Mowat Middle School

7
th
Grade Pre-AP Civics
Mrs. Piotrowski
piotrl@bay.k12.f.s
http!""lpiotrowski.weebly.co#"
$elco#e:
Welcome to Pre-AP Civics! I am looking forward to a great school year ahead
flled with fun and learning. his letter is to !rovide "oth the student and
!arent with some general information a"out how to succeed in this course.
#owat$s Pre-AP Program !rovides students with an o!!ortunity to develo! a
conce!tual framework in all su"%ect areas& em!hasi'ing discovery learning&
critical and creative thinking. he courses in the !rogram are designed for
high school Advanced Placement !re!aration. Courses will meet and e(tend
the Common Core )tandards through rigor and com!le(ity. Pre-AP students
should e(!ect a faster class !ace& more in-de!th classroom discussions&
increased amounts of classroom and out of classroom reading& and overall
greater academic e(!ectations on assignments and time management.
Corse %b&ectives!
his curriculum focuses on the civic knowledge& intellectual and !artici!atory
skills& and dis!ositions useful for the *+st century middle school classroom&
focusing on two forms of student engagement: engagement with civics content
,curricular- and with civic life ,e(!eriential-. It aims to involve students in
critical and higher-order thinking and to teach students to "e metacognitive
a"out their learning through a !ortfolio of work that allows them to self-assess
their growth over time. his Civics course is designed to !re!are students for
the .nd of Course .(am that accounts for /01 of their fnal grade.
Areas of study include American Citi'enshi!2 3oundations of American
4overnment2 5verview of the 6nited )tates and its 3ederal 4overnment2 )tate
and 7ocal 4overnment2 .lections& Parties& and Pressure 4rou!s2 he 6. ).
.conomy2 and 4lo"al A8airs and 6. ). 3oreign Policy
Gradi'( Policy :
)or#ative Assess#e't * 1+1 he use of formative assessment is to guide
instruction and !rovide students with feed"ack. his includes "ut is not limited
to: grou! discussions& o"servation& 9uestioning& and 9ui''es.
S##ative Assess#e't - ,-. )ummative assessments will "e graded for
accuracy and com!letion. he use of summative assessments is to show
!rofciency of the learning target. his includes "ut is not limited to: ests&
!ortfolios ,note"ooks-& !ro%ects& writing assignments& and !resentations.
Pro(ress Mo'itori'( /0a#- -. 3ive !ercent of the grade will come from a
cumulative assessment given at the end of each grading !eriod. Pre-AP
courses will also use the cumulative assessment as a re-evaluation o!!ortunity
to re!lace one low summative grade !er grading !eriod. :ue to the
re!lacement o!!ortunity& 'o re-takes o' s##ative assi('#e'ts will be
o1ered.
2ate a'd Make-p $ork!
All make-u! work must "e turned in to the teacher within 3ve days of
returning to school. It is the students responsibility to re9uest make-u!
work. If summative work is not com!leted and there is insu;cient evidence
availa"le to assess the standard& students will receive an <I= grade on their
re!ort card. Per school "oard !olicy& the student will "e allowed two ,*- weeks
following the recei!t of the re!ort card to com!lete re9uired assignments. 45
assi('#e'ts are 'ot co#pleted as speci3ed by the teacher6 the
4'co#plete 748 (rade9s: will beco#e a 5ailre. A'y assi('#e't 'ot
tr'ed i' will be (ive' a (rade o5 ;ero.
Materials <eeded 5or Class! Classroo# $ish 2ist!
+ inch "inder ,any color- >Cloro( Wi!es
?ote"ook !a!er >@and )aniti'er
3older dividers >Aleene(
Pencils >Pa!er owels
@ighlighters
Com!osition note"ook
Classroo# /0pectatio's!
Be res!onsi"le.
Be res!ectful.
Be !rom!t.
Be !re!ared.
Classroo# $ebsite!
his gives you a world of information a"out the class and is a good resource. I
will "e u!loading assignments and kee!ing the classroom calendar u! to date
here.
http!""lpiotrowski.weebly.co#"
=e#i'd 9)or#erly =/M4<> 1+1:!
his is an anonymous we"-"ased te(t message service. Cou can check the
u!dates online or get them te(ted right to your !hone. his is my most used
form of contact and o8ers reminders on tests& assignments& and !ro%ect due
dates. he ste!s are as follows:
1. :ownload the a!! through 4oogle Play or A!!le A!! )tore.
2. .nter the !hone num"er 9,-+: ?@A-B?+,.
?. .nter the class code @civicspre 9the @ 'eeds to be i'clded:.
B. .nter your 3677 ?A#.. his is the only way I have to identify who is who
as I do not see your num"er.
-. Cou will receive a confrmation and you are all set!
Co'tact 4'5or#atio'!
Parents and guardians& I want us to have an o!en line of communication
throughout the year& and in order to do so& I would like to have your email
addressesD !hone num"ers. Please make sure this information is u! to date in
focus. Cou can reach me at the school at ,EF0- GHG-I0I0& or via email. #y
email address is piotrl@bay.k12.f.s2 this is the fastest and most e;cient
way to get in touch with me. Again& I am looking forward to a successful and
e(citing year of Civics!
)incerely&
7indsey Piotrowski