Procedures
It’s important that we all know how to conduct ourselves on a daily basis in order to keep the classroom civil, safe, organized, and supportive of learning. To this end, I have a few procedures I like everyone in my classroom to follow.
START OF CLASS:
- When the bell rings, be seated with your materials out, and be ready to learn.
- ALWAYS HAVE YOUR ESRT (Earth Science Reference Tables) out and ready! If you lose your ESRT, you are expected to download and print a new copy. Lack of an ESRT constitutes being unprepared.
- Check the board for the day’s schedule.
- If there’s a “Do Now” or an assignment listed, begin right away!
ACTIVE LISTENING:
- Out of respect for me and for your fellow students, please practice active listening: make eye contact, avoid distractions, and ask relevant questions.
- While doing independent or group work, remain focused and alert. In the case of an emergency or when I need your attention I’ll signal the group and will expect immediate quiet and attention.
ASKING QUESTIONS:
- During lectures, relevant, on-topic questions are welcome.
- During lectures I’ll ask for input from the class. I’ll use a randomized method to choose who to call on; if you don’t know the answer, feel free to “pass” but I encourage you to give your best guess, such as “I’m not sure, but is it…?”
GROUP DISCUSSIONS:
- Participate, participate, participate! Participate in discussion is proven to boost understanding and increase grades!
- Be supportive of your peers even if they offer a wrong guess, misunderstand a concept, or make an incorrect statement. Use supportive language like:
- “I see where you’re coming from, but I thought something different…”
- “I thought that too at first, but then I read…”
- “I’m not sure that’s right. Have you seen the example on page 64…?”
MOVING AROUND:
- Please limit your movements around the room.
- If you need a pass to leave the classroom (such as to use the bathroom), please raise your hand. Only one person will be permitted to use the bathroom at a time. Only official, Sachem North passes will be used. If you lose your pass, you are expected to go to your A.P. to get a replacement. You may NOT use a friend’s pass or write out a pass on a scrap of paper!
- If you need to sharpen your pencil during group work, go ahead and do so; but please don’t sharpen pencils while others are talking. (However, I encourage you to use mechanical pencils so you don’t have to worry about sharpening!)
ALWAYS:
- Remain peaceful and civil in the classroom.
- Use respectful language.
- Respect the personal space of others.
- If there are any instruments or models set up, please don’t touch them unless instructed to do so.
- No horseplay; Never eat or drink in lab. Fooling around during labs can be dangerous and will result in an immediate removal from class, an A.P. referral, and a grade of 0 on the lab. You will still be required to stay after and complete the lab on your own time.
END OF CLASS / CLEAN-UP:
- Please pack up and leave in an orderly manner.
- If you’ve been doing a lab or any activity using classroom materials, you are responsible for cleaning up your workstation and putting everything away before you leave.
- Everyone is responsible for cleanup. If your group’s station is left messy, or if the same person is seen consistently cleaning up for the whole group, everyone in the group will lose participation points.
- Class ends when the bell rings. I will give you 5 minute warning if time to clean up is necessary. All students are expected to remain in their seats working until the bell rings.