Quick posting today...mid-quarter for the second marking period was on Friday, December 14th. All teachers had to post mid-quarter grades by noon on Monday, December 17th.
Please remember that this is a quick snapshot of your child's learning over a nine-week period. In my class we have had one quiz/test this quarter which has either really helped your child's grades or hurt your child's grade depending on his/her score. If the score was low, your child can always retake the quiz after meeting with me and completing some additional practice on the skills that were assessed. Before the end of the second quarter there will be several more grades in that category that will be worth significantly more points.
On Tuesday of this week I am asking that all students bring in their page logs for me to do a quick check to see where each student is at. I will post in the portal the page totals for each student so that you can see where your child is at the mid-point of the quarter. A previous post has the grade breakdown for the end-of-quarter page totals if you are interested.
Thanks for your continued support and have a great week!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Understanding Character Unit Update
Wow! December 14th already. Time is flying - as it usually does this time of year. Everyone is so full of energy leading up to the winter break. The trick for me is harnessing and focusing that energy in a productive way!
In class we are in the thick of our Understanding Character unit. We started out with a little sociology about how we interact and interpret one another. More specifically, what our brain does when we encounter new people. As a part of this we also took a personality assessment - one that helps to show which personality traits are strongest in each one of us. The point of that is to show how all of our interpretations of one another are unique and "clouded" by our own personality traits.
After several days of this type of work I could sense that the kids were beginning to question how this tied into reading...so we moved on to small bits of text that asked the kids to read and gather information about some characters and then rank them. This generated great discussion, and by focusing on the differences between rankings I made the connection back to our sociology activities. We interpret and analyze characters exactly the same way we do with people; the trick is being consciously aware of it when we read.
We then switched focus and looked at character from an author's perspective. Author's rely on six techniques to develop their characters:
This Understanding Character unit is a lengthy one and has a lot of material to it, but understanding and interpreting characters is probably one of the single most important skills when it comes to reading and comprehending literature at a high level. This also follows my personal educational philosophy of going into great depth on fewer concepts.
I hope everyone has a great holiday season - the hustle and bustle is reaching its peak!
Questions and/or concerns? Drop me an email or give me a call.
In class we are in the thick of our Understanding Character unit. We started out with a little sociology about how we interact and interpret one another. More specifically, what our brain does when we encounter new people. As a part of this we also took a personality assessment - one that helps to show which personality traits are strongest in each one of us. The point of that is to show how all of our interpretations of one another are unique and "clouded" by our own personality traits.
After several days of this type of work I could sense that the kids were beginning to question how this tied into reading...so we moved on to small bits of text that asked the kids to read and gather information about some characters and then rank them. This generated great discussion, and by focusing on the differences between rankings I made the connection back to our sociology activities. We interpret and analyze characters exactly the same way we do with people; the trick is being consciously aware of it when we read.
We then switched focus and looked at character from an author's perspective. Author's rely on six techniques to develop their characters:
- Characters' Actions
- Characters' Body Language
- Characters' Language/Speech
- How others relate to characters
- Characters' Physical Description
- Characters' Thoughts
This Understanding Character unit is a lengthy one and has a lot of material to it, but understanding and interpreting characters is probably one of the single most important skills when it comes to reading and comprehending literature at a high level. This also follows my personal educational philosophy of going into great depth on fewer concepts.
I hope everyone has a great holiday season - the hustle and bustle is reaching its peak!
Questions and/or concerns? Drop me an email or give me a call.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
What kinds of writing will my child do?
I hope everyone enjoyed their break over the long Thanksgiving weekend. I think I've finally eaten through all of the leftovers! This week I thought I would post some information that I had handed out to parents who were able to see me at conferences. One of the major changes to the Enlish/language arts curriculum this year involved the amount and types of writing done in the traditional "reading" class. There are five types of writing that your child will complete in his/her reading/writing literature class.
Classwork: This type of writing is informal and will contain all the notes and entries made during mini-lessons. These will be organized chronologically in your child’s notebook and can serve as resources for other activities.
Sneeze: This type of writing demonstrates strong initial thinking on a prompt/question. While this is an informal type of writing, it should follow all non-negotiables. Sneezes can occur based on a read aloud, a whole-class novel, a literature circle, a choice novel, etc.
Response to Literature: This type of writing is a more in-depth, thought out formal type of writing. A Response to Literature should contain evidence of planning, be well-organized, demonstrate deep thinking, and follow all non-negotiables. Some Responses to Literature will be graded individually right after being assigned, while others will only be assessed at the midpoint or end of a quarter.
Literary Analysis: This type of writing will introduce the basics of literary analysis in the areas of character and theme. Students will write two formal papers that will be taken through the writing process. The primary goal of these papers is to lay the ground work for the types of literary analysis they may be asked to complete in high school and beyond.
