Mrs. Curtis’ Science Class

            I wanted to share some information about our class that students and their parents/guardians should know about science this year.

Science Binders - the purpose of our science bindersis to help keep students organized.   All of the materials needed for science class are contained in four sections.

General information – this section of contains materials used through out the school year. For example information on the metric system and lab safety are stored here.

Science class work  – For each unit of study, students will store the papers that we work on in/out of class.  This will include readings, handouts, notes and labs.  Students will keep the information in their binder.  This is used almost every day in science class.

Vocabulary – key words that all students should know as a result of our study are identified in this section.  Students should keep vocabulary from all units in the vocabulary section of their binders.

journals – this section will be used to  store important information and write about our learning.  These are excellent places to look when reviewing for a quiz!

Grading

Grades are based on points.  Each task is assigned points based on its relativecomplexity, importance, duration etc. The total number of points earned / total number of points possible isthe student’s grade.

Class work

Class work consists of labs, outdoor field experiences discussions, learning log writings and readings.  Usually these assignments are worth 10-20 points depending on the amount of time spent on the activity.

Tests and Quizzes

I give frequent quizzes.  The rationale behind this is that students who study a little bit often, tend to learn the information better and retain it longer.  Quizzes are generally based on information presented in the previous class. They are usually not announced. Quizzes are generally worth 5 -15 points.

Tests and other assessments will be used to evaluate student learning.  End of unit projects will be treated like a test.  Projects will be broken into small chunks tohelp students keep track of the work.  Tests and projects are generally worth about 50 points.

Homework

The purpose of science homework is to reinforceconcepts covered in class, to prepare the student with ideas to be discussed inthe next class or to inform parents/guardians about important happenings in ourclass.

Homework will be assigned infrequently during the 1st and second marking period.  During the #rd and 4th marking period students might expect homework once or twice aweek.  It is due the next science class. Late work will receive reduced credit (up to 3 days late)  students will receive a zero for missingwork.  I will notify parents if a student is missing 3 homework assignments in a quarter.

Homework is always posted on the board in room 122.  It is also posted on my schoolnotes.comweb page.

Homework is usually worth 5 points.

Absenteeism

When you are absent:

Check the assignment bulletin board in theclassroom or the science web page on schoolnotes.com

Get a missing work sheet in homeroom and visitMrs. Curtis to make sure all work (class and homework) is recorded

Parents and guardians are always welcome in our classroom.We can always use an extra pair of hands! If you have a particular expertise inscience that you would like to share with our classes please let me know.  If you have any questions or problems throughout the school year, please do not hesitate to email me at Pcurtis@willingtonct.org  or call the school 429-9391 x122.