Ms. Karla Staley

Social Studies Teacher

About Me

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in AYA Integrated Social Studies Education from Miami University in Oxford, OH.

I have a boyfriend of over 4 years who is planning on becoming a college history professor.

I love music and I am a member of a professional music sorority.

It has long been my dream to become a teacher in order to bring a love of learning to my students and make social studies relevant to their lives.

Welcome to my classroom!

You can be guaranteed that students in my classroom will be learning more than just history or government. They will be learning about these subjects in the greater contexts of social studies, which naturally lends itself to being directly relatable to students’ lives. Students in my classroom will constantly find themselves in engaging activities that leave them hungry for knowledge.

Goals for My Class

Critical thinking Making connections Working with others Evaluating and justifying actions Analyzing meaning Realizing relevancy Classroom as a community

My Classroom Rules

When the bell rings, it is time for the class to start.

Be prepared for class. No talking while myself or another

student is talking. Be respectful of myself, other students,

and all possessions. I dismiss the class, not the bell.

Consequences for Misbehavior

This is an example of a possible order of consequences for misbehavior in my classroom:› Warning› Lunch with me› Cleaning my room› Detention› Principal’s office

Depending on the severity of the infraction, lesser punishments may be skipped.

Warnings & Detention

Students will be first be given a verbal reprimand for misbehavior.

Lunch detention with me. Short detention before or after school

cleaning my room. Principal’s office, for the principal to

decide the proper punishment.

Harassment & Bullying

I will not stand harassment & bullying in my classroom. If I witness this happening, I will inform the parents of both the victim and the one has committed the infraction.

Bullying results in an automatic detention for the one(s) who commits the infraction, to be scheduled at my convenience.

Combating Conflict

The way that I will combat conflict in my classroom includes not only enforcing my own and the school’s misbehavior policies, but also by fostering a classroom environment where it is safe for students to state their opinions and share their problems.

Classroom as a Community

In my classroom, harassment and bullying will not be tolerated.

There are no stupid questions. All opinions are valid. We all have problems, and sometimes

we need help getting through them. I, along with the students, will be there to help each other get through rough emotional times.

Room Safety Procedures/Lockdown

If the school is put on lockdown, my classroom will follow the proper procedures, by locking the classroom door and getting students out of the sight of windows.

Progress Book & Its Uses

This is an electronic grade book where you and your child can easily check your grades, upcoming assignments, and my comments on your student’s progress. I can easily contact you through this (and you contact me) in return. You can do this through the emails that I have listed on this site.

Parent & Student Contact

Parents and students can both contact me through email, the class website, or progressbook (email is faster).

If it is especially urgent I can be contacted via phone, but I have mobile email, so contacting my by email will work just as quickly.

Either a parent or a student can set up a meeting with me before or after school to discuss student progress and parental involvement.

Homework Help

If students need homework help, I am available before and after school for half an hour, and during lunch in my room.› Please let me know ahead of time so that I

can be sure to be in my classroom. If students need help with homework

while at home, please contact me prior to 8pm.

Group Work

In group projects, students will receive an individual grade in addition to their group grade.

Students will fill out anonymous peer evaluations in order to make sure all group members did their fair share.

Computer Policy & Internet Use

Students who are caught using the internet in inappropriate ways while at school will be punished according to the severity of the infraction.

Internet at school will be used purely for educational research and writing purposes.

Students are not allowed to check their email at school; USB drives are to be used to transport documents from one computer to another.

Grading Scale

90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D 59 & below F

Content for the First Two Weeks of School: 11th Grade

Was it To Be Done with Global Climate Change? By Karla Staley Application Question: How does government affect the environment? So What? How does the relationship between individuals, society, and the

government effect the environment? NCSS Thematic Strand: IX. Global Connections Ohio Academic Content Standards: Geography: Places and Regions: 1. Explain how government decisions reflect a society’s values

about land use (e.g., zoning, park development or toxic waste disposal). Economics: Scarcity and Resource Allocation: 2. Explain the ways that people respond to

incentives when allocating scarce resources in their roles as producers, consumers, savers, workers, and investors.

Government:› Role of Government: 1. Analyze the actions of the U.S. government and evaluate the extent to

which those actions reflect the characteristics of American democracy and help to serve the public good.

Grade Level: 11th grade Class Periods Required: Five 50 minute class periods

Purpose, Background, and Context: The purpose of this unit is to look at different cultures/economic systems

in the world (United States, capitalist democratic-republic; China, communist republic; India, socialist democratic-republic) and how these systems affect the way of thinking of their citizens. This feeds into the way a person’s culture affects their views on the environment.

We then get into how the government and its policies affect how the environment is treated in different countries. We also look at how the type of economy and the level of development present within the country affect the importance a country puts on its environment.

We will also look at how individual behaviors affect the government’s policies towards the environment as well as the mindset of the masses towards the environment.

