FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions 
of students and parents.
  1. What are students supposed to read each night?
  2. What curriculum does this class follow?
  3. What components make up a student's grade in this class?
  4. Can a student come for extra help when needed for this class?
  5. What is the best way for a parent to contact Mrs. Powers?
  6. Does the writing have to be done in the writer's notebook?
  7. Is it possible to complete assignments for extra credit in this class?



What are students supposed to read each night?

The daily reading assignment revolves around independently chosen 
material.  In order to reinforce many of the skills we work on in 
class, the students are asked to make a significant portion of their 
reading be in novels of some sort. However, for some of their reading, 
poetry, nonfiction, and other genre are excellent choices as well.  
For students who find themselves "stuck" on a book choice, a bulletin 
board in the classroom entitled "Genre Jigsaw" is a good source of 
titles which have been recommended by other students in the class.  
The LINKS page of this website provides some excellent resources for 
book choice as well.
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What curriculum does this class follow?

The goals and objectives for this class are guided by the WRSD 
and MA Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks and the Prentice Hall 
Literature textbooks for Grades 6 or 7.  Instruction and 
activities draw from a variety of materials: textbooks, on-line 
resources, anthologies, and recommended and award-winning 
children's/young adult literature.
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What components make up a student's grade in this class?

A student's grade is determined by his/her success in three major 
areas:  homework, in-class participation, and assessments.  
Although assessments (quizzes, tests, projects, essays, etc.) 
give an indication of how well concepts and skills have been 
learned, completing homework regularly and showing full effort 
and participation in class are key steps to achieving that 
learning.  Daily homework completion and class participation 
grades will be converted to percentage grades, and each of the 
three areas graded (assessments, homework completion, and 
participation) will account for one third of a student's average.
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Can a student come for extra help when needed for this class?

Absolutely!  Advisory periods are good times for questions or 
help, and a student may schedule an after school session when 
more concentrated one-on-one help may be needed.  I am after 
school most days until at least 3:45, and until later than that 
many other days.  With advanced notice, almost any day can be 
worked out.
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What is the best way for a parent to contact Mrs. Powers?

Email is a great way to make initial contact with me, or to ask 
questions that require a quick and straight-forward answer.  If 
more of an explanation or discussion might be necessary, you can 
send an e-mail with your contact information (and an indication 
of what your question or concern is, if possible), and I will get 
back to you as quickly as possible.
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Does the writing have to be done in the writer's notebook?

All daily writing assignments and drafts of ongoing assignments should 
be done consecutively in the writer's notebook.  Part of the power of 
the writer's notebook lies in the student being able to see the 
collection of writing build and being able to look back through 
earlier entries as the year progresses.  Writing on and turning in 
individual sheets of paper is not as reliable for developing the 
same "permanent" collection of their thoughts.  If, on occasion, a 
student for some reason does not have his or her WN with him or her, 
writing can be done on a separate sheet of paper and GLUED INTO THE WN 
as soon as the WN is located.  This should not, however, become a 
regular habit.
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Is it possible to complete assignments for extra credit in this class?

My plan this year is to make some extra credit options available to 
students as opportunities for them to "stretch" and apply their 
learning.  Due to the time and focus we need to just get the regular 
expectations and routines in place, however, this may not begin until 
the second quarter. Students are highly encouraged to make certain 
their regular class assignments are completed thoroughly and to the 
best of their ability before deciding to add work for extra credit.  
The extra credit options are, in most cases, long-term assignments 
which will require work over a period of several weeks or throughout 
most of the quarter.  When extra credit possibilities have been 
explained in class, all options and guidelines for completing them 
will be posted in the "extra credit" section of this website.
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