DEAR STUDENTS AND PARENTS,

Welcome! Your child’s time will not be wasted as we explore and master the world of physical science. Throughout their yearlong study of physical science through the content prepared by the state and county, your child will learn a variety of facts, terms, figures, and concepts. Since parent-teacher partnerships are important in a child’s academic success, your active involvement is appreciation because parents always know a child deeper than a teacher possibly can and a teacher knows a child in ways that a parent cannot. Looking at a child from both parent and teacher viewpoints increases the chances of helping your child maximize their potential. Like the African proverb, “it takes a whole village to raise a child,” the payoff will be huge if we pool together our knowledge, passion, and time to help your child become curious, enthusiastic, self-motivated, and independent thinkers. Research by the National Research Council suggests that learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain.

How I plan to teach your child? In my classroom instruction, I will differentiate the content (curriculum), process (activities), and products (assignments) to promote success, challenge, and inspire a love for science. I will do my best to be responsive to your child’s learning needs by structuring my lessons to draw upon their strengths and interests through multiple fronts, such as educational websites, high-interest videos, online assessment tools, printed materials, lecture, discussion, demonstration, simulations/games, recitation, and cooperative learning activities, such as labs. Since no science concept exist in isolation and each of the “endless” ideas within a field of study is connected in some way to the others, I will help your child to better understand and see the big picture of physical science by breaking down the main topics into individual ideas and relating them to each another. In general, people can become unmotivated by things that are far too difficult or too easy, so my classroom activities will be user-friendly, challenging, and allow students the opportunity to collaborate with their peers.

How will your child learn? Instead of memorizing separate facts, I will help your child see the relationship among various ideas because it is impossible to teach and learn everything. Therefore, I will focus on the “big ideas” or the essential questions and utilize the 7-E learning cycle of “Elicit, Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate, and Extend.” Given that academic performance and motivation are correlated, I strive to make the science content interesting, meaningful, and practical by accommodating your child’s varied learning profile, readiness, and interests with a range of instructional strategies and engaging formats. From my years of teaching, I find that students learn more when they acquire information and express their understanding through a preferred mode of intelligence (or learning style).

How will your child be evaluated? In view of the fact that students learn differently, I will vary my assessment methods, since no one test can do it all. I will use traditional assessment techniques (i.e. paper-and-pencil quizzes and tests) and alternative assessment techniques (i.e. performance tasks, word problems, and graphic organizers). To avoid using one system to make a judgment about your child’s general ability, I will employ diagnostic assessments (i.e. pre-tests), formative assessments (i.e. oral questioning and mind maps), and summative assessments (i.e. unit projects, quizzes, tests, and final exams) to evaluate your child’s performance. I believe there is nothing more satisfying than knowing we are making progress.

How will your child be treated? Given that your adolescent is going through many changes, inside and out, this can be a very difficult period in their life. For that reason, I will do my best to create a safe and stable learning environment where they feel empowered and involved in meaningful activities with tangible results. The one thing I always have in common with all of my students is --- their best interest. All I ask is that your child gives their will and skill to learn all they can and be respectful of their peers and teachers. At the end of the school year, your child will become more knowledgeable and appreciative of how their world works and feel more competent as young scientists. 

"Science is a blend of logic and imagination…Inventing hypotheses or theories to imagine how the world works and then figuring out how they can be put to the test of reality is as creative as writing poetry, composing music, or designing skyscrapers."

- Science for All Americans Online (www.project2061.org)

GPS (Georgia Performance Standards)

(Learning activities are designed to teach, reinforce, and extend a particular concept. In addition, interesting materials will motivate the exploration of those topics. The instructional activities of each week are aligned with district and state standards and reflect the concepts, skills, and criteria the students must learn)

•         Unit 0 – Nature of Science & Lab Safety

•         Unit 1 - Matter

•         Unit 2 - Force & Motion

•         Unit 3 – Energy

•         Unit 4 – Waves

•         Unit 5 – Electricity & Magnetism

WEEKLY ROUTINE

(Each unit is broken down, or chunked, into more memorable and manageable pieces to learn each week)

·        Mondays – Holt Online Learning (Audio Reading), and Class discussion            

·        HW: Workbook pages and OAS test (due Fridays)

·        Tuesdays – Mind Map/Video note-Taking and Student-Teacher Conferences

·        Wednesdays - Online Activities/Workbook, Holt Online Learning (Visual Concepts), Workbook pages, and BrainPOP Review

·        Thursdays - Laboratory Investigation/Cooperative Learning (Kinesthetic) Activity

·        Fridays - Distribute graded work, self-monitoring (grade reporting), review game, and assessment (Quiz, Test, or Project)

ASSESSMENT

All assessments are curriculum-embedded. Labs, OAS tests, and Quizzes are formative (ongoing) assessments, while Tests and Projects are summative (end of the unit) assessments. Sponges and workbook pages are informal assessments. These assessment tools show a link between good practice and success.

Sponges

·        Warm-up writing assignments upon entering the class, which give students the opportunity to rehearse the application of points learned in class and/or activate their prior knowledge. Students must response daily to a sponge question and turned them in monthly for a grade.

