Seventh Grade Social Studies

Your Teacher: Mrs. JoDon

My email:
Gren_jodon@tccsa.net
My Weebly Page:
www.mrsjodon.weebly.com
Welcome to seventh grade and to my World History class. Below you will find all classroom expectations
and procedures that we will follow. I expect every student to put their best effort into all work and come
to class each day, prepared to learn something new about the past!
What will we be learning in Social Studies? In 7th grade social studies, we will be learning about people from
1000 BC to 1750 AD. We will discover how they interacted with their environment and formed societies in
which they could live. This means that we study their cultures, the impact of their technology, important
historical events, where they lived, how they provided for themselves and earned a living, as well as the civic
ideals and practices they created in order to govern their communities.
What areas of the world will we be studying?
First Semester
During the first semester, we will learn how Greece, Rome and the Byzantine Empire established their societies.
Second Semester
During the second semester we will study Western Africa, the Middle Ages in Europe, the Mongols, Japan and
the Renaissance. We will end our year with the Age of Exploration.
The discipline of history is often said to begin with the invention of written word; therefore, both reading and
writing skills will be stressed in this class. However, we will also use art, music, videos, simulations and our
own creativity to make the past come to life.
Supplies: 1.Textbook (you must have it covered at all times)
4. Pencil

5. Colored Pencils

2. Binder

3. Notebook paper

6. Highlighter

Tests, Quizzes and Projects

Anytime a test is announced students will be given directions as to which textbook and/or binder pages they
should study. Students will be notified a week in advance about upcoming tests. Quizzes may only be
announced a day or two prior, so please be sure to keep your binder organized at all times, for easy review.
During the units we cover, you may be asked to work on one or more projects, which will help you get
personally involved in the time period we are studying. These projects will be both individual and cooperative
in nature and will require online searching, to discover clues to unlock the mysteries of the past. These projects
will help you develop your researching skills and will provide you with a wider variety of sources than what
books alone can offer. The majority of our projects are done in class. However, some may require a small
amount of work to be done outside of class. I prefer to handle projects this way, so that students learn and
develop time management skills! Each student will receive project directions and a grading rubric at the
beginning of the assignment, so they are fully aware of all expectations in order to succeed. If a project requires
cooperative groups, each student will be graded on their work and effort alone, not the work and effort of
others. FYI, I have been teaching for a long time and I am good at knowing who is doing their work and who is
not. :o)

Homework:
Homework is designed to reinforce the readings from class materials that I give to you. For you to do well in
this class, it is important to complete all of the assigned homework in a timely fashion. Homework will be
assigned as needed, such as; for completion of class work and/or projects. Students will normally be given class
time to begin work on an assignment, with the expectation that they will finish it at home and return it to me on
the due date. No one is allowed to work on late homework during class, I will take it and you will receive a
zero on the assignment.
Late Work:
Students are given ample time in which to complete their work and are expected to turn it in on time. Work is
due at the beginning of the class period on the date it is due. I will only accept missing assignments/projects if
they are one day late. Day late assignments will only receive at most half credit. Completing homework is a
choice, students choose to complete the assignments, and therefore, they choose to pass. If a student has an
excused absence, his/her work is not considered late because he/she was not present to receive the
assignment. Students are responsible to ask about missed assignments upon their return to school. I do
realize that from time to time there are circumstances which will keep a student from having an assignment
done for class, dont panic. I will handle these situations with the student and if needed their parent/guardian,
on a case by case basis.
Illegible Work:
Our classroom is a place of business, so when a students is messy, difficult to read, or lacks the proper heading,
it is a reflection of ones self. Work that is submitted in this form will not be accepted.
Preparedness:
Make sure to bring all necessary supplies to class, each day. The whiteboard outside of my door will remind
you of those materials! We have textbooks that are only a year old and must be covered at all times!!! You are
only to use paper/bag book covers. Do not use the book socks. We will also keep an organized binder. I will
help give you the tools to keep your binder in order, but it is up to you to make sure it is done! Every page you
clip into your binder will be given a page number. This number must be written in the top right corner of the
page. I keep a running list of binder pages on my whiteboard and on the binder pages link on my Weebly
page. There is no reason that you shouldnt be organized. We will have binder checks, this is part of learning to
be responsible and organized.
Extra Papers:
My extras bin is organized like a calendar. Each day of the month has a folder with any papers from that day
inside. If you were absent, lost your original paper, or for some reason need an extra, this is where you will find
what you need. If you are absent and did not have work sent home, you must get your papers from the bin.
Reminder: I will only make several extra copies of papers, so if you lost your paper and there are no extras left,
I will not make more copies.

Your job:
1.

Please take this letter home to share with a parent/guardian.

2. You must read through this letter together, discuss expectations for our classroom, expectations for
homework, binder organization, book covering and studying for tests and quizzes.
3. Make sure that your parent/guardian has my email address and Weebly address, so they can contact me
and check out our Weebly page! By checking the Weebly page, they can learn more about what you are
studying! I know some of you will go home and tell them that you learned nothing at school todayI
hear this at my house all the time :o)
4. Last but not least, please have your parent/guardian sign and give me their email address below, along
with your signature! This lets me know that everyone understands our classroom expectations and
procedures for the year. Also, ask your parent/guardian to share anything that they remember, about
ancient history!

Student name: ________________________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian name: ________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian email address: _________________________________________________

Hey parent/guardian!!! If you would, take a couple of minutes

and list below, anything you remember about Ancient or
Medieval History!! (Topics: Greeks, Romans, Medieval Times)
Thanks!!!!