Homework:
Choosing the Right Word unit 10
Today:
Buzzword
Checked pictionaries and synonyms
Put pictionaries on the board and tried to guess them.
Continued to record.
Sections 3, 6 and 7 are almost done with the recordings.
Sections 1 and 2 have a while to go!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
January 27, 2007
Homework:
Pictionaries 11-20 and synonyms unit 10
Today:
We checked the pictionaries and listened to the rest of the vocab words. FYI: I download the words from Oxford Sadlier and play them through my iTunes in class. I think listening to the words is yet another way the students can become familiar with the words. It could also be a different way to review the words. They could use it for spelling by having the words read to them. I always tell them that the cool kids put this on their iPods and listen to vocab instead of pop songs. (I don't think they believe me, though!)
We continued recording the presentations today.
Grades:
I sent home a grade update today and gave a copy to the students in class. These grades will be the ones I use for the interims.
Pictionaries 11-20 and synonyms unit 10
Today:
We checked the pictionaries and listened to the rest of the vocab words. FYI: I download the words from Oxford Sadlier and play them through my iTunes in class. I think listening to the words is yet another way the students can become familiar with the words. It could also be a different way to review the words. They could use it for spelling by having the words read to them. I always tell them that the cool kids put this on their iPods and listen to vocab instead of pop songs. (I don't think they believe me, though!)
We continued recording the presentations today.
Grades:
I sent home a grade update today and gave a copy to the students in class. These grades will be the ones I use for the interims.
Monday, February 26, 2007
January 26, 2007
Homwork:
Pictionaries 1-10 unit 10
Practice for your oral reading
Today:
I read my piece to section 3. Just to let you know that I am not perfect, I scored a 96% on my reading. I had a few tiny pauses, but I had a huge stumble where I had to actually figure out what I had written. In a later class, I rerecorded that paragraph so it will sound better. I want to have my family listen to the recording, and I can't have that huge mistake in the final version.
I have been giving some thought to the GoMyAccess scoring of the "Monsters" essay. Even though I complained in the last blog entry that the computer scored a nothing piece of writing as a 5, the same scoring applies to all students. So the students who got a six did SOMETHING that earned them a six. Was what they did sound writing? I don't have time to score the essays. In general, the scores should only vary by one score lower if I were to grade them myself. The scores are not perfect, but they can give useful information about a student's writing abilities. The final verdict: the scores aren't perfect, but they are scores. I will use them.
Pictionaries 1-10 unit 10
Practice for your oral reading
Today:
I read my piece to section 3. Just to let you know that I am not perfect, I scored a 96% on my reading. I had a few tiny pauses, but I had a huge stumble where I had to actually figure out what I had written. In a later class, I rerecorded that paragraph so it will sound better. I want to have my family listen to the recording, and I can't have that huge mistake in the final version.
I have been giving some thought to the GoMyAccess scoring of the "Monsters" essay. Even though I complained in the last blog entry that the computer scored a nothing piece of writing as a 5, the same scoring applies to all students. So the students who got a six did SOMETHING that earned them a six. Was what they did sound writing? I don't have time to score the essays. In general, the scores should only vary by one score lower if I were to grade them myself. The scores are not perfect, but they can give useful information about a student's writing abilities. The final verdict: the scores aren't perfect, but they are scores. I will use them.
Friday, February 23, 2007
February 23, 2007
Homework:
Practice for reading aloud
Today:
We reviewed the answers to the vocab book work. I did not check any vocab this week for a homework grade. I will get more homework grades this coming week.
We took the quiz on units 7-9. I will have that graded early next week. Interims are due by Wednesday.
We continued our readings. Next week, I will try to get all the readings done. It is fun to listen to the different stories. There are some really good readers in my classes. They make their stories interesting to listen to by adding inflection to their words and sentences.
Troubling:
I did find out something about the essays on "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." I made a submission using three writing prompts, just some random document that I found on my computer. The submission was not even and essay. It was just one page of questions and titles, things you would find on the top of my writing assignment web pages. When I submitted the paper for a score to GoMyAccess, I got a 5 out of 6. I was shocked. How frustrating is it to know that any old stuff scored a 5. We had spent a lot of time trying to improve our scores.
