1. Language Arts & Writing
Miss Brooks TVMS School Year
Language Arts & Writing
“There’s no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading and kids who are reading the wrong books .”
- James Patterson
About Me
 My name is Bonnie Brooks, and this will be my second year teaching at Tri-Valley Middle School. I am a graduate of The Ohio State University, and I hold a Bachelor of Science in Middle Childhood Education with a minor in Professional Writing. I am originally from Newark, where I currently live. Some of my hobbies include cooking, baking, taking pictures, listening to music, swimming, writing, and traveling. This summer, I was lucky enough to fit in a lot of traveling. My family and I went on a two-week cross-country road trip to California and also spent a week in Lakeside on Lake Erie. In late July, I spent a few days exploring the city of Chicago. I’m looking forward to starting the school year, and I can’t wait to meet this new group of students!
Communication
School Phone: (740)
is the best way to contact me, and I will try to return your within 24 hours. Please check ProgressBook often, and contact me with any concerns.
Course Description
Welcome to 7th Grade Language Arts and Writing! Our focus this school year will be learning and developing our skills as critical thinkers, readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. The development and mastery of these important literary skills not only is important to achieving success in the Language Arts classroom, it is a critical component of achieving success in other school subjects, building strong relationships with others, and attaining a flourishing career as an adult. This year, we will be closely reading and analyzing several books, writing for multiple purposes over extended periods of time, completing research projects, and presenting information to small and large audiences.
Classroom Rules & Consequences
Your appropriate behavior in class assures everyone of an environment conducive to learning. Below are our core classroom rules. Most importantly, remember the 3 R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all of your actions.
Come to class on time and prepared
Do not talk while others are talking, or during announcements
Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your seat during instructional time
Do not bring food or drinks (other than water) to class
Phones and electronic devices are to be used at the discretion of Miss Brooks. Otherwise, they are not to be used, kept out on a desk, or taken to the restroom during class.. Devices can and will be taken away
The bell does not dismiss you, Miss Brooks dismisses you
First offense: Warning
Second offense: Time out of the classroom and/or a lunch detention
Third offense: Lunch detention and contact home
Fourth offense: Office referral
Classroom Procedures
You should be in the classroom and following the Ready to Learn procedure before the bell rings. This includes being in your assigned seat, facing forward, having pencils sharpened, having phones put away, ending your conversations, and starting the warm-up.

2. Miss Brooks TVMS 2016-2017 School Year
Class Webpage & Remind
If you arrive tardy to class, you must have a note from a teacher or the office indicating a reason for the tardy. Several unexcused tardies will result in a lunch detention to make up the lost time.
Absent work can be found in the Absent Binders on the back counter. Absent work and/or late work should be turned into the Absent Work Tray or Late Work Tray during the daily warm-up time. Points will be deducted if assignments are late. If you have been absent, you have one week to turn in all absent work before it becomes late work.
When you hear the clapping pattern, stop what you are doing, repeat the pattern, face the speaker, and listen for directions.
All assignments should be completed in pencil or black/blue pen. They should also include your first name, last name, and period number.
Always ask Miss Brooks before leaving the classroom for any reason. You will need to sign out on the clipboard and take a classroom pass any time you leave. The restroom should be used between classes or at lunch, but emergencies do occur. If you need to use the restroom, check with Miss Brooks during non-instructional time and present one of your bathroom passes.
If you forget any materials in your locker, check with Miss Brooks during non-instructional time. You will owe one bathroom pass for this trip to your locker. If you don’t have a bathroom pass with you, you will most likely serve a lunch detention.
You should be bringing an independent reading book to class everyday. If you finish classwork early, you can always read. Random checks for independent reading books will be done throughout the quarter, and you will receive a lunch detention if you do not have your book for three of these checks. If you have an electronic copy of a book, check with Miss Brooks before using it.
The school library is your main source for reading material—not the classroom library. The classroom library books stay in the classroom. The classroom library and reading centers are meant for reading, not for talking. There should only be two people in each center at any given time. There can be a third person in the library only if that person is searching for a book.
When the bell rings at the end of class, you need to stay seated until Miss Brooks has gone through the Dismissal Checklist. This includes a quick check of classroom pencils and materials, class sets of books, any trash on the floor, the neatness of the desks, and announcements for any upcoming tests or assignments.
Go to 
Click on Tri-Valley Middle School
Click on Teacher Webpages on the left-hand side
Click on Brooks, Bonnie
Checking this webpage is a great way to know what is going on in Language Arts and Writing. It will be updated frequently with announcements, important reminders, and electronic copies of certain materials. If you click on your specific Language Arts class, you can also sign up to receive text reminders for homework and tests. I urge both parents and students to sign up for Remind.
Accelerated Reader
Every quarter, AR will make up 10% of your English grade. Below are the four requirements for AR:
Reaching your point goal
Averaging an 85% or higher passing rate
Reading on or above your level
Reading two nonfiction books and one fiction book
Supplies
**These supplies are to be purchased and brought to class by Monday, August 29**
Language Arts
1.5” binder
5 tab dividers
Pencils & erasers
Wide-ruled filler paper (3-hole punched)
1 box of tissues (for classroom use)
Index cards (optional)
Disinfectant wipes (optional)
Writing
Spiral notebook
Composition book
2 glue sticks (for classroom use)
1 10-pack colored markers (for classroom use)
1 12-pack colored pencils (for classroom use)
Homework Expectations
Most reading of the novels will happen in class. That being said, reading is always a great at-home activity! In fact, reading at home will be necessary to reach your AR goal. Writing or journaling at home is also encouraged, but not required. Students will occasionally have homework assignments for both Language Arts and Writing, but the most common assignment will be vocabulary. A vocabulary page will be assigned every Monday and checked for a grade on Thursday. There will be a vocabulary quiz every Friday. It is the student’s responsibility to complete this assignment and study for the quiz every week.

3. Miss Brooks TVMS 2016-2017 School Year
Please Read the course information, sign, and return this sheet to Miss Brooks
Students:
Please sign below to signify that you have read the course sheet for Miss Brooks’ class, will keep it in your binder, and will be responsible for the information throughout the year. 
_______________________________ _____________________________________________
Student printed name Student signature
Parents/Guardians:
Please sign below to indicate that you have read the course sheet for Miss Brooks’ class and that you will help your student be accountable for the information. If you have questions about the course or your
student’s work, please do not hesitate to contact me; is the best way to reach me quickly. See the front of this sheet for my address.  
Parent/Guardian printed name Parent/Guardian signature
_______________________________ ______________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Parent/Guardian daytime phone number
(please print)
Parents and guardians, please CIRCLE the best way for me to contact you:
phone
Check all the statements that apply to how you would like to communicate with Miss Brooks about your student’s progress. I will, of course, call for major concerns or accomplishments, but with approximately 80 students, I would like to know how you’d prefer to communicate.
_____ I/We have internet access at home, so we will check ProgressBook to check on my/our student’s progress. I/We will contact Miss Brooks about any concerns we have.
_____ I/We plan to Miss Brooks weekly or monthly for an update.
_____ I/We do not have internet access at home, but I/we would like to have regular contact with Miss Brooks. I/we will call for an update on a regular basis.
_____ Other: _______________________________________________________________________________