Mind Maps/Video Note-Taking/Audio Textbook/Read Aloud

·        Mind Maps are a thinking strategy and note-taking system which have an immediate impact on memory, creativity, and concentration; because it mirrors the way your brain works by bringing together your wide range of thinking skills. Visual-spatial intelligence is the ability to visualize with the mind's eye and transforming mental images is a spatial skill that engineers and architects depend on. It makes the most of the brain’s synergetic way of working and helpful in organizing information visually, so that you can see how all the individual ideas fits together. This is a powerful way to learn and recall information as well as enhance understanding.

·        Video Note-Taking is a test preparation tool to provide a powerful form of review because they must identify and understand the most important aspects of what they are learning. Audio textbook can help students become good listeners and read alouds can sharpen their oral reading skills.

Quizzes

·        Quizzes are tests of semantic (small chunks) memory and improve the ability to recall information. They are given weekly and consist of 20 multiple-choice questions. Predictable, frequent quizzes are fairer and more likely to help students get into the habit of studying on a regular basis and discourage reliance on infrequent bouts of cramming as a learning strategy. In addition, they provide direct results that are easy to analyze at the individual student level and offer immediate feedback for students on their learning progress, which allow opportunities for them to learn from their mistakes and improve their learning.

Unit Tests & Projects

·        Tests and projects are given bi-monthly to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts learned at the end of each unit. The projects can engage students in acting, drawing, storytelling, and writing.

Homework

·        Homework is given weekly and usually consists of workbook pages and online tests. Since homework is not given daily, reviewing, studying, and rereading are strongly encouraged.

Laboratory Investigation

·        Laboratory activities are based on confirmation and structured inquiry (reinforce a principle through an activity through teacher-presented question and a prescribed procedure).The concepts of physical science are best learned in an investigative lab setting.  Basic safety rules will be followed at all times. Failure to follow lab procedure will result in a zero for the lab in question, as well as a possible office referral. These safety rules are for your child’s protection and must be followed at all times.

Science & Engineering Projects

·        Projects are based on open inquiry (student-formulated through student designed/selected procedures).

Holt Online Learning (my.hrw.com)

·        “The virtual classroom” which provides access to our online textbooks, additional interactive learning resources, online assessment (chapter tests), and virtual labs.

·        Username = wolfu                        Password = a7v6p

The Georgia Online Assessment System (OAS) (www.georgiaoas.org)

·        (formerly known as the CRCT Online System) enables students to access tests that consist of the same kinds of questions that will appear on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). The Online Assessment System (OAS) will be available throughout the school year so that I can integrate online testing with classroom instruction. Students will gain valuable experience in becoming self-assessors, learning to evaluate their own work and educational progress. Every week, students must complete a 10-question online test for a homework grade.

BrainPOP (www.brainpop.com)

http://www.brainpop.fr/ (FRENCH VERSION)

http://esp.brainpop.com/ (SPANISH VERSION)

·        An educational website with hundreds of short Flash-based movies for students in grades K-12 (ages 6 to 17) about mathematics, technology, health, science, social studies, arts & music, and English.

·         It will be used as an informal assessment tool to monitor student understanding.

·        Username = rivertrail                      Password = wolf

Required/Recommended Materials

·        Binder or folder (for storing documents), composition notebooks (for note-taking), pens (blue or black), four or five colored pens or pencils (for Mind Maps), and #2 pencils. Students should bring these items to class each day, unless informed otherwise.

Wish List

·        In a science classroom, we are always in need of the following: boxes of tissue paper, paper towels, hand sanitizers, and bottles of liquid soap. Any donations would be much appreciated.

Makeup Work Due to Absence

·        Students are expected to make up any assignments they miss due to absences. All assignments missed will be assigned a grade of zero until they are made up. FCOBE policy allows for makeup work in the following manner: student is allowed one day per day of excused absence to make up any missed assignments. Remember, STUDENTS are responsible for ALL MISSED WORK! They must obtain missed assignments immediately after returning to school. This is to be done before or after class –not during.

Study (HELP) Sessions

·        Prior notice must be given to teacher and agendas must be signed, in order, for a student to attend these sessions. Please inform me ahead of time, if you would like a one-to-one or small-group HELP session.

 Homework

·        Homework is not given daily. If students have no assigned written or reading homework, reviewing, studying, and rereading are strongly encouraged. Homework will be check on the assigned due date.

Homework Hotline

·        (Funded by the Media Services Department) will begin Sept. 2, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and is staffed by Fulton County teachers, grades K-12.  The service is free to all Fulton County students and parents.  

Grades will be weighted as follows: 

·        Test/Projects                                    (35 %)

·        Quizzes                                            (20 %)     

·        Lab                                                  (20 %)

·        Classwork/Homework                      (10 %)     

·        Semester Final                                  (15 %)

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS

(Students are expected to be in class on time with their materials, listen quietly when others are speaking and participate in class activities and discussion in a positive manner. Please refer to the Code of Conduct & Discipline handbook for more information about student policies, especially discipline policy)

Rewards/Positive reinforcement (to encourage positive behaviors)

Ø     Praise/Encouragement

Ø     Homework Passes/Bonus Points

Ø     Parent contact/Good work posted/Good grades

Positive punishment (to discourage negative behaviors)

Ø     First sheet = Warning

Ø     Second sheet = Parent contact

Ø  Third sheet = Detention/Office referral

If you have any questions about your child’s learning needs, feel free to contact me via email at pierrew@fultonschools.org

Sincerely,

Mr. Pierre

“doctor mirabilis” (wonderful teacher)

“The goal of education is experience, exploration, awareness, discovery, and creativity.”