It hasn't been a good couple of days. I've seen a lot of disrespect from the students and an overall lack of effort that really bugs me. The students took a vocabulary test today after reviewing a little bit all week, and the scores look mostly terrible. I don't think the students are studying at home. The ones who are putting some effort into it are getting A's though. The students also turned in their research work (the note cards, source sheets, topic categories) and a lot of them had almost nothing to turn in. I'm not sure what they've been doing the last few days, but it apparently wasn't researching. Or maybe it just wasn't keeping their research stuff organized.
I've got not much to say. I did pick up their reading logs finally and gave them another one for over spring break. Yes, I'd like them to read a little over break. It doesn't have to be 30 minutes per night, but I do think they can probably find some time to read and keep those young minds fresh.
Tomorrow is our team party day, so I won't write again until after break. Have a good one!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday 3/22
If you look up the etymology for the word "Tuesday," you'll find that it means something like the Day of Mars. Mars was the god of war in Roman mythology. So in a way, it's like a day of war. I think a couple of my students took that too literally today.
We spent most of our time with the laptops today. First, the students did some ISTEP preparation stuff with Acuity. I threw in some Acuity assignments for each student based on what they missed on previous Acuity tests. The students went through a little mini-lesson, answered some guided questions, and then did some questions on their own.
After that, they were free to research. A lot of the students are finding the Holocaust to be an interesting and very sad topic. Some of the students are doing an excellent job; others need to get on the ball.
On Thursday, I'll collect everything they've done with the research so far, the analysis part of the research project--the source sheets, the note cards, etc. I'll give them grades on what they've done so far, and then right after spring break, we'll be able to put that information together (the synthesis part of the research project) and share with our peers.
We spent most of our time with the laptops today. First, the students did some ISTEP preparation stuff with Acuity. I threw in some Acuity assignments for each student based on what they missed on previous Acuity tests. The students went through a little mini-lesson, answered some guided questions, and then did some questions on their own.
After that, they were free to research. A lot of the students are finding the Holocaust to be an interesting and very sad topic. Some of the students are doing an excellent job; others need to get on the ball.
On Thursday, I'll collect everything they've done with the research so far, the analysis part of the research project--the source sheets, the note cards, etc. I'll give them grades on what they've done so far, and then right after spring break, we'll be able to put that information together (the synthesis part of the research project) and share with our peers.
Monday, March 21, 2011
MONDAY!
The rest of the day, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If I can get through those days and Friday's party day without having a nervous breakdown and/or going completely insane, I can have a well-deserved break. The students can have a well-deserved break, too, but I'm not as worried about them.
Today was another day of research. This time, most of them used computers to find their information. We talked about Google and other search engines a little bit--using specific keywords for our searches, using symbols (+, -, " ") to help narrow the searches, and using the advanced search features. We also reviewed CARS (Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, and Support) to determine whether the sources we're finding are any good.
We also got a vocabulary review activity. It's a two-sided half sheet with a long and (I'll admit) completely pointless story. The 25 word parts from List 11 are in there 78 times if I counted correctly. There are other word parts, too. All the students need to do by tomorrow is underline as many as they can find and write what they mean above them. We'll review tomorrow and Wednesday for Thursday's vocabulary test.
Also, I'm collecting the students' reading log tomorrow. That'll finish off the first week of reading, and I'll have to give them another one for the rest of the week and spring break.
Ahh, spring break. Right around the corner.
Today was another day of research. This time, most of them used computers to find their information. We talked about Google and other search engines a little bit--using specific keywords for our searches, using symbols (+, -, " ") to help narrow the searches, and using the advanced search features. We also reviewed CARS (Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, and Support) to determine whether the sources we're finding are any good.
We also got a vocabulary review activity. It's a two-sided half sheet with a long and (I'll admit) completely pointless story. The 25 word parts from List 11 are in there 78 times if I counted correctly. There are other word parts, too. All the students need to do by tomorrow is underline as many as they can find and write what they mean above them. We'll review tomorrow and Wednesday for Thursday's vocabulary test.
Also, I'm collecting the students' reading log tomorrow. That'll finish off the first week of reading, and I'll have to give them another one for the rest of the week and spring break.
Ahh, spring break. Right around the corner.