Reflection: For this type of writing, students will be given a menu of possible reflections to select from. Some reflections will be assigned by me, while other reflections students will have the opportunity to select from the menu. Reflections should be well-written, organized, and should demonstrate your child’s best reflective thinking while following all non-negotiables. Reflections include the following topics: agree with/challenge the author, diction of the author, literary devices, questioning the author, theme analysis, mood analysis, and vocabulary development.
As you can see, your child will be doing a lot of writing in my class over the course of the year. Almost all of this work will be kept in your child's notebook which is usually housed in my classroom. If you'd like to take a look at what your child has been up to, ask to see his/her notebook!
Again, as always, if you have any questions or concerns please let me know and keep encouraging your child to keep reading!
Classwork: This type of writing is informal and will contain all the notes and entries made during mini-lessons. These will be organized chronologically in your child’s notebook and can serve as resources for other activities.
Sneeze: This type of writing demonstrates strong initial thinking on a prompt/question. While this is an informal type of writing, it should follow all non-negotiables. Sneezes can occur based on a read aloud, a whole-class novel, a literature circle, a choice novel, etc.
Response to Literature: This type of writing is a more in-depth, thought out formal type of writing. A Response to Literature should contain evidence of planning, be well-organized, demonstrate deep thinking, and follow all non-negotiables. Some Responses to Literature will be graded individually right after being assigned, while others will only be assessed at the midpoint or end of a quarter.
Literary Analysis: This type of writing will introduce the basics of literary analysis in the areas of character and theme. Students will write two formal papers that will be taken through the writing process. The primary goal of these papers is to lay the ground work for the types of literary analysis they may be asked to complete in high school and beyond.
Reflection: For this type of writing, students will be given a menu of possible reflections to select from. Some reflections will be assigned by me, while other reflections students will have the opportunity to select from the menu. Reflections should be well-written, organized, and should demonstrate your child’s best reflective thinking while following all non-negotiables. Reflections include the following topics: agree with/challenge the author, diction of the author, literary devices, questioning the author, theme analysis, mood analysis, and vocabulary development.
As you can see, your child will be doing a lot of writing in my class over the course of the year. Almost all of this work will be kept in your child's notebook which is usually housed in my classroom. If you'd like to take a look at what your child has been up to, ask to see his/her notebook!
Again, as always, if you have any questions or concerns please let me know and keep encouraging your child to keep reading!
Friday, November 16, 2012
Independent Reading Changes
First, thanks to all the parents who were able to stop in for conferences. It is always neat for me to meet the parents of the kids that I spend the day with! I do realize that the set up isn't a perfect one as we all tend to fill up rather quickly and it doesn't always work to be able to visit with every teacher your child may have. Any feedback about the sign-up process and/or set up of conferences (the way were organized in the LMC) would be appreciated.
At conferences I mentioned that as the reading-writing: literature course is a pilot class, there would be changes made as I evaluate what works well and what doesn't. Well, here is one of those changes. The Independent Reading Requirement is one assignment that occurs each quarter. It consists of a combination of pages logged and a blog posting about a book that was completed. The grade was worth 15% of the total grade in my class. After evaluating the requirements I decided to make the following changes:
Blog Posting: I have decided to put this project on hold for a quarter. The products were not what I'd hoped for and as I looked at it, I felt I needed to make some changes to the requirements and the process for student completion of the posting. In addition, during the Understanding Character unit, there are some pretty intensive projects so I felt it would be overload on the students to continue with the blog posting this quarter. Look for the blog to resurface in a future quarter.
Page Logs: I have created a new page log for the students to use. The log is book based - meaning that students take one log for each book they are reading. When they finish a book, they turn the log in to me and take a new one for the new book they are beginning. This way it is easier to keep track of how many books are read and more efficient for the kids to log their pages. Click here to view a PDF of the new log. Students may print out a log from home if they need it. In addition there is a new grading scale for the pages read.
If students log minutes in silent reading during class time and just a little during an SRT at least the 300 pages should be attained. To view the handout that was shown to the students explaining the changes, click here. If there are any questions or points that need clarification please send me an email or give me a call.
In closing, good luck to all the hunters heading out into the woods this weekend and to everyone else, Happy Thanksgiving!
At conferences I mentioned that as the reading-writing: literature course is a pilot class, there would be changes made as I evaluate what works well and what doesn't. Well, here is one of those changes. The Independent Reading Requirement is one assignment that occurs each quarter. It consists of a combination of pages logged and a blog posting about a book that was completed. The grade was worth 15% of the total grade in my class. After evaluating the requirements I decided to make the following changes:
Blog Posting: I have decided to put this project on hold for a quarter. The products were not what I'd hoped for and as I looked at it, I felt I needed to make some changes to the requirements and the process for student completion of the posting. In addition, during the Understanding Character unit, there are some pretty intensive projects so I felt it would be overload on the students to continue with the blog posting this quarter. Look for the blog to resurface in a future quarter.
