Another work day on the essays.

It was Twin Day at H.B.

Tomorrow, we will proofread our papers carefully so we can be ready for Monday.  On Monday, I expect all members of all groups to have a final draft ready to be graded for grammar.

I updated one grade on HAC.  Last week, students were to write 700-1000 words.  They had more than enough time to make up this brainstorming activity.

There will be more grades coming.  They are getting a group grade and an individual grade from the work we have been doing.  I will enter them next week after all papers are collected and the pieces are read.

We were in the library today.

All the instructions are in the middle of my classroom web page.

I would like the final draft by Friday if possible.  I will collect the good-rough draft and the final draft.  The good-rough draft should have three signatures on it: two that proofread and one that heard the piece read aloud.  The final draft should also have the answers to these three questions on the back or attached: 1. Why did you choose this topic? 2. What did you want us to get from your piece? 3. What other topics/ideas were you considering?

Here is the goal for this week:

Stephan Sagmeister (artist)

I want the students to give me a final draft of their piece on Friday (or Monday if they really want to).  Tomorrow I will have a sub, so the students will work on their grammar skills.  Wednesday through Friday we will be in the library using the computers to produce error-free-awesomeness! On Monday, we start reading the pieces to the class.  This is the plan.  Let's see what the students need.

Today I read a short piece with the students.  I wanted them to remember what a narrative sounds like.  The piece demonstrated how to use dialogue, the five senses, and thoughts to make a piece memorable.  Then I gave the groups time to work.

I also showed the classes their group grades.  I have a spreadsheet that shows them how their work (or lack of work) impacts not only them but their group's grade.

Block is over until spring!

Today I saw all of my students... for various amounts of time.  However, we took the unit 7 quiz in all class.  I also checked the flashcards for sections 3 and HB.

I have been trying to impress upon the students that they need to be working on their essays at home.  The rough draft is not due on Monday.  It is just not working out as I planned. That's fine.

I plan to take a week or so off from vocab to focus on just writing and grammar.  I hope to have drafts done by the end of this coming week.  I hope to have the good drafts done in some classes by Friday. 

Unit 7 Quiz Friday

All classes are taking the unit 7 vocab quiz.

Sections 3 and HB should have made flashcards.  I will give them homework credit for them.

I saw sections 4, 5, and HB today.  All classes are now in writing groups. 

Writing Group Goal:
Each member will produce a piece that is 500 - 800 words.

That piece CAN be a story.

The paper will be graded on grammar.
(One class saw this and asked why they can't write a story.  It made sense.  Why not?)

Here is what I expect during group time.  Groups will loose points for their members' behaviors.

You could be

·      asking what each has so far.

·      reading over something.

·      listening to ideas.

·      suggesting ideas.

·      helping your group accomplish its goal.

You should NOT be…

·      talking to someone in another group.

·      walking around the class.

·      laughing and joking around.

·      sitting doing nothing.

·      waiting for me to tell you what to do.

I saw classes 4, 6, and 3 today

Section 4 should finish the sheet I gave them on commas.  They should also do the Completing the Sentence unit 7

Section 6 will not be seen until Friday.  They should be ready for the vocab quiz on unit 7.

Section 3 will not be seen tomorrow.  They should have their flashcards done for Friday's quiz.

I am assigning students to writing groups.  Here are the responsibilities for these groups.  Basically, I want the students to help each other produce the current writing piece.  

Your group will produce the following:

·      You will help each member find a topic.

·      You will help each member craft an essay.

·      You will help each person proofread the essay for perfect spelling and grammar.

·      Each person will have handed in an essay which is 500-800 words.

·      You will listen to all four members read their piece aloud.

You will pick two members to read their essays to the class.

We, as a class, will enjoy the essays of your members.  

Blocks are back. I did not see all my classes today.

I feel like this some days. 

 

Sections 4, 3, and 6 should have Completing the Sentence, Choosing the Right Word, and 700 words done by Wednesday.  (Section 4 should have 1,000.)

Quiz 7 is on Friday.

Basically, we are just doing some vocab, some grammar, and some writing.

It was a long day for all.

Today I saw all classes for normal periods.

Homework:
Choosing the Right Word Unit 7 vocab
Quiz 7 Friday
700 or 1000 words due Wednesday
Good-Rough draft due Monday

Please see this page for requirements.

Testing and HB class.

That's all I had today.  Next week will be more block scheduling.  I will post homeworks here.

The MP is over.  Everything is in the book and done.  It's time to start grades for the 3rd MP.

The Stage is Yours! (The next piece is due Feb. 3.)

The Stage is Yours!

