January 31, 2008

Homework:
Sections 1,2,6,7 Good Draft of Narrative due Friday

Today:
Quiz
Looked at good narrative example
Peer review of rough draft

January 30, 2008

Homework:
Flashcards section 6 and 7
Study for quiz 8
Bring rough draft to class tomorrow

Today:
Reviewed the rest of the vocabulary unit
Reviewed parts of speech
Read a sample essay that needed some improvement

In sections 1 and 2 we reflected on how we wrote our pieces. Another person read the essay. Tomorrow we will spend more time reading each other's essays. We discussed what the goal of the essay was. What was the reader trying to communicate through the event in the essay? I had one student who told me he meant to say one thing, but the reader was thinking he said another. I told him to think about that feedback. Maybe he needs to clarify something. Maybe he doesn't. I also discussed the feedback I received on my essay and what I planned to do with it.

January 29, 2008

Homework:
Finish Unit 8 Vocab
Rough Draft of essay due Wednesday
(Section 3 has no vocab nor is the rough draft due.)

Today:
Reviewed completing the sentence
Discussed qualities of a narrative
S.S.W. time in 6 and 7
Long lecture in 1 and 2
Some brainstorming time in 3

January 28, 2008

Homework:
Completing the sentence unit 8
Rough draft due Wednesday

Today:
We reviewed the schedule for the week.
Then we watched an episode of "The Wonder Years" where Winnie Cooper gets in an accident. We are currently writing narratives, and the narrator for the show is a great example of the voice their papers should have. The older narrator is commenting throughout on the actions he was doing in the story.
The story is also great because of how it is told. There is a nugget of knowledge the writer shares at the end. The events in the story progress us towards that realization. In fact, the episode was about the accident, yet the reason the writer used that event was to share something he has learned about life with us. He states, "There are things in a life that matter, things in a past which can't be denied."
If he were to just give us this wisdom on a fortune cookie slip, we could read the same words and nod our head to its wisdom. Instead, a good writer is not interested in just telling us the point. He crafts the story to deliver the story with as much impact as possible. That is the result of this episode. It is so touching that I cried 4 out of the 5 times I showed it today. A writer wants his audience to me moved.

January 25, 2007

Homework:
None

Today:
Vocab
I discussed how my essay was progressing.
S.S.W. time to work on their essays

Message:
Dear Parents,
I assume by now you have received the gradebook login instructions from the school district. If you did not get these instructions by mail, please contact the office.
I wanted to let you know that I plan to update grades as often as I can, but I will say that I cannot spend all of my time entering grades. Although there are suggested timelines for entering grades, realistically I do my grades when I have a few to enter. When I do major updates, I will alert you with an e-mail. I am going to try a system of entering certain grades by the end of the week, but I do need time to grade things as well.
I also wanted to remind you that I have due dates posted on MrBoZ.com. There is a calendar and a daily blog to keep you informed of upcoming assignments.
The students are in the middle of a narrative essay right now. If you look on my website, you will see the prompt. The rough draft will be due around Wednesday with the good draft due Friday. The essay will be one of a few essays the students will chose from to submit their best essay. More details on that will follow.
Have a nice weekend.
-MrBoZ

January 24, 2008

Homework:
Choosing the right word unit 8 (Sections 1,2,6,7)
Work on "I don't dance" essay due next Friday

Today
Reviewed answers to vocab
Watched 3 home videos to demonstrate how the essay could be written
Explained my ideas for my essay
(Sections 1 and 2 read a sample essay to discuss narrative style.)
S.S.W. time to work on the essay

I think I will give kids a good amount or work time tomorrow. I also need to work on my essay. I have a great idea that I have to write on. The topic needs to be worked on- for my own understanding and because the topic will be relevant to the students one day.

January 23, 2008

Homework:
Sections 1,2,6,7: Pictionaries 11-20 and synonyms
Keep thinking about the new writing topic: "I don't dance!"

Today:
Introduction Daily Drill
Listened to words 11-20 Unit 8
Continued to discuss the new writing topic

I will hand out a printed topic sheet tomorrow.

January 22, 2008

Homework:
Pictionaries 1-10 unit 8
(Section 3 will be doing all homework in class for unit 8.)

Today:
Discussed calendar
Listened to words 1-10 unit 8
Watched video from High School Musical 2

We are just beginning the next essay. It should be done by February 1.

January 17, 2008

Homework:
DuPont Challenge essay is due Friday! (Tomorrow)

Today:
Sections 1 and 2 poured over their essays and the requirements making sure they had everything they needed.

Sections 3, 6, and 7 pair-shared looking for spelling and grammar errors, a well as discussed ways to improve their essays... for those who brought in the revised essay as I had asked.

Over the course of this research project, the saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink" went through my head. For many students, I worked harder than they did. But for many who did work really hard, the results are going to be outstanding! I am hoping for a winner of The DuPont Challenge to come from H.B. duPont.

January 16, 2008

Homework:
Sections 3, 6, and 7 should have another draft of their essay. (I said this yesterday, but no one had one. I don't think they caught what I was saying. That is OK. They know from today's lesson what we will be doing to their essays tomorrow.)

Sections 1 and 2 should bring in a perfect draft of their essays tomorrow. They should have perfect grammar and spelling. They should also have their citations and bibliography. I also asked them to have a submission form filled in so it can be checked for accuracy.

Today:
Sections 1 and 2 read over other students' essays making suggestions about submission. I had the students think about how the essay they were reading compared to the winning essay. I had them suggest to the writer whether the essay was up to the standard required to win (or just worthy of subitting for consideration). Regardless of the suggestion, students can submit. However, I would like only the best essays submitted. Some students' essays are not up to the standard. I don't want to waste the time of the DuPont Challenge people. All essays will be graded by me anyway.

