7th grade Mathematics

Classroom Policies/Syllabus Spring 2021

Primary Instructor: Mark Willer (mark.willer@fwusd8.org)

Supervising Instructor: Stuart August (stuart.august@fwusd8.org)

Welcome to the second half of 7th grade math! We will continue

and build upon the lessons from the first half of the school year
and get you ready for 8th grade!

Course Policies Summary (Details on the next page)

At least one notebook (two preferred)

A calculator (scientific not required, but will be next
year)
Supplies At least one pencil for in-class work
At least one pen for in-class corrections
Online access to the class while we are remote. This
can be provided by the school.
For a student to be counted as present, they must
accomplish the following in class:
Logs into the class zoom session on time
Attendance Completes the daily bellwork
Participation in class, including answering when
called upon
No matter what the day’s lesson contains, we will
Classes online meet every day at the designated class start time.
There are no exceptions!
Every class will have a bellwork activity and an RNW
(Right Now Work) assignment. Most days students
Assignments/Quizze
will have enough to complete all their work, but
s sometimes the student will need time outside of
class to complete it.
Late assignments or assignments that need to be
redone will be reduced in value by 10%.
Assignments missing longer than 2 weeks will no
Late/Incorrect
longer count towards the final grade. If an
assignments assignment is returned with a low grade, the
student will have one week to return a revised
version to count towards their grade.
Spring Semester Course Description
For the second half of the school year, our
course will be covering:
 Continued work with
o Ratios and Proportions
o Expressions and Equations
 Introducing key concepts in
o Geometry
o Statistics and Probability
Supplies
 At least one notebook. Your student will be
asked to record a great deal of notes during
the semester and students typically will
need more than the traditional 80-page
notebook.
 A calculator. It does not need to be
scientific, although they will need one next
year. If a student has a cell phone, they can
use that as their calculator as well.
 Every day a student should have both a
pencil and pen. The pencil is for in-class
activities and then pen is used for correcting
their own work.
 While we have remote learning, students
will need a computer, tablet, or laptop with
internet access. This device will also need to
be equipped with a microphone and camera
in order to participate in class. If a student
does not have this type of access, contact
the front office and the school will provide a
Chromebook with internet access.
Grading scale
A = (90 – 100%)
B = (80 – 89.9%)
C = (70 – 79.9%)
D = (60 – 69.9%)
F = (0 – 59.9%)
Grading Categories
Test/Quiz Scores - 50%
Right Now Work (RNW) - 45%
Bellwork - 5%
Attendance - up to 5% of extra credit
 For every test/quiz, there will be at least
one week’s warning and at least one class
session dedicated to review the material
needed to be successful. There are no
retakes for tests and quizzes.
 After every class, the students will be
assigned an RNW, or right now work. For
most of the time, students will have the
time to complete this in class but will
sometimes need time outside of class to
complete it. All RNWs are due before 8am
the following day. If turned in late, the
grade will be reduced by 10%. After 2
weeks, the assignment will not be available.
Once an assignment is returned, the
student has one week to make any
corrections at a 10% reduction in grade.
 At the start of each class there will be
assigned bellwork. Bellwork consists of
review material from previous classes or
how we see mathematics personally and
out in the everyday world.
 Attendance will be recorded as up to %5 of
extra credit. The reason why this is done is
that if a student is falling behind and needs
extra credit, the only way to do it is to be an
active participant in class.
Academic Integrity
All work turned in must be directly from the
student and must be their own original work. I
have found that cheating mainly stems from
lack of communication between teacher and
student. If a student is found cheating, that
assignment or quiz is given a score of zero for all
students involved. They will also get a great
deal more focused attention from me until I am
trusting of that student again.
Classroom Rules and Expectations
Teacher Expectations
 Arrive to class thoroughly prepared for the
day’s activities.
 Provides meaningful feedback on every
returned assignment, test, or quiz.
 Timely grading
Classroom at the end of the day and absent
students are expected to take responsibility for
what they missed.
Bathroom Breaks/Leaving the Room
Students will be given two passes a quarter.
Students must use these to leave the room or
turn off their camera (once signed by the
teacher or verified in chat).
Rewards and Consequences
Rewards: Verbal praise, positive letter/phone
call home, everyone working together to make
the class fun.
Consequences: Conference with teacher,
conference with parent, referral

Student Expectations

 Respect and inclusion with your fellow

classmates
 Arrive ready to learn, with all the materials
you need for classwork and note taking
 If you are ever confused or stuck on a topic
or activity, you need let me know about it
and not avoid the problem by not turning in
work or even worse, taking shortcuts.

Online Rules and Expectations

 Cameras must remain on

 Students must be in the camera’s view, and
remain that way throughout the class
 If computer issues prevent you from doing
this, you must contact the front office to get
the problem fixed
 If a student is unable to connect at all, you
need to notify the front office of your issue

Attendance/Tardy Policy

Students are expected to attend class on time

and daily. All notes will be posted to Google
 About Mark Willer

I am in the last semester of the Teach Arizona program. As a part of the program, I will be
teaching half time this semester at Flowing Wells. As far as teaching background, my first position was
teaching computer science at Pima Community College, which I enjoyed for over a decade. I also
substitute taught for nearly a year as a substitute teacher for CAPE, which is the school resource for the
Juvenile Detention Center here in Tucson.

The Teach Arizona program has been invaluable to me learning the best practices of teaching
mathematics. My favorite and most personally influential teachers in my past have all had the same
trait: never giving up on their students. Because of that influence, it is really the only way I know how to
teach. The more dialog I get from the parents/guardians of my students, the more successful we all get
to be. Due to the online nature of this era, email is truly the best and quickest way to get a hold of me
(located on the first page). Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I would also like to
hear from you if you are struggling helping your child with the material, I would welcome the
opportunity to help you to better help your child at home.

Student: I have read, understood, and agreed to the classroom policies

of this syllabus.
Name

Signature

Date

Parent/Guardian: I agree to the classroom policies of this syllabus. I

also agree that whatever notifications I have requested that I will read
and respond to the teacher every time to ensure an open dialog to aid
in my child’s success.
Contact
Preferred
Information
Email

Phone
What to contact Missing Absences Poor grade Poor grade Monthly Weekly for
you for assignment on RNW on Test or for student student
(Circle all that s Quiz status status
apply)