Welcome!

1. Welcome! Dr. Phillips 6th Grade Language Arts RRMS

2. Why do I need this class? • This class will focus on reading, writing, and language skills that you will need to be successful in life. • By “successful,” I mean doing well in technical school or college and then getting a great-paying job so that you can have the kind of independent lifestyle you want.

3. After high school Technicalschool College Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Doctoral degree Professional degree

4. Stay in school, make more money! • Employers constantly complain that job applicants they see don’t have the skills they need. That includes high school and college graduates. Dropouts? Forget it. • A new study by Northeastern Universityfound that a high school graduate earns almost twice the lifetime earnings of a high school dropout. That’s $870,600 vs. $457,100. • The average yearly earnings of a dropout were only $9,663. Compare that with the $19,437 for someone with a high-school diploma or $47,613 for someone with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

6. Stay in school, make more money! • A report titled The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings reveals that over an adult's working life: • high school graduates can expect, on average, to earn $1.2 million; • those with a bachelor's degree, $2.1 million; • and people with a master's degree, $2.5 million.Persons with doctoral degrees earn an average of $3.4 million during their working life, • while those with professional degrees do best at $4.4 million.

8. Informal vs. standard language • There are times in life for both informal language and standard language.

9. Informal vs. standard language • Informal language includes the slang spoken with friends and the misspelled, mispuncuated writing often used in texting and on social-networking sites such as Facebook. • Example: heyyyyy guhh … wut u doin I goin tewww da pool & din skatin • Wheree is a' friendd when you need onee,.?

10. Informal vs. standard language • Informal language communicates your feelings and thoughts to your friends, family, and peers. • However, it is not acceptable in school, technical school, and college, and it won’t help you get a great-paying job.

11. Informal vs. standard language • Have you ever played in a school band? Without sheet music that everyone can read, band members might be playing different versions of the same song or even different songs. • Correct language is sort of like that sheet music that puts us all on the same page. You must know how to use correct language (both written and spoken) in this very competitive world.

12. Informal vs. standard language • Standard language is what you’ll need to do well in middle and high school, technical school or college, and then your successful career! • Everyone continues to use at least some informal language with family and friends.

13. What we’ll learn • In this class, you’ll learn standard grammar rules (conventions), improve your reading comprehension, and learn to write an excellent paragraph. • The specific things we’ll learn are posted on the back bulletin board.

14. Be ready! • You must have pencil/eraser, paper, and a hand-held pencil sharpener (not electric) every day. You also need colored pencils and a dark blue or black pen. • Remember that you are not allowed to have markers or liquid-paper correction fluid. • You may not bring toys or cards to school.

15. Behavior • So that we have a classroom with conditions that allow you to learn, we have these rules: • Get proper permission to speak; no noises. • Stay in your seat. • Do your work. • Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself. • Have out only what you need for class.

16. Consequences Per class period • First infraction - warning • Second infraction - silent lunch • Third infraction - phone call to parent or guardian (if no working phone, we have a social worker) • Fourth infraction - teacher option (detention, office referral, etc.) Per week • Four strikes on the school's Discipline Strike Checklist within a week will result in an office referral. More-serious offenses will result in immediate office referral.

17. Consequences Automatic week of silent lunch for: • Handling things in my desk corner (including book shelf behind my desk and file cabinet) or being behind/under my desk for any reason. • Spraying anything in the classroom. Many people have allergies and asthma, sometimes to a severe degree. What smells good to one person often stinks to another. • Breaking or taking apart a pen in class so that ink leaks on anyone or anything.

18. Consequences • Ongoing misbehavior, including nasty attitude, refusal to do work, horseplay, etc., may result in indefinite silent lunch, until your behavior improves. • This kind of behavior will not lead to success in class or in life.

19. Procedures (how we do things) • Come in, sit down (in assigned seat), and get out what you need for class: paper, pencil, and pencil sharpener. • Start on the bellwork on the board. • Do your best. • Ask questions (raise hand to be recognized).

20. Procedures (how we do things) • Each week, a student will be the class helper, chosen by simply going down the class roll. • The helper for each class period will be posted on the board. • The helper will be my assistant for the week, passing out work folders, taking up papers, etc. I always appreciate your help and, in turn, will help you in any way that I can.

21. What we do each day • Once in a while, your seat will change depending on the activity for the day. If so, you will see the new seating chart on the board when you come into the room. • You should quickly and quietly find your seat, take out your supplies, and start on the bellwork. The opening activity will quickly follow.

22. What we do each day • If you make a mess, clean it up. • During the last few minutes of class, we will clean up things such as pencil shavings, paper, etc.

23. Words of Wisdom Laugh when you can. ✿ Apologize when you should. ✿ And let go of what you can't change. ✿ Love deeply and forgive quickly. ✿ Take chances and give your everything. ✿ Life is too short to be anything but happy. ✿ You have to take the good with the bad. ✿ Love what you have. ✿ Always remember what you had. ✿ Forgive and forget. ✿ Always remember that life goes on. ✿ Life is short!

24. Words of Wisdom “Don't let other people tell you what your talents are, or that you don't have any talents. Only you know your talents, and it's up to you to show the world what you can do!” Alteria Yarbrough

25. Words of Wisdom • “I do NOT have time for games. I do NOT have time for lies. I do NOT have time to entertain anything that might get in the way of me being successful.” • - Destiny Holston

26. Words of Wisdom • “You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own and you know what you know. And you are the one who'll decide where to go." - Dr. Seuss

27. References • Armstrong, M. (2011). Stay in school, make more money. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillyinc/Stay_in_school_make_more_money.html • U.S. Census Bureau (2002). The Big payoff: educational attainment and synthetic estimates of work-life earnings. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf