Many of you missed a great performance of Annie!

Annie Junior 

Here is the gallery if you would like to see your friends! 
Please share the link to those in the musical.

The grades in HAC are the grades for 3rd MP

I made my last minute adjustments.  The weights were adjusted to reflect the importance of the assignments to the overall grade.  I also fixed the Achieve scores because we did not do them as much as I would have hoped because winter DCAS lasted six weeks for the whole school, which tied up the computers.  I also averaged the past week's DCAS practice sheets in with the Achieve practice scores.  I even allowed over 100% to be entered on the Achieve scores. 

In other words, the grades are what they are.  Yes, your 89% is an 89%.

Section 1 changes for the Anne Frank project

The presentation I had planned for section 1 is NOT due Monday.  I have redesigned the assignment because I noticed students were struggling with what I had given them.  We will work on this written piece next week.

Section 1 watched half of the Masterpiece Theater version of Anne Frank today.

Diary of Anne Frank Summative Writing Assignment: Section 1

“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

CC.8.R.L.2 Key Ideas and Details: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

In spite of everything,	I still believe that people are good at heart.
Setting (What is so bad about it?) Plot What are the challenges the characters face in the play? Characters (faults) Mr. Van Daan Mrs. Van Daan Peter Van Daan Mrs. Frank Mr. Frank Anne Frank Margot Frank Mr. Dussel Miep Mr. Kraller	Setting (How does it bring out the good?) Plot How do the events of the story lead Anne to believe that people are good at heart? Characters (good at heart) Mr. Van Daan Mrs. Van Daan Peter Van Daan Mrs. Frank Mr. Frank Anne Frank Margot Frank Mr. Dussel Miep Mr. Kraller

Written piece

1.     Introduction: At the end of the play The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne states her belief that, “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are good at heart.”  This is one theme of the play which is developed over the course of the text. The writers of the play use the characters, setting, and plot to develop and convey this theme.

2.     Write a five-sentence summary of the play.

3.     Discuss how the setting the writers chose is bad, yet the writers used the setting to show the good in people.

4.     Discuss how the events in the story (the plot) cause problems, yet the writers used those events to show the good in people.

5.     Discuss how the writers created characters to show what Anne saw in people: despite their faults, people are good at heart. Discuss their actions, mannerisms, things they said, and reactions to others and the setting.

6.     Conclusion: Reword the introduction as your conclusion.

DCAS Incentives (silly picture at the bottom)

Over the past week, we have been practicing skills for the upcoming DCAS testing.  I have been focusing on highlighting words in the questions to guide their reading.  We have also been using the responders and reviewing the answers one by one.  This way I can see what questions students have trouble with, and we can discuss them right there.

I have also given students their winter test scores with their goals.  I have shown them that at least 65% of my students MUST meet their goals for me to be evaluated as effective.  Right now, the highest class only has 48% of the students making their goal!  I am taking this seriously.



Here are the incentives I am offering my students to do well on the DCAS:

1. If 65% of the class (one class at a time) makes their goal, they get an ice cream party.

2. If a student makes his/her goal, I will give 10 points extra credit and one point for every point above the goal (up to 50).  This will be a formative extra credit.

3. If 90% of a class (any one class) makes their goal, I will dye my beard something funky.  (It can grow back!)

This is not me, but I do have the same style.

The students have three days to complete the test.
These scores matter, no matter how anyone feels about them.
These scores determine my evaluation.
These scores are published, and our scores are compared to schools across Delaware.
We are Warriors, and we have H.B. pride!

The picture:
I scored 12/13 on a very hard DCAS test practice today.  I said if anyone tied or beat me, I would bow down to them.  Well, these three did just that!

Characterization responses from today

We will be reviewing the results of this chart in class tomorrow, but students might want it to use it tonight plan for Thursday's writing piece.

The idea of characterization is we understand a character from his description, actions, mannerisms, how others react to him, how the setting influences him, and his internal and external conflicts.

