Useful Information to Help With Daily Work

Journals

They are given twice a week, generally on Mondays and Wednesdays and due on Fridays. As the year goes on, I'll often just give them on Mondays and let them chose to write one longer journal or two shorter ones. It's up to them to adjust when they want to do them according to their schedule. I've given them some leeway, so it should not be difficult. This will always be homework. If they are behind on journals, they will call home to remind parents that they need to catch up.

They can also make up missing journals at any time. The ONLY thing they are graded on is writing the correct amount. So, even if they don't write about the correct topic, it's OK (though the purpose is to learn to do that and they SHOULD be trying.) I would LIKE them to write about the topic given and practice their writings skills. For those who need to catch up, write about useful topics that will help. There is a new Thought of the Day on the board every single day, and most of them make great topics to write about. Writing about what we're learning really helps reinforce it and learn it better, as we did with the camel caravan, so they can always write about whatever we're learning, be it how to write essays, conjunctions, China, or maps. The kids should use the journals to benefit them in the most ways.

The ONLY rules for journal writing is AT LEAST 20 minutes of writing NONSTOP. The first day of class we will do this in class, and everyone should be able to get to 250 words. The first trimester I expect a minimum of 250 words, about one page. Each trimester it will go up 50 words and 1/2 page. If they do this as directed, they will easily be able to get much more written and improve their writing in so many ways.

As the year goes on, I should stop seeing them trying to "fill" a page by making a really big heading, large margins, big writing, or really big spaces between paragraphs. (Yes, I'm aware and make comments as such according to their ability.) They should not stop at a page or number, but keep writing the 20 minutes.

Also, if they're not doing the requirements in 20 minutes, they need to keep writing until it's correct.

The reasoning behind this is to teach them to write and not worry about having it perfect. This is a problem with a lot of kids who get "stuck" in writing and won't put anything down until it's perfect. This forces them over that until they can learn to just start writing. It teaches them they actually DO have something to write if they just sit down and do it. It also strengthens their hand and increases the speed of their writing. Students will note how much faster they can get things down very quickly if they do as I direct.

If they are really stuck, or you notice them not keeping the pencil moving, they need to write ANYTHING. They can write, "I don't know what to write. I don't know what to write." You'd be surprised how quickly they will figure out something to write if they just keep moving the pencil. If they need to do that, that's fine. And, it allows them to discover that if they just keep writing, ideas they hadn't thought of initially come out. Writing is not aways, if ever, a process where you know all you will write about ahead of time, and the new thinking that comes through in the process is often the best.

Everyone is working on different skills. As their skills increase, it becomes easier and easier to fill the page, and they are not only doing that, but writing better. As they year goes on, I start trying to get them to focus more and more on writing in paragraphs by topic, using suggestions from WAGS in their writing, improving their voice, experimenting with different styles of writing, making connections to their life and other work, differentiating between summary and higher level thinking, self-reflection, etc.

So, this should be an easy A+ grade. I will keep a chart in class of what they have done. If they haven't written enough or long enough, I will hand it back to them unstamped, and they should do more and hand it in again.

Independent Reading/SSR (silent sustained reading)

Every child in this school should be reading a MINIMUM of twenty minutes a day. Every 7th grader in this school should read a minimum of 600 pages a quarter. This should be read as a MINIMUM, meaning the very least of what any student should do. Successful students and readers always do much more. Struggling students need to do more to help catch up on skills.

I require that 300 pages of COMPLETED book or books be turned in before the Monday of deficiency. So the LAST day to turn in the reading is that day, which means it really should be done much sooner. (Any student can read a 300 page book over a weekend, so the four or five weeks they have is a lot of time.)

If a students waits until the last day to do something and forgets or does it incorrectly, they have trapped themselves. They SHOULD NOT wait to turn in books. There will be a last week sign up sheet for those who wait that long where the later they turn it in, the less credit they get, from 100% to 90% to 80 % etc.

They must turn in a completed book with the chapter summaries sheets for each chapter and requirements. It's really very simple. They can do it in class when they are working independently, before school, after, break, etc.

It's one of the easiest grades, and the number one reason for failing students.

They need to pick a book of an appropriate level and length for them so they feel they can finish it easily well before the due date. I have plenty of books they can borrow in class, and the library is full of them. There are also many books in Freecycle.

These should be turned in AS SOON as they finish the book, either before, during, or after class. DO NOT wait until the last day to turn them in. They should count on turning in a book every two or three weeks. Everyone should be able to finish a book in this time period at their grade level and not feel overwhelmed, and this should put them well ahead of where they need to be, easily.

