Social Studies with Mr. Lawton Hints and Tips for Parents 1.      Check Mr. Lawton’s Homework page: mail.esdnl.ca/~david_lawton (NOTE: There is an underscore line ( _ ) between david_lawton 2.      Email me if you have any questions or concerns. I try to get back to parents/guardians ASAP. davidlawton@esdnl.ca 3.      Check Students Achieve: If you do not have a password, one can be purchased for $10.00 at the office. If you do have a password, please ensure you have entered your email address. One of the best things about Students Achieve is its ability to allow teachers to contact parents of entire classes of students. Without your email address this is not as effective as it should be. 4.      Homework: Social Studies is scheduled 4 times in a 7-day cycle. If a student has social studies on a given day then he or she has at least ½ hour of homework that night. This means students should work outside the classroom for about two hours each cycle. This does not include time spent working on research projects. If students have not been assigned questions to answer for homework then they still have 5-10 minutes of review of the terms they have covered so far this year. This should be followed by review of what we have done in the unit so far (10 minutes) and then review of what they did that day (10 minutes). It is far better for a student to have more frequent but shorter study periods then one or two long, cram sessions just before a test or quiz. 5.      Notebooks: Please ask to see your child’s notebook from time to time. There is a required format that all students in my classes must follow. From time to time I collect these notebooks and evaluate them on the basis of their completion. I look to see if students have their terms defined, the table of contents for the unit updated, homework written in the homework log and of course I check to see that homework is completed.   Organization of Notebooks: q       Each chapter must have a cover page with chapter title, number and the date the         unit was started. A picture relating to the major topic or theme is also required. q       A Table of Contents and a homework log are placed on the back of the cover page. q       All terms in bold or italics are defined in the Terms to Know section q       All class work, homework and notes are placed in the Notes/Activities section. 6.      June Exam: There is only one exam in Social Studies this year and it will cover the entire year's work. It is worth 25% of the years mark. Therefore, it is doubly important that you work with your child to encourage him / her to get in the habit of regular study and review. Material covered in October is easily forgotten by May.