Students can view the FULL pdf here. The font is small because I wanted to save paper.

Timed writing assignment for sections 2 and 3 on Thursday

CC.8.R.L.2 Key Ideas and Details: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

Over the past week, I have been preparing students to be able to do the Common Core task above:  we answered questions as we read the play, we took an open book test in groups which provided discussion, we are currently studying the characters, and they are also working on a skit.

I have given the students a check list of what they need to think about for Thursday.  On Thursday, I will give students 30 minutes or so to write their piece.  

The goal of this assignment is to give students practice preparing for an essay they will write in one sitting.  As long as the piece includes all the information required by the standard, I don't see why the students can't earn at least a B.  The best writers will get the A, though, as determined by details, organization, flow, and few grammar errors.

This is NOT a huge grade.  It is an exercise that should demonstrate their ability to analyze theme, characters, setting, and plot.

Students can prepare, but they are not allowed to have anything like notes or an outline to write from.

The Anne Frank test was a flop!

Common Core focuses more on analyzing and synthesizing. Sure, students need to be able to read for comprehension... as long as the test is reasonable.  This test is not as good as I thought it would be! Some questions have too many close answers.  Some questions ask for some obscure detail. 

Therefore, I had the students work together and discuss each answer.  The discussions were productive, so I am glad we had them.

On Monday, the students can enter their answers into the responders.  If they would like to take some time over the weekend to explore the play more, they can.  


The test will be a formative.  The projects and the brief writing piece will be summative, but they will count for the 4th MP.

Here is the test.

Here is the play.

By the end of next week, I will have the grades finalized.  I need to sit down and enter a few more formatives and balance the points.

The Diary of Anne Frank: Presentations

Vocab
Completing the Sentence Unit 11
Quiz 11 on Friday

Anne Frank
There will be a quiz on Friday.  I suggest students reread the play.
Students are not expected to have the story memorized.  I want to see what they know.

Projects
      Now that we are wrapping up reading the play, we can begin to delve deeper into the play. 

I will focus specifically on these Common Core Standards:

• CC.8.R.L.2 Key Ideas and Details: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
• CC.8.SL.5 Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

The Diary of Anne Frank Oral Presentation

     Section 1 will be doing this as their only option.  
     Sections 2 and 3 have other options that we have already discussed.  This is another option.
    ALL sections must determine the central theme and analyze how it is developed in the play. 

Create a detailed and organized presentation 

What message does the play convey about the following: (Choose one to develop)

1. War
2. The effects of stress on people
3. The strength of the Human Spirit
4. Courage
5. Faith
6. Family

Summary

____ Start off with a five sentence summary of the text to provide a context for your discussion.  Being objective means you just give the facts- no opinions or “I think.”

Theme

            ____ State your claim: The theme, central idea, or message of this play is …

Now support your claim with reasons:

Characters

How is the theme developed through the characters?

____ Actions

____ Dialogue

____ Internal/external conflicts

____ Mannerisms

(You do not have to explain each character.  Just focus on how the writers used certain characters to convey the message.)

Setting

____ Explain the setting of the play.

____ How does the setting help convey the message? (Remember, an author wants to convey a message through his/her piece.  Why have the setting in the attic? I know it is where they stayed, but remember the writers had to craft a play to be performed on stage.)

____ If the setting were different, could the same message be conveyed?

Plot

____ Make a diagram of the plot: exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution.

The play is an adaptation of the real diaries. 

____ Discuss how the scenes in the play helped convey the message of the play.  How did the writers craft the scenes to not only make the diary come alive, but in the end, convey the lesson they wanted us to learn?

Visuals

You can make a Power Point.

Visuals would help the listeners follow your claim.

____ The more visuals you have, the more organized you will be, the better your grade will be!

Grade

Be sure every ____ is checked off above.

You will be graded on having everything required in your presentation.

I will also give you an organization grade, so make sure your presentation is smooth.