Page Logs: I have created a new page log for the students to use. The log is book based - meaning that students take one log for each book they are reading. When they finish a book, they turn the log in to me and take a new one for the new book they are beginning. This way it is easier to keep track of how many books are read and more efficient for the kids to log their pages. Click here to view a PDF of the new log. Students may print out a log from home if they need it. In addition there is a new grading scale for the pages read.
Grade
|
Pages Read
|
A+
|
1700 pages
and up
|
A
|
1600 – 1699
|
A-
|
1500 – 1599
|
B+
|
1400 – 1499
|
B
|
1300 – 1399
|
B-
|
1200 – 1299
|
C+
|
1100 – 1199
|
C
|
1000 – 1099
|
C-
|
900 – 999
|
D+
|
800 – 899
|
D
|
700 – 799
|
D-
|
600 – 699
|
50%
|
300 – 599
|
Zero
|
Less than
300
|
If students log minutes in silent reading during class time and just a little during an SRT at least the 300 pages should be attained. To view the handout that was shown to the students explaining the changes, click here. If there are any questions or points that need clarification please send me an email or give me a call.
In closing, good luck to all the hunters heading out into the woods this weekend and to everyone else, Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent Conferences - I thought I'd make a quick post about upcoming conferences. Parent-Teacher Conferences sign-up is currently underway. The core teachers for our house set up in the library for both conference sessions. Feel free to sign up for whichever teacher you'd like to see. We will have a waiting area in the center of the LMC and the teachers will be at tables around the outside of the library.
Math Conferences - remember that many students in our house are cross-housed for their math class. Mr. Endries and Mrs. Smits are the other possible math teachers that your child may have - please double check before signing up with Mrs. Baum.
Our available slots are filling up quickly so use the link below to sign up!
Click here to sign up for parent teacher conferences.
Math Conferences - remember that many students in our house are cross-housed for their math class. Mr. Endries and Mrs. Smits are the other possible math teachers that your child may have - please double check before signing up with Mrs. Baum.
Our available slots are filling up quickly so use the link below to sign up!
Click here to sign up for parent teacher conferences.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The end is near...
Ok, now that I've got your attention... Yes, the end is near, the end of the quarter that is. I do apologize for not having posted in a while, but as the quarter ends so does my available time! Here are a few things to keep in mind.
This week Friday, Nov. 2nd is the final due date for all page logs. In class on that day we will tally up our totals and I will record them to determine their grade for the independent reading requirement. Remember, the grade from the page logs will be combined with the score on their blog posting so you will only see one grade listed in that category on the parent portal.
Speaking of blog posts, if you'd like to view your child's blog posting, click on the link below that corresponds to your child's literature class hour. From the drop down menu, select Parent Account and use the password redbirds.
1st Hour Independent Reading Blog
4th Hour Independent Reading Blog
7th Hour Independent Reading Blog
8th Hour Independent Reading Blog
9th Hour Independent Reading Blog
In class this week on Thursday and Friday, students will be setting their reading goals. The goals have multiple parts - the first part of the goal is about how many points students think they can raise their SRI scores. The second part of the goal is focused on how many books a student can complete by the end of the first semester. The final part of the goal is focused on a reading behavior that the student feels he/she could improve upon. All goals are created taking a look at various types of data - graphs of prior SRI scores, research about how many books 8th graders should be able to complete in a school year, and a self-evaluation of student reading behaviors. In addition, students have to create a two step action plan that they will complete over the course of the semester in order to achieve their goal. I plan to conference with each student to ensure that their goals are reasonable yet challenging. You will also receive a copy of the goal sent home along with your child's report card.
This week is the final week to complete any outstanding work. As of the end of the day Wednesday all work that was turned in after the due date will have been scored and entered. The only assignments that will not be updated for all classes will be the Miracle's Boys final test (which are in the process of being graded) and the independent reading requirement which is not due until this week Friday.
If you have any questions send me an email or give me a call.
Happy Halloween!
This week Friday, Nov. 2nd is the final due date for all page logs. In class on that day we will tally up our totals and I will record them to determine their grade for the independent reading requirement. Remember, the grade from the page logs will be combined with the score on their blog posting so you will only see one grade listed in that category on the parent portal.
Speaking of blog posts, if you'd like to view your child's blog posting, click on the link below that corresponds to your child's literature class hour. From the drop down menu, select Parent Account and use the password redbirds.
