Mr. Schemer's 7th Grade Civics – Schemerica!



7th Grade Civics

Mr. Schemer

2020-2021

Course Description:

The primary content of this course pertains to the principles, functions, and organization of government; the origins of the American political system; the roles, rights, responsibilities of United States citizens; and methods of active participation in our political system.

Materials:

|Required |Wish list items: |

|1 3-prong binder with pockets |Copy paper |

|Pencils |Color copy paper |

|Colored Pencils |Tissues |

|Highlighters |Clorox/Lysol wipes |

|Post-It Notes |Hand sanitizer |

| |Paper towels |

Grading Policy: Point Based (The difficulty of the assignment will determine the point value.)

Tests

Projects

Civics Binder Checks/Participation

Home Learning

Class Work

Bell Ringers/Exit Slips

Rituals/Routines in the Classroom:

1. Students are to come prepared every day to class. This means bringing their Civics binder, completed classwork/home learning, writing utensil, and other needed materials.

2. Respect is required by all! You may not like or agree with everything, but you must always respect your teacher, classmates, and yourself. Rudeness will not be tolerated, and will result in disciplinary action.

3. Respect the items in our classroom. Please do not play around with, draw on, or break our protective shields, rulers, scissors, textbooks, or any other classroom necessities. Students who fail to respect classroom materials will be asked to replace the items or bring their own for the remainder of the school year.

4. Late Work Policy - Late work will only be accepted during the 1st and 2nd quarter for up to 50% credit. Late work will be accepted up to 2 school days past the original due date in the 1st quarter, and 1 school day past the original due date in the 2nd quarter. An “M” will be placed in the gradebook if an assignment is MISSING, but still allowed to be turned in for partial credit. A “0” is placed in the gradebook when that assignment is no longer accepted for credit. No late work will be accepted during the 3rd and 4th quarter. Communication is key, so please contact me through Teams or email should you encounter issues beyond your control preventing you from turning assignments in on time.

5. Test Recycling - Students who receive lower than a 70% on a test will be encouraged to “recycle” their test grade by completing additional activities related to the benchmarks tested in order to earn up to a 70% (C). Students that scored a 70% or above will not have the opportunity to recycle.

6. Extra credit is assigned at least once each nine weeks. However, opportunities for extra credit may appear at many times during the nine weeks. Extra credit opportunities will occasionally appear on the blog or Teams without being announced in class to ensure students are keeping up to date with online announcements and reminders. It is always a good idea to complete extra credit - you never know when you may need it!

7. Classroom Disciplinary Policy – Verbal/Non-verbal warning ( Change of seat or Time Out (in class or out of class) ( Student Conference (Parent Contact via email, phone call, or written note ( Disciplinary Referral

8. The state of Florida requires all 7th grade Civics students to take an EOC (End of Course) Assessment at the end of the year that counts for 30% of the students’ final grade in their Civics course.

Civics Online Information - You will be a part of 2 “Teams”

1. Civics Announcements & Assignments (Every student is a part of this Team)

o GENERAL CHANNEL – This channel will be utilized for assignment directions and important announcements/reminders. You will not be able to comment on this channel. It will serve the same purpose as the blog at Mschemer., but will be updated so that you don’t have to bounce back and forth between the two resources.

o QUESTIONS & ANSWERS CHANNEL – All of Mr. Schemer’s students are a part of this channel for the purpose of asking questions about Civics assignments. This is not a channel for socializing, and misuse of this channel will result in a warning, followed by the disciplinary process. If you have a question about an assignment, it is best to check the “General” or “Questions & Answers” Channels first to see if it has already been addressed.

2. Your individual class period - 1st, 2nd, 3rd 4th, 5th or 6th

o GENERAL CHANNEL – This channel will be utilized for assignment directions and important announcements/reminders, but you WILL be allowed to comment and correspond with each other on this channel for Civics related activities and questions. Due to this, announcements and directions may become lost in the discussions, so always refer back to the Civics Announcements & Assignments General channel if needed.

o ATTENDANCE CHANNEL – Each class period, I will make a post on this channel. You must “like” the post (thumbs up ONLY) in order to be counted as present for that class period.

o “YOUR NAME” CHANNEL – Every student in the class will have a private channel available for questions and correspondence during the school year. I usually use it for individual reminders or clarification on assignments, and you may use it to communicate questions as well.

o HALLWAY CHAT – You may use this channel to communicate with your fellow classmates about classroom appropriate topics. Please remember that online expectations are the same as classroom expectations, so the disciplinary process will apply here. Students may lose access to this channel should they not adhere to the classroom expectations.

How to Turn in Assignment Online

• All assignments must be uploaded through FOCUS. We will practice this together to ensure you understand how to do it.

• Most assignments will require you to type into a Word Document – make sure that your device at home is capable of opening, reading, and editing documents. Microsoft Word has been made available to all students through Duval County – you may download the software through this link Microsoft Word, or go to ( Contact Us ( Technical Support for Students/Parents (Microsoft.

• After you have uploaded your assignment into Focus, it is YOUR responsibility to check that you have uploaded the correct and/or completed assignment.

Parent Contact:

Email is the best way to reach me (SchemerM@). I will try to respond back as soon as possible. While students will have access to Teams for updates, I also update my blog at least once a week with important information on what is going on in our class along with items that are due, upcoming assessments, and projects (MSchemer.). I encourage all parents to utilize this resource in staying up to date with the assignments and due dates of our Civics class. Scholarship warnings will be sent home approximately every 3-4 weeks in the form of progress reports for students with a grade of 75% or lower. Please sign these warnings and have your student return it the following class. If you would like to schedule a conference, please call Mrs. Logan in guidance (346-5650 ext.999925).

Please complete the parent contact sheet and return to me as soon as possible. (There is an online link available on my blog for Duval Homeroom students)

I look forward to a wonderful year!

Sincerely,

Mathew Schemer

SchemerM@

(904) 455-3824

Parent Contact Form (Please Print)

Mr. Schemer’s Civics Class

Student Name:_________________________________________________ Birth Date: ___________________

Mom: __________________________________________________________

Home #: _________________________________ Cell #: __________________________________________

Dad: ___________________________________________________________

Home #: _________________________________ Cell#: ___________________________________________

Student lives primarily with: Mom Dad Other:____________________________

Email Address 1: ______________________________________________________________________________________

Email Address 2: ______________________________________________________________________________________

Preferred Form of Communication: (Circle one) PHONE EMAIL CARRIER PIGEON

Other information (allergies, computer issues, etc.): ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Please note that the following movies or clips might be shown in class to reinforce Civics standards, concepts, and ideas (it is unlikely we will watch the majority of them). Please place a check mark next to any titles that you would like your student to be EXCUSED FROM and replaced with an alternative assignment. If they have your permission to watch them all, then you can leave them blank and sign below.

ο Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (TV G) 1939

ο 12 Angry Men (NR) 1957

ο Hamilton (PG-13) 2020

ο Remember the Titans (PG) 2000

ο Thirteen Days (PG-13 for “brief, strong language”) 2000

ο Selma (PG-13) 2014

ο The Patriot (R) 2000 (Classroom appropriate clips only)

ο John Adams (Miniseries) (TV-14) 2008 (Classroom appropriate clips only)

ο All the President’s Men (PG) 1976

ο Gideon’s Trumpet (NR) 1980

Parent signature: ______________________________________________________________________________________

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