Friday, March 18, 2011
3/19 Friday
Today's mostly a research day. I have two sets of encyclopedias. The students, for whatever reason, just look at those with disgust, almost like they think they're diseased. I had one student pick up one of the encyclopedia volumes and ask, "How the heck do you even turn this thing on?" I also have over 50 books from our library and the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library and some folders with printed off website sources. They want to use computers and something they keep calling "The Internet" but they'll have to wait until next week for that.
They're busily taking notes, keeping track of their sources on a source sheet (I hope--or their plagiarizing!), and answering those research questions.
We finished off our word parts for List 11, and I collected their notes to give them their easy grade. Today's word parts:
ag and act both mean "to do" like in agile, agency, aggressive, action, activate, and react.
nounce means "tell" like pronounce, denounce, announce, and renounce. Those are all telling verbs.
And to finish it off, we had pro which means "forward" like with proceed, prognosticate, project, and promotion.
They're busily taking notes, keeping track of their sources on a source sheet (I hope--or their plagiarizing!), and answering those research questions.
We finished off our word parts for List 11, and I collected their notes to give them their easy grade. Today's word parts:
ag and act both mean "to do" like in agile, agency, aggressive, action, activate, and react.
nounce means "tell" like pronounce, denounce, announce, and renounce. Those are all telling verbs.
And to finish it off, we had pro which means "forward" like with proceed, prognosticate, project, and promotion.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
3/17
Word parts for the day:
bas means "low" like with bass and base, two homophones, as well as the verbs debase and abase.
log can mean "word" or "reason" like with neologism (a new word) and a monologue or logic and illogical. Or, to attach this to something we learned about a while back, logos (not pathos or ethos).
reg means "rule" like in the words regulation, regular, regal, or interregnum. I didn't know what the last word meant, so I just looked it up. I guessed (since I know what inter means and it has part of the word number) that it had to do with the time between rulers, like a transition period between two kings. I should have trusted my knowledge of word parts because that's what it is! To put it in an American context, it's what we have with a lame duck president, when the guy in office knows he's on his way out.
And finally, sess means "sit" like with obsessed and insessorial. The latter adjective describes a bird's talons since that's what is used by a bird to "sit" on a branch. Also, the word sessility which describes barnacles or other animals that don't move around. They just sit there.
We dove headfirst into our research today. I gave them note cards, and some of the students used them to jot down notes (in their own words, I hope!) for their topic categories. Some of the students are doing well; some are not doing so well.
bas means "low" like with bass and base, two homophones, as well as the verbs debase and abase.
log can mean "word" or "reason" like with neologism (a new word) and a monologue or logic and illogical. Or, to attach this to something we learned about a while back, logos (not pathos or ethos).
reg means "rule" like in the words regulation, regular, regal, or interregnum. I didn't know what the last word meant, so I just looked it up. I guessed (since I know what inter means and it has part of the word number) that it had to do with the time between rulers, like a transition period between two kings. I should have trusted my knowledge of word parts because that's what it is! To put it in an American context, it's what we have with a lame duck president, when the guy in office knows he's on his way out.
And finally, sess means "sit" like with obsessed and insessorial. The latter adjective describes a bird's talons since that's what is used by a bird to "sit" on a branch. Also, the word sessility which describes barnacles or other animals that don't move around. They just sit there.
We dove headfirst into our research today. I gave them note cards, and some of the students used them to jot down notes (in their own words, I hope!) for their topic categories. Some of the students are doing well; some are not doing so well.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday, 3/16
The last two days have nicknames. March 3rd is Pi Day because, as all math nerds could tell you, 3.14 is pi. And March 15th is the Ides of March which, as all English nerds could tell you, has to do with Julius Caesar in the Shakespeare play named after him. March 16th is just March 16th, and that's boring.
But class today sure wasn't boring! We did a little sentence combining review to start things off. We've moved on to entire paragraphs of short, choppy writing. The students are kind of like superheros actually except their super power is even cooler than flying or jumping really high or being strong or having x-ray vision or climbing walls like a spider. And they don't have to wear tights! No, their superhero power is the ability to sentence combine so that their writing has clarity and fluency! Faster than a speeding bullet!
We also officially kicked off the research project. The students got a chance to peruse some websites I printed off, some books that I borrowed from the public library, and some encyclopedia articles. Their ultimate goal today was to narrow their topic and come up with their research questions. Some of the students have started the note-taking process. The rest will be there tomorrow.
