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Ms. Hardin Life Science, 2013 - 2014 Grade 7 Slide 2 The Pumas Team Social Studies Mr. Palmiere English Mrs. Trognar Ms. Hardin - Science Math Mrs. Womick, Mrs. Piper Slide 3 Ms. Hardins Contact Information School Phone: (757) 648-4950, *extension 62075 E-mail: Barbara.hardin@vbschools.com pams-bhardin.wikispaces.com (This is the preferred method of contact! Ill check my e-mail daily and frequently.) If you leave a message for me through the school, I will try to check it. Please do not call directly into the classroom unless it is an emergency! Slide 4 What about SOLs? Advance students will take the 8th grade core science SOL. The test is cumulative of 6 th, 7th, and 8 th grade material. Review sites and notes are located on my wiki. Core science will not have a science SOL until 8 th grade. Slide 5 What Can Parents Do to Help? Check your childs homework via My School Mail and School Net! Use my wikispace Please sign up for Parent Portal Get interested in Science and quiz them about what we are learning! Each child needs a 3 ring binder with pockets Make sure they have supplies- ANY extra supplies that the class can use would be great! (pencils, glue sticks, colored pencils, glue sticks, tissues, glue sticks) Slide 6 Unit One: Unit One: UNIT 1: T HINKING LIKE A S CIENTIST AND P ATTERNS OF C ELLULAR O RGANIZATION Slide 7 U NIT 2: I NVESTIGATING THE R ELATIONSHIP B ETWEEN G ENETICS, E VOLUTION, AND C LASSIFICATION Slide 8 Unit Three: Unit Three:Energy and Ecosystems Slide 9 Unit Four:I Unit Four:I NVESTIGATING THE R ELATIONSHIP BETWEEN M AN AND T HE C HESAPEAKE B AY Slide 10 Unit Five: Unit Five: Investigating the Relationships Between Solar Radiation, Water, and Weather Slide 11 Ms. Hardins Class Info Find me at : pams-bhardin.wikispaces.compams-bhardin.wikispaces.com Text book is on-line. Directions for access will be on my wiki. Books can also be checked out. During the course of the school year, you can expect to find classwork activities, homework, make-up assignments, review guides, and materials to review in preparation for the Virginia SOL Test. Slide 12 How is your child assessed? This year science is incorporating Standards Based Grading: What is it? The approach is to first assess where the students are in the process of learning a specific topic, and then to gear their progress around that. Students are given a series of formative and summative assignments resulting in a mastery level of the topic that becomes their grade. Keywords: Rigor and Relevance! Students will track their assignments in their learning portfolio. Student Lead conferences will be offered a few times each 9 weeks. Slide 13 Student Learning Portfolio Each student has their own folder. Within their folder, there is a list of the standards and the tasks for those standards. Each student will record their own assessments on their learning portfolio as well as I will have a copy. Those are the assessments you will see on parent portal. During the school year, there will be opportunities for a student lead conference with their learning portfolio folders. Slide 14 GRADES-STANDARD BASED GRADING The primary purpose of standards-based grading is to evaluate students at the highest level of learning they are able to demonstrate through the evidence of their work. Each assignment a student completes is associated with a learning target, and the students work is scored on a rubric relative to that learning target. The emphasis is on providing students the opportunity to produce a body of evidence to demonstrate their learning over time. They are provided motivation by being given opportunities to improve. Slide 15 SBG continued SBG In this system, teachers are better able to differentiate instruction because they are more precisely able to target students strengths and weaknesses. Hence, they can plan for and provide intervention for students who are struggling with concepts, or enrichment to students who are demonstrating mastery. Because non-learning factors are removed from consideration, the standards-based grading system places a value on the quality of student work rather than on the quantity of it. Slide 16 Report Card Addendum MARKING PERIOD 1 ST 2N D 3 RD 4TH FIN AL CITIZENSHIP Listens and follows rules, procedures, and directions Exhibits self-control and resolves conflicts effectively Is a respectful contributing citizen in the school community PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION Works effectively within a group, including leadership roles Actively participates and offers ideas Encourages others to participate by listening and building off the ideas of others PRODUCTIVITY Identifies, pursues, and reflects on goals Creates work of the highest quality Completes and turns in work on time Perseveres even when work is difficult COMMENTS _ N Novice- Needs Improvement; not making expected progress toward proficiency DP Developing Proficiency Beginning to grasp and apply key concepts, processes, and skills P Proficient - Regularly grasps and applies key concepts, processes, and skills with limited errors AP Advanced Proficient Consistently demonstrates proficiency; grasps, applies, and extends key concepts, processes and skills Slide 17 In Parent Portal, parents will see two types of grades: assignment grades and standards grades. Students will receive a score of 0-4 on each assignment they complete, and that grade will be recorded in the grade book. Each standard will be measured by multiple assignments, so a parent will also see a standard grade as well, which will also be 0- 4. In fact, the assignment grades themselves do not have weight. Each assignment targets a different level of thinking, and hence a different level of mastery. Parents will see letter grades next to each assignment in Parent Portal. Those letter grades should be disregarded. Instead, the assignments will reflect student growth over time, and the grade for the standard will be given once all evidence is collected. At the end of each quarter a students grade is determined using a total points scale. The only points that are counted are the points the students earned on each standard. A final letter grade is determined at the end of the quarter using a conversion of points to corresponding letter grades. The conversion scale is as follows (if there are 5 standards, multiply the values below by 5): A 3.4-4.0B-2.3-2.4D 0.8-1.5 A- 3.2-3.3C+2.1-2.2E0.0-0.7 B+ 3.0-3.1C1.8-2.0 B2.5-2.9C-1.6-1.7 Slide 18 Standards and Objectives Advanced Unit 1 Task( s) The student will plan and conduct investigations in which: (lS.1) a) Data are organized into tables showing repeated trials and means; b) Metric units (SI - International system of units) are used; c) Variables are defined; d) Models are constructed to illustrate and explain phenomena; e) Sources of experimental error are identified; f) Dependent variables, independent variables, and constants are identified; g) Variables are controlled to test hypotheses, and trials are repeated; h) Continuous line-graphs are constructed, interpreted, and used to make predictions; i) Interpretations from a set of data are evaluated and defended; and j) An understanding of the nature of science is developed and reinforced. The student will investigate and understand that all living things are composed of cells. Key concepts include: (LS.2) Slide 19 Grading scale/rubric for each strand of an standard objective Work is complete and meets or exceeds the expectations of the assignment. There is extensive evidence that the student made an effort to clarify her/his understanding of the purpose of the assignment. The student uses comments on homework to improve future work. Work is complete and meets all expectations for the assignment. There is evidence that the student made an effort to understand the purpose of the assignment. Work is incomplete. There is little evidence that the student made an effort to understand the purpose of the assignment. There is no evidence that the student tried to understand the purpose of the assignment. There is not enough information to make a judgment. 4=AP3=P2=DP1=N0=NE