Homework--Weekly, Sometimes Daily, Updates

“Dear young people, you have it in you to shout. It is up to you not to keep quiet. Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders, some corrupt, keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out?” --Pope Francis
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.” Stephen Hawking, RIP

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”― Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor

"Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on."

On August 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Grandson of a slave, Marshall lived through some of the most trying times of race relations in America's history, which undoubtedly shaped his legal philosophy.

Sophie Scholl was executed on Feb. 22, 1943, 70 years ago for leading a student resistance against Hitler. Her last words were, “How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause? Such a fine sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” She was aged 21. https://timeline.com/sophie-scholl-white-rose-guillotine-6b3901042c98

“Be a nuisance where it counts. Do your part to inform and stimulate the public to join your action. Be depressed, discouraged, and disappointed at failure and the disheartening effects of ignorance, greed, corruption and bad politics—but never give up.”

Marjory Stoneman Douglas http://prospect.org/article/who-was-marjory-stoneman-douglas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM "Still I Rise"-- Maya Angelou

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." MLK Jr.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." MLK Jr.

"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." MLK Jr.

"We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." MLK Jr.

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." MLK Jr.

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." MLK Jr.

Journal 27/28--Whether you're writing a personal narrative or making up a story, you always need a point (theme, key concept, lesson, big idea, universal truth.) Think of all of the key concepts we've learned in history and how that would be a purpose of a story. Practice writing personal and or fictional story ideas that have a clear theme based on these ideas. What would it be about? What is the setting? Who are the characters? What are the main events going to be to lead you to your theme?

Journal 25/26--Thinking of narrative/story writing, one of the big aspects is setting--when and where a story takes place. Think about it like a movie where you describe where things are taking place with enough detail that you see it. Practice describing a setting or settings, giving all of the detail so you can see it like a movie in your head.

Journal 23/24--We're starting on narrative/story writing. Practice just describing a character--they way the look, move, talk think. You could pick a character that would fit into Feudal Japan or Medieval Europe on a manor

Weds. 2/14

I have no idea what's going on. Direct all of your questions to Ms Thorner and Mr. McNamara. Stay focused on your learning and doing your best.

I am about 100% sure one of my classes got the highest jump in NWEA from what I heard of scores on Tuesday, so I hope you get your reward! (I heard from 5 to 21 point jumps! A few dropped, but I think it will average about a 10 point jump!)

Make sure you have your Professional Assessment booklet IN CLASS Thursday. You will have the whole period to complete the essay while using your booklet. You will get the grading checklist for the essay to look at and check off as you write. It's almost exactly the same as the last one. Try to make it readable, but don't worry about crossing things out or making corrections. Show what you can do in the period.

For Friday AM and PM should start Catherine, Called Birdy, about a spoiled, bratty girl living on a manor in the middle ages, and 4th will start Ghost of the Tokaido Inn, about a brave young boy in Feudal Japan. You should all get the Character Booklet and Essay Traits sheets so you know what to take notes for as you read. Hopefully it will be read to you.

The Medieval Church organizer is due on Friday, but turn it in on Tuesday if you're not done. You will get the Medieval Illuminated poem assignment on Friday to think about and start. It should be self-explanatory.

Monday 2/12

Tuesday and Weds. are NWEA testing. I encouraged Ms Thorner to celebrate the most overall growth in any one class with a party, and I am giving massive prizes for the top five growers, so hopefully we can show what we've got.

We've been going through the Performance Assessment booklet for over a week and reading the articles and organizing the information to prepare for an argumentative essay (just like we did for the last one.) They should have all of the information they need. On Thursday we are going to do a final formal essay in 50 minutes, which they should be able to do easily. It will be handwritten and they will have all access to notes.

I'm trying it this way because I still have 20 + students who have NOT done the last essay despite months of preparation and work. The lack of work production is stunning.

history

We finished the notes on the Medieval Church on Friday and they have had the directions for the final all along. They are going to take them one step further with an organizer (along the lines of China's Beliefs) showing it in a better, clearer way with the key concepts added. I am not looking for them to copy the same notes I gave them into shapes. This will be due Friday.

Monday 2/5

I am out today, but the capable Mr Fryce will be in.

We spent all last week going over the bad example essay (not intentionally) in the Performance Assessment booklet and writing corrections and labeling. So using their booklet to correct a copied version and label it should be easy unless they did nothing all last week.

We are going to continue to use that booklet to look at various sources on a topic and prepare to write an argumentative essay, pretty much exactly what they are expected to do in a few hours on the SBAC. This should also help those who did a bad job on the formal essay (a lot in 4th period for some reason) and must redo it until it is somewhat correct

history

We had the huge Middle Ages test last week, for which I gave them a study guide that had exactly what was in it. Some did well, some did not. We went over the test when I handed it back and reviewed that most of the answers to the short essay answer questions were IN the test, in choices of answers. It's really not OK if they did not notice that and use that information to answer those. I gave them the "surprise" test again, moving some things around on Friday.

Learning how to take tests and be smart about it is an important learning skill. They need to notice when answers are in the test, not leave blanks on an open note test, read exactly what the question asks, read all of the answers, etc.

This week they will finish up the Crusades worksheet and we will get started on the Medieval Church, taking notes, learning, and seeing how we can assess authentically if they are learning. Yes, a lot of 7th grade history is learning about religion.

Monday 1/29

The grades in right now are deficiency grades. There are a lot of F's, particularly with 4th period, because no reading was done and assignments are missing. Miracles happen when missing assignments come in--the grades come way up. By the time the deficiencies get home, they will be pretty obsolete as the large argumentative essay grade and Middle Ages test and castle project will go on this week. So, hopefully, even if the def. grade is bad, they will have proven already they can bring it up just by doing work. The end of the trimester is 3/9.

I am frankly stunned at how many kids do no homework, still. Almost no one has done the minimal daily reading--elementary kids do more. This has a cascade effect on their ability to do work, be responsible, and read well enough to be able to read content.

Journal 17/18 this week are to help with the Middles Ages Test, which is why I put it up last Friday, and to be useful should be done before the test on Monday. For 4th period, I consulted with Mrs. Albright and they are writing about the concept she is having them work on.

The rest of the week we are using the materials from the new literature book to analyse examples of argumentative writing and work on that in a booklet that they get to write in.

history

The BIG Middle Ages test is Tuesday, and the Castle design is due Tuesday. The study guide has exactly what is on the test, and the packet has all of the basics. This is not open notes, but everyone generally does well on this test if they actually put in the effort. Parents can help study for the test by going through the packet and coming up with test questions and seeing if they can answer.

The rest of the week we will be looking at the Crusades by filling out a sheet using the history book.

Monday 1/22

I sent an email to everyone on Friday reminding them to get all work in. The end of the deficiency period is Friday 1/26. Pretty much the only reason for low grades is missing work especially the easy "A" work like reading and journals. I am not giving 59% for missing work, so it is the student's responsibility to get all work in. Everyone should be able to know exactly what is going on by looking at Connect. I have not put in the reading grade, so that will be up or down 20% when it goes in on Friday.

Everyone had four to five weeks in class to complete the novel (The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn or Shadow Spinner) and has extensive notes from that. We spent weeks on Essay Basics at the beginningof the year, and have been practicing essays in journals. They had all last week to come up with a thesis and topics and find the evidence to support it from the novel. This week they will write the final essay on the computer. Everyone has a hard copy of the grading sheet (which has the district and common core rubric on one side, and my check off and points on the other) and the assignment sheet. There is a copy of everything on Classroom.

history

Thursday/Friday they were learning castle parts on the back of the "Castles" video sheet. We watched most of the movie Monday. They should not just fill in a few blanks, but take extensive notes on everything. This is really good information for the BIG Middle Ages test we're leading to. Tuesday through Thursday probably they'll take notes on the lecture information I give them and practice coming up with big ideas/key concepts, etc. like we've done before. This is repetition and reinforcement of what we've learned from the chapter questions and video and some new information.

I'm thinking about adding another extra fun assignment at the end of the week that will help with this test.