Partners

You do not have to work with partners.  Not everyone in this class is reliable.  Be prepared to present by yourself.  This is your grade!

Hand in

I would like you to hand in the outline you will use for your presentation BEFORE you present!

Homework tonight!

Vocab 11
Pictionaries, Choosing the Right Word, Synonyms and Antonyms

Literature
We finished the first act of The Diary of Anne Frank on Friday.  We had a discussion today about subplot, internal conflict, and external conflict.  The students have a packet of discussion questions that I would like done for Wednesday, tomorrow.

I gave students another set of questions to finish the play.

This chart shows the external conflicts with red arrow.  The conflicts will become more apparent in Act II of the play.  The chart also shows what we thought were some internal conflicts, what the characters struggle with inside.  The blue lines are subplots, stories within stories.  I think the Anne and Peter circle is the only major subplot.  The others aren't really stories as much as conflicts or butting heads.

Section 3's argument essay grades are in HAC

After six straight hours* on this snow day, I started and finished the argument essays from section 3.  I have highlighted and commented on the digital copies and will be e-mailing them back soon... as long as I can figure out all the addresses.  :)

Ironically, my typewriter would say, "All play and no work makes MrBoZ a dull boy!"

If you are looking for something to do, you could start learning the words for unit 11.  You will have a quiz on them on Friday.  You're welcome! Use Quizlet.

* Ten minutes a paper times 31 papers plus small breaks to rest the aching brain!

Section 2 argument essay scores are entered in HAC

The average grade of the class, based on the rubric,  was an 87. Middle Competent is an 85.  I saved the score of Advanced for those papers that, according to the rubric, did the following:

• Had logical reasons and relevant evidence that convincingly supports the claim
• Opposing claims are effectively addressed
• Reasons and evidence are organized logically and consistently
• Transitions effectively connect reasons and evidence

If I graded too strictly, the other argument paper grade balances it out.  :) But when I look at the grades, I see which papers are the strongest.  I want the A's to be A's.

  I highlighted each paper that was sent to me so I could evaluated the organization and supports.  I also put some notes in the pdf's.  I will try to send the highlighted piece back soon.

I should go out and enjoy the weather a little.

Quack update

I entered some grades in HAC:
   Homework Unit 10
   Quiz Unit 10
   Drama Terms Pop Quiz
   Section 1 Argument Essay scores
   Section 2 Argument Essay scores (most)

I have about 8 more essays to score for section 2.  I hope they are done by the end of Sunday. If there is a blank in HAC, that means I have not graded the essay yet.

Should we be out of school Monday (who knows?) I will grade section 3 on Monday.  Regardless, these essays take time because I am color coding them to see how well the students organized their reasons. 

Pop Quiz on drama terms tomorrow. Shhhh. :)

http://quizlet.com/38495416/drama-terms-flash-cards/

Don't tell anyone... wink... wink. 

The Diary of Anne Frank Unit: Important information

Due Dates for this week:
Monday night: Pictionaries and Choosing unit 10
Tuesday night: Synonyms unit 10
Wednesday night: Completing the Sentence unit 10
Thursday: Study for quiz
Friday: Quiz on Unit 10

Grades:
I have graded the argument essays for section 1. The grades are on HAC.  The other two sections will take me at least a week.  From what I have seen in the rough drafts, I am excited to read these papers!  It just takes time.


The Diary of Anne Frank
(I do not have due dates.  We are listening/reading the play in class.  I am aiming for about three weeks. We are also doing vocab and DCAS prep.)

We have started a unit on drama.  We will be reading the play The Diary of Anne Frank. I have put a pdf copy of the play on my site.  (The students do have access through the online book we have.  I thought putting the pdf up would be easier.)

Grade: The students have a detailed question sheet that they must fill out.  You can download it here.

Grade: The students will be answering one of the three questions at the end of the question sheet and writing about 500 words.  

