The book reviews have been graded and HAC updated

I spent a lot of time grading and commenting on the book reviews.  (at least 9 hours) I hope you find the feedback helpful.  In fact, if you would like to make corrections and send me a new copy, I will change your score.  Do not request access to the document.  I want to compare your new version with the old.

You can send a link to your Google Doc to mrbozhb@gmail.com or use the submission page to send me a Word document.

If you are not sure how to improve your review, check out the samples on the book review page. Look for ones that have 100% in the New column.

The book reviews are here.  Find your name and click on "Link."  You should be able to see my comments.

Some of you were absent Tuesday.  I still need your book review!

The book reviews are posted on my website. (Have you turned yours in?)

I have organized the book reviews on my site (click here).  Over the next week, I will be grading them. I have worked very hard to help the students be successful.  I am excited to see what they wrote.

My goal is that the students will use these book reviews to pick a book for January's book project. These reviews will be read by many students. I foresee students commenting on the book reviews as well, like the comments we read on Amazon. I am hoping to use the commenting abilities of Google to get students to interact with the reviews and guide each other's future book choices.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the snow!

The book review is due TUESDAY!

Today I taught a little more on writer's style.  I explained that a basic writer's style paragraph will have a statement, three examples, and then why the writer used the technique.  However, an advanced writer's style paragraph will do much more.  It will weave the technique, examples, and the why throughout the paragraph.  An advanced paragraph will also include other literary terms.

I had the students enter one of their writer's style paragraphs into and Google form so I could give them feedback.  There are some good examples (and some not so good examples) here.

Here are some comparisons:

Basic Example (This is a C)

Pam Munoz Ryan uses lots of imagery in Esperanza Rising.  One example is “Leafy green vines draped the arbors and the grapes were ready to drop”(1) Another example is how she watched “…the brightly colored shirts of the workers moving among the arbors.”(2) A third example is how she describes the landscapes: from the “brown barren mountains” through the “golden hills” to the “…canyons plung[ing to] an arroyo, a silver line of water from an unknown river,”(90-91)  A last example is how the comfortable land of home would become the prickly sound of dried grass.  Pam Munoz Ryan uses these images to create a clear picture in our heads.

A more focused example: (This is an A+)

Pam Munoz Ryan’s use of imagery made the book, not only a pleasure to read, but memorable.  Her repeated use of visual imagery gave the story telling a poetic feeling.  In the story, Esperanza will learn as much from people as she does from the land around her.  The vivid landscapes she travels through reflect the struggles she feels internally. The story starts at her idyllic home on a vineyard where the “Leafy green vines draped the arbors and the grapes were ready to drop”(1) and she watched “…the brightly colored shirts of the workers moving among the arbors.”(2) But her circumstances changed, and she had to move.  Her life would become more difficult. She would soon struggle with the land.  The comfortable land of home would become the prickly sound of dried grass. From the “brown barren mountains” through the “golden hills” to the “…canyons plung[ing to] an arroyo, a silver line of water from an unknown river,”(90-91) Esperanza becomes closer to the land.   (185 words)

Basic Example (This is a C)

 The writer uses lots of symbolism in her story.  One example is the rose.  The rose is a symbol of Esperanza.  She is “…leafless and stubby, but lovingly planted.” (124) Another example is the onion.  Esperanza is the onion whose “… dry outer skins [were] being shredded by the wind”. (110) Finally the almond represents how Esperanza will be cracked open  “…pulled the meat from its defenses…”(128) There are other symbols as well: the Phoenix, rivers, and avocados.  The writer uses symbols to show comparisons.  Esperanza has the qualities of these objects. 

A more focused example: (This is an A)

The writer uses symbolism to show the sources of Esperanza’s growth.  In this story, the lessons are all around Esperanza. Not only will she learn from the land around her, the symbolic journey of rising from the dust, Esperanza will begin to observe the lessons in the fruits the earth produces. There are the guavas she was to have for her party and the cantaloupes on the train that are now things of the past. The new lessons will come from the onions whose “… dry outer skins [were] being shredded by the wind” (110) and almonds where she “…pulled the meat from its defenses…”(128)  She is also the rose who is “…leafless and stubby, but lovingly planted.” (124) These objects surround Esperanza.  These objects have not only become her teacher, but they are also the symbols the writer uses to show us Esperanza’s transformation.  The author’s use of agricultural imagery and symbolism do more than tell a story.  She paints a picture of a girl who, like fruit with time, is ripening. (173 words)

This is just a start

This book is an excellent book to study in a middle school literature class.  For one thing, the level of vocabulary is accessible to all students, if not a little too easy at times.  But that does mean the story is simple.  The writer uses various literary techniques to tell her tale.  In one section she uses an extensive flashback which is woven through the present situation. Esperanza is in hiding, and to emphasize her emotions, the writer has her recalling the last time she endured the fear.  The flashback also provides character development of her friend.