We will then transition into how government provided incentives to businesses can affect those businesses outlook on preserving the environment (such as cutting down on their waste, using more environmentally friendly practices, et cetera).

Finally we will look at the past actions of the United States government concerning the environment, and we will critique these actions. Looking back on our past actions, the students will come up with a plan of action for the best way for the U.S. government to promote preservation of the environment and environmentally friendly practices.

The background behind this unit the government and the way that government incentives can affect the business practices of various firms. This way, the students will be able to reach logical conclusions as to how environmentally safe business incentives would affect businesses and the economy.

The context for this lesson would be government, as well as culture. We would be taking a look at how certain cultures (economies and religions) seem to go hand in hand with certain governments.

Goals/Objectives/Student Outcomes/Performance Expectations: Students will: --Explain how the type of government and economy a person comes affects their

values. --Explain why people from the same country would have different views on the

environment. --NCSS IX. c. Analyze and evaluate the effects of changing technologies on the

global community. --NCSS IX. d. Analyze the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to

persistent, contemporary, and emerging global issues, such as health, security, resource allocation, economic development, and environmental quality.

--NCSS IX. h. Illustrate how individual behaviors and decisions connect global systems.

--Create a plan for how the environment issue should be handled in the United States.

--Describe how different types of government would have to approach the issue of environment.

--Explain how economic (business) incentives can have an impact on a company’s willingness to cooperate with efforts to help preserve the environment.

--Justify the past actions of the United States government towards the issue of government.

Materials: --Case studies or newspaper articles addressing different countries policies toward

the environment. --Evaluation Question Sheet for these case studies/newspaper articles --List of individuals influential in environmental legislation --Action Plan Sheet --Government Action Justification Sheets --Socratic Seminar Question Sheet

Description of Class Meetings: Day 1: You should begin with a question and answer review of how government incentives affect the way the businesses

conduct themselves (such as their amount of waste and the environmentally friendly practices that they use). Then you need to jump into the new topic of how different types of economies and governments address the issue

of environment using case studies (or newspaper articles). Students will read these different articles together in small groups of about 3-5 students each (assign these groups randomly; students will remain in these same groups for the remainder of the week).

Tell the students to use Evaluation Question Sheets to analyze these case studies/newspaper articles and they will have a discussion using these sheets.

Day 2: Split the students up into groups of 3-5 students each, and either using the library (or mobile laptop lab, or

computer lab, whatever is at your disposal at the school) to do research on an individual that was influential in governmental legislation addressing the environment. You will have a list of these individuals and will assign an individual to each group. The students will need to have a brief (1-2 minute) presentation ready for the next class. In their presentation the students will need to justify why their individual was so influential in environmental legislation and/or changing the mindset of the masses towards the environment.

Day 3: Students groups will present on their individual at the beginning of the class period, while the rest of the class takes

notes on the other groups’ presentations. You need to transition into the next activity where the students will once again split up into their groups, but this

time the students, using the information that they have obtained about the power of individual actions, and their background knowledge on the effect of government policies on business practices to develop a plan of action to get businesses to use more environmentally friendly business practices using the Action Plan Sheets as a guide. There will also be questions on this sheet addressing the possible causes of these bad business practices. Let the students know that they will be voting for the best action plan and that the winning group will get extra credit.

Students will present their action plans to the rest of the class. At the end, the students will vote on the action plan that they think will be the most effective and the winning group will get 5 extra credit points.

Day 4: Students will split up into their groups once again and they will analyze newspaper articles addressing various past

actions of the United States government towards the environment. They will due this using Government Action Justification Sheets. Students will present their specific case to the class and justify why it was or was not a good plan of action by the

United States government to address the issue of environment. Tell students that the next day in class the students will be having a discussion on how changing technology (and

thereby increasing globalization) have affected the issue of environment, both at the state and global level. They will be given a Socratic Seminar Question Sheet to fill out that night to help them prepare for their Socratic Seminar the next day.

Day 5: When students come into class tell them to take a seat and to have their Socratic Seminar Question Sheet out and

ready when the bell rings so that the Socratic Seminar may begin (you need to place two popsicle sticks on each student’s desk before the start of the class). Students will conduct the Socratic Seminar with minimal interference from you with the help of their Socratic Seminar Question Sheets. Each student must contribute to the conversation twice (which will be kept track of by popsicle sticks) before students are allowed to contribute a third time or more.

Assessment of Outcomes: Students will: Use the Evaluation Question Sheet to: --Explain how the type of government and economy a person comes affects their values. --Explain why people from the same country would have different views on the environment. --Describe how different types of government would have to approach the issue of environment. Use the Socratic Seminar Question Sheet to: --NCSS IX. c. Analyze and evaluate the effects of changing technologies on the global community. Use the Action Plan Sheet to: --NCSS IX. d. Analyze the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to persistent, contemporary, and

emerging global issues, such as health, security, resource allocation, economic development, and environmental quality.

