Mrs. Boggs’ Science Classroom Rules, Procedures, and Expectations for Success
Mrs. Boggs
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What is a procedure
Procedure: A particular course of action intended to achieve a result, a particular way of accomplishing an objective.
Procedures are the way that we do things in science. We have certain procedures in place in order to ensure that our time in class runs smoothly and safely.
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Procedure for Entering Class
Students are expected to line up in a single file line against the wall opposite of the restrooms. Students will not be admitted until they are in a quiet, single file line with their shirts tucked in ready to actively engage in learning. Once in the classroom, students are to go to their assigned seats without talking (Level 0) and take out the necessary supplies to begin the day.
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Procedure for Exiting Class Class is dismissed when I dismiss it--not the bell. I generally will not hold a class because I know there is a schedule to be followed, but students should not immediately get up and try to leave the room. Students must make sure their desk areas are in order and the work area is clean for the next class. The room will be clean for you when you enter, so you will do your part to make sure it is clean when you leave!
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When students are called to exit, they are expected to gather their belongings and to return their textbooks and/or other science supplies to their proper locations before being allowed to exit the room. If instructed, assignments and/or class work need to be turned in to the appropriate tray (or location) on the way out of the door. After students leave the classroom, it is expected that they line up outside the door of their next period class--not anywhere else in the hall!
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Start of Class Procedures
Once students have entered the classroom, they are expected to take out the necessary supplies and begin by filling in today's agenda information. Next, students should complete the required Daily Science Warm-Up which will be displayed on the LCD projector. It is during this time that pencil sharpening is to be taken care of (consider yourself warned: the sharpener does not always work in my classroom!!).
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Once the Daily Science Warm-Up has been completed, take out any homework that may have been assigned the previous night or begin looking over the section listed in today's agenda. All Daily Science Warm-Ups are to be recorded on the warm-up sheets handed out at the beginning of the week. The warm-ups should be placed in your folder and turned in at the end of each week. NEVER throw them away, as I will give Warm-Up Quizzes which will require that you have your old warm-up sheets. DO NOT TRY TO USE THIS PORTION OF CLASS TIME TO TALK. IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!
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Attention Procedures Whenever I want your undivided attention you will hear my very unconventional "call". I will announce “FREEZE". This lets the students know that I need them to immediately stop their conversations, work, and activities and adhere to the following guidelines: 1. Eyes on teacher 2. Quiet 3. Be Still 4. Hands free 5. Listen Once you hear the "call", I will call expect students to literally freeze in their space. This will let me know that I have your attention. Do not continue to work on your class work, lab activity, etc. if I have called "Freeze". Do not follow along and continue to carry on a conversation or discussion with your classmates. This will result in a loss of participation points.
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When YOU need the teacher's attention...... Under no circumstances are you to shout out my name to get my attention. This just disrupts class and is very rude. If you need to sharpen your pencil during the middle of class, you need to raise your hand and wait to be recognized. Only one person is to be at the pencil sharpener at a time. If you are unable to sharpen your pencil without making a mess (including leaving pencil shavings all over the place), then sharpening privileges will be revoked until a later date. During the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes of class, absolutely NOONE will use the restroom unless it seems to be a true emergency. Remember, you must have your agenda with you in order to use a hall pass--only 2 per quarter (NO EXCEPTIONS!!). All questions are welcomed in this classroom. This is a safe place for everyone, no matter what their science ability. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Make sure you can make a connection between your question or comment to the topic we are discussing. If you have some interesting science fact you would like to share or discuss, see me before or after class.