1st Hour Independent Reading Blog
4th Hour Independent Reading Blog
7th Hour Independent Reading Blog
8th Hour Independent Reading Blog
9th Hour Independent Reading Blog
In class this week on Thursday and Friday, students will be setting their reading goals. The goals have multiple parts - the first part of the goal is about how many points students think they can raise their SRI scores. The second part of the goal is focused on how many books a student can complete by the end of the first semester. The final part of the goal is focused on a reading behavior that the student feels he/she could improve upon. All goals are created taking a look at various types of data - graphs of prior SRI scores, research about how many books 8th graders should be able to complete in a school year, and a self-evaluation of student reading behaviors. In addition, students have to create a two step action plan that they will complete over the course of the semester in order to achieve their goal. I plan to conference with each student to ensure that their goals are reasonable yet challenging. You will also receive a copy of the goal sent home along with your child's report card.
This week is the final week to complete any outstanding work. As of the end of the day Wednesday all work that was turned in after the due date will have been scored and entered. The only assignments that will not be updated for all classes will be the Miracle's Boys final test (which are in the process of being graded) and the independent reading requirement which is not due until this week Friday.
If you have any questions send me an email or give me a call.
Happy Halloween!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Dates to Remember...
As we draw nearer to the end of the first quarter, I thought I'd create a short posting which lists some of the upcoming due dates for work in your child's R/W literature class. I would encourage you to ask your kids where they are at in terms of this list of work.
Friday, Oct. 19th - Miracle's Boys needs to be finished. We will be reading an article that day taking a look at if the food stamp program creates dependency - which we will then relate to the characters from Miracle's Boys.
Wednesday, Oct. 24th - Final test on Miracle's Boys. Students will receive the details of the test on Monday, Oct. 29th.
Monday, Oct. 29th - Kidblog book review posting is due - submitted for approval electronically - by 10:00 PM on Monday night. Students will have had three full days of class this first quarter to work and get help on their posting.
Friday, Nov. 2nd - All page logs will be totaled, collected, and recorded for the first quarter grading period.
As I had mentioned in an earlier posting, we have had very few grades put into the grade book from the first two-thirds of quarter one. At this point more grades are starting to come in; so, depending on the quality of your child's work, you may see his/her grade changing on a frequent basis. Grades will become final on Wednesday, November 7th.
If you have any additional questions or need clarification on anything in this post, please send me an email or give me phone call.
Friday, Oct. 19th - Miracle's Boys needs to be finished. We will be reading an article that day taking a look at if the food stamp program creates dependency - which we will then relate to the characters from Miracle's Boys.
Wednesday, Oct. 24th - Final test on Miracle's Boys. Students will receive the details of the test on Monday, Oct. 29th.
Monday, Oct. 29th - Kidblog book review posting is due - submitted for approval electronically - by 10:00 PM on Monday night. Students will have had three full days of class this first quarter to work and get help on their posting.
Friday, Nov. 2nd - All page logs will be totaled, collected, and recorded for the first quarter grading period.
As I had mentioned in an earlier posting, we have had very few grades put into the grade book from the first two-thirds of quarter one. At this point more grades are starting to come in; so, depending on the quality of your child's work, you may see his/her grade changing on a frequent basis. Grades will become final on Wednesday, November 7th.
If you have any additional questions or need clarification on anything in this post, please send me an email or give me phone call.
Monday, October 8, 2012
I swear to howdy...
I swear to howdy...Ask your kids about that phrase and they will begin telling you about the read-aloud that we just finished. Swear to Howdy is a book about two boys growing up in the South. It chronicles their adventures in friendship over the course of a summer and one school year. The mood of the book is upbeat and quite funny for the first three-quarters, but then takes a dark turn when a seemingly innocent prank pulled by the boys results in unforeseen consequences. Some of the big ideas that the book revolves around include friendship and trust. Our next read aloud will be Hanging on to Max.
In the Miracle's Boys unit, we just had our first quiz - as a reading check. Most of the questions revolved around the plot and the characters to insure that we are all on the same page (pun intended). From there we are going to continue reading - getting to the climax of the story this week.
This past week we also had some direct instruction focusing on the three big types of text structures that students will encounter (compare/contrast, argumentative, and cause/effect). We discussed how to dissect a question and what key words to look for so that students would use the proper organizational pattern when planning an answer. A secondary activity involved students working with partners. In this activity, partners received one of three questions and had to first determine which type of text structure was contained in the question, and then they had to work together and actually plan an essay. Along the way I met with each set of partners to make sure they were on the right track. I was very pleased after meeting with the groups as a vast majority of them had the correct text structure and were able to explain their choices to me.
Finally, today (Monday, Oct. 8th) I checked page logs to see where students were at with logging their pages. Ideally all students should be at or near 450 pages this quarter. Many students were under that page total. Please encourage your child to keep reading around 20 minutes each night and remind them to log the pages they have read!
