Class Info

Language Arts (LA) Class

Guidelines for Classroom Behavior & Procedures

Welcome to Ms. Wood-Burkholtz (WB)’s Language Arts class! I look forward to getting to know each of you during the many months that we will be spending with one another this school year. Together, we will have an exciting and productive time in our classroom! All that is needed is for you to read and follow the guidelines and procedures below.

RULES

Respect yourself, others, and property.

Use appropriate voices.

Listen and follow directions.

Exercise self-control.

Support school policies and procedures.

EXPECTATIONS

All students are expected to:

• Come to class on time, prepared, and ready to learn.
• Actively participate in class activities and discussions.
• Raise their hands and be acknowledged by the teacher before speaking in class.
• Take responsibility for learning by seeking help when it is needed.
• Refrain from eating, chewing gum, and drinking in class.

CONSEQUENCES

When the classroom rules or expectations are not followed it hurts everyone, especially the person who chooses to break the rules. The following is a list of consequences that will take place when guidelines are not followed:

1. Verbal warning
2. Student meeting/discussion with teacher and/or phone call home
3. Phone call and/or letter home
4. Student will be sent (with work) to another classroom for that period
5. After-school detention
6. Parent conference and/or administrative disciplinary referral

Extreme Misbehavior: Student will immediately be sent out of the classroom and immediate administrative disciplinary action (number 6 above) will result.

The school policies outline specific consequences for specific behavior infractions. Those school policies will be enforced.

REWARDS

Every day in class, the teacher will score the class effort and behavior as a whole on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = horrible effort/behavior, 10 = excellent effort/behavior). Even substitutes will be scoring your effort and behavior in this way. At the end of each marking period the behavior scores will be totaled for each class. The goal is to achieve a score of 8 or higher as a class each day. If your class has the highest average score compared to the other classes, your class will have a party at the end of the marking period!

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

• Materials:

Students should always bring the following items to class:

• Textbook(s) and any borrowed classroom books (novels or classroom reference materials)
• Pencil and pen
• Two Notebooks (each should be preferably a 1-subject notebook to be used only for this class) – You will need two notebooks for each marking period (8 notebooks for the entire year).
• Folder (for handouts/worksheets)
• Reading Log, reading questions, and materials (once the materials are given to you, you should bring them to class every day).

• Passes:

Passes out of class are a privilege, not a right. Use your pass privileges wisely or they may be limited or taken away from you!

• Students will be given passes (one at a time) to go to the lavatory or the nurse’s office.
• Unless there is an emergency, students will make their requests for passes at times that will not disrupt the class or lesson.

• Tardiness:
  • If a student is late to class and does not have a valid pass the teacher will record the student as tardy.
  • If a student is frequently tardy, or is tardy to class for an extended period of time, the student may be suffer a consequence (see list above).
  • If a student continues frequent tardiness, he/she may suffer administrative disciplinary action.

• Absenteeism:
  • Students who are absent must take responsibility for their learning by meeting with the teacher at an appropriate time to receive any make-up work.
  • Students will be given up to 1 week to complete make-up work. If the work is not turned in by the deadline, the student will receive a zero for the assignment(s).
  • Cutting class will not be tolerated and students who cut class will suffer administrative disciplinary action and will not receive credit for the assignment(s) missed.

• Homework:
  • Homework will be assigned regularly.
  • Students will bring their homework to class on the day that the assignment is due.
  • Students will also bring any questions about the homework to class. Students should write down their questions about homework; this shows that an attempt was made to complete the assignment.

• Group Work:
  • All members of each group will participate in completing the assignment given to the group.
  • Grades for group work will be based on the quality of the completed assignment and each student’s individual participation in completing that assignment.

• Grading:
  • All students begin the year with an A+ in this class! Keeping that A+ depends on the quantity of assignments completed and the quality of the student work.
  • Grading will be based on the district’s category weights. Each category is weighted as follows: Homework 10%, Classwork/Participation 20%, Quizzes 20%, Tests 25%, Projects/Performance Activities 25%.
  • Grades will be rounded to the nearest whole number.
  • If a student cheats on a test or quiz or plagiarizes an assignment or paper, the student will receive a zero for the assignment and may suffer other consequences (above).