Mrs. Frizzi
6th Grade Syllabus: English- Language Arts
Welcome to 6th grade!
I am so excited to have all my new students this year. I genuinely look forward to hearing of their hobbies, sports, and other interests. We are going to have a wonderful year.
Course Description and Learning Objectives
We will be using “Grade 6 SpringBoard English Language Arts.” (2017). The textbook is a consumable. Students will do work in their textbook and a Reader/Writer Notebook during class. Students will learn 6th grade Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts. We will usually go in the order of the text, but may change the order as necessary to maximize student learning. We will also read some core novels as a whole class.
Grades
Students and parents can monitor grades online with the Aeries grade system. Usernames and passwords are available in the office and will be given to every student. Students are encouraged to regularly check their grades on Aeries and keep all returned and graded work until after the trimester ends. Parents are encouraged to stay informed on their student’s ongoing grades by looking at the Aeries grading portal and frequently looking at the homework on the teacher’s website. Homework is posted once a week, and will be updated as changes occur, on the Jefferson School District website, specifically at this address:
Standards Based Grading
Grades for Reading and Language Arts are weighted in categories as follows:
Major (Summative: Assessments, final projects, final writing assignments, portfolios, etc..)60%
Minor (Formative: quizzes, journal entries, minor projects, notebooks, group work, etc…) 40%
All assignments must be completed.
The following rubric will often be applied to grade a student’s work. The rubric will be applied to a standard, or set of standards, being measured by that assignment. In this way academic factors, or content, will be graded. Neatness and creativity matter in presentation, but it will be the knowledge of the skill demonstrated that will determine the grade received.
A B C D F
10 9.5 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.0
Exceeds Expectations / Meets Expectations / ApproachingExpectations / Not Meeting
Expectations / Not Meeting
Expectations
4—The student has a complete and detailed understanding of the information important to the topic that exceeds what was taught in class. / 3—The student has a complete understanding of the information important to the topic but not in great detail. / 2—The student has an incomplete understanding of the topic and/or misconceptions about some of the information. However, the student maintains a basic understanding of the topic. / 1—The student’s understanding of the topic is so incomplete or has so many misconceptions that the student cannot be said to understand the topic. / 0—No judgment can be made about the student’s understanding of the topic.
Marzano, Robert
Traditional style tests and quizzes will be graded as usual: total correct points out of total possible points.
Academic Dishonesty:
Student work must be their own. No credit will be given in cases where copying occurs. However, studying with a friend is fine, even encouraged, both students need to have their own work. In cases where a student violates test taking protocol, a zero will be given on the test with no opportunity for retake. Test taking protocol includes no talking to another student for any reason, no looking at one another’s papers, and no passing notes. All tests are closed book unless specifically stated.
Homework
Students will typically be assigned homework Monday through Thursday, in ELA. Also,if a student does not use their class time effectively and keep up, they must finish classwork together with their homework. Homework is necessary to master the skills taught in class and it is a valuable opportunity for parents to see some of the skills we are working on in class.
Students are required to know their homework assignments based on the calendar posted in the classroom. As a secondary source, I will maintain a calendar of homework assignments on my website. However, there may be occasions that the website is not updated. Students are still responsible for assignments posted in the classroom. Additionally, unfinished classwork may be taken home to complete and returned the next morning without any penalty.
Discipline
Students are aware of our Hawkins rules for classroom behavior and consequences. We have them posted on the wall. These are Behavior, Attitude, Responsibility, and Kindness. These are gone over with the class on the first day. Since we only have a fixed amount of time in each class period, it is essential for each student to come prepared, ready to learn, and respectful of others’ right to learn. Students are expected to raise their hands, work effectively and on-task in group work, and to not have side conversations while the teacher is speaking.
Students involved in minor disruptions will simply be reminded of these rules and redirected to focus on the assignment. Students should consider these friendly reminders from me as a first consequence. If a student does not heed these reminders or a verbal warning, they will receive a time-out in class or change of seating. Continued disruptions will result in a time-out in a discipline buddy classroom. I do not call home for these. However, if the behavior continues, the student will receive a detention during lunch recess and a home contact. Usually, this is all that is needed. Continued disruptions or more serious behaviors will be referred to the office and parent contacted.
Absences, Independent Studies, and Suspensions
If your child is ill, they should rest and get well. However, if they feel well enough to do some work, they have their math textbook with them at all times. They can check my website calendar page for the HW assignment for that day. They can also call a friend in 6th grade to ask which classwork pages we did that day. Otherwise, when they return to school, they must ask for any other classwork assignments they missed. In case of illness, students have the same number of days as the absence to catch up on new assignments after their return. If you would like to request their work before that, you will be able to pick up their work in the office at 8:15 on the morning of the following day. This way it does not interfere with our instructional times and routines. I will not use class time to send student runners to the office or to a sibling's class room for an absent child.
An Independent Study has different requirements. No extra time is given to catch up on work that was scheduled to be done on the independent study. It all must be submitted on the first morning of the student's return to school and the student must be ready to make up any quizzes and tests that first day back.
If a student is suspended, no make-up work or late work will be accepted.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Frizzi
839-2380 x1126
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Parents and students, please sign that you have read and understand the syllabus.
Student’s Name ______Student’s Class Period ______
Student’s Signature ______Date ______
Parent’s Name (print) ______
Parent’s Signature ______Date ______