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, and Esperanza Rising. 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 text and Easy Grammar workbook (please see Department letter for information about the $15 donation needed to order the workbook) as a resource. Spelling will be addressed with weekly assignments from the Houghton Mifflin spelling program.

 

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.

 

Supplies

Please come prepared each day with the following materials:

á         A folder for history worksheets and spelling assignments;

á         Your assigned history workbook;

á         One ¼ or ½ inch 3-ringed notebook for Reading and Writing (only the light-weight, floppy plastic binder); this notebook may be left in the classroom;

á         3-4 Black/blue pens and 3-4 pencils with a non-electric sharpener;

á         3-4 red pens for correcting and editing papers;

á         An SSR book (must be a chapter book).


Homework

In regards to late homework, the 6th Grade Language Arts and History team will be enforcing the following policy:

á         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.

á         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 studentÕs 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:

á         Actively participate in class and always raising his/her hand;

á         Maintain respect for his/her peers, teacher, and speaker;

á         Remain on-task at all times;

á         No-talking during instruction or when a peer is speaking;

á         Full cooperation and participation during group activities;

á         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:

rmclaughlin@pleasanton.k12.ca.us

 

LetÕs Have a Wonderful School Year!

Sincerely,

 

Mrs. Rebecca McLaughlin


 

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

Parent Signature & Contact Info Required

Due: Thursday, August 27th (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 AM Block/ PM Block (circle one).

 

_____ : I would like to help grade notebooks about one hour every other Friday during AM Block/ PM Block (circle one).

 

_____ : Although I cannot be there to volunteer on a consistent basis, I would like to volunteer less often during other activities during AM Block/ PM Block (circle one).