I will say this--there were a lot of students who did not use their time wisely today. They're off to a bad start, and that's a bad sign.
Due tomorrow: 30 minutes of reading and the reading log (I should copy and paste this to use for the next dozen or so blog entries). They also need to turn in the sheet that tells me what their reading project is going to be. Book report? Poster? Dress up as the main character and give a speech? A rap song about the book? As I wrote yesterday, any student with a parent who reads this blog can write down "I'm just going to read the book and turn in the reading logs instead of doing a project at the end," and I will be just fine with it.
But class today sure wasn't boring! We did a little sentence combining review to start things off. We've moved on to entire paragraphs of short, choppy writing. The students are kind of like superheros actually except their super power is even cooler than flying or jumping really high or being strong or having x-ray vision or climbing walls like a spider. And they don't have to wear tights! No, their superhero power is the ability to sentence combine so that their writing has clarity and fluency! Faster than a speeding bullet!
We also officially kicked off the research project. The students got a chance to peruse some websites I printed off, some books that I borrowed from the public library, and some encyclopedia articles. Their ultimate goal today was to narrow their topic and come up with their research questions. Some of the students have started the note-taking process. The rest will be there tomorrow.
I will say this--there were a lot of students who did not use their time wisely today. They're off to a bad start, and that's a bad sign.
Due tomorrow: 30 minutes of reading and the reading log (I should copy and paste this to use for the next dozen or so blog entries). They also need to turn in the sheet that tells me what their reading project is going to be. Book report? Poster? Dress up as the main character and give a speech? A rap song about the book? As I wrote yesterday, any student with a parent who reads this blog can write down "I'm just going to read the book and turn in the reading logs instead of doing a project at the end," and I will be just fine with it.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday on Tuesday!
Blog-reading parents! Make sure you read the very last big paragraph for a special offer...
We read (or in the case of my first class, reread) Terrible Things by Eve Bunting. It's a picture book, but one that is probably a little too intense for children. Terrible Things is an allegory where some forest animals and these mysterious amorphous Terrible Things represent the Holocaust. That was our launching point for our Holocaust unit which will consume a lot of the rest of our school year. The students jotted down some ideas about what the parts of the story could represent (they had interesting ideas about racism, people who are apathetic to problems that don't affect them, and intolerance) and wrote a speech from the Little Bunny's perspective.
We watched a Brainpop video that gave a pretty good overview of the Holocaust and looked at some definitions--prejudice, persecution, anti-Semitism, Aryan, ethnicity, Nazis, pogrom, and genocide.
I gave the students two things today. First, I gave them a research proposal half sheet. On that, they will narrow down their research topic (form the too-big Holocaust to something smaller and more manageable) and come up with some research questions or topic categories for it. They'll also write about their overall purpose and their audience. Some of them got a chance to look through some Holocaust materials. They'll continue to do that tomorrow as they look for topics.
Secondly, they got their independent reading stuff. That's a very small (1/3 sheet of paper) reading log that they can use as a book mark and a half sheet about the book they're choosing to read and what they are going to do with that book in order to get credit for reading it. As always, they are to read 30 minutes a night. It should be a very easy part of their grade.
The students did make a trip to the library to return and get books today.
In fact (and let's keep this a secret between me and you blog-reading parents), if your student just wants to read the book and make sure the reading log is filled out correctly, I will have no problem with that. The ultimate goal is reading, and if I'm seeing reading taking place, I'll be happy and have no problems giving them their points for the independent reading grade. So, blog-reading parent students only--read, show me your reading log every day, and don't tell anybody. We'll let those students who didn't bother sharing my blog address with their parents do the book reports.
We read (or in the case of my first class, reread) Terrible Things by Eve Bunting. It's a picture book, but one that is probably a little too intense for children. Terrible Things is an allegory where some forest animals and these mysterious amorphous Terrible Things represent the Holocaust. That was our launching point for our Holocaust unit which will consume a lot of the rest of our school year. The students jotted down some ideas about what the parts of the story could represent (they had interesting ideas about racism, people who are apathetic to problems that don't affect them, and intolerance) and wrote a speech from the Little Bunny's perspective.