Now, maybe it was my writing style, vocabulary, and good grammar that earned the high score. However, shouldn't the words on the page be somewhat related to the story in order to get a good score? Shouldn't there be an intro and a conclusion that resemble each other as they do in an essay? Shouldn't the writer, the name of the piece, characters in the story, or ideas from the story be present somewhere in the piece in order to get a 5? You would think.
At this point, I am not sure what I will do with the scores from these essays. I doubt their validity, and I do NOT have time to read them. We did have good discussions about the essay and how to improve them, but I feel like the students we robbed of their hard work. Maybe the score is a result of the prompt being a pilot essay, unlike the detailed scores students can receive on a standard prompt from GoMyAccess. I will be letting someone important know about this anomaly.
Practice for reading aloud
Today:
We reviewed the answers to the vocab book work. I did not check any vocab this week for a homework grade. I will get more homework grades this coming week.
We took the quiz on units 7-9. I will have that graded early next week. Interims are due by Wednesday.
We continued our readings. Next week, I will try to get all the readings done. It is fun to listen to the different stories. There are some really good readers in my classes. They make their stories interesting to listen to by adding inflection to their words and sentences.
Troubling:
I did find out something about the essays on "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." I made a submission using three writing prompts, just some random document that I found on my computer. The submission was not even and essay. It was just one page of questions and titles, things you would find on the top of my writing assignment web pages. When I submitted the paper for a score to GoMyAccess, I got a 5 out of 6. I was shocked. How frustrating is it to know that any old stuff scored a 5. We had spent a lot of time trying to improve our scores.
Now, maybe it was my writing style, vocabulary, and good grammar that earned the high score. However, shouldn't the words on the page be somewhat related to the story in order to get a good score? Shouldn't there be an intro and a conclusion that resemble each other as they do in an essay? Shouldn't the writer, the name of the piece, characters in the story, or ideas from the story be present somewhere in the piece in order to get a 5? You would think.
At this point, I am not sure what I will do with the scores from these essays. I doubt their validity, and I do NOT have time to read them. We did have good discussions about the essay and how to improve them, but I feel like the students we robbed of their hard work. Maybe the score is a result of the prompt being a pilot essay, unlike the detailed scores students can receive on a standard prompt from GoMyAccess. I will be letting someone important know about this anomaly.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
February 22, 2007
Homework:
Study for quiz on units 7-9
Practice for the reading in class
Today:
We began reading the pieces to the class today. I am using a microphone and speakers to amplify their voice. I am also recording them using Garageband. As I did earlier this year, I will make the recordings available on the Internet... eventually. (I have a lot of essays to score.)
These are the categories they are scored on.
Stumbling (10 points). Each stumble (max 3) one point off.
Loudness (10)
Eye Contact (10)
Inflection (20)
I am looking for the perfect reading.
I reviewed the criteria well after each person who went today.
From now on, they should know what I expect.
If I have time, I would like to put up the perfect reading I had in section 1 today by Rachel F.
Study for quiz on units 7-9
Practice for the reading in class
Today:
We began reading the pieces to the class today. I am using a microphone and speakers to amplify their voice. I am also recording them using Garageband. As I did earlier this year, I will make the recordings available on the Internet... eventually. (I have a lot of essays to score.)
These are the categories they are scored on.
Stumbling (10 points). Each stumble (max 3) one point off.
Loudness (10)
Eye Contact (10)
Inflection (20)
I am looking for the perfect reading.
I reviewed the criteria well after each person who went today.
From now on, they should know what I expect.
If I have time, I would like to put up the perfect reading I had in section 1 today by Rachel F.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
February 21, 2007
Homework:
Continue working on the review units between units 9 and 10.
If you can, get the essay up to a 6.
Be prepared to read your essay to the class tomorrow.
Today:
We were in the writing lab for one final day. We were making the push to get the essays up to a six. There were some who did, but many continued to get five's. Oh well. That is a 92% for this assignment. I'll take it.
When I looked at the fives, I could see what was missing, but it is hard to just say one fast answer of what to add. Most times, though, the main problem was the lack of details. They simply were not explaining the points they were making. That is always a problem for students. In their minds, it is clear. They made the statement. They know what they mean. What more needs to be said?
