The countdown begins!

The plan for next week is to get ready for the vocab final.  I do not anticipate homework.  Students should be studying for the vocab final on Friday.  We will practice in class.  The test will be worth approximately 8% of the 4th MP grade.

Enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend!
-MrBoZ

Yearbooks are distributed on Tuesday.  There are some extras.  They are $35 and will be sold on a first come first served basis.

Notebooks due in sections 3, 4, and HB

Section 3 took the Unit 15 quiz and the Subject/Verb Agreement Test today.  The grades are updated on HAC.

The vocab final will be Friday, June 3.

We will spend time preparing for the final next week.  The notebook check and the final are the last major grades of the marking period.  The students will be doing some little worksheets in class.  Some will count as a very small grade.

Grades are updated on HAC

The classes are still all over the place.

Sections 4 and HB took the Subject/Verb Agreement test today (100 points).
Sections 4, HB, and 6 took the Unit 15 Quiz today.

Section 3 will take the Subject/Verb Agreement test Thursday.

Sections HB, 4, and 3 should give me the notes they have taken on Subject/Verb Agreement on Friday.

I only see HB and 3 (double) Thursday.  We have DCAS Social Studies testing Thursday.

The Vocabulary Final will be June 2.

Updates

Section 5 took the vocab 15 quiz and the Subject/Verb Agreement quiz today.  The results are on the HAC.

Unit 15 quiz will be Wednesday for sections HB, 6, and 4.

The Subject/Verb agreement test will be given in sections HB and 4 Wednesday.

I have not seen section 3 this week.  We will try to catch up Wednesday.  However, I do see them for a block period on Thursday.  So we will be all caught up then.  I will see how we do tomorrow. I imagine the unit 15 quiz and the grammar quiz will be on Thursday.

Next week should be crazy.

Parents,
I updated some grades on HAC.  Please help your child to keep up with turning work in on time.

Next week we have testing on Monday and Thursday, and block scheduling on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  That should keep things interesting because I will not see all classes every day.

By the end of next week, we will have taken the Unit 15 vocab quiz, taken the test on subject/verb agreement (100 points), and I will have collected the notes for sections 3, HB, and 4.  (Sections 5 and 6 are on a different schedule.)

Looking ahead, we still have the vocab final (100 points).  I will spend some time preparing for that test in class.  However, students will need to study at home.  I will let you know the exact date when I figure it out.

I plan to enjoy my weekend. I hope the sun makes an appearance soon!

Have a nice weekend.
-MrBoZ

(The picture shows that we have been plugging away at the lessons. Finally, all classes are at about the same spot.)

More of the same and due dates

Homework:
Sections 3,4,5, and HB have pictionaries for unit 15

Today we just continued vocab and grammar.  By now, the students should have all the notes in their notebook.  If they do not have them, they can click on the notes link on my web site: www.mrboz.com .

• It looks like we will have the unit 15 quiz around next Wednesday.  
• We will have the subject/verb agreement test next week, probably around Thursday or Friday.
• The notes are due May 27.

(Section 6 is on a slightly different pace.)

Section 6 has Unit 14 Quiz Wednesday

That's it.  The rest have no homework.

Unit 14 Quiz Tuesday

(Accept for section 6.  We will review a little bit more tomorrow.  We got hung-up in the grammar notes and had to spend a little extra time.)

Today all classes did grammar lessons and reviewed vocabulary.

Sections HB and 3 had time to make flashcards.  The cards should be completed and used to get ready for the quiz Tuesday.

I entered a few grades in each class this morning.  Please check the HAC.

-MrBoZ

Television ad sample: The Stick

(Click here to view video.)

I finally decided I would post one example video from the TV ads we made before break.  Hopefully the video will load and play on your computer.  Give it some time to load.

This ad is the result of 20 minutes of crazy filming and some major editing.  The ad really gave this class a behind the scenes looks at what goes into making a commercial.  Before filming, we watched the reality show Pitchmen featuring Billy Mays.  (The bloopers at the end give you some idea of my amused frustration!)

Math DCAS testing Friday

Today was just more of the same.  The students worked well in class.  There is no need for homework.

Students should go to bed early and eat a good breakfast.  Even though it may seem like just another test, these DCAS tests certainly are NOT just a test.  The scores of the students matter very much to the teachers, the school, the district, and the State of Delaware.