We watched a Brainpop video that gave a pretty good overview of the Holocaust and looked at some definitions--prejudice, persecution, anti-Semitism, Aryan, ethnicity, Nazis, pogrom, and genocide.
I gave the students two things today. First, I gave them a research proposal half sheet. On that, they will narrow down their research topic (form the too-big Holocaust to something smaller and more manageable) and come up with some research questions or topic categories for it. They'll also write about their overall purpose and their audience. Some of them got a chance to look through some Holocaust materials. They'll continue to do that tomorrow as they look for topics.
Secondly, they got their independent reading stuff. That's a very small (1/3 sheet of paper) reading log that they can use as a book mark and a half sheet about the book they're choosing to read and what they are going to do with that book in order to get credit for reading it. As always, they are to read 30 minutes a night. It should be a very easy part of their grade.
The students did make a trip to the library to return and get books today.
In fact (and let's keep this a secret between me and you blog-reading parents), if your student just wants to read the book and make sure the reading log is filled out correctly, I will have no problem with that. The ultimate goal is reading, and if I'm seeing reading taking place, I'll be happy and have no problems giving them their points for the independent reading grade. So, blog-reading parent students only--read, show me your reading log every day, and don't tell anybody. We'll let those students who didn't bother sharing my blog address with their parents do the book reports.
Monday on Tuesday
Quick note: You can expect a lot more belated blog entries for a while. If I don't get to it during the day some time (yesterday, I was busy with finalizing those grades), I likely won't write until the next day. I'll do my best to write each day, but with softball starting and chess team activities still going on, it might be difficult some days.
Yesterday, we did some more research review stuff. I swear that we're starting actual Holocaust-related things Tuesday. The students completed a worksheet using the textbook. They also took their benchmark assessment on research which should have been very easy for them.
I also gave the students a grade reflection sheet for the third nine weeks. I'm going to look those over, add a few things, and give it to them to show parents Wednesday.
Hopefully, I'll have a Tuesday entry later today.
Yesterday, we did some more research review stuff. I swear that we're starting actual Holocaust-related things Tuesday. The students completed a worksheet using the textbook. They also took their benchmark assessment on research which should have been very easy for them.
I also gave the students a grade reflection sheet for the third nine weeks. I'm going to look those over, add a few things, and give it to them to show parents Wednesday.
Hopefully, I'll have a Tuesday entry later today.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday
Gosh, I'm tired. And it's strange that I'd be tired since Mitch Daniels and a lot of the Indiana congress people keep telling me that I don't really do anything.
Today's vocabulary word parts:
sol means "alone" like solo, solitary, and the game Solitaire
fic means "to make" like fiction, specific, and personification
surg means "rise" like surge, resurgence, and insurgence
gram means "writing" like with telegrams and epigrams. And pangrams, a sentence that contains every single letter of the alphabet. (The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.)
potent means "power" like potency, potentate, and omnipotent
and the suffix -i means "plural" like octopi, nuclei, and fungi
Speaking of which, I've always considered myself to be a fungi. Fun guy. . .get it?
We spent a lot of the period with a review activity and our textbook. We looked again at the research project steps, reviewing things like taking notes on note cards, paraphrasing to avoid plagiarizing, parenthetical citation of sources, bibliographies, and the difference between primary and secondary sources.
My first class read Terrible Things, a children's Holocaust allegory by Eve Bunting. There wasn't much time to discuss it, so we'll finish up with that on Monday before diving headfirst into the Holocaust stuff. My other two classes will read and discuss that on Monday.
Have a lovely weekend! I'll be spending most of it figuring out my students' grades. If you have any questions about those, give me a call or send me an email.
Today's vocabulary word parts:
sol means "alone" like solo, solitary, and the game Solitaire
fic means "to make" like fiction, specific, and personification
surg means "rise" like surge, resurgence, and insurgence
gram means "writing" like with telegrams and epigrams. And pangrams, a sentence that contains every single letter of the alphabet. (The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.)
potent means "power" like potency, potentate, and omnipotent
and the suffix -i means "plural" like octopi, nuclei, and fungi
Speaking of which, I've always considered myself to be a fungi. Fun guy. . .get it?
We spent a lot of the period with a review activity and our textbook. We looked again at the research project steps, reviewing things like taking notes on note cards, paraphrasing to avoid plagiarizing, parenthetical citation of sources, bibliographies, and the difference between primary and secondary sources.