Sections 3, 6, and 7 practiced proofreading techniques. Tomorrow I will let them read multiple papers offering suggestions for revision.

January 15, 2008

Homework:
Quiz Unit 7 tomorrow- Sections 3, 6, and 7 should make flashcards
Sections 3, 6, and 7 should be revising their essays

Today:
Sections 1 and 2 discussed citations for their essays. We read an essay and discussed how some of the information required citations that tell where the writer got the information from. I discussed the basic MLA citations and gave them a paper with examples. There is a web page that lists common examples. The paper was also a good example of style and voice. Looking at the way the essays will be scored, I see that 30% is judged on style, creativity, and voice. When we read the winning essay, I thought it did not have good voice or any style. This paper, in my opinion, did.

Sections 3, 6, and 7 read a sample essay and made flashcards. For students who were prepared with a rough draft, I had a quick, individual conference to offer them suggestions for revision. I asked the students to make those revisions for Wednesday. Another rough draft is due tomorrow.

January 14, 2008

Homework:
Finish up the vocab unit.
Quiz on unit 7 on Wednesday
I would use tonight to study for Wednesday's quiz.

Today:
In all classes, we read an introduction that was too long and made it concise. We discussed how it was an example of the nostalgia handshake technique. (You can see all the introductions we have discussed on the daily drill archive.)

In sections 1 and 2, we read the winning essay for the DuPont Challenge again. Now that the students have written their essays, I had them think about their own papers. That's all the farther we got today. We had a small discussion about voice. (Tomorrow we will discuss citations and support.)

In sections 3 and 6, we read over a sample essay looking at organization and details. We then looked at our own essays to see what needs to be changed. Some essays are a little light on details. Tomorrow we will continue to discuss organization and development of their essays. We will be asking what the reader wants to know.

Section 7 had MAP testing, so we missed about half of class while students straggled in.

January 11, 2008

Homework:
I gave a grade slip to sections 1,2,6, and 7. (Section 3 was in the library.)
A draft of the DuPont Challenge essay is due Monday.

Dear Parents,
We spent this week listening to presentations on the students' topics for the DuPont Challenge. The purpose of the presentations was to get the students to talk about what they would later write about. The goal was to have the students see if they know enough to begin writing. A few too many were not able to discuss their topics with authority. That is unfortunate. Research time was supposed to be over.

I am writing to you for your assistance. Please help your child find a few hours this weekend to write the rough draft of the essay. The requirements are listed on MrBoZ.com. On Monday, I want to begin a week-long process of revision. If the students do not have anything to revise, they will not be able to participate. Revision takes time. It also takes something to revise! :)

I am asking the students to write a persuasive essay where science is the hero. It should be 700-1000 words. In sections 1 and 2, I will be teaching students how to include citations. A bibliography is required. I suggest using easybib.com.

Thank you for your help.
-MrBoZ

January 10, 2008

Homework:
Completing the sentence unit 7
Draft of the DuPont Challenge is due Monday.

Today:
We reviewed a sample DuPont Challenge essay. We looked at how it is organized and discussed techniques for improving the essay. I wanted to show the students a model so they have something to shoot for (or above).

I have also been told by Dr. T. Hounsell that the people at the DuPont Challenge only want the best of the best. Therefore, towards the end of next week, I will be teaching the students in sections 1 and 2 how to score essays. Those two classes will determine the top essays that need to be sent in. I do not have time to read all of them and decide. I will, however, be scoring the essays for a grade.

P.S. If you are interested, I have created a gallery of pictures for the renovation of my room. You can view the pictures on this page.

January 9, 2008

Homework:
Choosing the right word unit 7
Continue working on the DuPont Challenge essay

Today:
I gave classes the suggested outline for the DuPont Challenge essay.
We tried to finish the presentations. Many classes are done.
We will be reading a sample essay for discussion tomorrow in most classes.

If you want to see the handouts, you can go here. Scroll down to the handouts.

January 8, 2008

Homework:
Pictionaries 11-20 and synonyms unit 7
The rough draft of the DuPont Challenge is due Monday

Today:
I am teaching the students a new daily drill. We are focusing on introductions for the month of January. There is a page explaining the new daily drills on www.mrboz.com.
It is located under the daily drill archives.

Some classes reviewed the next 10 words in unit 7.
Students continued to present their topics. After each presentation I question the student to see how much he knows and try to get him thinking about places in his topic where he could do more research. Every presentation is a lesson.

As soon as the presentations are done, we will look at a sample essay and discuss a suggested outline. My goal is to have the rough draft written by Friday. I will put a link to the suggested outline sheet on my web page tomorrow.

I hope to have a grade slip by the end of the week. I only have a few grades to enter.

January 7, 2007

Homework:
1 -10 Pictionaries unit 7
Be prepared for your presentation

Today:
It was my first day in room 108. I have been officially kicked out of 232! I had to take down 10 years worth of stuff from my ceiling. Needless to say, today's transition to a new room was a little stressful.

The goal for this week is to help the students organize their details for the DuPont essay contest. For the first few days of this week, the students are giving presentations explaining what they will write about. The theory behind this is that if they can't explain what they are writing on, they are not ready to write their papers. I can also tell if they have enough information for a paper. They have had more than enough guidance to accomplish this task.

I also want to say that I have gotten behind on some of my daily web page postings, especially this blog. I am sorry. I am updating the classroom schedule right after this.