Ellen Ochoa Middle School Virtual Open House Mrs

Ellen Ochoa Middle School Virtual Open House Mrs. Linda Williams 7 th Grade Language Arts & History

About Mrs. Williams Insert Photo Ø This is my 22 nd year of teaching, all in Pasco School District, with all but six years at the middle school. Ø For six of those 22 years, I worked in grades K-12 as an academic coach. I taught teachers how to help their students be better writers. Ø I live on two acres with my husband of 30 years. Ø I am an organic gardener and share that with my six grandchildren by showing them how to grow things they love. Mrs. Williams with student teacher last fall. I look forward to working with your student this year, whether teaching is on-line, or in school when students return to Ochoa.

Syllabus Information—What Your Student Will Learn In Language Arts, Collections text is used to teach students reading and writing skills (narrative, informational, and argument) using Common Core Standards. Where needed, sentence frames and other strategies are used to help students acquire higher level language. In History, students study Washington State history, which is required for high school graduation. To check this class off for high school, they must earn at least 70% or better. Grades are entered into Powerschool, which allows parents to monitor their student’s academic progress. When students come to (Zoom) office hours, they can redo assignments to show mastery of a skill, which improves their grade. Tests in Language Arts are typically performance-based (such as an essay); while tests in History are usually given in Forms (an on-line App. in Teams). Students are provided a study-guide for the history tests, which they can complete, and use on the test if they choose. They can also do test corrections to earn back 70% of the points they missed on the test.

Typical Zoom Schedule My Zoom meeting with students is a time for me to connect with them, and support them in their efforts to be successful in school. § § § Our time starts with a daily check-in. Students often greet each other in the Chat, or aloud. I go over what we will do in our time together in the Zoom meeting, upcoming dates when assignments are due, or tests will be given. Each Zoom session also includes a mini-lesson on an assignment they should have started/done during their asynchronous learning time prior to that Zoom meeting. Formative assessments may also be given during Zoom—a way for me to gauge to what degree the students understand what they are learning. That assessment may be a private message in the Chat function, or a Poll to assess overall understanding by all the students. Sometimes the time is spent reviewing a project students are working on, where I model what that completed project might look like. I also record my Zoom sessions when I do this, and post them in Teams so students can go back to them if they don’t remember details from our Zoom meeting. As we finish our time together, I answer any questions students have on the assignment/project they need to complete (or may have completed and want to revise).

Asynchronous Tasks Independent Work at Home Outside of Zoom All assignments are posted in Teams so your student can work on assignments at a time that works for your family. Learning takes place through Powerpoints, and on-line links that support the content or skills. Sometimes, short videos will be included with lessons, to help them better understand concepts and skills that are important to learn. Your student receives 1 -2 assignments a week for language arts, and 1 -2 assignments a week for history. IMPORTANT: History is Washington State History, which is required for high school graduation. Your student must receive 70% better in this class. Tests are sometimes posted in Teams, and students may use notes or information from the Powerpoints to complete those tests. Other times, tests are given during their synchronous learning (Zoom) to allow me to answer clarifying questions as they complete the test. Expect about 30 minutes of asynchronous work for my class each day.

How to Contact q Zoom Office Hours are 2: 30 – 3: 30 Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. I am often checking email in the evening hours and if your student emails me with a question, I can set up a Zoom meeting to answer their question then. q Email Address: lwilliams@psd 1. org q School Phone Number: 543 -6742 q My Extension: 5175 q Talking Points: I do use the App. Talking Points to communicate (via texting) with families about their student’s specific needs. This application translates my message into your preferred language, and your reply back in English.

Thank you ! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.