.    Understand Conflicts A conflict in literature 
is a struggle between two opposing forces.
An external conflict is a struggle between
a character and society, another character,
or a force of nature. An internal conflict is
a struggle within a character’s mind. In a chart like the one shown, include the external and internal conflicts you notice so far in the play. Circle the one or two conflicts you think are the main ones.

.    Analyze Theme “Good triumphs over evil” has been a common theme 
in literature. A similar message is a major theme in this play: people are basically good at heart. Which characters help to develop that theme? Which characters, circumstances, or events appear to contradict it?

.    Analyze a Drama Review the chart in which you’ve been noting information about Anne and the Nazi occupation. Based on what you’ve learned through dialogue and stage directions, describe Anne’s personality. What effect has the Nazi occupation had on her family’s life?

Grade: The students will be writing a script, making a storyboard, and performing something that demonstrates their understanding of the play.  I have listed three ideas below.  Students can give me some other ideas.  I am allowing them to pick their own groups unless it becomes a problem.

1.Rewrite the scene where Mr. Dussel is introduced to the families, but this time the students will have a character from a movie that needs to go into hiding.  For example, Ariel from The Little Mermaid.  They will not make a mockery of the circumstances the Jews faced.  I will be focusing on characterization throughout the play.

2.Create a scene that is not in the play.  Since we get to know the characters well, we should be able to think of an event and speculate how the characters would react.

3.Create a TV ad to convince people to visit the Annex.  Again, the purpose is to demonstrate an understanding of the play. 

All final drafts are due by midnight tonight.

I have also just finished reading over the rough drafts that were sent to me for review.  No more rough drafts, please.  I will not have time to read them now anyway. I am going to rest and then see Zappa Plays Zappa tonight in Wilmington!

The lowest score I saw on a rough draft would be a B-.  The papers I have seen cover the requirements for argumentative writing.  The main difference between the papers seems to be the ability to clearly organize enough details to prove a position.  Papers that were less than 850 words tended to not have enough supports, but they are B's. 

I found myself telling the students that they fulfilled the requirements and the paper is a B.  But trying to explain the difference between an A and B in an e-mail is hard.  When you watch your child's sports team, you can see there are players that are good, but there are others that are really good.  That's the difference between and A and a B.  Some students are better at writing than others.

As I said in the last blog, I will color code the scoring so it should be easier understand how the paper received the score according to the rubric.

I will need over a week to score these papers.  As I score the e-mailed ones, I will include the feedback and the grade.  The HAC grades won't be in until they are all done.

E-mailed document suggested requirements and marking up instructions

E-mail the final drafts to me by midnight Friday.

• Can be sent as an attachment.
• Can be pasted into an e-mail.
• Can be handed to me in class Friday.

Requirements

• I always like Times New Roman sized 12 font
• Single Spaced
• Normal margins
• I use the 2011 version of Microsoft Word and can view .docx formats.
• (I do not have Pages, which is the Mac version of Word.)
• No pictures needed.
• Use www.easybib.com for the bibliography of articles other than those I provided.
• No headings needed throughout the essay.  It is not long enough to need them.

If students want to mark up their essays themselves to prove they have lots of good supports, they can give it a try.  Below are three snapshots from a paper I marked up as a sample.

(Notice the supports in green do not highlight every single word.  I want to be able to count the different supports for each topic sentence.  I am giving this a shot.  I want to mark up a paper so I can see the whole structure overall.  I might be making more work for myself, but I also want to justify the difference between an advanced paper and a competent paper. This type of paper requires a very structured organization of ideas.)

Formatting like this is NOT required, but it is encouraged. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Important: Essay is due tomorrow. Requirements listed!

Due Tomorrow

• Units 1-9 Review Quiz
• Rough draft of the essay in my hand.
• Final draft of the essay e-mailed to me by midnight Friday. I am going to try to score the essays using color coding. (Students can still hand in the regular way as well.)