The goal of this essay is for you to pick a topic of your choice and write an essay. The topic should be something you care about and something you think others would want to hear.  You will be reading the essay to the class for a presentation grade, so don't choose something that is too private. (Be sure the topic is appropriate.  Check with me if you are not sure.)

700 word check will happen around January 25

Final draft and readings begin on Friday, February 3

The main grade will be to have perfect spelling and very few grammar errors. 

(I am not looking for a long piece rather a well-written piece.)

Requirements:

___  500 - 800 words

___  Times New Roman sized 12 font

___  Multiple paragraphs

___  Introduction that used one of the 12 introduction types

___  Conclusion that summed up or wrapped up the piece

        Topic of your choice:

___        a. Narrative with a lesson from a moment in your life (narrative)

___        b. Essay expressing an opinion about an issue (persuasive)

___        c. Essay about a topic of interest (informative)  I.E. What if... What is...

___  On the back, write 50 - 100 words explaining the following:

            1. Why did you choose this topic?

            2. What did you want us to get from your piece?

            3. What other topics/ideas were you considering? 

       Two people proofread paper

___       Person one's signature _________________________

___       Person two's signature _________________________

       Paper was read aloud to someone

___       Person's signature  __________________________

I adjusted the grades in HAC

I said in previous blogs that I was not prepared for the massive schedule change in January which left me with very few homework grades.  I decided to merge the vocab homeworks with the vocab quizzes.  This way the essays and projects are worth more.  As it was, the quizzes were worth more than I wanted them to count towards the marking period grade.  Sorry for the confusion.  I always do what will best represent the results of the students' efforts. 

This week's schedule is crazier than last week's!

I only see sections 3, 4, 5, and 6 one time this week for 90 minutes.  I will see the H.B. class each day this week, but we are only working in two of them.  On the testing days, we will relax a little.

As far as homework, I want the students to be rested for the DCAS testing.  My students take the test Wednesday and Friday in the morning. 

I will NOT be able to squeeze in unit 7 in the vocab book for this marking period.  I did not anticipate that our schedule would be so crazy in January back in December when I relaxed with vocab in favor of research. 

What a crazy week. Next week should be worse.

Yep.  I feel like this some days.

We have DCAS testing two mornings next week, so the schedule should be quite interesting.  We are also doing block again.  I am just trying to stay on top of things as best I can.  I will try to keep you up to date using the blog.





The only class to have homework this weekend is section 5.  They have pictionaries.

A nice writing day for my classes.

Homework:

Sections 4, 6 , and HB should hand in pictionaries tomorrow.  Below is the sheet I had two of the sections make. 
Quiz 6 results are in HAC.

In the classes I saw today, I had them write for at least 25 minutes.  I was having them practice writing.  I will be checking for 700 words sometime next week. See below for the topics I am having them explore.  They are not much.  I am trying to teach them how to pick something they want to write.

700 Words/Journaling    (SSW) 

You need time for your mind to rest and open up.  Be patient.

Write a piece your grandmother would like to read- your friend, the class, the school, or the community!  What do you want to express to someone?  What do you hope they will feel/do as a result of your work?

What is happiness, easy, on your mind

What if something happens, doesn’t happen

What would you do if, when,

What do you think about someone, something, some idea

How would you, does, could,

I wish…

Describe a time, a person, a belief,

When were you, did something happen, I get older,

Who inspires, matters

Why do things happen, don’t happen,

Amiss- not as it should be.	Brawl- to fight	Detest- hate	Domestic- relates to the home.
Flagrant- obviously offensive	Flaw- error	Fledgling- baby bird	Fluster- confused + agitated
Foremost- before most!	Momentum- speed + Force	Notable- worth taking note!	Nurture- care for
Paradox-	Perjury- lying under oath!	Presume- assume before	Prior- before
Proficient- Pro!	Salvo- burst of something	Vigilant- wide awake, alert	Wrath- intense anger!

Here is the next unit I will be doing.

The due dates are up in the air because I need to see how these twelve days of block scheduling will affect the lessons.  I see some kids some days and not others.  (I don't even have next week's schedule when we have testing.)

Here is the unit I will be working on in January.  By the end of the month or so, I want the kids to complete the following:
       Write about 1500 words (or more in some classes)
       Write a creative piece and hand in a good draft
       Write a short formal letter (which we will mail)
       Complete units 7 and 8 in the vocab (with homeworks)
       And complete a unit of grammar.
       (The grammar will be used in the letter.)

It is ambitious, but it gives me plenty of things to do during the 90 minute classes we have for twelve days.