(These examples were written by me.  They are not the best, but I tried to get fancy. I could revise them, but they get the idea across.)  

I taught a lesson on writer's style today

Please see today's class page. The sample we read is at the bottom.

Students are getting better at finding examples, but now I have to help them tie it all together.  I will teach that on Friday.  Students should spend time reading tonight.  They will have Friday and Monday to type.

I have updated grades on HAC

I entered the KBAR Summatives.

Students should be working on their book reviews.  Students should be reading a lot!

Today I covered how to write a hook and summary again.  I made an outline of sorts.  I want students to focus on telling us what we need to know about the book as opposed to just telling us event after event.

Hook

Bait (one of the 52)
Explain (give a sentence to add to the bait)
Hook (leave us hanging- hooked)

Summary
Is a story about a character
Who…Because…He must…

However…Source of conflict

Other characters are a part of his story.
One does…Another does…

The story is set in
Which matters because

Connect to the reader’s interests/life with a hint at the theme
What is the big text to life connection?

Will he overcome challenge or attain goal?  Why do I want to read this story?

KBAR is due as a SUMMATIVE grade tomorrow

Students should be sure to do the KBAR paper exactly as I discussed in class.

• The summaries should use the exact wording listed at the top.  
• The times should be filled in correctly. 
• The back side should be explained with multiple examples.  
• The paper should be signed.  
• (There is one more KBAR session scheduled for tomorrow.)

(Section 1 should have done the Synonyms and Antonyms for unit 4)

KBAR is important for many reasons.
First, students should be reading regularly.  The KBAR sheets also help the students practice skills they need to interact with literature: summarizing, quoting, predicting, questioning, evaluating, and reacting.

The book review is the organized exposition of these interactions with their books.  I also tell the students that they should be using our academic vocabulary in their reviews.  The more they use the vocabulary, the better they will do when they encounter it on standardized tests.

As a literature teacher, I do not believe that we read just to be tested.  However, I must teach what I am told to teach, but that does not mean I can't make literature meaningful.  I hope students leave my class appreciating reading because they can now understand the literature on a deeper level.

Did you really read this whole entry?  Thanks.  :)

The short story grades are in HAC, and I handed out grade slips today.

Homework:
All students should be reading their books for their book reviews.
Section 1 should have pictionaries and Choosing the Right Word done for tomorrow.

I spent from 8 A.M. until 4 P.M. Tuesday grading the short stories.  I entered what I had into HAC.

Now, there were some missing stories.  Some were missing for legitimate reasons.  Others have not written their stories at all.  I spoke with each student and he/she should know what he/she needs to do to get the stories in.

The stories were graded in two ways. 
The first was to have all of the requirements.  Whether the student has some of the requirements or all can be a matter of opinion.  For those students who feel that I graded them too low, I asked them to show me why it should be higher.  I hope students take advantage of this.

The second way the story was scored was on the qualities of a short story and how well I thought they were demonstrated. In other words, how good was the story?  Using the rubric from the book, I ranked the stories as Exceeds, Meets, Approaching, or Below.  The scores are 100, 90, 80, and 70 accordingly.  Again, if a student feels that I scored the piece too low, I encourage him/her to persuade me differently.

I am trying to keep the students on track for their book reviews, so I had them enter a rough draft of their hook and summary today.

• Book reviews from first marking period as examples
• 52 Ways to start your piece
• Submit a draft of your hook and summary here

The book review is due in 15 days

Today I had students do a progress report on their book review.  I wanted to see where they were, but I also wanted them to see what they had to do over the next few weeks to be successful. (Not all students entered their information. Weird.)

Here is how the students are progressing on finishing their books:

That is not as far as I had hoped, but there is time.  I took the data and made some calculations for the students.  Below is a chart of how many pages a student has to read per day for ten days to finish the book.  That would leave five days to write the review.

This week's KBAR sheet is a SUMMATIVE.  The sheets are not busy work.  Everything I am asking them to do on the sheets directly corresponds to their book review.