If you look at the last paragraph, I explained the one statement with more details. Students don't always get that idea. It is developmental. The students will get better as they continue through their education.
Continue working on the review units between units 9 and 10.
If you can, get the essay up to a 6.
Be prepared to read your essay to the class tomorrow.
Today:
We were in the writing lab for one final day. We were making the push to get the essays up to a six. There were some who did, but many continued to get five's. Oh well. That is a 92% for this assignment. I'll take it.
When I looked at the fives, I could see what was missing, but it is hard to just say one fast answer of what to add. Most times, though, the main problem was the lack of details. They simply were not explaining the points they were making. That is always a problem for students. In their minds, it is clear. They made the statement. They know what they mean. What more needs to be said?
If you look at the last paragraph, I explained the one statement with more details. Students don't always get that idea. It is developmental. The students will get better as they continue through their education.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
February 20, 2007
Homework:
Begin the review units between units 9 and 10.
If you can, work on your "Monsters" essay.
Practice for the reading on Thursday.
Today we read over three essays. The first two were "Monsters" essays that scored six according to GoMyAccess. The last one was an essay that scored a five. The girl who wrote the five essay wanted to know why she could not get a six. I agreed with her. I wanted to know as well. I think this is a common problem with students when they are trying to improve their scores on GoMyAccess. They think that their spelling errors are what is holding them down. What we found was the essay had a bigger problem.
The prompt stated that the essay needed to explain Figure One's statement and give an opinion on the technique. The first two essays took the time to thoroughly explain what Figure One meant. They explained the technique and gave examples from the story. Then, both essays gave an opinion on the efficacy of the technique. One girl thought the technique was terrible and could not see it working for real. The main problem with the five essay was organization. She did not have the three main parts that I suggested in the outline.
The suggestions we finally came up with, I hope, should improve the five essay. I look forward to seeing the improvement. I also look forward to the rest of the classes. Now that they have something to shoot for, I think many will improve their scores. We will be able to get one more day in the writing lab since I missed last week during the storm.
Begin the review units between units 9 and 10.
If you can, work on your "Monsters" essay.
Practice for the reading on Thursday.
Today we read over three essays. The first two were "Monsters" essays that scored six according to GoMyAccess. The last one was an essay that scored a five. The girl who wrote the five essay wanted to know why she could not get a six. I agreed with her. I wanted to know as well. I think this is a common problem with students when they are trying to improve their scores on GoMyAccess. They think that their spelling errors are what is holding them down. What we found was the essay had a bigger problem.
The prompt stated that the essay needed to explain Figure One's statement and give an opinion on the technique. The first two essays took the time to thoroughly explain what Figure One meant. They explained the technique and gave examples from the story. Then, both essays gave an opinion on the efficacy of the technique. One girl thought the technique was terrible and could not see it working for real. The main problem with the five essay was organization. She did not have the three main parts that I suggested in the outline.
The suggestions we finally came up with, I hope, should improve the five essay. I look forward to seeing the improvement. I also look forward to the rest of the classes. Now that they have something to shoot for, I think many will improve their scores. We will be able to get one more day in the writing lab since I missed last week during the storm.
Friday, February 16, 2007
February 16, 2007
Homework:
The students should be practicing for their oral reading.
If they have a computer with Internet, they should try to improve the "Monsters" essay
Today we were in the writing lab. I hope I can squeeze them in for one more day. I saw that many students could use it.
Have a nice weekend. What a week!
The students should be practicing for their oral reading.
If they have a computer with Internet, they should try to improve the "Monsters" essay
Today we were in the writing lab. I hope I can squeeze them in for one more day. I saw that many students could use it.
Have a nice weekend. What a week!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
February 15, 2007
Happy Day After Valentine's Day!
There is no homework. We will be in the writing lab Friday. It is unfortunate that we missed our time in the lab yesterday. I don't get time that often. I will try to get them in the lab somehow next week so they have time to make the necessary revisions. I want to use the scores as a grade for an essay. This will be hard if they did not get enough time to finish. Oh well. We will do the best we can.
