7th
Grade Language Arts
Mrs. Teresa
Phillips
2007-2008
Materials Needed:
Each student will be supplied with two
hardback books: a literature book and a
smaller grammar book. Two paperback
books will be supplied: an InterActive
Reader (contains literature stories and activity pages), and a grammar
workbook.
Notebook:
Notebooks should be organized in the following manner:
Front: Please include
all introductory handouts including this one.
Keep these all year to use as a reference as needed during the year.
1st section: DOL
(Daily Oral Language)
2nd section: vocabulary
3rd section: spelling
4th section: grammar
5th section: reading/literature
6th section: writing
7th section: graded
papers
*The grammar
workbook should be placed in the back
of the notebook.
Course Description:
In this class we
will be studying reading/literature, grammar, spelling, vocabulary,
punctuation, and writing. Students
should bring all of their books and their notebooks to class each day in order
to be prepared. We will begin each day
by identifying our objective, discussing the agenda, completing a warm-up
practice (Daily Oral Language or vocabulary), and writing in our journal. Stories will be read from the literature
series and will be accompanied by various types of practice work. Grammar lessons will be completed each day
with individual practice. Vocabulary words will be handed out on Mondays. Vocabulary tests will be given on Fridays. Spelling words and contracts will be handed
out on Tuesdays. Spelling tests will
be the following Tuesday. Spelling
contracts will be due the day of the test.
For more detailed
information concerning assignments, check out our classroom webpage. Go to www.bulloch.k12.ga.us/wjms. Then click on Personnel and then Phillips,
Teresa. The online newsletter will
be helpful for both students and parents.
Novels
Each student will
be required to read at least one novel every 4˝ weeks. Novel sets will be available in the classroom
for checking out. After reading the
novel, each student will take an Accelerated Reader test on the book, which
will be recorded as a literature test grade.
Grading:
A weighting system
is used in the Language Arts program:
Literature (Tests
count twice.) 25%
Grammar (Tests
count twice.) 25%
Spelling 10%
Journal/Writing 10%
Vocabulary 10%
DOL 10%
9 Weeks Test 10%
*9 Weeks Exams,
Semester Exams, and an End-of-the-Year Exam will be administered.
Each student will
be supplied with a Thinkwave
password and instructions for how to access their grades and upcoming
assignments online. Grades are updated
periodically and can be accessed at any time to check on the student’s
progress. An email option is available
on Thinkwave to contact me, or I can be contacted at the school by phone
(764-2752) or by
Discipline:
The rules stated
in the middle school handbook will be followed.
A mark system with consequences for each mark will be used in the
classroom. A handout explaining these
procedures will be provided (see 7th Grade Discipline Plan).
Make-up Work:
Students with
excused absences will be given two days for each day absent to make-up work (up
to a maximum of ten days). It is the
student’s responsibility to ask the teacher for any missed assignments.
Language Arts Competitions:
WJMS Spelling Bee
GSU Essay Contest
DAR Essay Contest
Optimist Club
Oratorical Contest
I welcome any questions that you may have
regarding your child’s progress in Language Arts this year. Please feel free to contact me to set up a
conference at any time. I look forward to working with you to ensure that every
child has a successful year. J