Tuesday 1/16

I am caught up with everything given to me by Friday at 3. Everything is in the grades (and I updated reading turned in today) except the SS chapters, which I will get done tomorrow if I can. I will catch up on everything that has come in since then in the next few days.

Winter Festival and Multicultural Party Regift White Elephant exchange Friday!!!!! Sign up sheets for food/drink (lumpia!!!!) is on teh back wall. Bring in regift presents as soon as you can and check them off with me so I can keep track. No wrapping so they can be perused and envied through the week. Parents are welcome to come.

We're not getting very far on the formal argumentative essay. This week they should come up with and revise a good thesis, topics and evidence to write an essay. I think the final will be an on demand essay from that next week. There is no way we're getting to anything more this week.

For SS, what I will do is pick the ten top grades for each chapter and average them out. So, if they did all of the chapters, they're pretty much assured of 100%. If they don't have at least ten chapters done, then they are in pretty big trouble with this large grade. Since there are 9 points per chapter, they have can get up to 90 points, and if they get 90/90 points, that is 100%. (Make sense? It does in my mind, but I'm not a math person, so I'm not great at explaining.

history

The Byzantine journal was due today. We're starting the MIddle Ages (Whoo!! Hoo!!) with some chapter questions and vocabulary and I think we'll do the "Castles" video and notes this week.

Saturday 1/13

I sent an email to everyone to remind you to get caught up on journals. We have a few weeks before the trimester deficiency, so I should have a lot more reading than I do, especially with winter break.

I will catch up on the journals and all of the in class novel work we did. I think I got everything on Friday.

Both classes have the assignment for a formal essay as of Friday. We haven't started on anything yet. You should just be thinking through what your thesis and topics will be, and making sure you have the evidence to support it and the notes you did for the novel will help you support that.

Friday 1/19 will be out Winter Festival since my very necessary before winter break party did not work. We will use this as an excuse to have a multicultural food celebration (party) and a regifting white elephant gift exchange. I will put up charts in class for what people can bring and share for food (lumpia!) I will set up sections for each of the three classes to bring regifts. The idea is to bring in unwrapped gifts you got that are lovely, but not your thing, and somebody else might love. (I have quite a few I can add to the pile if we're short, and anyone is welcome to bring more than one to help some who may not have "extras.") As the gifts pile up through the week, they can excitedly check things out and start planning what they want. On Friday each student will randomly get a number and pick gifts. As with White Elephant rules, they may pick from the pile or "steal" someone else's gift. (Each gift only has two steals--that was VERY important for some people to know right off.) This will require strategy and argumentative/persuasive techniques (luckily we learned them for Prop R Rome!) to get what they want, and is usually very noisy. Any parents are welcome to come.

Monday 1/8/18

I got a LOT of journals over break. I should be able to update with an accurate count tomorrow.

Most are finished with Ghost in the Tokaido Inn. They should be done by Tuesday and then we will correct the questions.

Shadow Spinner is taking longer, so it should be all in by the end if the week. (There is more to do for it.)

They all got a sheet on argumentative writing today and we reviewed. They are continuing to practice writing it in journals. We will have a quiz on it on Weds. They should already know the basics and be able to know the additional things necessary for argumentative writing.

I need to see how the week goes, but then we will be working on a formal argumentative essay about the book.

history

They are doing a Byzantine Journal to finalize Rome. (The Byzantine Empire is the eastern half of the Roman empire that lasted another 1,000 years.) They all have the assignment sheet. They will use the book and the TCI notes ONLY to create this. I'm not interested in seeing if they can search on the internet. I want them to continue working on reading information from sources I give and then working on organizing and rewriting it for the purpose. This is a bit like the Trans-Saharan Travel Guide. We'll see how the week goes, but I'm thinking it's due Friday or Monday, With the class time given, that's about four hours to read about six pages, take notes, organize, and do a final.

I'll talk to them some time this week about having a winter festival celebration a week from Friday since we missed our usual holiday party! What I'm thinking is sort of a cross between regifting and white elephant where everyone will bring in gifts they've gotten which are nice, but not for them, and then on the party day, they will draw numbers and pick the gift they want, and be able to steal one from previous pickers (like white elephant.) We will also have multicultural food, since that is VERY important.

Monday 12/18

I have all of the chaperones and have emailed everyone, I hope. I will assign chaperones to groups with their own child and mostly table groups from class. Students must stay with these groups.

Students must be there no later than 7:45 on Thursday. We are on the first bus at 8:20 and anyone not on it is not coming. The school bus will be very crowded, three per seat (including adults.) Please wear any IVCMS gear that day if you have it--it will make it much easier to keep track of everyone. Wear comfortable, warm clothes for the weather and walking. Bring a small string backpack or something easy and small to carry. Do not bring any money--we do not have any time for shopping. Bring an easy to carry lunch. We won't have much time to eat, so any time for that will be lost at the Exploritorium. I suggest a sandwich, granola bars, an apple, etc. I suggest no drinks and use water fountains. No one can carry anything for you. Because we are on the early BART and bus back, we should be back at school just before the bell rings.

Do NOT bring anything for school on Thursday. Everything should be gotten or turned in on Weds. Since it's a minimum day, everyone is welcome to stay after and get work in.

We did the WAGS quiz today. No WAGS the rest of the week. Journals 7/8 on the board and 9, 10, 11, 12 will be over break. There are bunches of ideas on Classroom, a fill in the blank, and a sample essay. Those who are behind or have done nothing need to use the break to practice writing. I am noticing a widening gap between the students keeping up with the writing and improving, and those not writing and getting worse in their writing skills.

AM and PM hopefully can finish The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn and turn in the questions and summaries on Weds. or turn in something so I have the bulk of the work over break. Everyone has a book checked out to them. They have had class time and some are using it, and some are not.

4th period has more to do and a longer book in Shadow Spinner. (I normally do this near the end of the year.) But, they are doing requirements for each chapter that can be turned in as soon as they finish. If they can get as many of those in as possible, that would be great. What I'll probably do is take the best of those and drop low scores for a final grade, so the more they do, the better they can get a grade. (And I get them back the next day, so they usually correct any simple mistakes and get a lot better scores after a few tries.)

Anyone not done can catch up over break.

history

They've had longer than I usually give on Prop R and the extra Pro/Con prep because of the timing, so no one should have any issues getting it all in on Weds. Everything needed should be very clear on the directions, and we went over everything extensively. The argumentative techniques and Pro/Con also lead us into and prepare for argumentative writing.

Friday 12/15

What a mess. No class. All day evacuation and signing kids out to go home.

We'll deal. We'll have WAGS Day Five and the quiz on Monday. I updated journals as of today, but I'll update again on Monday. I had journals 7 and 8 on the board already so they can get ahead on next week. We're still working on BASIC essay organization as per the Essay Basics Packet. I do not care if they choose two 300+ word jorunals or one 600 + word a week.

We're adding the idea of starting argumentative, which we already did with Rome. Pick a topic and write the pros/yes's and cons/no's. Pick a side and write a thesis. Pick two topics for your side and one topic on the other side to address the reader's concern. You have the outline for the essay. They can pick anything to write about. They can do should we remember Rome? and do it more fomally. Should we have school uniforms? Are cel phones a good or bad thing? Do all people deserve healthcare? Should education be a requirement? Should the school year be all year with longer breaks in between? Anything is fine. Just practice!

They have everything else they need. Everyone has a book checked out. Hopefully they can finish Ghost and get the packet and summaries to me by Weds. Shadow Spinner is a little longer, but if they can hand me the chapter requirements as they finish, I can keep up with them. They have everything for Prop R.

For the field trip Thursday, do NOT come to school with anything for school. Everyone has to be here NO LATER than 7:45. I suggest a string backpack or something very small and a sandwich or granola bars or something to snack on all day that is easily carried. Rely on water fountains for drink. Dress for walking and the cool weather of SF.