Have a great day!
In the Miracle's Boys unit, we just had our first quiz - as a reading check. Most of the questions revolved around the plot and the characters to insure that we are all on the same page (pun intended). From there we are going to continue reading - getting to the climax of the story this week.
This past week we also had some direct instruction focusing on the three big types of text structures that students will encounter (compare/contrast, argumentative, and cause/effect). We discussed how to dissect a question and what key words to look for so that students would use the proper organizational pattern when planning an answer. A secondary activity involved students working with partners. In this activity, partners received one of three questions and had to first determine which type of text structure was contained in the question, and then they had to work together and actually plan an essay. Along the way I met with each set of partners to make sure they were on the right track. I was very pleased after meeting with the groups as a vast majority of them had the correct text structure and were able to explain their choices to me.
Finally, today (Monday, Oct. 8th) I checked page logs to see where students were at with logging their pages. Ideally all students should be at or near 450 pages this quarter. Many students were under that page total. Please encourage your child to keep reading around 20 minutes each night and remind them to log the pages they have read!
Have a great day!
Friday, September 28, 2012
FAQs about my grade book
Many times at the beginning of the year, parents have a lot of questions about their child's grades. I thought, because mid-quarter is fast approaching, I would put together a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about grades in my class specifically and my grade book in general.
What are the assignment categories and percentage weight of each one?
All assignments are grouped into three broad categories. First, is the daily work. Daily work assignments are typically ones that are completed within a single class period. They are practicing specific skills and strategies that are taught in class. Sometimes assignments in this category will be completed at home, but they are generally not long-term assignments. This category is worth 20% of the total grade. This is because students are practicing, and while I want to hold them accountable for completing the work, they are still learning and practicing their skills.
The second category is Projects/Tests/Quizzes. This is the category that is worth the highest percent of the overall grade - 65%. These types of activities are where the students demonstrate to me their level of mastery of the skills and strategies taught in class. Students have multiple opportunities to practice and develop their skills prior to the project/test/quiz.
The third category is Independent Reading. This category is worth 15% of the overall grade. Students will only have one grade in this category for each quarter. This grade is based on their score on the two components of the independent reading requirement (the page log and the blog posting).
Why are there so few grades right now?
The first unit of the year, our unit based on the book Miracle's Boys, is where I do a lot of pre-teaching skills and routines, modeling of expectations and classroom procedures, as well as initial assessments of students' reading abilities and reading behaviors. Most of these activities are not graded as they provide me with information that how my classroom will run for the remainder of the school year; they do not indicate levels of achievement. Once we get past mid-quarter you will find more grades appearing.
Is the portal always up-to-date?
Yes and No. I do not get an assignment entered and visible on the portal the day it is collected. Most of the graded work has quite a bit of writing to assess, so it does take some time. I will make a grade visible in the portal when I have finished grading the entire classes' work.
How do I know if an assignment is not turned in?
In the portal you will see the word MISSING. An assignment labeled with missing will be factored in as a zero. The point of that is to show what the grade would be if the assignment never gets turned in. Once that assignment is turned in, the missing label will be removed and the score earned by your child will be entered. In addition, your child should have brought home a REACH slip for you to sign indicating an assignment hasn't been turned in. The only time you will not see a REACH slip for an assignment marked as missing will be if an assignment was collected on a day your child was absent.
My child was out sick - why is the assignment marked as missing?
If your child was absent from my class when an assignment was collected, I enter the assignment as missing to show what the grade would be if the assignment were to never get turned in - hopefully creating a sense of urgency for your child to take care of his/her work. I will remind your child of his/her missing work, but I ask your help in reminding your child to see me and get the work turned in.
When are grades final?
My grades don't usually become final until the day they are due to be turned in; however, the final day to turn in any outstanding assignments is five (5) days before the end of the quarter.
As always, if you have any questions, please let me know!
What are the assignment categories and percentage weight of each one?
All assignments are grouped into three broad categories. First, is the daily work. Daily work assignments are typically ones that are completed within a single class period. They are practicing specific skills and strategies that are taught in class. Sometimes assignments in this category will be completed at home, but they are generally not long-term assignments. This category is worth 20% of the total grade. This is because students are practicing, and while I want to hold them accountable for completing the work, they are still learning and practicing their skills.
The second category is Projects/Tests/Quizzes. This is the category that is worth the highest percent of the overall grade - 65%. These types of activities are where the students demonstrate to me their level of mastery of the skills and strategies taught in class. Students have multiple opportunities to practice and develop their skills prior to the project/test/quiz.
The third category is Independent Reading. This category is worth 15% of the overall grade. Students will only have one grade in this category for each quarter. This grade is based on their score on the two components of the independent reading requirement (the page log and the blog posting).