Today we looked at five different introductions for the "Maple Street" essay. We discussed what a proper introduction should have. We also covered what the essay should discuss. I look forward to reading some of their essays. I do think the topic is a little advanced for an essay, but the piece itself is great for discussion with seventh graders.
We also chose essays from the three essays they wrote. On their folder, they were to write down which essay they wanted me to score and which essay they think would be good to read to the class. I also asked them to tell me which essay they needed a copy of so they can practice at home. The reading of the essay should be perfect. That requires some preparation. We will begin reading the essays aloud next week.
There is no homework. We will be in the writing lab Friday. It is unfortunate that we missed our time in the lab yesterday. I don't get time that often. I will try to get them in the lab somehow next week so they have time to make the necessary revisions. I want to use the scores as a grade for an essay. This will be hard if they did not get enough time to finish. Oh well. We will do the best we can.
Today we looked at five different introductions for the "Maple Street" essay. We discussed what a proper introduction should have. We also covered what the essay should discuss. I look forward to reading some of their essays. I do think the topic is a little advanced for an essay, but the piece itself is great for discussion with seventh graders.
We also chose essays from the three essays they wrote. On their folder, they were to write down which essay they wanted me to score and which essay they think would be good to read to the class. I also asked them to tell me which essay they needed a copy of so they can practice at home. The reading of the essay should be perfect. That requires some preparation. We will begin reading the essays aloud next week.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
February 13, 2007
Homework:
None
What good is snow if you don't get a day off? Maybe we will have better luck Wednesday. If not, oh well. I don't want the students to miss their time in the writing lab anyway.
Today we listened to the reading of the story "The Night the Bed Fell," by James Thurber. The man reading the story enunciated well. I was showing the students what I expect to hear when they do their oral readings of their pieces. I will have a formal rubric soon. Basically, after listening to the piece today, they will have heard a perfect. They should shoot for that.
We also had another person read the three essays they wrote. Thursday, we will choose which piece will be read and which piece will be handed in for a grade. Then we can start recording!
If you are interested, I had to stay home with my son yesterday. He was hit in the mouth with a bat at my daughter's softball practice Sunday. Apparently, many people have similar stories of split lips and major injuries. It is scary, though, when it is your own child. He has a big boo boo lip now. I have pictures on my mobile blog.
None
What good is snow if you don't get a day off? Maybe we will have better luck Wednesday. If not, oh well. I don't want the students to miss their time in the writing lab anyway.
Today we listened to the reading of the story "The Night the Bed Fell," by James Thurber. The man reading the story enunciated well. I was showing the students what I expect to hear when they do their oral readings of their pieces. I will have a formal rubric soon. Basically, after listening to the piece today, they will have heard a perfect. They should shoot for that.
We also had another person read the three essays they wrote. Thursday, we will choose which piece will be read and which piece will be handed in for a grade. Then we can start recording!
If you are interested, I had to stay home with my son yesterday. He was hit in the mouth with a bat at my daughter's softball practice Sunday. Apparently, many people have similar stories of split lips and major injuries. It is scary, though, when it is your own child. He has a big boo boo lip now. I have pictures on my mobile blog.
Friday, February 09, 2007
February 9, 2007
Homework:
Finish "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" essay for Monday.
(The assignment should already be on GoMyAccess. The draft can be there.)
Get the grade slip signed.
Today we did a number of things. The Daily Buzzword was fun to figure out. If you have not seen what I am talking about, there is a link on my web page. Go here to see one. Today's work required students to use process of elimination. It is interesting to listen to them figure out which answer is right. I try to get them right as well, so I explain how I deduced the answer. We are learning new words each day and practicing the important skill of trying to figure something out using any bits of information we have in our brain.
We also reviewed quiz 9. We went through the quiz question by question. Hopefully, students will see where they are going wrong and will ask for help.
Finish "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" essay for Monday.
(The assignment should already be on GoMyAccess. The draft can be there.)
Get the grade slip signed.
Today we did a number of things. The Daily Buzzword was fun to figure out. If you have not seen what I am talking about, there is a link on my web page. Go here to see one. Today's work required students to use process of elimination. It is interesting to listen to them figure out which answer is right. I try to get them right as well, so I explain how I deduced the answer. We are learning new words each day and practicing the important skill of trying to figure something out using any bits of information we have in our brain.
