COURSE: 7th Grade English – Mr. Buerkle
WEB SITE: mrb127.tripod.com
TEXTS: Prentice Hall Literature (Purple), English Grammar and Composition (Orange),
Vocabulary for Achievement (Orange workbook)
CLASSROOM
RULES
1. Accelerated Reader is a part of your grade, so you must bring a book to read every
day.
2. No food, pop, or candy. Gum is allowed
if chewed properly. (I can’t see it or hear it.)
3. Come to class prepared. There are no trips
to the hallway unless it’s an “emergency.”
4. Assignments not turned in at the beginning
of class the day they are due are zeros. All late
work is due on Fridays. If the work is not done, you will stay after school on
Friday until your work is
done. If you do not stay after school Friday, you will have one hour of detention on Monday - No exceptions. If
an assignment is never handed in, you will receive an incomplete on your report card. After
two weeks, incompletes turn to failures. If you are absent (band lesson/sick), it
is your responsibility to get the assignment for the next day. I allow one day to turn in an assignment
for each day you are absent. If you are going to be gone the day of a test, you should take
the test before leaving if possible. Otherwise, you get one week to make up the test.
5. Store materials in a notebook and folder.
6. You will not put away materials until I tell you.
(One minute before class is dismissed.)
7. Loud quizzes will be given upon one or two warnings. The point
value depends on the extent of noise the class is making. This is a punishment so the
questions are difficult to answer correctly.
DISCIPLINE
I will tell you once
that you did something inappropriate in class. After that you may be asked to
leave the room and make up the time you missed after school.
GRADING
I will use the following
scale of percents in determining your grades.
100 A+
87-89 B+
77-79 C+
67-69 D+
Below 60 F
93-99
A 83-86 B
73-76 C
63-66 D
90-92
A- 80-82 B-
70-72 C-
60-62 D-
When figuring your grades, all points will be grouped together
for one grade.
MISCELLANEOUS
*You will have the opportunity to enter writing contests throughout the year.
*We will participate in the Spelling Bee this year; the elementary teachers will run
it.
ACCELERATED
READER
Accelerated Reader is a computerized test taking program for reading. After you read an Accelerated Reader book you will take a test on the computer. The number of points you earn is based on how many questions you answer correctly. If you don’t pass the test (6/10 or 13/20), you don’t get any points.
I will put you into
teams for the Accelerated Reader program. The winning team at the end of the
year will get a pizza party. Throughout the year I will also give treats to individual
readers who reach certain point levels and who are the top readers on each team.
Your Accelerated Reader
points will be a part of your grade this year. However, you may only take tests
on books with a reading level of 5.0 or above. The following is the conversion
for AR points to grades (The first number is the amount of AR points in the quarter; the second number is the amount of points
out of 40 that will go in the grade book.):
8.0=40 7.0=35 6.0=30
5.0=25 4.0=20 3.0=15
2.0=10 1.0=5
7.8=39 6.8=34 5.8=29
4.8=24 3.8=19 2.8=14
1.8=9 .8=4
7.6=38 6.6=33 5.6=28
4.6=23 3.6=18 2.6=13
1.6=8 .6=3
7.4=37 6.4=32 5.4=27
4.4=22 3.4=17 2.4=12
1.4=7 .4=2
7.2=36 6.2=31 5.2=26
4.2=21 3.2=16 2.2=11
1.2=6 .2=1
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
Greek and Latin roots during the second semester.
Spelling/vocabulary during the second semester.
First Semester (September 1-January 19)
- Grammar Parts of Speech
- Grammar Usage and Mechanics
- Creative Writing
- Nonfiction Reading
- Semester Exam
Third Quarter (January 23-March 24)
- Literature Short Story Unit (January
23-February 7)
- Literature What Matters Unit (February
6-28)
- Poetry Unit (March 1-17)
Fourth Quarter (March 27-May 26)
- Literature Independence and Identity Unit (March 20-April 5)
- Practice
State Reading Test (April 4-5)
- Literature Novel Unit (April 6-28)
- Literature Meeting Challenges Unit (May
1-12)
- Semester Exam