Parent chaperones. AM class I have five of you, but it's all good. I just need to decide who's going on the bus. (I think it will be Mrs Blanco and Mr. DeLos Reyes. The others will meet us at BART.) PM parents--I have only heard back from one. I need to hear back from Ms Martinez, Ms. Ngueyn, and Mr. Kulvir to figure out what to do.

Normally I have a big multi-cultural party this time of year but it's not going to work. We will plan an massive winter festival in January and figure out a way to get presents in there.

Monday 12/11

I will be out Tuesday. The kids all know. The sub has been here before.

I will get through the essays, but right now there are few grades in for LA, so you can see the impact of the journals really well. I only update them on Friday, so if you want them up to date on the grades, get everything in by Friday afternoons.

A lot of kids have already skipped doing assignments even though we did them in class for history. This is not good.

Journal 5 and 6--Practice organized essay response with basic essay form. Introduction: with a summary of book, situation, etc., a thesis (what the whole essay is about) and three topics (body paragraph focus that supports topic.); Body paragraphs with basic form--topic sentence, evidence, commentary (that explains who evidence proves topic) and concluding sentence on the same topic. ; Conclusion restates thesis and topics and commentary. They may either do two 300+ word journals, or one 600+ word journal each week now.

We are continuing on the reading and questions for Shadow Spinner and Ghost of the Tokaido Inn. I am collecting the chapter reflection, vocabulary and answers each day for Shadow Spinner and grading them. For Ghost, I will collect that all at the end. I will check out books to everyone on Weds. so we can get through this faster. I think a lot of kids need to have it read to them to really understand and get the vocabulary, but hopefully they can do some of it by themselves.

history

We are doing Pros/Cons of Rome Monday And Tuesday and then we will start on Prop R (one of my favorite assignments.) Pros/Cons will prepare them for Prop R. This is all to set them up for learning how to find evidence to prove a point and then explain how it does. ( I will collect this and grade it!) We do this for essays, and we're starting to do this on history tests and haven't been very successful. The "explain" answers are on the in class work we do like Comparing Rome and America, but a lot of kids are skipping the thinking part. They have everything they need in the notes and the work we've already done for this. The assignment sheets are on Classroom.

Monday 12/4

I have switched connect to 2nd trimester, so you can see what I have in now. Quite a few kids did not do the journal entries over break and are missing an easy grade.

This week are journal 3 and 4, which are continued practice of basic essay organization in responding to literature. They need a LOT of practice on this and to know how to write to a thesis, create topics that support it, find actual evidence from the literature to support this, and explain with commentary how the evidence supports the topic, thus the thesis. I'm getting a lot of random summary on the essays despite all of my comments and fill in the blank. \

All of the essays are due. Emails are going home if I am missing them. With more than a week before break to do a brainstorm and a fill in the blank, and last week to do a second draft and final, everyone should be able to do this. We have talked several times about how the SBAC/state test expect them to read usually a few passages, create a thesis, and write a complete organized essay with evcidence from passages in an hour or two, and everyone was required to do this last year.

This week we are starting on a novel. Cores are having The Ghost of the Tokaido Inn and 4th period is having Shadow Spinner read TO them in class. Everyone should be following along in the book. They have a packet where they will have to answer questions for each chapter (for Ghost, they write the answers in the packet, for SS, they will turn them in each day.) For Ghost they will also need to do chapter and character summaries which they will get a grade for, but will also help them with the essay on this book after winter break. For SS, they will do a response to the Lessons for Life and Storytelling, vocabulary, and answer questions for each chapter and turn them in after each chapter.

history

The Roman timeline should have been an easy "A" grade. I gave them the notes on Rome, which had about 30 dates if they thought about it, in them. They then had three days and about two hours to draw a correct timeline (5 minutes, there is a 35 foot timeline in class) and then put as many dates correctly on the timeline with some information and a visual. Those who are not getting high grades on these assignments need to think about how they're working and wasting time, and why it would take two hours to do less than that.

For Roman Accomplishments, they had Friday to start. There are ten placards with a very short paragraph with information on each. They have a note taker for each that asks for a visual, information, and their thoughts about how important this accomplishment was in affecting people then and today. I gave them a chance to vote today and they chose to take the open notes (on a notecard like we did the last test) test on Tuesday (instead of Weds.) (Less time to get notes, but more testing time as it is a longer period.) So, in two full class periods, they should be able to take down key ideas that would answer two factual questions on each of then short paragraphs and write some ideas as to why it is important and do most of the notecard.

Besides learning the factual information, this has been a lot about learning to work efficiently towards the end goal and not waste a lot of time doing useless things. As you know, kids can be master time wasters, taking 15 minutes to walk to the garbage can and throw something away or copy one sentence. I'm trying to get them to use class time to their benefit and not waste time. They need to think about what they are doing and why.

Monday 11/27

I think the grades are accurate. Check for mistakes and let me know. I have until Weds. to fix them. Then I'll start putting in 2nd trimester. I have a lot of parent conferences to do, so if your child is getting F's and we haven't talked, we should set one up. I will send you a link to set up a time.

I should have journal 1 and 2 in from break, which was practice to help with the essays. They are 300 + words now! (Ooooh. 600 words a week!)

No journals this week. They all have the yellow packet back with the brainstorm and fill in the blank essay. Any who tried did pretty well. There is no excuse for anyone not to have done it all after four class days, plus three days to think about it, plus the book being read to them. This week the will do second draft and really work on organized essay form, a clear thesis and topics that support, actual evidence/facts from the book, and the big one, commentary explaining how the evidence proves the topic, and this their thesis. I'm really looking for organized essay form. The grading sheet is on Classroom. This will be the first big grade of this trimester. The 2nd draft and final are due with the original yellow packet so I can see the process Friday. If they need the weekend to finish, fine, but it should be a step up.

history

We are doing Rome. We are reviewing the events of Rome and looking at the growth of the empire by taking notes. (Similar to Japan--I explain the information and show them the notes, then give them time to write the notes in their own way. Repeat.) We'll finish the notes Tuesday and the assessment is a timeline (attached to the packet.) That will be due Thursday with some time in class. It SHOULD be simple and straightforward!

Minimum dates (with information and visuals) should be abour 21. There are 33 in the notes. It should look like an accurate timeline. Since there is a 35 foot long 1 1/2 foot high timeline along the top of the toom, they should be able to do this!

The we'll move on to Roman accomplishments.

Friday 11/17

I have the basics of grades in. It's going to take me awhile to finish grading the literary essay draft and Samurai Sayings, and then I'll get those in. Grades do not go in officially until the 29th, so don't worry about any errors. We can correct those when we get back from break.

Since everyone says they are 100% clear on reading now, I'm sure they will use the break to get a good start on reading! Also, journals 1 and 2 for second trimester need to be done over break (because we want to keep on writing!) Since we're on literary essay, I want them to practice that. They can practice coming up with a thesis about their reading book and at least starting an essay and learning how to organize. Everything they need to reference if they need help is in the Essay Basics packet, which they all have and is on Classroom.

Remember, journals are 300 words minimum now! The counselors came in to see if it was possible for 7th graders to write 250 words in 20 minutes for all three classes, and anyone who just kept on writing I think did about 4-500 words in 20 minutes! Easy Peasy!

Monday 11/13

I have been going non-stop all day and am behind on putting things in, esp. for English. I'll get there. I've been getting books turned in non-stop. That's a good thing. I will do my best to get it all in as soon as I can. The grading period ends Friday, but technically grades don't have to be in until the 29th, so there is a long time to correct anything.

In general, I'm really happy with how the kids are stepping up and the parent support. I have heard more than a few stories about how the journals were SO hard to do at first, but once the kids learned to just do them, they have taken on the responsibility of doing them over time and are learning how easy they really are. Warning, there is a 300 word minimum 2nd trimester! (Not really a warning. Most kids are doing way more than that already in 20 minutes. ) You can also see this in The Giver quizzes. The first one they took 25 minutes to answer ten questions, open note and open book, and many bombed it because they couldn't answer questions or write in complete sentences. By the last few, even though I was giving 15 minutes, pretty much everyone was answering all ten questions in complete sentences and acing it. They have learned to read, write, think, and follow directions at a lot more speed. I am worried about a few who are still not doing this.

