Welcome to Curriculum Night

1. Welcome to Curriculum Night 7A Teachers: Joey O’Neal, David Forney, Elaine Keener Julia Kaye, Susie Taylor,Debbie Parmer, 7B Teachers Jeff Weaver, Brenda Lord,, Cindy Wood,, Amanda Thomas, Shannon Fleeman, Beth Ware, Frank Crisp

2. TEAM DISCIPLINE Team Rules 1. Keep hands, feet, and objects to myself. 2. I bring the agenda and other appropriate materials to class. 3. I raise my hand and wait to be called on. 4. I follow directions the first time given. 5. I keep classroom materials in the proper place, in an orderly fashion. School Rules: Act Like a Rebel! Respectothers, Expect to graduate, Be responsible, Excel academically, & Live safely. Rewards Students earn Rebel passes by exhibiting good behavior. Rebel passes allow students to enjoy free popcorn and snow cones on Thursdays, and students can use them as a fast pass to the bus. A Reward Day is scheduled at the end of each grading period for those students who have earned it.

3. Mathematics • 7th Grade Teachers: Amanda Thomas, Julia Kaye, Beth Ware • The math curriculum follows the state’s Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) for the 7th grade. The standards provide clear expectations for instruction, assessment, and student work. The standards isolate the skills students need for problem-solving, reasoning, communicating, and making connections with other information. • The following on-line sources are available for students to access materials from home: www.georgiaoas.org ; www.studyisland.com • Classwork includes practice problems, problem-solving, workbook exercises, and performance tasks. • Assessments occur at the end of each unit. • Grading Policy : Daily 50% Test 50% • Planning Time : 11:00 to 12:30

4. The New Common Core Domains Standards for Mathematical Practice Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Reason abstractly Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others Model mathematics Use appropriate tools Attend to precision Look for and make use of structure Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. • The Number System • Expressions and Equations • Ratios and Proportional Relations • Geometry • Statistics and Probability

5. Language arts • Elaine Keener, Cindy Wood, Debbie Parmer • Most commonly asked question: Does my student have homework? • Yes, students have spelling homework every week, due on Fridays. • Students’ five study words will be written in their agendas. • Homework consists of 2 parts= Writing each spelling word five times each and choosing an activity off the Word Study Menu. Students can choose from creating a puzzle, drawing a comic, composing a story, etc. • Students quiz over their words on Fridays and will have a cumulative test every 4-5 weeks.

6. Agenda/curriculum map • Narrative Writing- personal memory • Expository Writing- prompt • Technical Writing- game instructions, business letters • Persuasive Writing- Traditional 5-paragraph essay • Expository/Research Project- Inquiry based • Descriptive Writing- “The Collecting Team” • CRCT Review- Stations for skill practice, Study guides • Drama Unit- “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”, 1950s, The Twilight Zone

7. Also: • Daily practice of skills such as capitalization, punctuation, verb tense • Parts of Speech Bingo • Study Island

8. Science- Jeff Weaver and Joey O’Neal • The science in 7th grade is biology. The Units we will cover are: • Cells • Genetics • Evolution • Organization of Life • Energy Flow • Ecology

9. Activities We will be doing many activities this year. They will include: • Various Labs • Animal Dissection • Trout In the Classroom • Adopt –A-Stream * Students will be working individually, with partners, and in groups from time to time. Labs and activities will be counted as daily grades.

10. Grading Policy • In science we will adhere to the county’s policy of 50% daily grade and 50% test grade. Homework Policy: • Most homework in science is work that is not completed in class. • However, it is imperative that all students study vocabulary and class discussion notes nightly so as not to fall behind.

11. Social studies • Brenda Lord, David Forney, Debbie Parmer • In 7th grade social studies we will cover most of the Eastern Hemisphere: • We begin with process skills such as reading maps and globes, latitude and longitude, and the five themes of geography. • We will incorporate economic systems and types of government in all units. • We will cover Southwest Asia, Southern and Eastern Asia , and end with Africa.

12. Activities • In Social Studies we will create many different types of products including: • maps • charts • graphs • Venn diagrams • A variety of projects including: posters, folders, flipcharts, flipbooks, board games, powerpoints, songs, etc.

13. Grading policy • Our class grading policy is 50% daily grades and 50% test grades. • We will have major tests at the end of each unit with other tests and quizzes dispersed throughout. • Homework is only assigned when the class assignment has not been completed.

14. Mrs. Fleeman, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Parmer and Mr. Crisp ReadingClass We hope your children travel farand with great successin reading this year.

15. Students are expected to be independentreaders. • Each student may choose books of interest and appropriate reading level from: • Media Center • Classroom libraries • Books from home • Public library • E books

16. Homework • studying for quizzes and tests • independent reading for Reading Counts points • one novel response per semester.

17. “To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” Andre Gide