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Grading Policy This year in science class, we are going to be using learning targets in each unit. What are learning targets? They are what each student is responsible for knowing, but written in easy to understand language (usually starting with “I can…”). Your final grade in this class is determined by your level of mastery on each of the learning targets on a unit test. Each learning target will be worth three points, and those points are determined using the information below: Mastery—3 (Green) The student consistently meets and often exceeds the content standard. The student, with relative ease, grasps, applies, and extends key concepts, processes, and skills for the grade level. This means that a student is able to demonstrate clear and consistent understanding of the learning targets. Developing—2 (Yellow) The student regularly meets the content standard. The student, with limited errors, grasps and applies key concepts, processes, and skills for the grade level. This means that a student demonstrates understanding 10
of the target, but does so on an inconsistent or incomplete manner. Basic—1—(Red) This student is beginning to, and occasionally does, meet the content standards, or the student is not meeting them. The student is beginning to grasp and apply key concepts, processes, and skills for the grade level, but produces work that contains many errors. This means that a student demonstrates a limited understanding of the target. But, the best part of this format is that if you didn’t score as well as you would have hoped/liked on the unit test, do not despair! You will have the opportunity to receive additional practice or re-teaching over the target and then re-take the learning target assessment. There is no limit on the number of times that you retake a test or a certain time frame that you have to complete the re-testing—but beware!! The longer you wait to take care of those targets that you haven’t mastered, the harder it will be to continue to build upon that knowledge as we continue to work along in class. There will be time provided for re-teaching/re-testing during Academic Plus class as well as in afterschool tutoring. We will work together to make sure that students have every opportunity to master the content needed in order to be a successful 6th grade science student! 11
Cooperative Learning Groups This science class is set up to allow students to work in groups. These groups will be selected by the teacher and will be rotated approximately every six to nine weeks (depending on the topics being covered). While in the cooperative "teams", students will be assigned specific roles, which will rotate among group members. These roles allow each group to be the best that they can possibly be. Each student is responsible for their respective group members, so when grouped with a friend, think twice before deciding to talk during class. Group work requires that the voice level should never be above a Level 2, and groups across the room shouldn't be able to hear specific conversations. This helps in group situations because by keeping the voice levels down within groups, it prevents other groups from
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eavesdropping and "borrowing" one group's ideas and answers and passing them off as their own.
Each group will have a combination of the following roles assigned to them at any time: Team Leader Materials Manager Communication Specialist Recorder Time Keeper Safety Officer
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Restroom Privileges and Hall Passes
Let me make this clear: My class time is not time for your bathroom or water break. Use the restroom and get water during the designated breaks. A student is only allowed two (2) bathroom passes per nine week grading period. Once they are gone--too bad, so sad. So plan accordingly--don't waste the passes and have it come back and bite you later in the quarter. A student never knows when a true need arises and there aren't any remaining passes to use! Also note: a student must have their agenda in their possession in order to use a hall pass--NO EXCEPTIONS!! Any time that a student leaves the classroom for ANY reason, it will be recorded. If patterns arise in any given student's requests to leave the room, a parent conference will be requested to discuss the situation further. Only one person will leave the classroom at a time to use the restroom or to get water. During quizzes and exams, students will NOT be allowed to leave the classroom 14
unless called out by the office. Do not ask! Students with allergies or those who constantly need to blow their nose, do not plan on leaving to get tissues every class period. Take care of business and come prepared to deal with whatever normal allergy stuff that exists—and not by asking to leave! Students will only be allowed two (2) hall passes per quarter. These passes are to be used to go to the restroom or get a drink. Students must have their agenda in their possession when they want to leave the classroom. NO AGENDA = NO HALL PASS. No exceptions. Please be warned--students will not be allowed to use their passes to go to their lockers and retrieve class work or homework. I expect responsibility from my students, which means they should have their materials with them for each class. Any unused passes can be redeemed at the end of the quarter for up to two (2) percentage points added to your final quarter grade! Use them wisely!! 15
Attendance,/Late/and MakeUp Work Policy and Procedures
It is important for students to attend class. When students are absent, they are missing explanations on the material being covered in class--things that cannot be replicated or made-up. It is my job to clarify and explain complex science concepts. If you aren’t here to hear these discussions, then you are missing a vital part of the learning experience in my classroom. An absence causes students to work harder at understanding the information required to be learned. In other words, you need to be in school so you do not jeopardize your grade. Even when a student misses a single class (and not the entire day) for Drama, doctor's appointments, nurse visits, field trips, band rehearsals, etc., it is imperative that you check the agenda to find out what you 16
missed. It is also best practice to follow the "buddy system", in which case you have a friend who helps you gather your work and notes while you were out. In the event of an absence, students can obtain the daily agenda in the binder found below the "While You Were Out" sign. Students are responsible for recording this information into their agenda books for the day(s) in which they were absent. Any handouts received will labeled in the agenda with an entry number (i.e., E4) and then filed in the blue hanging file in the corresponding folder. It will be listed in the agenda whether or not it is homework. Also, if there are any papers returned and a student was absent, the papers will be placed in the "Papers Returned" drawer found next to the daily agenda.