We are just doing the brainstorm and the fill in the blank for The Giver essay this week. I will collect it the end of the period Thursday. I'm not looking for anyone to try something they can't do, but really write an organized draft with a clear thesis, three clear topics that support, evidence from the book to support the topic, and commentary explaining how the evidence proves their topic. The last part of explaining how the evidence proves the topic is really hard for the age. They will get a grade for this trimester on that. Then when we get back they will write a final from that which will be a first grade for 2nd trimester, so it's important to do well on this to prepare for that.

The packet and the Essay Basics is on Classroom. USE Essay Basics for helps as much as they need.

WAGS will have a test on Friday, 25 points versus 10. It is a sort of "final" for parts of speech. It will be exactly like Day Three and Day Four on Flannerby Barp. ( :) The kids know.) They will have to label every part of speech in a paragraph.

history

To prepare for our novel after break, which is all about samurai Japan, they are doing Samurai Sayings. They have to look up words and come up with their own definitions. Then they need to interpret nine samurai sayings, figure out which part of the Bushido code it is, and justify WHY (the hard part.) They will turn in all of their notes for a grade, and I encourages them to do the saying interpretation part by hand. From experience, I have found trying to do this on computer just is really confusing. This is due the end of the period Thursday. The assignment is on Classroom.

Thursday 11/9

They are getting a small yellow packet today for The Giver literary essay. We will not do any journals next week, but complete the brainstorm and fill in the blank for the essay by next Thursday.

WAGS stamps will be counted next Thursday. They can get stamps made up any time EXCEPT next Thursday. This should be a 55 point easy "A" grade. The stamps are:

1) nouns --orange velociraptor

2) verbs -- green ouranosaurus

3) verbs 2 -- orange t-rex

4) adjectives --purple pteryodactyle

5) adverbs ---blue spider in web

6) prepositions --red smiling skull

7) conjunctions -- blue skull with "boo's"

8) pronouns --orange spider in web

9) articles --blue RIP gravestone

10) POS review --red gingerbread man

11) Flannerby BARP

Wednesday 11/8

As I said, I'm scheduling parent conferences far before Dec. 7 and 8th. The earlier, the better. I'm on 29 so far. Sigh. I'm continuing to set them up for priority students who aren't getting it or figuring out, or when I think we need to talk sooner about what is going on. My job is to evaluate that and make sure students and parents are aware and on board. So far a lot of this has been pretty easy in that the students are just not doing work, and actually doing it will make a huge difference. I am setting up conferences before school at 8, and for a few hours on the 17th when the students aren't here but I am. I have a form where you can sign up online that I will send out.

history

The open notes Feudal Japan test mostly did not go well. Despite the open notes (which many did not have, or very little) and it being the exact same information we went over, many did very badly. It's a huge lesson in blindly copying is completely useless. You need to understand what the ideas are for notes to be useful at all, and copying everything is a huge waste of time. Everyone has their test back. The retake will be Thursday. I gave them all new cards. It will have the same information, but the standard will be higher.

Monday 11/6

We have four days this week because we have Veteran's Day on Friday, and four days next week because Friday the 17th the kids have off while teachers stay here and work. Friday the 17th is the last day of the trimester.

History grades are steadily going up and I make some adjustments at the end of the trimester to bump them up. LA grades change the most because independent reading grades are not put in until then, and the WAGS stamps are not, either. (Another 10% of the grade, and about 10-15%.) That's a lot it can go up and down IF the work is done or not, which is why I don't put it in until the end. I still have quite a few kids who have done no reading and turned nothing in all trimester. I will email again.

I really want them to do the two journals for this week today and tomorrow. We will finish The Giver and do the last of the quizzes Thursday and go right into a literary essay. The journals are practice for them to try to write about different ideas before then. If they do not do work as I ASK, little problems become big problems. And not doing it because "I already have a bad grade, so why should I try?" is setting them up for starting 2nd trimester failing, because I will give them part of that essay grade this trimester, and the final next. No one gets better by giving up when they're behind. Grit.

We won't be doing journals next week, so 20 and 21 are the last ones. I gave them an information sheet today about writing a thesis, and that and the Essay Basics packet are on Classroom to help.

They're also going to be very traumatized by what happens in the book on Tuesday, so you'll understand the journal topic last week.

I will put the directions, brainstorm, and fill in the blank for the literary essay on Classroom.

history

Monday we're having the open notes Feudal Japan test. It might be a bit much for them for the first test like this, so I'll probably just give them 40 points (it's a 50 point test) so that it's more like they can choose which parts they can do best on and focus on that, knowing they can miss some and still do well.

Tuesday we will do notes on the movie "Living Treasures of Japan" which gives great visuals and information on the culture of Japan we have already learned.

Wednesday I will start them on history specific vocabulary Drawing Scenes that will help them with the novel when we get back. I will put the assignment on Classroom.

Friday 11/3

Since my sub was pulled today, there is a change of plans. We will finish the notes on Feudal Japan. We've been working on how to takes notes in a useful way. What I have done is explain information to them while they are looking at notes about it. Then they have time to take notes in their own way and add needed details. What I DO NOT want them to do is copy the notes on the overhead without thinking, or part of them, and then stare at the wall or play with their fingers. We are doing this in sections for each page. As we finish each page, they are practicing coming up with Key Concepts/ Big Ideas for each page. (This is like a thesis or overall concept that has an element of opinion that could apply to many situations or answer the questions-- Why do we need to learn this? Why is this important? A good key concept would basically be a thesis that they could prove with the evidence on this page.) They will do it on their own, share with a partner, and then share with the class for each page, so everyone should have lots of examples written for each page from those shared to practice with. When we finish the whole five pages, we will practice coming up with Key Concepts for the whole Feudal Japan packet. This is the higher level thinking we're working on beyond recalling facts, making that leap of thinking as to why this is important and how it can be applied to many things in life.

About 1/3 the way through class today we will finish the notes. I will then give them each a 3 by 5 " note card (AM pink, PM blue.) We will have an open notes test on this on Monday and they may have their notecard. They could copy the whole packet on the card if they really wanted to. That won't be useful. The idea is to target key words and ideas that will help them remember the details of factual information they already know. If they don't know this in the first place, trying to reread the packet or the card to figure out the answer is not helpful. This is a test of a lot of things. Normally the first time I do an open notes test about half the class has no notes, or so few as to be useless. Let's see if we can do better.

Thursday 11/2

While I have a spare minute I want to write this. I work nonstop in class, and every spare minute in break, lunch I am getting books turned in, and I'm on 21 parent conferences and booked all through next week. It's worth it, though.

I'm seeing a big turn around in the kids, and to be silly like SNL, they are "woke." I had a lot of blank stares for the first part of the year and kids just sitting there doing nothing and confused about why they were getting failing grades. They're getting it now, and it's spreading. They really care about legitimate grades and earning them, and are now figuring out they need to actually get all of their work in and check. (This is why I hate 50% for missing work. It really hurts the kids and their understanding of what they need to do.) The China's Beliefs assignment was a whole new level of thinking and understanding, and MOST of them did very well on it and got A's. I hope we see that spread into all work.

I'm all good with not being perfect and making mistakes as long as we see steady progress. The grades are pretty honest about where they are right now in understanding (which is what they're supposed to be) but they just need to get all work in. Mostly grades go up by the end of the trimester. It's just about being organized.

I'm working on keeping the reading pages turned in posted, but I may be up to a week behind.

Monday 10/30

It's three weeks until the end of the trimester. Normally the first quarter would be over and we would be starting fresh. I don't know if the longer time is a better idea or not. There still are quite a few kids who have done no reading at all so far. I keep hearing about they have read books, but just didn't turn them in, but I'm still not getting them turned in. When I talk to the kids, very few have actually been doing the minimum daily reading. About 1/3 have been reading the minimum daily, and about 1/3 to 1/2 have some reading in.