My first class read Terrible Things, a children's Holocaust allegory by Eve Bunting. There wasn't much time to discuss it, so we'll finish up with that on Monday before diving headfirst into the Holocaust stuff. My other two classes will read and discuss that on Monday.
Have a lovely weekend! I'll be spending most of it figuring out my students' grades. If you have any questions about those, give me a call or send me an email.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday 3/10
Yes, we've pushed the research stuff back another day. I'm ready to go, but I was missing some band students today and just didn't feel like starting things.
I forgot to mention the word parts we went over yesterday, so here's a list of those with the ones we went over today:
jus means "law" like with justice and unjust
lum means "light" like with luminous and bioluminescence
annu (also anni and enni) means "year" like annual and anniversary
mob means "move" like an automobile or mobile phone
rogat means "ask" like interrogative sentences or a surrogate
parl means "speak" like parliament (or parliamentary procedure) and parlance
cant means "sing" like an incantation or a canticle
apo means "away" like an apogee, an apology, or an apostle
sen means "old" like senile and senior
andro means "man" like an android or polyandry
gyn means "woman" like gynecologist or a misogynist
We went over appositives in greater detail and looked at a practice worksheet. We also took our vocabulary quiz (the students said it was more difficult than Tuesday's test; 48% of the students in my first class got an A on that first one, by the way) and had some time to work on things.
We will review research stuff and start looking at the Holocaust tomorrow. I promise!
I forgot to mention the word parts we went over yesterday, so here's a list of those with the ones we went over today:
jus means "law" like with justice and unjust
lum means "light" like with luminous and bioluminescence
annu (also anni and enni) means "year" like annual and anniversary
mob means "move" like an automobile or mobile phone
rogat means "ask" like interrogative sentences or a surrogate
parl means "speak" like parliament (or parliamentary procedure) and parlance
cant means "sing" like an incantation or a canticle
apo means "away" like an apogee, an apology, or an apostle
sen means "old" like senile and senior
andro means "man" like an android or polyandry
gyn means "woman" like gynecologist or a misogynist
We went over appositives in greater detail and looked at a practice worksheet. We also took our vocabulary quiz (the students said it was more difficult than Tuesday's test; 48% of the students in my first class got an A on that first one, by the way) and had some time to work on things.
We will review research stuff and start looking at the Holocaust tomorrow. I promise!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wednesday
Well, I intended on starting the Holocaust unit today. I just didn't feel ready, and I am running to the public library (downtown and Wayne Township branches) this afternoon to get some materials for the students to use on their research. Unfortunately, I just found out that a bunch of my students will be out of class tomorrow for some band rehearsing which means I might have to put it off at least in that class for another day.
We graded yesterday's vocabulary test, so the students know what they got. The scores aren't bad on this one, and there were a lot of 90%+'s which made me happy. Tomorrow will be another 50-point vocab. review test. Remember, that vocabulary chain assignment is due by the end of the week.
We reviewed our sentence combining and took a very short quiz. I also introduced another sentence-combining tool for their writing toolboxes--the appositive. They're tricky at first, but once the students get comfortable with them, they can really help their writing fluency.
Book reports due by Friday! As I'm getting more and more make-up work, I'm seeing those grades go up and up. Hopefully, this last little piece of the grade puzzle will put them where they need to be.
We graded yesterday's vocabulary test, so the students know what they got. The scores aren't bad on this one, and there were a lot of 90%+'s which made me happy. Tomorrow will be another 50-point vocab. review test. Remember, that vocabulary chain assignment is due by the end of the week.
We reviewed our sentence combining and took a very short quiz. I also introduced another sentence-combining tool for their writing toolboxes--the appositive. They're tricky at first, but once the students get comfortable with them, they can really help their writing fluency.
Book reports due by Friday! As I'm getting more and more make-up work, I'm seeing those grades go up and up. Hopefully, this last little piece of the grade puzzle will put them where they need to be.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday
Quick reminder: Friday's the big day. Check the last blog entry for the stuff I need from my students this week, including the book report. That book report will be a big chunk of their independent reading grade for this nine weeks.
We did some sentence combination practice today, both together and individually. I think we're ready to move from compound and complex sentences to another sentence combining technique--appositives.