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In terms of homework due on a day in which a student is absent, there are two rules of thumb to follow:
If the homework was assigned PRIOR to the date a student was absent, and was due while they were out, then this assignment is due immediately upon their return. I RARELY put homework in the agenda and expect a one day turn around--I have a busy after school schedule and I know that you do too. Typically, an item will be listed on the agenda about two days before it is actually due. Therefore students have had ample notice and know exactly when the assignment was due. Just because a student isn't at school on the due date, it doesn't give them extra time. If the homework was assigned DURING a student's absence, then BMS school policy states that student 18
will have however many days that he/she was out of school to complete their make-up work. For example, if a student is out four days and during that time a vocabulary assignment was given, then that student has four days after their return to hand-in their make-up work. All make-up work should be turned into the "Make-Up Work To Be Graded" drawer located next to the daily agenda. Do not hand it to me--I will lose it! Please place it in the appropriate drawer to ensure that it gets graded and entered into the course grade book.
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Attendance/Late/Make-Up Work Policy and Procedures
It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to get any and all work that you missed during an absence from school. I will not ask you about it, I will simply put a zero in the grade book for any assignment that you failed to turn in. This is the biggest hurdle for students making the transition from elementary to middle school. You are beginning to become young adults, and we are going to treat you like young adults. With this title comes responsibility-one of which is to take charge of your academics and complete any work that you miss.
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Class Handouts Procedures
A lot of the work we are going to do this year revolves around the usage of handouts. The textbook is used as a supplemental tool as we explore science. Since science textbooks are not distributed to each individual student, we will use handouts to help create our own personal textbook/reference guide. Handouts will be distributed during class by the Materials Manager of the cooperative learning groups. Handouts will be the responsibility of the student—be sure to follow all directions in terms of where handouts should be placed (folder versus notebook). If the handouts are to be turned in, they are to be placed in the appropriate location by either the student or by the team's Materials Manager (whichever way is instructed). 21
Any extra handouts (in case of absence or misplacement) will be placed in the blue hanging file found below the Periodic Table of Elements. There is a clipboard hanging beside the blue file which lists the handouts and their corresponding folder. It is the student's responsibility to replace any missing handouts and make sure that their notebooks are always complete and up-to-date. These handouts are vital study aids for any upcoming learning target quizzes or tests. Sometimes they are the only source of reference for a topic in class. The extra handouts will be on file until the end of the unit. At that time, they will be removed to make room for new handouts. 22
Oops...I forgot my (fill in the blank) Policy It is normal to forget supplies ON OCCASION. When that happens, I have a sheet you must sign in order to borrow something (pen or pencil). If you forget paper, you may take a sheet of paper from the black tray found below the Periodic Table of Elements.
When I notice a pattern in your lack of supplies, I will contact home and require your parents/guardians to provide me with supplies that will remain in my classroom only to be used by you OR I will sell you supplies for a predetermined price, whichever method that is decided upon from the contact home. 23
Science Notebook Requirements
All students are required to keep a notebook specifically for science Notebooks will be assessed for content and neatness, as organization is the key to maintaining success in science class. This notebook will be graded/assessed at the conclusion of every unit. We will be using an Interactive Notebook method of record and data keeping in this science class. Many of our daily activities have been modified to be able to be included in our notebooks to help create a more centralized study guide for our assessments. During this course, we will use two composition notebooks. They will be used as follows: ďƒ˜1 notes & activities for the entire school year ďƒ˜1 for Vocabulary, Daily Science Warm-Ups, and Journal Entries (to be used all year) 24
The order of how the notebook will be set-up is very important as to help eliminate confusion throughout the school year. For the notes and activities notebook, they should be organized as follows: 1. Notebook Cover Page—the front of your notebook should clearly display your name and class period as to avoid misplacement. 2. Notebook Inside Cover—a copy of the Classroom Rules and Notebook Procedures handout should be glued in place. 3. Table of Contents Pages—these will be inserted in the first few pages of the notebook to ensure accuracy and to help students keep organized 4. Left side pages—this side of the notebook will include notes and new information taken from class lectures and reading material. Traditionally viewed as the “INPUT” portion of the learning process. 5. Right side pages—this side of the notebook is designed to be used as a place for students to demonstrate knowledge or practice new skills being learned in class. Typically referred to as the “OUTPUT” portion of the notebook. 6. Notebook inside back cover—Science Buddies handout to be glued. This will be used to show how we will rotate partners throughout the school year. 25