Block scheduling day

Today I did not see section 6.  I will get that class up to speed Thursday when I have them for a block period.

The other classes are rolling along.  We did vocab and grammar.

Homework:  Choosing the Right Word Unit 14 will be checked Thursday. (I will not see section 4 Thursday.)

Math DCAS testing in Friday.  The students should come to school rested and ready to go!

Some grades have been added to the HAC

Sections 3, 4, 5, HB have pictionaries unit 14 for homework. (Section 6 did them in class.)

Today was just more of the same.  We did vocab and subject/verb agreement.

And so begins a new week

Sections 3, 4, and 5 have vocab quiz 13 Tuesday.

All classes will be starting unit 14 soon.  Look for this e-mail for the homework schedule.

I told the students I will not tolerate being unprepared for class; they should have a vocab book, notebook, and a pen.  The first time, the student will get 20/25 for that week's participation.  On the next time, 18/25 (D).  There were some days last week where I wasted so much time getting students ready to learn.  That is their job, not mine!  Grrrr.

There are three block scheduled days this week, so things will get weird again.

Wow! Kids love the block classes! (sarcasm!)

The crazy schedule is throwing us all off, but I am trying to keep us organized.  Here is where each class is.

Notes from class here.
(No class is farther than the prepositions.)

HB- The methods student collected their pieces today.  She should have them graded early next week.  The class took unit 13 quiz today. They will catch up to the other classes who have been doing subject-verb agreement over the course of next week.

3- This class is the farthest along in their work.  They have been taking notes on grammar and working on vocab.  They will have their unit 13 quiz on Tuesday.

4- Just a little behind 3.  Quiz Tuesday.

5- Same as 4. Quiz Tuesday.

6- Has done a lot with vocabulary this week!  We will do one last review on Monday and take the quiz on Monday.  The class is a little behind in the notes.  HOWEVER, students need to bring a notebook every day!  There is a notebook check at the end of May on these notes. (We are only up to lesson 2.)

The schedule gets crazier!

Section HB students will have their unit 13 quiz Friday.  They also have a 350 word piece due by the end of class Friday that they have been working on with my methods student from the University of Delaware.  They are allowed to type the piece tonight.

Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6 are now all on different schedules for vocab and the grammar unit.  The notes can still me found on my webpage.  These classes will have the unit 13 quiz on Tuesday... as far as I know.  I don't like to give homework over the weekend, so we will review on Monday and test Tuesday.  

DCAS testing for today was postponed due to state-wide computer problems.  My homeroom got a chance to watch Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler.  That is such a good movie!  One of these years I want to have students write a bedtime story like those in the movie.  We all need a hero in our lives... or at least a happy ending to some challenging situations we face.  The main character realizes that life has challenges, and he needs to write the ending to those challenges where he is the hero.  Maybe we have the solutions to our own problems if we just dream a little.

Let the scheduling nightmare begin!

Parents of students in sections 3, 4, 5, and 6,  (HB see below)
I will do my best to keep you up to date on what is due, but honestly, the next two weeks will be a little strange.  If you look at my calendar, you will see Block and No.  Because of DCAS testing, I will see some students for two periods (Block) while some days I will not see them at all (No).

To make things go smoothly this month, I have decided we will do grammar and vocabulary.  Students will be kept up to date on their class's progress on a chart in the room.  If I don't see them one day, we will just pick up where we left off.  This goes for vocabulary too!  Not every class will have their test on the same date!

By the end of May, we need to cover three units of vocab and take the final.   We will have also studied a subject/verb agreement unit and other small grammar ideas, taken notes for a notebook check, and taken a cumulative test.

Parents of students in the HB period,
I have a methods student from the University of Delaware.  This week she is responsible for teaching a series of connected lessons.  In other words, I have turned my class over to her for a week.  While I am still in the room, she is responsible for the lessons and running the class.  The HB class is organizing a comparison piece comparing the Barney classroom idea posed in the beginning of the year to what the classroom has looked like since.

If you have read this far, you can see that things are pretty hectic around here!  But I will do my best to keep the students organized.
-MrBoZ

These are the magazine ads students made.
(click to view larger)