September, 2004 I am delighted to be your child’s Language Arts and Social Studies teacher this year. I look forward to getting to know him or her and you. I hope the following information and links will be helpful. These two classes are combined in a 110 minute block, so I can give more attention to the language, history and thinking skills of your child. Several unique features of the block will improve students’ learning, for example: the increased contact time provides me a better opportunity to get to know your child’s academic potential, strengths and problem areas -- this enables goal setting; students learn to select their own topics, modes of writing and materials for reading; students learn to manage time, organize work, manage conflict and make good decisions; students learn to work with editors and consult a variety of resources to improve their thinking and writing. The language arts component of the block will focus on teaching students to read, listen, think, write, and speak effectively in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes. Literature studies and social studies experiences will serve as the catalyst for students’ reading, listening, thinking, writing and speaking experiences. Seventh grade social studies explores early American and U.S. history to just after the Revolutionary War. Facets of our study will include: European influences of American history, the first Americans, exploration and early American settlements, colonial life, events leading to the war, the costs and gains of war, The Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, the U.S. Constitution, and roots of contemporary political parties and social issues. Homework for the block will include independent outside reading and 15-20 minutes of writing, skills or social studies work most every school night. Use the News/Updates page to stay up to date with daily assignments. Your child’s grade will be based on his or her daily effort in class, progress toward individual reading and writing goals, quizzes, formal writing and projects. Because writing, reading and thinking skills improve with effort and practice, students who make an honest effort to do the work as assigned will receive grades of ‘A’ or ‘B’. Follow this link to see a sample rubric that I use to evaluate student thinking and writing efforts. Formal reports, essays and projects will each have a similar rubric or scoring guide that will be given to students while work is still in progress. The rubrics/scoring guides are designed to be mostly self explanatory and should be followed carefully by the student to earn the grade they desire. Check the News/Updates page for any current projects and links to their rubrics. Follow this link to see a downloadable Word document of the Reading Verification Form (RVF). Please review this with your child. The RVF is collected every other Friday starting with the first on September 24th. During the year feel free to print copies of the RVF off this site if needed. I am available to discuss my program with you weekdays between 10:30 and 11:10 a.m. or most any time after 2:50. Or you can email me at akohler@cvsd.org.