November 2, 2006

We listened to the "The HIghwayman" today. I don't know how the students feel about the poem, but I love it! I think they like it as well. The hard part is not if they like it, though. The hard part about this prompt is whether they can figure out what the author is trying to say. Then they have to give their thoughts on that message. I would love to tell you what I think the message is, but I want the students to come up with it themselves. I will teach them how to gather details from the text so they can support what they say.

The homework is choosing the right word unit 4, but I told each class that I will not be here Friday, so I will not check that assignment until Monday. They should be ready, though! I will be in Dover benchmarking essays for the DSTP test for the spring. What we do is establish a series of essays as examples of each score: 4,3,2,1. The company that scores the essays uses our scored essays as benchmarks, references. As Delaware teachers, the group scoring the essays is establishing the cut-offs ourselves based on an established rubric. It is not glamorous, but it gives me insight into the scoring process. I get to look at both the stand alone essays and the text-based essays. I will be there Saturday as well. (I get paid.)