Vocabulary test one (50 word parts) was given today. Some of the students seemed pretty confident about this one. I hope they did well!
A lot of the class time was used for work time. It was a great opportunity to get some things finished up, to work on book reports, or to ask me about missing work. I wish more students would have taken advantage of it.
Big big Holocaust unit starts tomorrow. This will involve a lot of work, including some research.
We did some sentence combination practice today, both together and individually. I think we're ready to move from compound and complex sentences to another sentence combining technique--appositives.
Vocabulary test one (50 word parts) was given today. Some of the students seemed pretty confident about this one. I hope they did well!
A lot of the class time was used for work time. It was a great opportunity to get some things finished up, to work on book reports, or to ask me about missing work. I wish more students would have taken advantage of it.
Big big Holocaust unit starts tomorrow. This will involve a lot of work, including some research.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday
Because of what can only be described as a crippling depression, I did not post anything Thursday or Friday. Sorry for the inconvenience.
While I'm thinking about it--if anybody would like to buy me a mini-van, let me know.
Here's what is due by the end of this week:
>>> all make-up work (obviously, since this is the end of the nine weeks)
>>> a book report on the 2nd book the students read this nine weeks (they got a half sheet about this today)
>>> the vocabulary "chain" assignment (preferably, they should do that by tomorrow since the first of four vocabulary review quizzes is tomorrow)
>>> the "The Tell-Tale Heart" writing (we started it last week; they should be done by tomorrow, but if they're not, I'll accept them until Friday)
We reviewed sentences (compound, complex, etc.) today since it had been a while. We'll continue to work with that this week. There will be some grammar stuff on the next round of ISTEP, so we have a lot to cover before then.
Let me know if you have any questions as we end this nine weeks.
While I'm thinking about it--if anybody would like to buy me a mini-van, let me know.
Here's what is due by the end of this week:
>>> all make-up work (obviously, since this is the end of the nine weeks)
>>> a book report on the 2nd book the students read this nine weeks (they got a half sheet about this today)
>>> the vocabulary "chain" assignment (preferably, they should do that by tomorrow since the first of four vocabulary review quizzes is tomorrow)
>>> the "The Tell-Tale Heart" writing (we started it last week; they should be done by tomorrow, but if they're not, I'll accept them until Friday)
We reviewed sentences (compound, complex, etc.) today since it had been a while. We'll continue to work with that this week. There will be some grammar stuff on the next round of ISTEP, so we have a lot to cover before then.
Let me know if you have any questions as we end this nine weeks.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday
As promised, there's not a whole lot going on this week. We're reviewing vocabulary with some little game-type things and continuing to focus on ISTEP.
Reminder: The students have a vocabulary assignment (a word chain!) that is due some time next week. Next week, they will have a 25 word part test Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. If they do their chain before Tuesday, it'll be a good review activity for them. I'd strongly recommend they spend a little bit of time every night with their old word parts.
We went over the Howard Hughes constructed responses, and I gave back two extended responses, one which they wrote last week (I think--the one about "reading") and one that they wrote all the way back in November. I think a lot of the kids saw improvement which is good since that's exactly what we're shooting for.
Speaking of ISTEP, they had their big 55 minute writing today. The group I was with didn't do great on it, and I was heartbroken and irritated. As the day went on and I talked to more and more of my students, I grew a little more optimistic though. From what they tell me, it seems they maybe did pretty well. Either way, I get paid the same.
At least this year. . .
Reminder: The students have a vocabulary assignment (a word chain!) that is due some time next week. Next week, they will have a 25 word part test Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. If they do their chain before Tuesday, it'll be a good review activity for them. I'd strongly recommend they spend a little bit of time every night with their old word parts.
We went over the Howard Hughes constructed responses, and I gave back two extended responses, one which they wrote last week (I think--the one about "reading") and one that they wrote all the way back in November. I think a lot of the kids saw improvement which is good since that's exactly what we're shooting for.
Speaking of ISTEP, they had their big 55 minute writing today. The group I was with didn't do great on it, and I was heartbroken and irritated. As the day went on and I talked to more and more of my students, I grew a little more optimistic though. From what they tell me, it seems they maybe did pretty well. Either way, I get paid the same.
At least this year. . .
