This section will handle any frequently asked questions that come to Mr.
Babbitt. Feel free to check in to see any FAQs that come up during the
school year.
- What is the best way to contact Mr. Babbitt?
- What are the homework expectations for Social Studies?
- How long will it take to grade long term projects and tests?
- What's up with the multiple colors on the homework page?
- What is a Quest?
- Are quiz corrections allowed?
- What is the Middle School Late Homework Policy
- Signed Tests
- Copy of Notes from Class
What is the best way to contact Mr. Babbitt?
I do regularly check my e-mail and voice messages, but I do find
e-mail to be the easiest way to get a hold of me.
What are the homework expectations for Social Studies?
As with all classes, the study of geography and history will
require outside study. This will take a variety of forms, but
the most common with be the daily assignment and the long term
project.
Daily assignment are shorter assignments that are assigned the
day they come home and due the next day. This may take the form
of assigned reading, worksheets, bookwork or classwork that was
not completed in the allotted class time. Generally students
should plan to spend 10-20 minutes a night with these assignments
or reviewing notes. Some specific assignments or test
preparation may take longer.
Long term projects are assignments that will not be collected the
day following issuance, but at a due date later on. These
assignments are designed so that they should be planned out and
broken up into small chunks to work on. In general, I would say
to plan on about fifteen minutes a night over the duration of the
project. Again specific parts may take longer.
I generally try my best not to assign both tasks every night, but
sometimes overlapping work will occur. The key to success will
be good planning and no procrastinating.
How long will it take to grade long term projects and tests?
I try to be as prompt as possible with grades, but there will
always be a delay of some sort simply because it takes time to
grade things and to make sure they are done right.
For those who are mathematically inclined, the general time
assumptions are available and can be used as a guide for how long
it will take to get something back. For tests, reports, and long-
term projects, the general assumption of time to grade is about
10-15 minutes per assignment. I currently have 111 students. I
generally have 45-60 minutes of grading time in an average school day.
What's up with the multiple colors on the homework page?
The homework page is designed to be a running tab of assignments
for the current unit the students are dealing with, so if there
were any absences or other inquiries, they could see everything
that was suppose to be done and turned in. Active assignments are
black. When an assignment is completed and turned in, it will be
changed to the color red. Green simply indicates that the due
date was changed and is just to help make you aware. Upcoming
Tests and Quizzes will be in bolded blue.
What is a Quest?
A quest is simply a term I use with the students to describe an
assessment tool that is longer than what I consider to be a
traditional quiz and shorter than a traditional test. Since it
is somewhere inbetween, I simply contracted the two words (Quiz
Test) to get quest. So no fear! Your kids aren't going
off to slay dragons, battle green knights, or find the Holy Grail
anytime soon! However, they do need to study!
Are quiz corrections allowed?
Students are allowed to make corrections to their quizzes to earn
half credit back. The procedure to do so is for the students to
give the correct answer and the page number in the book/date of
the notes where that answer can be found. They must do this
in a pen or pencil color different from what has already been
written on the test. Generally, students have two blocks after
the quiz is returned to make corrections.
What is the Middle School Late Homework Policy
The Middle School Homework Policy states the following
"In order to help students maintain academic success, the Middle School Staff has adopted a standard
Late Work Policy.
Core Subjects
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the
due date assigned.
Late assignments must be turned in at the beginning of the
next class block. The best grade a student can earn on a late assignment is
an 80% of total points.
If the late assignment is not turned in at the beginning of the following
class block, the student will receive a grade of an 69% (F) for the assignment.
Specialties Classes
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the
due date assigned.
Late assignments for specialty classes must be turned in by 2:55 PM the following day. The
best grade a student can earn on a late assignment is an 80% of total points.
If the late assignment is not turned in by 2:55 PM the following day, the student will receive
a grade of an 69% (F) for the assignment.
If late work is not turned in by the time grades are posted, please note that a grade of zero will
be placed in the online grade book until the work is turned in. The zero will be adjusted accordingly
upon completion of the assignment.
All assignments must be completed regardless of the final grade (80% of total points or 69% - F).
Continued failure to turn in the late assignment will result in communication with the student's parent
to make arrangements for completing the assignment at the teacher's discretion (ie. Learning lab, after
school, etc).
Signed Tests
Due to the introduction of the online gradebook this year, students are no longer required to return their test signed.
Copy of Notes from Class
While ever attempt is made to teach the students how to take good notes in
class, sometimes something can be missed or a student might be absent. When
this happens, I will post any lecture notes online. They will be placed in
the document section for the student's grade level and are in PDF form. Feel
free to print these off and use them as needed.