Journal Procedures Students will write in a journal to help improve their academic writing skills. Students might be asked to complete journal writing after completing the Daily Science Warm-Up, it may be a snapshot question, or possibly write in it as an exit slip. Students will be expected to write in COMPLETE sentences and use proper punctuation. I love to text my family and friends on my cell phone, but I know when it is appropriate to use this skill--and academic writing is NOT the time to show-off your texting prowess! No shorthand--I want to have you practice writing using proper English and the writing skills you have learned in your previous writing courses. 26
Journal Procedures Journals will be left in the classroom at all times and will be stored by class period. Journals in this class will be included in the composition notebook being used for vocabulary and Daily Science Warm-Ups. This was included on the school supply list. The Materials Manager is responsible for picking up the journals at the beginning of class each day, while each individual student will be responsible for returning their journals at the end of class.
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Classroom Expectations 1) Follow all directions-the first time. 2) Complete & turn in work when due. 3) When interacting with others, check your body language, voice, words, and tone. 4) Be on time & in your seat with all of your materials ready when the bell rings. 5) Talk using appropriate language at the appropriate time. 6) Be honest--do your own work on homework, quizzes & tests.
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Discipline If any of these rules and procedures are not adhered to within the classroom, disciplinary action will be taken. Each offense will result in a record within the corresponding homeroom teacher's discipline book, hereafter referred to simply as "The Book". "The Book" is used to monitor minor offenses that students may accumulate. If a behavior is deemed to be more than minor, then a separate set of procedures may be followed by either myself or the office.
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If behavior warrants, I will call home immediately or write an office referral (whatever I deem appropriate for the corresponding issue). A student may or may not get an office referral or detention at any point during this behavior plan--the guidelines above are general and special circumstances may require a change from the plan.
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Lab Policy and Procedures Labs will be conducted throughout the course of the year to help you better understand the concepts and objectives presented in class. There will be a multitude of inquiry activities done during the school year to help you grasp a more in-depth comprehension of all Earth, Physical, and Life sciences. All students are to be on his or her best behavior while a lab is in progress. Failure to comply will result in a suspension of class labs until everyone in the class is able to work together. All lab policies must be followed at all times, even if the lab is what you perceive to be an easy one.
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Lab safety is a priority in this classroom and if a student is not practicing the necessary precautions when a lab is in progress, he or she may be subject to lose their lab privileges. Lab safety policy and procedures are included in the lab safety contract given to all students the first day of school. A student will not be able to conduct a lab if they do not have a signed lab safety contract on file with Mrs. Boggs. NO EXCEPTIONS!
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Acceptable Use Policy Each and every student at Bardstown Middle School must read and sign the district-wide Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for accessing/using all school technology. Technology is used as often as possible in this classroom and if a student does not sign the form, they will not be allowed to either log into the school district's computer network or have the opportunity to participate in these activities. Instead they will have to do paper/pencil activities in its place.
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Mrs. Boggs' Procedures and Regulations Terms and Agreement I,______________________________, have read and understand all of Mrs. Boggs' expectations and procedures. I am fully aware that I am required to keep a notebook specifically for this class. I understand that I will be placed in a cooperative learning group and that I will be disciplined accordingly for breaking and not abiding by class procedures. I also understand that we are graded on a 3 point scale for every learning target assessed in this course. ____________________________________
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Student Signature
Date
I have read through Mrs. Boggs’ Rules and Procedures Packet with my child and understand all of the classroom procedures listed in this packet. I understand that the only grades to be listed in the course grade book will be learning targets addressed within each unit of study and will be given a score based on a three point scale. ____________________________________
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Parent Signature
Date
Can your child be photographed and/or videotaped to be published any No Yes school publications? _________________________________________________________
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Parent Signature
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