Ms. Buss’ and Ms. Benton Welcome Students! 6th- Grade Science Class

Welcome to 6 th Grade!  I will introduce you to 6th grade and to our classroom.  If you have any questions during my presentation, please raise your hand and wait to be called on.

All about us All about us & pass seating chart “Dear Me” instructions and sheetDear Me” instructions sheet Handouts, Rules, & Procedures Science Journal Set Up

All About me Ms. BussMs. Benton

1 st part: Briefly describe yourself. 2 nd part: Write what you know about these topics in science: Inquiry Plants Weather/Climate Energy/Work Animals If you finish before everyone else, decorate your envelope.

Our Goals  To give you the academic and social skills you need to progress to the 7th grade.  To provide a supportive and fun classroom environment.  To help you make new friends and discover new interests.  To help you to learn to treat people who are different than you with respect and compassion.

6 th Grade Science Units InquiryStudents will demonstrate an understanding of scientific tools, graphs, charts and data methods including technological design and the scientific method. PlantsStudents will demonstrate an understanding of structures, processes, and responses of plants that allow them to survive and reproduce. Work & Energy The student will demonstrate an understanding of the law of conservation of energy and the properties of energy and work. Weather & Climate Students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between Earth’s atmospheric properties and processes and its weather and climate. AnimalsStudents will demonstrate an understanding of structures, processes, and responses in animals that allow them to survive and reproduce.

Classroom Community  Our classroom is a community. In our community, we have rules to help us get along with each other.  Our class rules are:  Be respectful and responsible.  Be organized and follow directions.  Be on time.  Be prepared.  No put downs or name calling, it will not be tolerated!  No gum chewing or candy in my room, the roaches will move in!  No throwing of objects (this means no throwing of garbage from your seat as if this is the NBA, I am not interested in your 3 point skills, only your reading and writing skills).  Keep your hands and lips to yourself, no public displays of affection in my class!  Do not crowd my desk, only three (3) people allowed at my desk at a time. Remember the rule, ASK THREE THEN ASK ME!

Homeroom Tardiness  School starts at 8:00 A.M.  If you are not in the classroom by the time the second bell rings at 8:15, then please check in at the school office with Ms. Kershaw before coming to class. You will not be admitted without a tardy slip.  Each time you are tardy you will receive an infraction that counts in the discipline flow. After two tardies, you will be contacted. After four you will be contacted and Assistant Principal, Ms. Owens will be alerted.  Ten (10) unexcused absences will fail you. I know this is a fact because I taught some 7 th graders who failed only because of missing school!

Science Class Tardiness  You need to stick to the bell schedule!  If you are not in the classroom and doing your Bell Work (sharpening pencil, getting Science Journals) by the time the second bell rings, then you are tardy.  A tardy counts as an infraction and will be added in your discipline flow chart.

Procedures for our classroom As you enter:  You are to get out your marbled Science Journals from the bins.  Sharpen pencils or get out writing items. *I am very strict about you using only pencil, blue or black pen (please note that certain assignments require you to use pencil specifically).  You will not be allowed to use red, green, purple or any other color in my class, you will, however, use colored pencils quite often for charting, graphing and lab journaling.  Read the Bell Work and complete it. This may be a writing prompt, a question, a study idea/method etcetera.  After you finish the Bell Work Prompt/Warm Up, you will need to write down the Agenda from the board in their F.M.S. Agendas (These will be randomly checked once a week for a participation grade) must have all classes filled out for each day. No skipping or you will lose points. I am the teacher who checks the agendas each week to make sure they are filling them out.

Lab Safety Contracts Lab Safety Contracts are required to be signed by your parent. If you do not have your lab contract signed and on file, then you will not be able to participate in lab and will you be given an alternate assignment in another classroom for that day. This would be so unfortunate because the best part of science class are “living for lab days!”

Goggles! Goggles model Z87.1 are required by OSHA and NASI in order for you to legally take part in a lab experience. *This is mandated even if we are just working with water! These can be purchased at Wal-mart, Target or a hardware store for about $3.99 and can be used through the 8 th Grade. Your goggles must have a head strap!

Homework  Expect at least 10 minutes of homework per evening. It may be something as simple as studying for a Friday Vocabulary/Notes or Lab Quiz or writing a lab reflection.  There will be outside reading for all classes depending on the unit of study for the week. You may need to read the weather in the newspaper or an article on global warming and etc.  More outside reading will be done in the second quarter as this is when we will be doing the Animal Research Papers in conjunction with ELA class. 4 th 9 Weeks Animals Much more reading on a specific animal. Write a research paper with the science teacher and the ELA Teacher.

Late Homework  Each time that homework is late, you will lose 5 points per day in first quarter and 10 points per day in the second quarter. exceptions  The only exceptions are documented medical illness or bereavement (death in the family). Late penalty 1 st Quarter (1 st & 2 nd 9 Weeks) Late penalty 2nd Quarter (3 rd & 4 th 9 Weeks) 5 points per day10 points per day *You will be preparing to be 7 th graders.  When students enter after being absent, they will go to the colored green, purple, red and orange class coded bins by the window for your make up work. You will have a sheet attached with the assignment that says, “While You Were Out”.

Questions? Ms. Buss Great Gator’s Science Teachers Room: Extension 52 Website to find science materials:

Let’s Have a Great Year!