Mr. Rupe Room 109 E-mail:
Earth Science
2013-2014
Instructor: Mr. Rupe E-mail:
Location: Rm 109 Phone #: 434-525-6630
Text: Earth Science: Geology, the Environment, and the Universe Glencoe
Supplies: Required Daily: Optional
Section of 3-Ring Binder Scientific Calculator
Loose Leaf Paper Color Pencils / Highlighters
Pen and Pencil Metric Ruler (optional)
Graph Paper (4-5 blocks/inch)
Introduction:
Welcome to Earth Science class!!! I am pleased to have you in my class and I look forward to teaching you this year. We will follow the Standards of Learning for Earth Science as dictated by the Department of Education. We look at those standards as a minimum of what you should know to pass this course. It is our intent to provide you with information that goes beyond what is required. Additionally, I am hopeful that we can focus on local content as well.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me at my e-mail address. I check my e-mail several times each school day. This is the fastest most reliable method of contacting me.
Classroom Expectations:
Students are expected to comply with all county, school, and classroom policies.
1. Follow all FMS school rules!
2. Be Prompt. You must be in the classroom and at your seat when the tardy bell rings. I will almost always have an assignment for you to start when you enter the class.
3. Be Prepared. I do not supply paper, pencils, or pens. If I have to send you to your locker to get materials you should have brought to class you are tardy.
4. Be Respectful of others, and their property.
a. Raise your hand for to ask for permission
b. Do not interrupt the instructor or other students while they are speaking
c. Do not vandalize desks, cabinets, etc in the room.
d. Do not take pencils, pens, paper, or any other materials without permission.
e. Do not use the computers in the room without permission.
5. Water is permitted (In clear bottles) – No Food or Sodas (Including Energy Drinks)
6. Cheating will not be tolerated! This includes talking, whispering, passing notes, etc. during a test or quiz, or copying homework or classwork assignments. Any of these behaviors during a test or quiz will earn you a zero!
7. Students are required to keep all materials handed out in class.
Grading Policy:
Beginning with the 2013-14 school year, all assignments will be designated as either being a formative or summative assessment. Formative assessments are those assignments designed to improve student learning during instruction (i.e. classwork, labs, study guides, notes quizzes, etc.); summative assessments are those meant to assess student mastery of a topic after instruction has taken place (i.e. chapter/unit tests and quizzes, long-term projects, etc.). In the calculation of the final grade for a nine weeks period summative assessments will count as 70% of the final score while formative assessments will count as 30%.
Grading is done on a points system. In general points are distributed as follows:
Tests (36 -100 items) 100 pts x 3 = 300 pts
Quiz (10 - 35 items) 100 pts x 1 = 100 pts
Labs 50 -100 pts per lab
Projects 100 - 300 pts
Classwork / Homework Usually 10 – 20 points
Late Work Policy (8th Grade Policy)
Students are expected to turn work in all classwork and homework on the date the assignment is due. Students who turn in work after its due date will receive a maximum of a 65%. Additionally, each teacher will establish a “zero day” for student assignments. If the work is not completed by the “zero day,” students will receive a zero in the grade book. Every effort will be made by teachers for students to complete all work before the "zero day" through Connections classes and before or after school.
Rupe – “Zero Days” – Zero days will fall two days before interim date or the end of the 9-weeks period. They include the following:
September 13 / October 11 / November 15 / December 18
January 31 / March 7 / April 4 / May 21
Interims:
I am required to send an interim home at the end of the fourth week of a nine week grading period. I will also send interims home for students with a D or F at the end of the seventh week of the nine weeks. All interims sent home on paper must be returned signed by a parent or guardian.
Attendance
It is the responsibility of the student to request make-up work upon their return to class.
When you are absent, please come see me and we will set a date for you to have your makeup work completed.
Tardies:
Students who enter the classroom after the tardy bell are issued a tardy slip unless they posses an excuse from the previous period’s teacher, guidance, or the administration. Any student who receives three tardy slips from any three classes will be assigned an After School Detention.
Syllabus
Earth Science is a one year course designed to give the student an overview of the four major areas of geoscience; geology, astronomy and space science, meteorology, and oceanography. Major topics of study will include Earth’s composition and structure, plate tectonic, the rock cycle, geologic history, weather and climate, the oceans, the solar system and universe, and environmental issues. The following is a general outline of topics to be covered during each nine week grading period.
First Semester
1st 9 weeks
5 days Review of the Scientific Method, Measurement, and Graphing
10 days Mapping Skills including reading Topographic Maps
5 days Plate Tectonics
10 days Earthquakes
5 days Volcanoes
5 days Minerals
5 days Igneous Rocks
First Quarterly Assessment: Includes all information up to and
including Minerals
2nd 9 weeks
2 days Igneous Rocks (continued)
5 days Sedimentary/Metamorphic Rocks
6 days Weathering, Erosion, Mass Movement, Soils
15 days Surface and Groundwater Systems
5 days Geologic History
2 days Physiographic Provinces of Virginia
3 days Review/Remediation/Catch-up
5 days First Semester Exams
First Semester Exams: Includes all information up to and including
the Physiographic Provinces of Virginia
Second Semester
3rd 9 weeks
6 days The Atmosphere
7 days Meteorology
7 days Storm Systems
5 days Climate
5 days Physical Oceanography
15 days Astronomy
Third Quarterly Assessment: Includes all information up to and
including Minerals
4th 9 weeks
10 days Astronomy
5 days Natural Resources
8 days SOL Review, Remediation, Catch-up
22 days SOL Testing Window and Final Exams
Second Semester Exams: Includes all course information
Note: This schedule is subject to change………