Mrs. McLaughlin, Room 603
6th Grade Language Arts & History Laptop Block
Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome to an exciting year at Pleasanton Middle School. This class will consist of educational activities aligned with the California State Standards. I believe every child can achieve academic success with hard work and dedication.
Language Arts
Students will focus on reading, vocabulary, and comprehension skills using the 6th grade Holt literature anthology accompanied by literature works such as Boy of the Painted Cave, Where the Red Fern Grows, Esperanza Rising, Dragonwings, and The Tao of Pooh. We will study grammar in conjunction with various forms of essay writing including narrative, expository, persuasive, and response to literature, using the Writing and Grammar . Spelling will be addressed with weekly assignments from the Houghton Mifflin and Wordly Wide spelling programs.
History
Students will also be using the Glencoe, Discovering Our Past Ancient Civilizations. We will be covering topics ranging from World Geography, the Earliest People, Early Middle Eastern and North African Civilizations, Early Asian Civilizations, the Ancient Greeks and Classical Greece.
Suggested Supplies
Please come prepared each day with the following materials*:
· Fully charged laptop;
· A folder for history worksheets and spelling assignments;
· Your assigned history workbook (this will be given to you);
· One ¼ or ½ inch 3-ringed binder for Reading and Writing (only the light-weight, floppy plastic binder); this notebook may be left in the classroom;
· 3-4 Black/blue pens and 3-4 pencils with a non-electric sharpener;
· 3-4 red pens for correcting and editing papers;
· An SSR book (must be a chapter book);
· 1-2 reams of white paper for the class printer.
*If this is a hardship for you, please contact the school or me, and the materials will be provided.
Homework
In regards to late homework, the 6th Grade Language Arts and History team will be enforcing the following policy:
· For excused absences, make-up work will be accepted per school policy. Students will have the same number of days to make up an assignment that they were absent.
· Late work will be accepted within three days of when it was due for half credit.
We believe this policy will enforce responsibility and organizational skills, which are important attributes for students to obtain. It is also the student’s responsibility to find out the missing work from an absence either by meeting with the teacher before or after school, checking the homework calendar online or in the classroom, or asking a peer from class.
In the event of a home-network or printer issue, please either hand-write the assignment, e-mail a peer the assignment to print out, or come to school early to print out the work in the library. The laptop teachers will not be accepting homework submitted by e-mail or technical problems as an excuse for lateness.
The daily agenda, homework, and grades are accessible from my class website:
http://206.110.20.132/%7Ermclaughlin/mclaughlinhome.htm
Class Participation
Class participation is worth 3 points a day (15 points per week). To receive full-points, the following must occur:
· Actively participate in class and always raising his/her hand;
· Maintain respect for his/her peers, teacher, and speaker;
· Remain on-task at all times;
· No-talking during instruction or when a peer is speaking;
· Full cooperation and participation during group activities;
· Come prepared with the necessary supplies and assignments, including a fully charged laptop.
I look forward to meeting everyone at Back-to-School Night in a couple of weeks! I am very enthusiastic about working with you and your child to have a successful school year. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to e-mail me at:
Let’s Have a Wonderful School Year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Rebecca McLaughlin
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Parent Signature & Contact Info Required
Due: Friday, August 31st (5 points)
I have reviewed the 6th Grade Classroom policy with my child,______.
Parent Signature: ______Student Signature: ______
Parent e-mail 1: ______Parent Phone Number: ______
Parent e-mail 2: ______Student e-mail: ______
To make it easier to read, feel free to attach a business card.
On Fridays the class will turn in their Spelling & Grammar Notebooks. If you are interested in volunteering to help grade these notebooks or other assignments on Fridays, please check one of the following:
_____ : I would like to help grade spelling packets about one hour each Friday during my child’s Block.
_____ : I would like to help grade notebooks about one hour every other Friday during my child’s Block.
_____ : Although I cannot be there to volunteer on a consistent basis, I would like to volunteer less often during other activities during AM Block (circle one).