Grades

Completion grade will be worth 100 points (see list below)

I will score the essay from rubric: 100 points (in a prior blog post)

Let's say a student does everything as listed below and scores the lowest score I would give on the essay. (Unless I know he/she really did not put in the effort I believe possible.)

  The grade for this assignment would be  (100 + 70)/2 = 85

1) Rough draft handed in

2) The paper has an introduction with a hook, background,

3) The paper has an introduction thesis/claim, and 1, 2, 3

4) The body explains their claim

5) The body addresses the counterclaim

6) The paper ends with a conclusion (no new info in conclusion)

7) "The Bet" is mentioned by name

8) The National Geographic documentary on solitary is mention by name

9) The NPR packet is mentioned by name

10) No major/distracting grammar errors

(2-4 Extra Credit points): used extra sources and listed in a bibliography (use www.easybib.com for your extras)

Sample Argument Essay and due dates for the week

Due Dates this week:
   Unit 9 quiz Wednesday
   Units 1-9 quiz Friday
   Final draft of the argument paper due Friday

Students can use Quizlet to study for Friday's test.  I made a test using 50 of the words from the nine units using Quizlet.





We are examining a student sample of the argument essay in class. 

This essay is "Competent" on the Argument Rubric

• In other words, it is a solid B.
• The introduction has a hook, background, counterclaim, claim, and sort of 1,2,3
• The paragraphs could be better organized to clearly and logically present the details.
• Good length.  Length matters because the reasons have to be explained with evidence.
• The conclusion is too long and brings in new information.  That is a no no.
• As is, I would be satisfied.  Some improvements will help.
• I did not really discuss the bibliography.  I am planning to.
• (I hope this helps you know how I will use the rubric to score the essays.)

            Solitary confinement consists of being locked in a cell alone for 23 hours a day in a small concrete cell with limited if any human interaction.  Inmates are placed in solitary confinement because of something they did inside the prison, most because of their involvement in a gang.  Some of the world’s most dangerous inmates are just thrown in a cell for years without ever seeing their friends or family. Without any knowledge about solitary confinement, it sounds pretty effective but once you learn the real effects of it, you realize how inhuman this approach really is. In addition, the cost of solitary confinement doubles to triples the cost to keep them in jail by approximately $60,000 a year per inmate. Is solitary confinement the only way to handle dangerous inmates? I believe that solitary confinement should be eliminated from prisons.

Nobody enjoys being alone, especially when some inmates are in solitary confinement for over 5 years and this is harmful to their mental health.  The point of solitary confinement is to make inmates less violent.  But in most cases, the inmates end up going insane and making them even worse. Isolation can have a harmful psychological effect because they have no sunlight, no books and no music.  In the National Geographic documentary, they go inside the Colorado State Penitentiary and see that placing an inmate in solitary confinement can cause long term mental problems like paranoia, depression and anxiety.  Their small cell contains their sink and toile with their meals served through a slot in the door.  They are only allowed one hour of exercise by themselves and a quick shower. Often inmates pace back and forth in their cells and have conversations with themselves. In the NPR article, one inmate says solitary confinement is designed to break you and make you into a different person, but he said instead it made him spiteful. In “The Bet”, the lawyer suffered from loneliness and depression during his first few years of solitary confinement. The story also shows how solitary confinement can cause a person to lost all hope and go crazy.

The physical effects of living in solitary confinement with eating, sleeping and existing alone can be devastating.  The inmates get to a point where they are so desperate for attention that they will hurt themselves, just to have physical interaction. They don’t care that their solitary confinement may be extended.  An inmate, Robert King, who served 29 years, the longest solitary confinement sentence in the country, described his time in a 3-by-6 cell as a “tomb.”  He said there was a slab of concrete that was his bed.  In the winter, he froze and in the summer, he overheated.  He saw inmates that were once very open become very withdrawn over time.   In the NPR article, you learn that the only exercise each day that they get is one hour to stretch their legs, get some fresh air and maybe walk around.  They are not even allowed to have a ball to play with.

