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!
Friday, September 28, 2012
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!
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