7th Grade ELA
Mrs. Dicken
Below are a few things that you and your parent(s) should know in order to have a successful year in ELA.
Grades: Grading will be a compilation of points based on homework, classwork, and tests/quizzes, BUT mainly projects and essays.
Homework policy: All homework assignments, projects and papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date.
Please speak to me personally if you are having an issue with a due date.
Supplies: Students will need a binder (or a section of a binder), paper in the binder, 3 dividers, and periodic use of a glue stick. Throughout the year, you may need notecards and post it notes.
No name work: If a student turns in an assignment without a name on their paper, it will be put in a location specific to each teacher’s classroom. It will be the responsibility of the student to retrieve their paper from that location and turn it back in. At the end of each quarter, the papers will be thrown away and cannot be turned in.
Parents: If you ever see a zero in Skyward and your child claims that they turned it in, please ask them to check the no name locations! Very rarely do we lose assignments and 9 times out of 10 they are on that board.
If you are absent, always check the absent bin for any notes or worksheets that you may have missed. For all absent work you will be given as many days as you were absent to complete the work on time. For example, if you were absent for two days you will have two days to complete the work and turn it in for full credit. If you are taking a family vacation, you are only allowed 5 school days to make up all the work missed during the duration of you vacation.
Retrieving and turning in late and absent work is the responsibility of the
student.
Please be aware that all late and absent work is entered into the grade program as a zero until it is turned in and graded. This could dramatically affect your grade.
Late work is graded after any pending current work is graded, therefore it will remain a zero even if you turned it in, and the grade will not change until it is graded.
Classroom Expectations & Procedures:
Chromebooks:
Writing across the Curriculum: In 7th grade, essay writing is expected and practiced in classes other than ELA. Students are going to be held to the same grammar and format standards in other classes just as they are in ELA. This practice only reinforces their writing skills and better prepares them for standardized writing tests.
Parents: I am always available if you ever have any questions or just want to check in to see how your child is doing.
Mrs. Dicken: 847-740-5322 x5049 [email protected]
You will get the quickest response from via email, I can send out a quick email in between classes, a phone call will have to wait until after school most likely.
Mrs. Dicken
Below are a few things that you and your parent(s) should know in order to have a successful year in ELA.
Grades: Grading will be a compilation of points based on homework, classwork, and tests/quizzes, BUT mainly projects and essays.
Homework policy: All homework assignments, projects and papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date.
Please speak to me personally if you are having an issue with a due date.
Supplies: Students will need a binder (or a section of a binder), paper in the binder, 3 dividers, and periodic use of a glue stick. Throughout the year, you may need notecards and post it notes.
No name work: If a student turns in an assignment without a name on their paper, it will be put in a location specific to each teacher’s classroom. It will be the responsibility of the student to retrieve their paper from that location and turn it back in. At the end of each quarter, the papers will be thrown away and cannot be turned in.
Parents: If you ever see a zero in Skyward and your child claims that they turned it in, please ask them to check the no name locations! Very rarely do we lose assignments and 9 times out of 10 they are on that board.
If you are absent, always check the absent bin for any notes or worksheets that you may have missed. For all absent work you will be given as many days as you were absent to complete the work on time. For example, if you were absent for two days you will have two days to complete the work and turn it in for full credit. If you are taking a family vacation, you are only allowed 5 school days to make up all the work missed during the duration of you vacation.
Retrieving and turning in late and absent work is the responsibility of the
student.
Please be aware that all late and absent work is entered into the grade program as a zero until it is turned in and graded. This could dramatically affect your grade.
Late work is graded after any pending current work is graded, therefore it will remain a zero even if you turned it in, and the grade will not change until it is graded.
Classroom Expectations & Procedures:
- Students are expected to be on time to class ready to start.
- Class will always start with “Bellwork.” This is an independent activity students will do to get their brains engaged in English. It is either on a paper I provide them or projected onto the board. The questions are meant to review reading, writing, grammar and conventions that they have learned previously. Some of the questions are really easy and some are a bit more of a challenge.
- The curriculum we are using this year from Schoolwide, is very heavily based on a workshop philosophy. Therefore, after a whole class lesson or mini lesson, there will be times you are working independently, in a small group, and in your small group with the teacher. You will need to make sure that you are always working and on task in whichever portion of the lesson you are working on. It is imperative that the teacher can give her full attention to the group she is working with. Continuous off task and/or disruptive behavior may result in a call/email home and possibly even an intervention with Mrs. Meek.
Chromebooks:
- Each student will be assigned a chromebook number at the start of the school year. This is the chromebook you will use throughout the entire year. You are responsible for retrieving it from the cart, returning it to the cart in the correct slot, and plugging it in.
- Book Talk projects: (more detailed information will follow later)
- Approximately every trimester, students will have a book talk that they will have to present to the class. This is similar to a trailer to a movie. Students will pick a book of their choosing to be approved by the teacher. The book will have to fall within their Lexile range from their MAP testing results.
- They present the book to the class and have a visual aid to go along with their presentation. (more detailed description of the requirements will come later)
Writing across the Curriculum: In 7th grade, essay writing is expected and practiced in classes other than ELA. Students are going to be held to the same grammar and format standards in other classes just as they are in ELA. This practice only reinforces their writing skills and better prepares them for standardized writing tests.
Parents: I am always available if you ever have any questions or just want to check in to see how your child is doing.
Mrs. Dicken: 847-740-5322 x5049 [email protected]
You will get the quickest response from via email, I can send out a quick email in between classes, a phone call will have to wait until after school most likely.