Why are there so few grades right now?
The first unit of the year, our unit based on the book Miracle's Boys, is where I do a lot of pre-teaching skills and routines, modeling of expectations and classroom procedures, as well as initial assessments of students' reading abilities and reading behaviors. Most of these activities are not graded as they provide me with information that how my classroom will run for the remainder of the school year; they do not indicate levels of achievement. Once we get past mid-quarter you will find more grades appearing.
Is the portal always up-to-date?
Yes and No. I do not get an assignment entered and visible on the portal the day it is collected. Most of the graded work has quite a bit of writing to assess, so it does take some time. I will make a grade visible in the portal when I have finished grading the entire classes' work.
How do I know if an assignment is not turned in?
In the portal you will see the word MISSING. An assignment labeled with missing will be factored in as a zero. The point of that is to show what the grade would be if the assignment never gets turned in. Once that assignment is turned in, the missing label will be removed and the score earned by your child will be entered. In addition, your child should have brought home a REACH slip for you to sign indicating an assignment hasn't been turned in. The only time you will not see a REACH slip for an assignment marked as missing will be if an assignment was collected on a day your child was absent.
My child was out sick - why is the assignment marked as missing?
If your child was absent from my class when an assignment was collected, I enter the assignment as missing to show what the grade would be if the assignment were to never get turned in - hopefully creating a sense of urgency for your child to take care of his/her work. I will remind your child of his/her missing work, but I ask your help in reminding your child to see me and get the work turned in.
When are grades final?
My grades don't usually become final until the day they are due to be turned in; however, the final day to turn in any outstanding assignments is five (5) days before the end of the quarter.
As always, if you have any questions, please let me know!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Miracle's Boys
First off, I'm happy to see that so many people have visited this blog! Thanks for taking the time to check it out - come back often!
In class this week we have begun to read the novel Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson. The story is about three brothers who are trying to work through the hand they were dealt in life. Both parents have died and the oldest brother - Ty'ree is now the guardian of his two younger brothers Charlie and Lafayette. Set in inner-city New York, the book tells of life when both parents were alive through the use of flashback, and then the story jumps back to the present to show how the characters deal with and try to rise above the pressures of urban poverty in New York City. Click HERE to read a brief summary and other reader-reviews of the book.
The book is beautifully written and provides a common text that I can refer to throughout the year. I also use this unit as a way to teach students the expectations I have in terms of written responses to literature. In fact, I just had them write a response about how changes in setting could affect the story. As I read the responses it is showing me where the strengths and weaknesses are so that I can tailor my instruction to meet the kids where they are and move them forward. Next week I plan to actually model the entire writing process with my classes so they can see how I would plan, draft, and revise a response to literature.
This week we also had a short activity to help illustrate the different kinds of confusion that encountered while reading. I showed two poems, both from E.E. Cummings. One of the poems did not look like it was even written in English, and the other, while written in a traditional form did not seem to make much sense. These poems were used to illustrate "bad confusion." I hoped to show students that when one comes across a text that is so confusing that little to no comprehension is happening, they must take some action to get help. I then made a connection to the confusion that everyone had in the first couple of chapters of Miracle's Boys. We all had questions which resulted in some confusion, but it didn't get in the way of understanding the text. It was "good confusion" because it pushed us forward to keep on reading and try to get our confusion resolved.
One item I forgot to mention last week was that we took our first SRI test of the year - parents will receive the results of that test with the first quarter report cards. We will be using those scores as part of the first semester reading goal every student will set.
Finally, one quick reminder...each student should be reading for about 20 minutes per night as a part of his/her nightly homework routine. The pages read should be logged on a page log for the independent reading requirement. That being said, I realize that some kids are very involved in activities outside of school (as are my own children) and that 20 minutes may not happen every night. Just do your best to encourage good reading habits by having him/her read a bit longer on the nights that have less scheduled or on weekends.
Thanks again, and if you ever have any questions or concerns just let me know! Have a great weekend!
In class this week we have begun to read the novel Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson. The story is about three brothers who are trying to work through the hand they were dealt in life. Both parents have died and the oldest brother - Ty'ree is now the guardian of his two younger brothers Charlie and Lafayette. Set in inner-city New York, the book tells of life when both parents were alive through the use of flashback, and then the story jumps back to the present to show how the characters deal with and try to rise above the pressures of urban poverty in New York City. Click HERE to read a brief summary and other reader-reviews of the book.
The book is beautifully written and provides a common text that I can refer to throughout the year. I also use this unit as a way to teach students the expectations I have in terms of written responses to literature. In fact, I just had them write a response about how changes in setting could affect the story. As I read the responses it is showing me where the strengths and weaknesses are so that I can tailor my instruction to meet the kids where they are and move them forward. Next week I plan to actually model the entire writing process with my classes so they can see how I would plan, draft, and revise a response to literature.
