Can be used in all subject matter. Extension of our classroom discussions. Online etiquette is taught, discussed, encouraged, and best practices used. Further alignment to the common core standards

Other • Sample “Cover Page” • Sample of “Weekly Grade Check” • www. sunolglen. weebly. com – Has most items we have passed out or want students to have easy access to

WAYS TO HELP • • Art Volunteer Garden Parent (1 x per month) Fundraising Photo copying Filing Shopping Room Parent---parties/special activities Welcome inside the room as well

Washington DC Trip • • All 7 th & 8 th Graders Spring 2014 Sign Up/Register Email Mrs. Jeffries