The reasoning behind all of this:

I want them to be reading every day, or something close to it, and not putting it off until the last minute. Daily reading is essential to improving comprehension skills. One of the biggest issues I've had, no matter what I do, is kids not starting to read until the weekend/week before the very last day to turn it in, confusing a very last day to get it in with a due date. Procrastination is a huge issue. Encouraging books every two or three weeks as well as giving less credit for the last few days seems to be the most effective way to get this done. This is also why I broke it up into two grades at half way and the end of the quarter. It also weights the grade as we go along more, so it's not as big of a jump up or down.

And, while I appreciate long, difficult books, this is not really what I want them to do at this point. I don't want it to feel overwhelming or difficult. I do want them to challenge themselves a bit in reading, but what I really want them to do is get hooked on it and love it, so I want it to feel on the easy/fun side for them. I have had students read a 500 page book every few weeks and turn in 4,000 pages a quarter, and they love reading. That's where some of them are.

I insist on completed books and talking to them because this is a skill I can assess. I can verbally ask them on the spot questions and understand their thinking skills and whether they can get overall concepts and focuses rather than just summarizing facts. Often one of the hardest things for them to answer in "one" sentence is the . . . (problem, solution, big idea, etc.) They want to just summarize on and on, which is a lower level of thinking. I can't get an understanding of if they know the overall concepts if the book is not complete.

I don't want long summaries of each chapter or overall because I don't want it to be a lot of work, but it's also a different skill, and often more difficult to get a brief, clear focus. I see this issue translating into note taking in all of the work we do.

I insist on it this way, also, because there is no way to cheat in copying a summary or review, and verbally it takes me about 30 seconds to see if they actually read it or not.

WAGS (Writing and Grammar Skills)

This is the grammar program that I wrote that we do first thing in class every day of the year. I designed it to be easy, laddering skills on each other as we go along, and sometimes fun. In the fifteen years I've been using this, it has been an overwhelming success with all levels of students. All of them improve their writing and understanding through this. This is the basics of writing, but it is the highest element of writing, because they can learn to understand how to express themselves accurately and deeply.

They should have a WAGS section in their binder. Their WAGS stays in there and never comes out. Each week should be titled, such as "Nouns, Sentences, Similes, " etc. They are five days each week, and should be titled "Day One, Day Two," etc. Most kids have this down really well.

All I do for the grade is to check what they have on Friday and see that they did ALL of it. If they did, they get a stamp at the end of the week on their paper. They MUST do all if it. If they don't finish something for some reason, they can finish it at home. If they missed something, they can copy from someone. If they are absent on Friday, they just need to get it copied and come to me to get it stamped.

If they did not do one little part, they will not get the stamp for the week. There should be no reason why anyone would not get a stamp for the week. I will not count the stamps until the end of the quarter, and if they have them all, it is yet another easy "A+" grade.

The biggest problem with this is losing the papers. Organization is the key. If they keep it in their binder and never take it out, they should not lose it. Some students keep this in a thin notebook in their WAGS section to make double sure they don't lose it.

We will also have a weekly WAGS quiz on Friday on EXACTLY what we learned that week.

Organization

One of the biggest obstacles for a lot of middle schoolers is organization. They lose their work or forget what to do because they didn't write it down. Some of them are master time wasters and can spend an hour doing something that takes five minutes. I'm sure you've seen this at home when it takes twenty minutes to wash their hands or take out the garbage.

Everything I do is focused on being organized and using their time more efficiently, making sure they are aware of how long it takes them to do something.

+The FIRST thing we do every day in class is to write down the homework from the board in front of them, or put it on their Calendar. This is on the homework page and my Calendar, so parents should be able to see if this is being done.

+ If you can, set up a time to sit down with your child each day and review the calendar versus the homework, then go check by check through what needs to be done.

+ If their calendar is not looking good and their work is not being done, at this point they need daily binder organization. All papers need to be gone through and put in the correct place each day.

+When finished with work, do a check off list on the calendar, check to make sure they have what they need, (like assignment sheets, journals, or a reading book) and it's in the backpack by the door at the end of the day ready to go in the morning. If you can do this with them stringently for about two weeks, it might really set a new pattern and break the disorganization

+Give them visual deadlines in time periods to get things done, as with the journal. So, for twenty minutes of work, you should see five questions answered, or three paragraphs written. If they complete a certain amount of work, they can take a break.

+Figure out how they work best. Some kids work best right after school. Some work best by running around and playing, eating, then sitting down to work. Some work best in a long block of time, and some doing small chunks of work and taking breaks. Teach them to be aware of this and schedule their time accordingly