This week we also had a short activity to help illustrate the different kinds of confusion that encountered while reading. I showed two poems, both from E.E. Cummings. One of the poems did not look like it was even written in English, and the other, while written in a traditional form did not seem to make much sense. These poems were used to illustrate "bad confusion." I hoped to show students that when one comes across a text that is so confusing that little to no comprehension is happening, they must take some action to get help. I then made a connection to the confusion that everyone had in the first couple of chapters of Miracle's Boys. We all had questions which resulted in some confusion, but it didn't get in the way of understanding the text. It was "good confusion" because it pushed us forward to keep on reading and try to get our confusion resolved.
One item I forgot to mention last week was that we took our first SRI test of the year - parents will receive the results of that test with the first quarter report cards. We will be using those scores as part of the first semester reading goal every student will set.
Finally, one quick reminder...each student should be reading for about 20 minutes per night as a part of his/her nightly homework routine. The pages read should be logged on a page log for the independent reading requirement. That being said, I realize that some kids are very involved in activities outside of school (as are my own children) and that 20 minutes may not happen every night. Just do your best to encourage good reading habits by having him/her read a bit longer on the nights that have less scheduled or on weekends.
Thanks again, and if you ever have any questions or concerns just let me know! Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
I have to read HOW many pages each quarter???
OK, I'm sure at this point you have probably heard from your child about the independent reading requirement that was given to them in class. In case you haven't heard about it yet, ask! I'd like to make sure we are all on the same page (pun intended), so here are some details about the assignment.
To start, I'd like to provide a piece of rationale for why the project exists in the first place. Reading is a skill that is vital to the success of all students whether he or she is bound for college or the work-place immediately after high school. Just like in other areas of life, the cliche - practice makes perfect - applies to reading as well. Increasing the volume a student reads in a given quarter is a way to practice their reading skills. Now, on to the project details.
The independent reading requirement consists of two components which amount to a total of 15 points. The first component is a reading log where students will document their pages read. The logs do not require parent signatures as I am trying to instill some personal responsibility for each students' learning. That being said, I would encourage you to ask to see your child's log from time to time. The purpose of the log is strictly for data gathering. Statistics are kept on just about anything that one tries to improve upon; reading is no different. We will be using the data throughout the year to set some goals. The reading log counts for a maximum of 5 out of the 15 possible point for the independent reading requirement. The grade breakdown for the page log portion is as follows:
1700 pages = 5 points
1500 pages = 4 points
1300 pages = 3 points
1100 pages = 2 points
900 pages = 1 point
less than 900 pages = 0 points
Initially I know that this seems like a lot, but according to the research I've done, 8th graders should be reading at a rate of around three-quarters of a page to one page per minute. This was the basis for the determination of the page requirement. Students may log pages any time they read - in class, in study hall, after they finish a test, at home, etc. I suggested that students may want to keep their page log folded up and use it as a book mark, that way they will always have it.
The second component, where the remaining 10 possible points come from, is the blog posting that each student will be responsible for making. I keep a separate blog - called the Independent Reading Blog where students post book reviews. All students will be required to post one book review each quarter. Students at the middle school can access these reviews when trying to develop their lists of "next books" - books they intend to read at some point in the future. In addition to the skills of writing a book review, students will also develop their technology skills through creating web links, and embedding video and audio into their blog postings. At this point your students have not seen the blog, nor do they know what has to be done for the posting. More details will come in the very near future as they've had a lot of information dumped on them all at once this past couple of weeks.
If you have any further questions regarding the independent reading requirements or need extra copies of any of the assignment handouts, please contact me or visit the Justice League website.
Happy Reading!
To start, I'd like to provide a piece of rationale for why the project exists in the first place. Reading is a skill that is vital to the success of all students whether he or she is bound for college or the work-place immediately after high school. Just like in other areas of life, the cliche - practice makes perfect - applies to reading as well. Increasing the volume a student reads in a given quarter is a way to practice their reading skills. Now, on to the project details.
The independent reading requirement consists of two components which amount to a total of 15 points. The first component is a reading log where students will document their pages read. The logs do not require parent signatures as I am trying to instill some personal responsibility for each students' learning. That being said, I would encourage you to ask to see your child's log from time to time. The purpose of the log is strictly for data gathering. Statistics are kept on just about anything that one tries to improve upon; reading is no different. We will be using the data throughout the year to set some goals. The reading log counts for a maximum of 5 out of the 15 possible point for the independent reading requirement. The grade breakdown for the page log portion is as follows:
1700 pages = 5 points
1500 pages = 4 points
1300 pages = 3 points
1100 pages = 2 points
900 pages = 1 point
less than 900 pages = 0 points
Initially I know that this seems like a lot, but according to the research I've done, 8th graders should be reading at a rate of around three-quarters of a page to one page per minute. This was the basis for the determination of the page requirement. Students may log pages any time they read - in class, in study hall, after they finish a test, at home, etc. I suggested that students may want to keep their page log folded up and use it as a book mark, that way they will always have it.