            After being in solitary confinement, an inmate often loses their social skills from being alone for so long In the National Geographic documentary, interviews were conducted with the inmates and discovered their social skills had depleted over time since they had nobody to talk to but themselves. Once released from prison, 70% of the inmates that had been in solitary confinement find themselves back in prison within the next few years.  In the National Geographic documentary, one of the inmates interviewed was released and found daily interaction was very difficult.  He thought a man was staring at him so he yelled at the man and started a fight. Inmates in solitary confinement forget how to have a simple conversation.  The inmate has only the prison staff for social interaction and is dependent on them for everything.  He has nothing to do to occupy his time. An inmate in the NPR article said that for 6 years, the only physical contact he had was a pinky shake.  A released inmate in the NPR article did not like going to the grocery store, the movies or even family parties. 

Although I think that solitary confinement should be abolished, many people disagree. People believe that taking the most dangerous inmates out of the general population is a good idea to make the guards and other inmates safer.  However, violence continues to increase in prisons even those that have a high number of inmates in solitary confinement. People in favor of solitary confinement feel it will bring out the best in the inmates, causing them to change and make them sorry for what they did. Although, through my research I have learned that this is not the case.  While people believe the inmate is spending time thinking about what they have done wrong and try to change, often solitary confinement makes them become more withdrawn as the years go by.  Also, when they get into the outside world as is seen by an inmate in the NPR article, he can’t even make small talk.  He took a welding class and when the teacher asks him a question, he could make no eye contact or answer the teacher’s questions.  People believe that solitary confinement will reduce the number of gang fights. By having the most dangerous gang members away from the general prison population, there will be a lower number of gang fights.  On the other hand, In the NPR article, California is having worst gang problems now with more inmates in solitary confinement.

            Solitary confinement should be eliminated in prisons. Solitary confinement is very difficult for an inmate to live through and has been found to be just as bad as being physically tortured.  Just locking that bad inmate away makes you feel safer for the time being but you are not doing anything to help that inmate change. In the Natural Geographic documentary, there was study done on rats.  A rat was placed in similar conditions as solitary confinement.  When he was put back with the other rats, he continued to have the same routine as when he was alone and ignored them.  He did not know how to socialize.  Taking a human being and putting them in a small space for 23 hours a day with nothing to do is inhumane. There is growing evidence that solitary confinement causes mental breakdowns and the Federal Bureau of Prisons is reviewing their policies on solitary confinement for the first time.  “They believed that isolation here was going to bring about the best of the inmates.  Change them for life. Make them penitent,” says Sean Kelley, director of public programming at the historic site. “There is a lot of evidence that that is not what happened.”  

Bibliography

Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. The Bet. Pymble, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson, 1995. Print.

Inside Solitary Confinement: National Geographic Explorer. National Geographic Digital Media, 2010.

"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online." Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons: A Challengefor Medical Ethics. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

"Life in Solitary Confinement." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Staff, NPR. "Solitary Confinement: Punishment Or Cruelty?" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

I updated grades on HAC. The rough draft of the essay is due tomorrow!

I entered the vocab grades from the past week.

I entered whether students returned the DCAS improvement form signed. (Very small grade!)

I entered a formative for the argument paper.  Over the past two weeks, we have done some in-class assignments as well as some steps for the argument paper.  I have the scores in a spreadsheet so I can see if there are any patterns.  Most students have been keeping up with the work, but not all.  Those students just did not do the work I asked them to do. 

I spent over two hours reading the introductions and outlines that students sent me for review.  I am offering this opportunity for feedback. 

The rough draft is due tomorrow!  I want something students can read from start to finish. 

I have organized this unit so that there are many checks along the way. 

This week we will do the review unit 7-9 in the vocab book.
We will be starting the play The Diary of Anne Frank.  More information will follow.

The final draft of the essay is due by Friday.  The essay will be a summative grade. I believe I posted the requirements on a previous blog post.