EXPO

Rules

Be ready

• Arrive on time to class.
• Arrive with all the necessary class tools, including homework and book.
• Arrive in a mindset for learning.

Be respectful

• Address classmates in a positive manner—what you say and how you say it.
• Address faculty in a positive manner—what you say and how you say it.
• Maintain healthy relationships—if you need a moderator or advice, I will be happy to help.

Be responsible

• Complete assignments in a timely manner.
• Keep track of your assignments and growth.
• Ask me in a timely manner if you have questions or concerns.

We will not be eating or drinking in class and cell phones must be turned off and kept in the student’s bag per HB1481.

Consequence system

I follow Navo’s guidelines for consequence. Be sure you are familiar with these.

Minor infraction

1. Warning
2. Parent contact and teacher consequence
3. Parent contact, teacher consequence, and counselor referral
4. Parent contact, Office referral

Grading Policy:

• Students are responsible for all make-up work.
• All work should be turned in on time.

Reassessment Policy:

•  Students receiving a 90 or higher have demonstrated adequate mastery and will not have the opportunity to reassess. 
•  Students scoring below a 90 many reassess one time, for a possible final score of 90. 
•  In order to reassess middle school students must have completed all homework, classwork, labs, etc. as assigned by the teacher prior to the reassessment opportunity. 
•  The student engages in additional learning opportunities/assignments as determined by the teacher. 
•  The student must reassess within 4 days of the student receiving the original grade. 

9 weeks Grade Weight System: 

The DISD grading policy gives the following weights to your grades. 

Major Summative 70%

Minor Summative 30 %

Formative 0% (This is for data collection)

Absences 

If you are absent the day an assignment, test, or project is due, it will be turned in the first day you return to school.  It is the responsibility of the student to read the agenda upon their return and come to the teacher for any make up work, or to schedule a time for making up a missed quiz/test. If a grade is taken during an absence you will see an ‘ABS’ (absent) recorded in the gradebook.  An ‘ABS’ does not affect the students’ grade.  However, if a student does not complete the absentee work it will eventually change and become a ‘MSG’, which is calculated in the grade book as a zero.   

Binders: Every student has a binder organized with 7 tabs. This is where nearly everything that we do lives from agendas, to vocab, to notes. Students may bring home their binder at any time, but they do need it for class every day.

Agenda: We write a weekly agenda to keep in the binders. This includes due dates (which may be adjusted based on what is needed).

Logic: Will be assigned on most Mondays. In general these are due on that Friday, unless otherwise stated. These may not go home and the student may not work with anyone on them. I want to see what they can do on their own.

Vocabulary: Two weeks of new vocabulary on Monday and quizzes on Friday (minor grades), with the third week having a review test on Wednesday or Thursday (Major grade). To reassess the minor quizzes, I will take the score from the Test if it is higher. Tests will have a traditional reassessment. (Ex: Week 1 Voc A, Week 2 Voc B, Week 3 Review test over A and B.)

Independent Reading: 6th grade will read every day for 20 minutes. 7th and 8th grade will read on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Library: We visit the library every other week.

Current events: 7th and 8th grade watch CNN10 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They practice discussion skills in writing on a forum on Canvas, focusing on clarity, persuasion, and productive conversation.

Emails home: Every Friday, students email home about their week. We focus on writing fluency, clarity, and formatting. They should be telling you strengths and struggles and celebrating positive events with you!

A scope and sequence is the overview of what units we intend to cover. The pacing of these units may change based on student needs. Below you will find the ELAR guide.

6th grade

Our 7th grade and 8th grade are combined, so only one scope is included.

7th and 8th grade

EXPO specific units include:

• Giftedness
• Conflict/ Change
• Research Inquiry
• Creative Introspection