They need to figure out what to do to improve for the final grade. That's the journal for today. They should be able to look on Connect and easily see the problem. Pretty much those with issues all have the same problem--missing work. I do not give 50% for missing work as many are used to, so they need to figure out how to improve that. This is life--you need to get something in to get credit. Then there's the whole issue of understanding the work.

Be aware the reading grade will be readjusted at the end of the trimester to rebalance and stay at 20%, but I can't do that until the end. They also "should" have an easy "A" grade right at the end of the trimester with the WAGS stamps, which I think will be about 15% of the grade. If they are missing any, all they need to do is make it up and have me stamp it. (Any time EXCEPT the last day of the trimester.) I will count them on the last day of the trimester and put that grade in then. The LA grade is the easiest to go way up (or down) by getting work in. History tends to be a higher grade as we do it all in class, but doesn't change as dramatically (unless you're missing work and get it in.)

We are still continuing with The Giver . There are open notes, open book quizzes every five chapters with about a ten minutes time limit for ten questions, and they must write in complete sentences which have been in the directions for every test. It's going to be a couple of more weeks to finish the book, and then they will use all of the notes for a literary essay, which should be a 2nd trimester grade.

history

We'll probably finish Japan Ch. 8 questions Monday. Then we'll start taking notes on Feudal Japan. We will work on understanding the history, but also on taking notes. What I will do is show them the notes and explain the ideas and concepts. What they should NOT do is copy the notes without thinking and space out while I explain. The idea is to see how one could take notes, hear the information while looking at it, and recognize the key points and take notes in a way that is useful to them, adding information that helps them. For each page (there are five) we will stop and think about the Key Concepts/Big Ideas/Universal Truths for each one. These are ideas/lessons that apply to the information we learned, but can also apply to many situations in life such as: There is always a struggle for power.; People like to know rules and who's in charge.; There are good and bad things in every situation.; etc. We will also think of these Key Concepts that apply to all of the information in Feudal Japan.

This is our first foray into really doing that next step in thinking and applying the information we learned to an overarching concept. This is the kind of short essay question we will start having in tests (and that you see in the SBAC) where you will have to come up with a thesis/claim (which would be The Key Concept) and prove it with the information/evidence we learned. We will do this more and more in history as we move along.

Monday 10/23

Halloween Carnival Friday!!!!! Any parents who would like to help and monitor our booth selling splat balls and other essential items, I would love the help.

Tuesday is a minimum day, also, so it's a short week for the kids work wise.

We will continue with The Giver . It is being read to them in class. Especially those with reading comprehension issues should be following along--this is why I am doing it that way. They are also supposed to be taking notes to help them with facts and questions/comments. Each chapter they are writing questions/comments on the board and responding to each other and talking so they can understand. There are a LOT of questions right now.

We will continue having quizzes every five chapters. The first one I gave them 25 minutes to answer 10 questions, open book, open notes. They had various degrees of success since the answers had to be in complete sentences. For the rest, they will get 10 minutes on the quiz, so they need to know what they are reading and understand. I am not giving them time to reread the book to understand. The questions mostly aren't found in the book--they require understanding and thinking--higher level thinking types questions.

history

We started China's Beliefs on Friday. One of the lessons in this is that you must reread many, many times to understand. It is very difficult to explain complex information simply. That's a main focus. I was able to do a drawing on the board with three words and everyone could have written the story from it. They do not need any information except what I give them on the page. If they start googling symbols instead of thinking like I ask, they will end up coming up with something that looks like a ships wheel, a Chinese character, and the Nazi swastika, showing me they're not using their thinking. I want THEM to show THEY understand it with visuals, etc. Some examples are on Classroom. This is due Thursday. So, it should look like four class periods of work (two of them shorter) so about 160 minutes' work, or almost three hours.

Thursday we will do a variation on geography with Japan's population, and then get into Japan Ch. 8 questions.

So, where we are now is the lesson of actually doing work and turning it in is hitting home. If they did not turn in work, it's a "0." (Note that many other teachers, not math, will give 50% for missing work and do the five point grading system, so they can effectively do 10% of the work and get a "D.") It seems to be a big lesson right now that they need to turn in work. I am good, but I am not psychic, so psychically grading work is not an option. Learning to work over time and stay focused over time is hugely important right now. It's a skill that needs to be learned, and if they do not practice, they do not get better. These brain connections and the ability to stay focused need to be learned now why their brains are still growing, or it becomes exponentially more difficult as they get older. See Your Child's Brain.

Monday 10/16

I am still working on finishing correcting work turned in as well as all of the last work coming in and getting it on Connect. I should be done by Tuesday, for sure by Weds.

A LOT of students are getting "F's" in LA because they did NO reading at all. All of them knew that the only homework they have daily is reading and it is 20% of their grade. Why they chose not to is the issue. This is the problem I have with the way some grading is, because they would get 50% for missing work and still be able to "pass."

LA is the easier grade because about half of it is just easy, turn it in work. The problem is that they have to DO it. History is harder because it's all content related, but they should be doing all of it in class, so I'm getting most work in and the grades are higher.

The Essay Basics packet should have been an easy high grade, and everyone was 100% clear that the grade was based on EXTRA notes and comment throughout. Only a few students in each class chose to do that and so most got D's and F's. We spent two weeks on this in class, and there was quite a bit of extra time to do those notes, but most were just sitting there (staring at the wall, twiddling their fingets, etc.) This is a lesson in using all of the the class time (or most of it) given. The test was an easy matching of terms of parts of the essay, and the exact same essay as from the packet where they labeled each type of sentence. Not surprisingly, the grades on each were pretty close. (I grades all 100 packets and then all 100 tests, so no way was I paying any attention to who was whom!)

All of this needs to be used to understand what's going on. I see students who care about grades at least, or more importantly, learning. What I'm not seeing is them understanding that work needs to actually be turned in and be correct. In history I've seen a lot of students do all or most of it and home, and then using class time to gossip. But what they did at home was not correct. They are not understanding the disconnect between just copying and writing something down and actually doing it correctly. They are also wasting a lot of time. So, I'm trying to force all of the history work to be done in class so they have to use the time given and each other to make sure they actually understand, and to learn how to use the time given a lot more efficiently. Homework should be reading and journals. Very little, if ever, should they be doing history for homework.

Look at the history chapter questions they get back. (Pink paper.) I do not like correcting these as it takes a long time, but it's very important to do it because it shows what they know and don't. I mostly only need to circle words in the question that they didn't answer or understand. Even though they always work together, it never changes anything. The history book questions are leveled so there are various types of thinking questions. Everyone is able to get the "right there" questions where the questions are in the same words as they answer and they just need to copy. I start losing a lot of kids when there are "think and search" questions, where it requires reading the answer in several places and putting it together on their own. And the "on their own" questions which require leaps in thinking where the answer is not explicitly in the text loses a lot of kids. They CAN and WILL learn this if they keep at it. It takes a lot of effort and checking by me. Parents can help by doing similar work. Look at Your Child's Brain page for more information on this.

We finally started The Giver! It is being read TO them in class because I know a lot of them are having difficulty reading. Following along in the text as it is being read really helps them. They are taking notes about what happens and writing down questions. (There are a LOT of questions!) They can use their notes for the quizzes we have about every five chapters. They are also sharing their questions/comments on Classroom, so they can see what everyone else is writing about. We'll see how far we get this week.

history

They should be finishing the notes for Chinese Ingenuity and working on the quick presentation for it. They should do ALL history work in class, so I don't want any more of posting the notes on Classroom and doing it there and taking hours at home to do a simple project. I want them to be more efficient with their time. The note taking and project should force them to study for the test so they can do well. I'm betting they get about the same grade for both. Once again, NO working on this at home! I'm thinking it is due and the test Weds., but let's see where they are Tuesday.

After that we'll do China's Beliefs which is a whole different idea in understanding and taking notes. More later.

Monday 10/9

The end of the deficiency period is this Friday, the 13th! That is the very last day to turn in reading for any credit and get an "I" Book redoes in. The reading will end up being 20% of the grade.