--Create a plan for how the environment issue should be handled in the United States. --Explain how economic (business) incentives can have an impact on a company’s willingness to cooperate

with efforts to help preserve the environment. Use the Government Action Justification Sheet to: --Justify the past actions of the United States government towards the issue of the environment. --NCSS IX. h. Illustrate how individual behaviors and decisions connect global systems through group

presentations. --The unit will culminate in a two page double-spaced reflection paper that will be due four days later that

will address the how technology, governments, cultures, businesses, and individuals interact with the environment, and how each can be maximized to make the biggest positive effect on the environment.

Extensions and Adaptations: Students can be given a shorter requirement for the writing prompt offered at the end of the

unit. Students can also be given the reading materials and the sheets for guiding the reading the night before they will be used in class.

An extension that could be used for more advanced students would be to identify an un-environmentally friendly practice within the school and to write up a proposal to the school board with a feasible way of making the practice more environmentally friendly. Perhaps even have the students go so far as to create petition for their proposal and see how many of their peers and family they can get to commit to it.

Resources: Newspapers, case studies, the internet, and the library will all be utilized in this project.

Methods of Evaluation

Students will get completion grades on most homework and in class assignments.

Any writing assignments will be read over and judged for understanding of content and concepts.

Homework and in-class assignments will make up a larger percentage of the students’ grades than tests.

Extra credit assignment will be offered prior to each test (a review sheet to be filled out by the student).

Classroom Layout

My classroom will be laid out in a fashion where all the desks can easily view the board at the front of the room, I can easily move about the room to monitor the students, and students can easily work in a collaborative manner.

First Day Activities

Confirm that students are in the right classroom

Welcome Seating chart/attendance Student information cards Rules of the classroom Syllabus/overview of the year Get to know each other

Sample Student Info Card

Name: Karla Staley Contact Info:

› Phone number: 937-554-2453› Address: 1234 Blue Jackets Rd, Columbus, OH 43213

Parents’/Guardians’ names: Mike Staley & Brenda Denson Favorite School/After School Activities: Band, soccer, and

anything music related. Favorite Music: rock, pop, and country Something interesting about me: I love to sing! Any pets? 2 cats & a dog Any siblings? What would you like to be when you grow up (can put

more than one): teacher & a mom!

Late & Make-Up Work Policy

10% will be taken off a students’ score for each day an assignment is late.

For each day that a student has had an excused absence, the student will have that many days to make-up their work.

Lowest Grade Dropped

At the end of each quarter, a student’s lowest test and homework/in-class grade will be dropped.

Extra Credit

Extra credit will be available to students prior to each test in the form of a review sheet for the test.

Additional extra credit will be made available at my discretion.

If a student is borderline between one letter grade and the next at the end of the quarter, their grade may be bumped up depending on their in-class participation.

Missed Tests

If a student misses a test due to an unexcused absence, they will make it up at my convenience.

If a student misses a test due to an excused absence, they will make it up during class time or during lunch.

Report Cards

A parent can check to see their student’s progress leading up to the release of report cards.

Report cards will include comments from myself.

Parental Involvement in the School

Parents who would like to help out more with their students work can contact me through email, by phone, or in person in my classroom.

If parents would like to come to my classroom to help (especially if they would like to be there to help out their students with special needs) I am more than happy to accommodate this.

Conference Requests

Conference Requests can be set up with me at any time through email, phone, or in person. If I could have at least 24 hours notice prior to a conference, that would be preferable.

Leaving Class & Hall Passes

Students will only be allowed to leave class if they have a hall pass, which will be given out at my discretion.

Students may leave the classroom to get materials from their locker, to use the restroom, or go to the office at my discretion.

Materials for Class

Students need to have their textbook, notebook, and folder everyday for class, as well as a writing utensil (pencil or pen).

Restroom

Students may use the restroom during class with my permission.

They may be late to class (because they need to use the restroom) only if they notify me that this is where they are going first.

Students may not leave class early to use the restroom.

Students may only use the restroom in the middle of the class if it is an emergency, and then preferably only during group work.

Students must be back from the restroom within 5 minutes of having left for the restroom.

Cell Phones & Other Electronic Devices

Cell phones and electronic devices are not to be used in my classroom.

If a phone is seen being used in my room for non-approved reasons, the phone will be taken away and they can come to get it from me at the end of the school day.

If there is a family emergency in which a student needs to keep an eye on their phone, they simply need to notify at the beginning of the class that day & I will be accommodating.

Plagiarism & Cheating

If a student is caught plagiarizing or cheating on an assignment or test, they will receive a zero for the assignment, and they will be sent to the office for further punishment.

Contact Information

937-554-2453 KarlaMU2011@gmail.com

Thank You For Your Time!

I look forward to fostering a love of learning in your child!