Section 1	IA	0
Section 1	IB	0
Section 1	JB	0
Section 1	SB	12.8
Section 1	JBIR	44.3
Section 1	JC	29.2
Section 1	JDC	15
Section 1	SC	0
Section 1	SD	9.1
Section 1	TD	15.5
Section 1	JE	2.2
Section 1	TG	17.3
Section 1	JI	2
Section 1	BJ	25.1
Section 1	DJ	16.3
Section 1	RK	0
Section 1	PK	5.3
Section 1	MN	0.3
Section 1	RP	0
Section 1	WP	0
Section 1	AP	7.8
Section 1	MR	12.3
Section 1	SL	0
Section 1	VS	0
Section 1	DW	0
Section 1	RW	10
Section 1	AW	6.5
Section 1	SZ	0
Section 1	XZ	19.9
Section 2	TA	12.8
Section 2	MA	0
Section 2	KB	22.2
Section 2	RB	16.3
Section 2	DD	7
Section 2	DJL	26.4
Section 2	JG	6.6
Section 2	BG	26.2
Section 2	JH	21.1
Section 2	OL	0
Section 2	LM	22.4
Section 2	AM	0
Section 2	CM	20.5
Section 2	KM	1.2
Section 2	WO	12.6
Section 2	AR	12.4
Section 2	YS	20
Section 2	ZS	18.8
Section 3	KB	6
Section 3	TC	24.3
Section 3	EC	7.3
Section 3	NC	34.4
Section 3	AG	18.1
Section 3	SG	23.8
Section 3	CJ	14.5
Section 3	KK	4.1
Section 3	LM	2.2
Section 3	MO	5.3
Section 3	DP	0
Section 3	JP	12.8
Section 3	JPUR	51.8
Section 3	AR	19
Section 3	JS	5.6
Section 3	MS	4.4
Section 3	HS	8.1
Section 3	JT	0
Section 3	AY	9.4

I have entered some grades for the second marking period.

I entered the KBAR as formative.  I wanted to see that students were doing the sheets as required.  This week I will collect the KBAR and grade them as a summative.  It is important that students are reading every day, not only for reading push-ups, but because they have a book review due November 25.

Section 1 has been working on Vocabulary Workshop.  I have the students enter the homework into responders so I can see how they are progressing towards learning the words.  Then we take a quiz.  This week we will do the review 1-3 unit and start unit 4.

Sections 2 and 3 are doing Achieve.  I am not sure students are taking Achieve as seriously as they could.  Regardless, they are getting two grades.  One is a version of the score on the activity, which is reading comprehension.  The other grade is grammar.  When they submit the response to the poll question, I want it perfect.  I am asking for 60+ words with no errors.  They should be using Word so it can suggest corrections.  I took some time this weekend to grade the responses by hand on paper.  I will give them to the students tomorrow while they are doing Achieve.

ALL STUDENTS should be reading their books!  By now they should have written the hook and the summary and be working on writer's style. The book review is due November 25th.

WHEN STUDENTS ARE FINISHED WITH THE BOOK REVIEW, they should e-mail it to me or use the JotForm link on my homepage.

The Value of Work Essay and presentation schedule

Homework:
Section 1 has a vocab quiz on unit 3 tomorrow.
All sections should be doing KBAR which is due Friday.

The Value of Work Essay and Presentation

For your next assignment, you are going to take a position on what you think is the value of work.  In other words, why do we work? Do we all have to work?

When we finish this unit you will have read a number of pieces with themes about work.  Those writers are trying to convey their wisdom to you through their written word.

A strong, well-constructed argument can convince readers to change their minds about an issue or to understand and accept an opposing view.   You are pretty young to understand the value of work from personal experience.  Your job in this essay is to weigh the evidence of others and decide for yourself.  You will take a position and back up your reasons citing evidence from various sources.

(I will be making a web page with all the information soon.  Students have a folder with everything they needs to prepare for the essay.)

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Notes
Nov. 3 KBAR	4 Election Day	5 Unit 3 Quiz Achieve	6 KBAR	7 KBAR Due	The purpose of the KBAR reading time is to prepare for your book review.
10 Achieve	11 Veterans Day	12 KBAR	13	14 KBAR Due KBAR	Your Hook and Summary should be written. Any connections yet?
17 Achieve	18 KBAR	19Unit 4 Quiz	20 D.C.	21 KBAR Due KBAR	By now you should know writer’s style. I can read your draft.  E-mail me.
24 Achieve	25 Book Review Due	26 Break	27 Break	28 Break	You will have some time to type this week.
Dec. 1 KBAR	2 Achieve	3 KBAR	4	5 Interims KBAR Due	Now KBAR is for pleasure. We will read your short stories.
8 Achieve	9 KBAR	10Unit 5 Quiz	11 ½ Day KBAR	12 ½ Day	This week will be spent organizing all the notes we have been taking.
15	16 KBAR	17 KBAR	18 Achieve	19 Value of Work Essay Due	Presentations all week
23 KBAR	23Unit 6 Quiz	24 Break	25 Break	26 Break	Relax!  You have earned it!
29 Break	30 Break	31 Break	Jan. 1 Break	2 Break	Happy New Year! Come back ready to work!

Grades for all sections are done.

We begin our new marking period tomorrow. I will be grading the short stories as we prepare them for submission to the PTA by November 14. Those scores will count for the second marking period. I have planned through to the winter break. Students will get that schedule tomorrow. 

First marking period grades are done for Section 1

The other two sections will be done later this afternoon.

-MrBoZ