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Monday/Tuesday
Tomorrow's the big day--L.A. ISTEP time. The students will be doing a 55 minute ISTEP prompt. Thursday will be their constructed response/extended response day. Despite a whole lot of students failing my class right now, I have to say that I'm 100% confident that every student I have can do well on this thing. We've worked hard on this on-demand writing stuff, and I know they can impress.
We spent some time with our novels the last couple days. We also did some last-minute ISTEP prep stuff. I gave back some older on-demand writings for them to get some feedback on. Yesterday, the students read about Howard Hughes and did some constructed response work (Block Three read about an entomologist instead.), and we'll go over those answers tomorrow.
Vocabulary--they do have an assignment for this week. They're making a vocabulary chain, trying to find things the word parts have in common to link them all together. If they can make a 250 word part vocabulary chain, they will have the new world record. Here's an example:
sacro links to sanct because they both mean "holy"
sanct links to biblio because they can both make places that are quiet (sanctuary/bibliotheca)
biblio links to leg because "books" are "read"
leg links to ocul because you use your "eyes" to "read"
ocul links to spec because you also use your "eyes" to "look"
spec and scope link because they both mean the same thing
scope links to tele because it makes the word telescope
tele also links pathy because it makes the word telepathy
pathy links to son because one is "feeling" and one is "sound," two of the five senses
son links to phone because they both mean "sound"
phone links to caco because it makes the word cacophony, bad or harsh sounds
caco links to eu because they're opposites--"bad" and "good"
eu and bene link because they both mean "good"
bene links to mal as opposites since mal is "bad"
mal links to cide because "killing" is "bad"
cide links to mort because "killing" makes things "dead"
mort links to cad because cad makes cadaver, somebody who is dead
cad links to rupt because when something "falls" it might "break"
rupt links to fract because they both mean "break"
fract links to osteo because a "bone" is something you could break
osteo links to man because you have "bones" in your "hands"
man links to ped because "feet" are like "hands" for the legs
ped links to ambul because you use your "feet" to "walk"
Honestly, I don't know how they'll do with this. It forced me to use my mind to make connections, and I know that making connections is good for learning. If they have trouble making one giant chain, they are allowed to break their chain up and do 10 25-link chains or something like that. They should be asking me, asking each other, or looking the word parts up on the Internet if they don't know or have forgotten some.
We spent some time with our novels the last couple days. We also did some last-minute ISTEP prep stuff. I gave back some older on-demand writings for them to get some feedback on. Yesterday, the students read about Howard Hughes and did some constructed response work (Block Three read about an entomologist instead.), and we'll go over those answers tomorrow.
Vocabulary--they do have an assignment for this week. They're making a vocabulary chain, trying to find things the word parts have in common to link them all together. If they can make a 250 word part vocabulary chain, they will have the new world record. Here's an example:
sacro links to sanct because they both mean "holy"
sanct links to biblio because they can both make places that are quiet (sanctuary/bibliotheca)
biblio links to leg because "books" are "read"
leg links to ocul because you use your "eyes" to "read"
ocul links to spec because you also use your "eyes" to "look"
spec and scope link because they both mean the same thing
scope links to tele because it makes the word telescope
tele also links pathy because it makes the word telepathy
pathy links to son because one is "feeling" and one is "sound," two of the five senses
son links to phone because they both mean "sound"
phone links to caco because it makes the word cacophony, bad or harsh sounds
caco links to eu because they're opposites--"bad" and "good"
eu and bene link because they both mean "good"
bene links to mal as opposites since mal is "bad"
mal links to cide because "killing" is "bad"
cide links to mort because "killing" makes things "dead"
mort links to cad because cad makes cadaver, somebody who is dead
cad links to rupt because when something "falls" it might "break"
rupt links to fract because they both mean "break"
fract links to osteo because a "bone" is something you could break
osteo links to man because you have "bones" in your "hands"
man links to ped because "feet" are like "hands" for the legs
ped links to ambul because you use your "feet" to "walk"
Honestly, I don't know how they'll do with this. It forced me to use my mind to make connections, and I know that making connections is good for learning. If they have trouble making one giant chain, they are allowed to break their chain up and do 10 25-link chains or something like that. They should be asking me, asking each other, or looking the word parts up on the Internet if they don't know or have forgotten some.
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