I have to say, almost all of the kids really care about their grades, and most of them really care about the learning. It's very refreshing after the last few years. I can work with that. If they care, they can improve. A lot of the things common to everyone needing improvement is using their time wisely, especially class time, and being efficient about getting work done in a way that doesn't overwhelm them. Middle school students can be master time wasters, which doesn't work so well with me. If they stick to the program, they will not only be a lot more efficient and self-monitoring with their time, their skills will improve immensely.

I'm having a lot of conferences to clear anything up, which is great. Just let me know if you want one, and I need to be reaching out to some parents.

We will finish the Essay basics packet either Tuesday or Wednesday. The next day it will be turned in and they will have a test on it. They will get a grade for taking notes ALL over the packet. They get a "D" just for completing it, so I am emphasizing this note taking.

They will get a quick WAGS project Tuesday, the Prepositional Picture and Paragraph. It is designed to be homework, so should NOT take any more than 20 minutes, maybe 30 tops to do. They'll get a pink half sheet with clear instructions. I'll put it on Classroom tomorrow.

Then we will start the novel The Giver.

history

They are working on China Ch. 7 questions Monday and Tuesday. We'll see where they are on Tuesday and either turn them in end of Tuesday or Weds. Probably Weds. Besides learning the content, they are really learning reading and time management skills. If they read the chapter in order and then asnwer the questions as they come to them, it's a lot more efficient than randomly flipping through the book.

This was the same with the map, where if they put the feature on the map as they answered the question, if took a lot more time than if they answered the question and then went back and found them all again to put on the map. I notice every year it takes awhile for them to get the hang of the maps and relating the answer to the spacial representation on the map.

Then we'll start Chinese Ingenuity with note taking, and a quick easy project leading into and studying for a test. I'll put that on Classroom later in the week.

Monday 10/2

Lots of reading coming in this week. Make sure to do the simple requirements. Everyone signed off that they had and understood, has a copy in their binder (yellow) and it's here on the Reading Requirements page. Books must be completed and turned in by showing me the book and summaries and talking to me for a few minutes. They should turn in the book as SOON as done (which means no hoarding them and trying to turn them all in at once.) It must be a completed book, so no turning in 237 pages of a 400 page book. If they chose a longer book, they chose to be able to finish it in the time given. Everything is on Calendar, also.

All of the "I" Books I got last week are graded and in the grades. I have checked off journals, but I haven't returned them from last week yet. They should get them tomorrow. The "I" Book is the primary grade for the 1st half of the trimester. It will balanced out when the reading grade goes it, and the journals and WAGS quizzes are also doing that. The other easy "A" of WAGS stamps doesn't go in until the end of the trimester.

Some did very well, some not, and some didn't give me anything to grade. This was a big assignment, but that had a lot of time and support, the purpose being to teach them the process of working over time efficiently as well as using the journals to help them through this. Those who did not do well may redo it and get it to me no later than 10/13 (end of progress period.) I need the original and what was redone. This is a lot of work for me, so I need to clearly see what was original and what was changed. As always, I am here for an help or time, via email, before school, lunch or after school. As I said in the directions, the project should show 10 to 15 hours of work, which is what they had in class over the three weeks, and the additional journal drafts.

We'll be on the Essay Basics packet all week and probably for awhile more. It's taking awhile. This is really good information we're going through step by step, so reviewing it each day with your child could be very useful. When we finally finish, they will get a grade for completing all of it AND talking to the text (taking notes, etc.) ALL over it. Besides filling in, listening, practicing, and discussing, drawing pictures and taking additional notes helps one really learn the information. By the time we get through this, they should do well on the final test, which isn't a huge grade.

history

With all of the "I" Book practice, the Trans-Saharan Travel Guide should seem easy peasy. Well, easier. They've got it. They have had five full periods to take notes on 11 short paragraphs and the history book (and their notes) together, discuss, think how to organize, and write a draft. The final should be done in a way which is most efficient for them. I 100% do not care if it's done on computer (even though they didn't have them back then) or all hand done. No one gets more credit for having the best printer. Just make the final useful for the purpose (as a guide) and readable and that it has most or all of the criteria. That's due on Weds.

After that we start the China Map, which everyone should be great at by now! And then China questions. We continue to learn new topics in many different ways that are now familiar.

Friday 9/29

I got about 2/3rds of one class's"I" Books graded, so a few have them back or they're on the wall. The rest will be done by Monday. There are a wide range from quite well done to, I printed up my journals and turned them in. This assignment is a big lesson in time management, organization, focus, reading the directions, using a draft process, using the resources given. It will be the major non-easy "A" grade for the first half.

The end of the first half of the trimester is 10/13, which means next week is the last week to turn in reading and get 100% credit for it. Any reading I have turned in is on Connect (not as a grade.) They should be reading about 100 pages a week at THEIR grade level, so this is modified to their skill level. This means everyone should have read 400 pages already. I assume there are a lot with books longer than that, since I don't have many in? Books should be turned in as SOON as they are done. It only takes a few minutes for me to check their summaries and talk to them about the book. This should be an easy "A" grade. A reminder that daily independent reading does not count as "Homework" time as outlined for how much they should do for core. Independent reading is just an additional 20 minutes above any other homework. Mostly they have journals for homework and catch up work from class. Missing this and/or journals is going to be a problem.

Everyone needs to be checking Connect to see what I have in, what is missing, or what I might have made a mistake on. Anyone missing WAGS quizzes needs to tell me when they are ready to make it up. Anyone missing stamps because it wasn't complete just needs to have me check and stamp it when they have it.

They have the Essay Basics packet and we are going through it in class. We are going through everything step by step, so even if they don't know this, it will teach them. They should be applying this to journals and everything they write. We will have a test on it the end of next week when we complete it. They will also get a grade for completing the packet as well as makeing notes/talking to the text all over it.

history

For the Trans-Saharan Travel Guide, they spent three periods, two and a half hours, this week taking notes from eleven short paragraphs. Everyone should have very good notes. They should have also started on notes from the history book and their notes from other assignments. Today they should finish that and write and organize a draft of the guide. I had some people wanting to start a final on the computer without drafting anything out. That's a lesson I hope we learned from the "I" Book. They can go back to the information sheets as they write it to add what they need. Monday and Tuesday are work days where they can complete and check a draft and do the final product. There is more information on Classroom if they need it. Nothing ever needs to be done on the computer. They should be learning to work efficiently and in a process so they are improving it and following requirements. It is due on Weds. I will make them use the directions and rubric to grade themselves.

As with the "I" Book and all other work we do, I will grade it and look it over and circle, underline the directions and rubric. They should be learning to see all of this as well as I can.

Wednesday 9/27

The "I" Book is due tomorrow! Do the best you can. Everyone has the assignment sheet and he grading rubric, which they will be using to grade themselves before turning it in tomorrow.

I went through all of the chapter 5 and 6 Africa questions and graded them and handed them back today. As with all history work, they are working together in class together, but doing their own work. You'd think this would be easier than other work, but it's not. It's pretty typical that they're struggling to still do these correctly at this time of year. No matter how many times I tell them copying the answers from someone else and not understanding never works, they still try. It never works. The answer is always wrong somehow. You will notice on the assignments they got back I circled the very obvious thing they missed in the question, like the second half of it, or the "why" versus the "what" part of a question. Almost everyone is able to get the easy, right there questions where the question is phrased almost exactly like the question on the sheet and they just copy the answer. A lot of kids start dropping off in the more difficult questions that require two parts of an answer, or where the answer requires more on their own thinking or picking out the main ideas. This is the difference between basic level thinking and the higher level thinking. This history book is grade level geared for ELD students, so it's a little easier than grade level. If they are at grade level with their skills, they should be easily able to get the questions in the time given working together.