The second component, where the remaining 10 possible points come from, is the blog posting that each student will be responsible for making. I keep a separate blog - called the Independent Reading Blog where students post book reviews. All students will be required to post one book review each quarter. Students at the middle school can access these reviews when trying to develop their lists of "next books" - books they intend to read at some point in the future. In addition to the skills of writing a book review, students will also develop their technology skills through creating web links, and embedding video and audio into their blog postings. At this point your students have not seen the blog, nor do they know what has to be done for the posting. More details will come in the very near future as they've had a lot of information dumped on them all at once this past couple of weeks.
If you have any further questions regarding the independent reading requirements or need extra copies of any of the assignment handouts, please contact me or visit the Justice League website.
Happy Reading!
Friday, September 7, 2012
The First Days of School
All right! We made it! The first week is in the books! We started out the first days on a modified schedule. The kids got to be in their regular classes for half of the day, and for the other half, students participated in mini-lessons focusing on PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). The focus of PBIS is rooted in the idea that students need to have clear behavioral expectations and should be explicitly taught these same expectations. We call these "universal expectations." They range from dress code and to lunch room expectations to voice volume and hallway behavior. Once these expectations are taught our job as teachers is to reinforce the students we see displaying the universal expectations.
In reading/writing-literature class (I'll be referring to it as RW Lit from now on) we began by having students tell me a little about how their previous teachers viewed them as readers and writers. Be sure to ask your child what I did with the papers after I collected them! We then moved on to my Classroom Truths activity. I have several belief statements that I asked students to write about a connection they have to a particular truth or to write about why they believe that truth to be, in fact, true. The seven truths of my classroom are as follows (in no particular order):
Finally we ended the week reading some articles on the topic of urban poverty. The focus of these readings were to build background knowledge for all students to help in understanding the first whole-class novel that we will begin reading next week entitled, Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or email me directly with any questions or concerns you may have.
GO BIRDS!
In reading/writing-literature class (I'll be referring to it as RW Lit from now on) we began by having students tell me a little about how their previous teachers viewed them as readers and writers. Be sure to ask your child what I did with the papers after I collected them! We then moved on to my Classroom Truths activity. I have several belief statements that I asked students to write about a connection they have to a particular truth or to write about why they believe that truth to be, in fact, true. The seven truths of my classroom are as follows (in no particular order):
- We each learn in our own ways, by our own time clocks.
- Everyone needs time to think and learn.
- It's O.K. to make mistakes, that is how we grow.
- If it happened, it happened. Let's move on.
- We should desire confusion, that is how we learn.
- We can do more and learn more when we are willing to take risks.
- It's intelligent to ask for help, no one need do it alone.
Finally we ended the week reading some articles on the topic of urban poverty. The focus of these readings were to build background knowledge for all students to help in understanding the first whole-class novel that we will begin reading next week entitled, Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or email me directly with any questions or concerns you may have.
GO BIRDS!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...
Welcome Back!
As I write this first post of my classroom blog, I can't help but think of the Staples ad from a few years ago. The famous Christmas carol (see the title of my post) playing in the background while downtrodden kids and joyful parents go back-to-school shopping. Thankfully the kids from that commercial are not who comes through my door on the first day of school!
I have decided to start this blog in an effort to combat the typical teenage answer about what was done in school that day. I can guarantee you that "nothing" is far from the truth! My basic goal is for each post to be sort of an electronic newsletter about the goings-on in my reading/writing-literature classroom. I'm hoping that it will be manageable to do some additional posting based on events of the school and the community as well as other education related topics. Please be patient as this a new venture for me and as the hectic pace of the school year moves on weekly updates may not happen, but I will do my best.
If you are reading this blog, it means that your child has become a member of the Justice League - an 8th grade house at De Pere Middle School. The core teachers in our house include the following: Mrs. Baum, Mrs. Cerrato, Mr. Dernbach, Mrs. Doverspike, and Ms. Kleveno. The encore staff associated with the Justice League include our phy ed teachers, Mr. Ryan and Ms. McNiff as well as our Spanish teacher, Ms. Bravick. Our house maintains a website that has upcoming dates as well as homework calendars for each core teacher. There is a link in the Parent Resources at the bottom of this page or you can access it here.
Stay tuned for additional posts and updates. Better yet, follow this blog and you will be instantly notified of updates!
Let the countdown begin - 14 days until school starts!
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