We also reviewed quiz 9. We went through the quiz question by question. Hopefully, students will see where they are going wrong and will ask for help.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
February 8, 2007
Homework:
Work on "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" essay
The rough draft is due on Monday when we go to the writing lab.
Today we took the unit 9 quiz. We also took the first round of the district spelling bee. I will take the top 20 or so students and give them a chance at a second round. Those two rounds just use paper, like a quiz. The last round will use the traditional format so we can determine the top three spellers of the grade. The district spelling bee is February 20th at 6:30 P.M. I will let you know who the winners are for 7th grade next Wednesday when the names are due.
I handed out a suggested outline for the upcoming essay. We will discuss it further tomorrow. We will also continue to decide which essay will be read to the class and which essay will be scored by me. You can see the handout on the assignment page on http://www.mrboz.com/ .
Work on "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" essay
The rough draft is due on Monday when we go to the writing lab.
Today we took the unit 9 quiz. We also took the first round of the district spelling bee. I will take the top 20 or so students and give them a chance at a second round. Those two rounds just use paper, like a quiz. The last round will use the traditional format so we can determine the top three spellers of the grade. The district spelling bee is February 20th at 6:30 P.M. I will let you know who the winners are for 7th grade next Wednesday when the names are due.
I handed out a suggested outline for the upcoming essay. We will discuss it further tomorrow. We will also continue to decide which essay will be read to the class and which essay will be scored by me. You can see the handout on the assignment page on http://www.mrboz.com/ .
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
February 7, 2006
Homework:
Flashcards for Unit 9
Quiz Unit 9 Thursday
Work on "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" essay
Today we started to look at the three essays. I am going to have two people read through the three essays they wrote. (Each student gives his folder to two people.) They will make suggestions for which essay to hand in to be scored and which essay would be best to read to the class. If you think about it, the best essay to be scored might not be what an audience wants to hear. I want them to think about how the two essays differ in purpose.
There will be a first round of the spelling bee tomorrow. It will look like a spelling test. That is to weed out the best spellers quickly. Then there will be a second round. Finally, the top speller will be determined by the typical spell off.
Flashcards for Unit 9
Quiz Unit 9 Thursday
Work on "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" essay
Today we started to look at the three essays. I am going to have two people read through the three essays they wrote. (Each student gives his folder to two people.) They will make suggestions for which essay to hand in to be scored and which essay would be best to read to the class. If you think about it, the best essay to be scored might not be what an audience wants to hear. I want them to think about how the two essays differ in purpose.
There will be a first round of the spelling bee tomorrow. It will look like a spelling test. That is to weed out the best spellers quickly. Then there will be a second round. Finally, the top speller will be determined by the typical spell off.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
February 6, 2007
Homework: Finish Unit 9
Quiz on unit 9 Thursday
Make sure essay #3 is done for Wednesday (tomorrow)
It feels like it has been a while since I wrote on this blog. I did not blog on Thursday due to the incident at the school. Since then, there have been two in-service days. So here we are.
That is how class felt today. Today we did a few things. We organized the three essays into folders so we can have students read through the three essays. I want the students to determine which of their three essays they should read to the class. It will provide a way to discuss what a good essay looks like.
I also handed out the next topic. In reading class, the students are finishing studying "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." This is an episode of The Twilight Zone. The story has a twist at the end. The topic is too long to list here. I will make a page for MrBoZ.com soon. You can see the whole topic there.
Quiz on unit 9 Thursday
Make sure essay #3 is done for Wednesday (tomorrow)
It feels like it has been a while since I wrote on this blog. I did not blog on Thursday due to the incident at the school. Since then, there have been two in-service days. So here we are.
That is how class felt today. Today we did a few things. We organized the three essays into folders so we can have students read through the three essays. I want the students to determine which of their three essays they should read to the class. It will provide a way to discuss what a good essay looks like.
I also handed out the next topic. In reading class, the students are finishing studying "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." This is an episode of The Twilight Zone. The story has a twist at the end. The topic is too long to list here. I will make a page for MrBoZ.com soon. You can see the whole topic there.
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