If they don't really understand what they're answering, they're not doing well on the questions. This requires rereading the questions several times as they come upon the answer in the book (not just randomly flipping through pages and looking for answers) and really understanding it. I think they're doing this on the "I" Book, where by process of journals and drafts, I'm forcing them to review the information, but on things like this, they are thinking they can just look at it once. Some kids are just copying a few words and thinking that's OK, and some are copying the whole section and thinking that's OK. The idea is that they should be able to read well enough to understand the concept and put the answer in their own words without copying. It's a process.

I'm betting everyone does better on the travel guide as that process forces them to review the information several times. Be aware that doing things on the computer is a different process and thinking than doing it by hand. I'm seeing more issues in the last few years with things done by hand because a lot of kids aren't doing that. To really learn something, they need to do it in many ways, and several of those are handwriting and typing on the computer. Go to Your Child's Brain to see my thinking on how kids think at this age, and what parents can do to help their child review information in several different ways to truly learn.

I'll catch up on putting in the history grades as soon as I get the movie notes done.

Monday 9/25

I sent everyone an email about being caught up on journals because I did not have time to just send it to those behind. I am back and playing catch up. I am very happy with how the show went. It was a lot of work. I think I was riding more than anyone there (about 350 horses there) from 8 am to 5 pm. My young horse is brilliant, but has been super difficult, and she really grew up at the show and started acting like a big horse and ended up 8th in the regional championships. Both did well and what I asked, but like anything, sometimes you're just not the best. You work really hard and stress out and you still don't do as well as you want. That's life! It just inspires me to keep working harder and making progress.

I got a good report from the sub and everything seemed to go well. they have all of their WAGS quizzes back. It will take me a few days to review the chapter questions and get them back. I am focusing on getting journals back as quickly as possible so everyone has feedback for the "I" Book.

Everyone needs to be checking Connect to make sure everything is correct. If you missed a WAGS quiz and stamp, get caught up and tell me when you want to take the quiz. It will sit as a 0 on the grades until you get it done. I am putting the pages turned in for reading (of completed books) on Connect so parents know what I have, but it's not in as a grade.

I've already had about five parent conferences, discussions, which is great. I can't get to you all at once, but please set something up any time you'd like. Most times you can just drop by and I'm here. You're always welcome to come hang out in class and see what you're doing. I'm assuming if I haven't heard from you, you're reading this, on it, and your child is on the right track and figuring it out. Most of them are getting the hang of it, though organization and efficiency are always an issue.

Journals 8 and 9 are on Calendar and the board.

The "I" Book is due Thursday. Read the directions, read the rubric, repeat. I will give feedback on anything anyone asks of me. Make SURE you have requirements. I have had a note on the board for over a week and pointed it out again today about the goals page. They need at LEAST 3 academic and 3 social goals and why they want EACH and HOW they will accomplish EACH. That is a "C." I have written this over and over on journals. A lot of kids are missing requirements. "Get good grades" I s a terrible goal because it is way too big. Break that down into a bunch of smaller goals that will get you there. "Do better/do more/try harder" is NOT a plan. Be VERY specific. Ex: Goal--Complete all journals on time. Why--This is one of the easy "A" grades and I want 100%. How--I will write the journal from 5 to 5:30 on the day I get it, put my full name, core and word count on it, and email it to Ms Purcell at 5:32. Essay form is probably not the best for this--maybe a chart or headings and sub headings.

The whole book should have a variety of ways each section is presented. The culture/history is more essay form. Drawing words are probably only 15 words at most drawn. Break up other sections. Can you make lists? Section things off? Organize with visuals/pictures? Make pop ups? Classroom has some 3-D notebooks examples that might give a lot of good inspiration. Be CAREFUL about using super fancy font on the computer. Remember, one of the ideas is it has to be readable and inviting as well as informative and substantial.

Read the directions. Check your work. Read the rubric. Check your work. Repeat.

When that is turned in on Thursday we'll start the Essay Basics packet. That's all classwork for at least a week.

history

We took some notes on videos today, practicing being able to listen and get key ideas (especially with the one where the guy talked super fast.) They will get a grade for taking notes.

Tuesday we're going on a camel caravan and trading salt and gold as a final project for Africa. The will be doing the Trans-Saharan Travel Guide. They will take notes from placards in the class that have notes from a traveller who went on a caravan for the salt and gold trade and use those notes to create a travel guide so people don't die on the 1200 mile trip! (One way!) I do not want them all over the internet. After they've had some time to get the notes from class, I will also provide a few links on Classroom where they can get more. This is not about if they can go and cut and paste off the internet. This is learning how to read information and organize and apply what they learn into a new form. This is rather fun. And, since I have been on a camel caravan and walked 100 miles across the Sahara (honestly, I did, I have pictures) I can share a modern perspective and they can see some of my pictures about what it was like. (I try to experience as much of the history I teach for real. :) ) I think this will be due late next week.

Monday 9/18

I will be out Weds., Thurs., Friday this week going to championships, so this will be their first test of responsibility and focus. I'm hoping it will go really well and I can give them a special treat when I get back. Because of this, I will not update journals on the grades on Friday. I will update them on Tuesday. Also, anyone turning in reading has to do it Tuesday or next Monday. There is still plenty of time, so no worries.

Verbs 1 week quiz did not go as well as nouns. Hint, when we're doing parts of speech (which will be for another eight weeks) they should 100% know the complete definition of that part of speech. To improve, they can practice teaching parents what they learn each day, or make up their own quiz to practice.

They will continue to add ideas for their "I" Book this week. They should have lots to work with for every section--this makes it a lot easier to go through and start a final draft. Thursday I will let them use the computers to start working on their final drafts. They should be doing that through Monday/Tuesday, and then Tuesday/Wednesday doing the final everything and it's due Thurs. 9/28. The directions and rubrics are great places to get feedback on what to do as well as me and my notes and other people in class. Think about being creative in everything and having a variety of ways to present each section. The autiobiography about their history and culture is essay form (though visuals are certainly fine) and the Drawing Words are drawing. Everything else, go for it and be creative in the way you put it together. In the end, it should look like you clearly have the results of time and effort. As always, journals will continue to act as drafts for this as well as give credit for journals.

history

They got the Africa map on Friday and SHOULD have been able to finish in class today. A lot didn't, so this one time I will have it be due first thing Tuesday. Everyone should be able to answer fifteen questions and correctly put them on the map following directions working with other people in class in an hour and a half. Next time they will get less time. As always, I will check every single one for correctness. I'm OK with them not coloring, but if they do not have ALL of the requirements clearly stated on the bottom, it is wrong. The information on how to get the history book online is on the home page of this website.

Tuesday they will get chapter 5 Early West African Societies questions. There are fifteen questions and they are working together. They should easily be able to complete those by halfway through class on Weds. They will then get Chapter 6 West African Empires questions. There are twenty-five of those. They should be able to finish by Friday, but I will let them be due on Monday. I will have them correct each other's in class, but I will correct each one of these. These SHOULD bump up their history grade because everyone is capable of doing well, but this is another test of how they use their class time.

Friday 9/15

Whoo Hoo! First book turned in this week by Isaac! I know some others are ready, so keep them coming in.

I put a note on the board to remind everyone put in grades for the journals on Friday afternoons, so if you want it in on your grade that week, get it to me by Friday at 3. You will still get full credit if not, but it won't be updated until the next week.

I'd really like them to be done the week I give them because I'm trying to teach them to organize their time and work steadily, which can be very difficult for some of them. I'm spending a lot of time getting after them and notifying them and parents right now so that everyone gets the hang of it soon and makes it easier on all of us.

Right now they are learning the way class works, organizing, and getting used to the standard. Mistakes are just fine, but we need to learn from them and improve them. We're still really working on paying attention and reading ALL directions, not just some. They tend to do one thing and forget the other parts of what they need to do, or stop and sit there as if they're done. There is always learning to be done, so no one is ever "done" in class.

Hopefully everyone is really getting a lot of ideas down for the "I" Book, and can start thinking about putting that into final form at the end of next week. I will continue to give ideas and feedback to the class as a whole as well as individually.

AM got their Geography Pictionary and test back. PM only got the Pictionary. (I will finish the test and put the grades up over the weekend and give them their test on Monday.) Generally, the grades were pretty similar. I never look at anyone's name when I grade, so that's because if they learned and did well on the packet, that reflected in the test. They need to figure out how they did on it and why, and just keep improving on that. Copying without understanding never works, so even though we're doing almost all history work in class together, they still have to take responsibility for making sure they understand. I look at every bit of work they do and assess it. (Yes, this is a LOT of time for me to do this, but that's what it takes to get them to start to understand where their abilities are and how they are doing.) Keep moving forward. I grade everything in points, so they can see if they just keep doing their best and improving, they'll be fine. The only thing that really hurts them is regularly doing little or nothing.

PM needs to work on focus and staying on topic in class. A LOT of class time is being wasted with distractions, talking, making noises, constantly asking about wanting to do errands (bathroom, office, locker, various minor hurts, etc.) It's dragging down the whole class because those trying to work are being distracted, and those not are not learning or getting anything done Learning to stay focused on a task can be one of the most difficult and important things they can do.

Monday 9/11

Everyone has their first WAGS quiz back. They look fine. Most did OK to well, and those who didn't can see what they can do to easily improve this week. Most are doing pretty well on their journals and keeping up with them. I'm going to start calling home about those who are getting too far behind. Everyone should have been caught up with the journals over the weekend.

We're just steadily working on the "I" Book. Journal 4 and 5 this week are to help draft out more ideas for it. The idea is this week and to the end of next week they should just add, add, add ideas. I'm trying to get them to just keep doing and see how much they can do and get done by just keeping at it (much like the journals. ) This should set them up for more than enough to work with and start putting a final together by the end of next week. One of the reasons I won't let them on their Chromebooks to draft this is because they tend to write one thing and just change a few things instead of really adding and enhancing over time. I have put as many questions and prompts as I can on journals to help with more ideas.

By the end of next week they will be taking all of that and starting to write a final, and the week after will be finishing that up and doing the final product. It is due Thursday 9/28. By then they've had three weeks of working and adding to it, so lots of time to do a good job.

history

Because of NWEA testing, I moved the due date and test to Thursday. They have had more than enough time in class to do a really good job on the green packet, though some are barely getting anything or satisfied with incomplete work. Their definitions should be so complete that they can draw it just from that. I want them looking at maps and finding real exampleS. The part on how this affects people living there is all about higher level thinking and figuring it out. (Googling the answer will get them nowhere.) Think about things like resources, weather, transportation, food, daily life, etc. and how it makes it easier or harder to live there. They are all working together in class and discussing, so everyone should be able to do decently well at least.

The packet will be due Thursday, and if they did well, they have studied for the test and should do well. Parents, if you want to "quiz" them at home, read the definition they wrote, and ask them to draw the feature from it. Also, six terms are very similar to another. What's the difference between a bay and gulf? Cape and peninsula? Basin and valley?

Friday 9/8

Finally I feel like we have a real day where we're not doing things not about class or rushing. We're settling into class and I'm not talking to them explaining all day. We're still getting used to the routine.

They should really be doing journals as soon as they can to make their own life easier and to be organized. But, it's set up so that I will keep after them if they get behind until they're all caught up. I'd like them by the Friday of that week because I update journal grades on Friday afternoons, so parents can see what has been done. If they are behind, they should catch up over the weekend. This week has been an easy week for them, so they really shouldn't be behind. As you can see, they've now got plenty to do with the "I" Book, so if they put it off, they just piled extra work on themselves for no reason. Some weeks get busy because they get a bunch of assignments from different teachers or something happens, so they always have the weekend as a buffer.

We just today had time to work on the "I" Book. They need to be productive with their time. They have about two weeks to get ideas down and add to them, so it's a lot of drafting. I do not want them spending an hour making pretty bubble letters that say "My I Book" and coloring them right now or spending hours randomly looking through the dictionary for adjectives. This is all a lesson in how to be productive and focused instead of wasting time.

They had their first WAGS quiz. Friday's WAGS was brainstorming examples of people, places, things, and ideas, so one would hope they got the definition of a noun. Knowing that a word that looks like a verb with an "ing" end is a gerund is sort of the high level question. And the rest were doing examples of understanding singular and plural yesterday. This is basically how it will work every week.

Thurs. Sept 7

Sorry about the delay. Being at ESC on Tuesday and the TWO fire drills on minimum day Weds. was rough. I hope you will all be coming to Back to School Night 6 to 7:30 tonight just so we can see each other and you can get a sense of things.

I have Classroom up and running. I use it primarily as a place to attach assignments and additional resources. I attached examples of some things they need to know for the "I" book this week.

Codes

LA peemgbl

history q1uk8b (It's the number 1, not lower case "l")

We finally sort of got caught up today. Everyone had the quiz on the Parent Letter today, and everyone has the "I" Book. I will give a due date on the "I" Book after I get details on NWEA testing next week, but it will be due in about three weeks. HUGE project!

history

Everyone has Geography Pictionary. They should be able to get it all done in class working together if they stay productive. I'm thinking it will be due next Weds. and then the will have a test on the same information. They will get a grade for the packet and the test. Usually the grades end up being the same as the packet is all studying for the test.

Friday Sept. 2

Since next week is only four days and I will be in district training on Tuesday, I gave them journal 2 already and it is here:

Journal 2 What is your culture/history? What do those words mean to you and your life? When you write about this, it's probably things like what is important to you and your family., religion, rituals/habits. where your family is from, food/eating, etc/ What is YOUR life like. Journals are homework. Write non stop. You should be able to write at least 250 words. If not, you must write until you get at least 250 words. Do NOT worry about anything but writing ideas down/ These journals are drafts/ brainstorms for a project, so this will really help with that. Turn them in as SOON as you are done. You may handwrite or type it. (You can email them to me.)

We went over the Parent Letter today. Many already have returned the sign off sheet. Both sides need to be filled in. The Parent Letter is also on this website. We will have a quiz on it Weds. What should they know?

They should already be reading. they all have an example of a chapter summary sheet. Go to the Reading Requirements page for more details.

Wednesday August 30

If you did not complete the 250+ words for Journal 1, make sure to finish and turn it in tomorrow. Read the page on Daily Work about Journals if you are confused. Remember you are being Sherlock Holmes and looking at clues and coming up with hypotheses about this class, the year, and me.

Monday, August 28

I know there are some intrepid learners and parents out there who have the schedule and have found this website. :)

I am sitting in a room in Aruba right now and will catch our flight home through Miami tomorrow. I was supposed to be at school today preparing for you. We were in Bonaire diving and were supposed to return Sunday through Houston, but all of the flights were cancelled because of the massive flooding. So after quite a bit of time searching, this was the only way we could get home so I can be there with you on the first day of school Wednesday. I didn't want to miss the first day.

Don't worry, though, I've been teaching twenty-one years, so I'll be able to handle the first few days with you with less preparation. I have my computer with me and can do work here.

PLEASE go through the website as much as you can. It will really help.

How can you get a jump on school? READ!! Go to the Reading Requirements page and check out what you need to do. You can be reading a book already and doing the chapter summaries. (You don't need to print up the page I gave--handwritten or typed up on your own is fine.) You can get a good start on your homework (reading and journals are most of the homework) and your learning!

I ride dressage competitively and have been showing quite a bit all summer. This year is a championship year for me, so I will be showing a lot to take my horses to championships Sept. 20-24th this year! I have three horses, all girls (mares.) Sora's show name is Sambuca and I trained her to an international level, but she has two other people who ride her now. I ride and show her two daughters Quilla and Quintessential (Quinn). So, five days a week I also ride about two hours a day. The picture on my email is Quilla as a baby.

I'll leave the attachments from last year on here so you can peruse and see what we learn! It puts it in alphabetical order, but you can see by date when we do it.

See you Wednesday intrepid learners! Tickets for whomever can tell me what you know or answer other questions that show you are an Intrepid Learner and read this! And what can you buy with tickets? I have a whole closet full of prizes and treats, including the VERY valuable splat balls (5 tickets.)