We start a new unit Tuesday with block scheduling

We will be using a block schedule for the next three weeks, which means I will not be seeing every class every day.  All homework or quizzes are due that next day I see them.  Tonight's homework is the Completing the Sentence Unit 6 in the vocab book.  There is also a quiz on Wednesday.

I will be making the new unit's web page soon.  Basically, we will be studying a unit on punctuation.  I will also be doing some vocab and giving the students writing time.  We will be creating a free writing piece and a formal letter which I hope to have sent to the intended recipient.  (More details will follow.)

 

All the Ant Essays are Graded. Please check HAC.

This is how I feel when I must start grading essays!

A math problem:
    140 essays
    5 minutes each (when I am fresh or they are reasonable)
    equals how many hours to finish 5 classes of papers?

Some essays were two pages, single-spaced typed!  Wow!

As much as I love reading my students' work, it sure does take time!

How I feel when I am done!

The debates are done for all but a few students.

Highest debate score of all 5 classes: 43 points (36 is 100%)

We will wrap up any loose ends of the ant debate unit next week.
There is a quiz for unit 6 on Wednesday.

I have updated some grades on HAC.  The essays for sections 4 and 5 have been graded and are in the book.  I hope to finish the rest of the essays this weekend. 

The debates are almost finished.

Winners so far!

Homework: Choosing the Right Word unit 6 vocabulary (20 points)

Can personality win over content? Yes!

Homework: Synonyms unit 6

Today:
In my HB class, we had a great example of how personality can win over content.  Whereas I scored the non-squisher as the winner, the class bought into the squisher's stories and exaggerations.  He said that ants could take over the world, break into our house, listen to our ipods, and make us their pets.  He also had a very dramatic retelling of a supposed event where he was attacked as he innocently tripped over a fire ant hill.  He dabbed his eyes with a tissue as he told us of the pain.  The non-squisher should have been all over these, but she played it straight.  That was too bad for her, I guess.  I will be discussing these artificial means of persuasion more when we begin the advertising unit.  This debate should give us something to relate to.

In my section 3 class, we had the opposite.  The squisher used an overly dramatic style, but he also had good content.  I gave him the win because of his content, but the class must not have seen his content. They only saw his antics, and they did not reward him for it.  But as I think about it a little more, maybe they were right.  As far as a debate goes, he was out of line, and maybe I, too, should have taken his presentation into account more.  It was a good lesson nonetheless.

Back to work.

The goal for this week is to finish the debates.  Along with the debates, we will be starting vocab and grammar back up.  I have posted the homework  and quiz dates on my calendar. Today we were discussing roots, prefixes, and suffixes to determine the meaning of the unit 6 words.  We did not even look at the books yet.  We did a pretest for spelling and word knowledge.  Then we discussed what they thought the words meant.  Then I clarified the definitions for them.

I did not start grading the essays yet.  I should have started them over the break, but it was a break.  Now it is back to work, and I have lots to do. 

Grades have been updated.

I entered a few grades in HAC.  Please check to see if your child has handed in his/her ant essay on-time.  The essay will be worth 130 points.  It will be scored two grades down if handed in late.  I am planning to grade some of the essays over break.

The other grade is the score on the debate.  I am only done half of the debates in most classes.  This year did not go as smoothly as I had planned for debates.  Oh well.  We will start them back up later.  If your child has "exc" on HAC, it is because he/she has not done the debate yet.

We will start vocabulary unit 6 when we return in January.  I hope the students have not lost their books.  :)

Two grades down if final draft is not in on-time!

Don't be like this!

Students must give me the final draft of the ant essay tomorrow.  This deadline has been known for over five weeks. 

We will not get all of the debates done before break.  This has happened before, and I don't like it.  Trying to start the debates up after break is hard, but it will have to be done.

We will start vocabulary after the break, so there will be more homework grades to come.

Final draft of ant essay due Wednesday!

A few more winners added!

Sections 3, 6, and HB:
I took these students to the library to type up their final drafts.  I have had too many students who did not turn in outlines and drafts on-time to risk not getting the final draft.  The ant debate is geared towards producing a great persuasive essay.  If the debates have to wait, then they wait.  Students can't learn writing if they don't write!  Too many are choosing not to write.  My job is to get them to write.  So I am making them do it right in front of me.


Sections 4 and 5 continued their debates.



Here are the requirements for the final draft:

___    P1 Create a new handshake and thesis for the introduction.

___    P2 Write a very complete body paragraph (12 sentences) that supports your position.

___    P3 Explain what your opponent would say about the issue.

___    P4 Explain how your opponent is wrong based on your research.

___    P5 Conclude the essay with a summary and a “call to action.”

___    Be sure you have 6 transitions in your essay.  Underline them.

___    Be sure your bibliography is correct. 

___    Your piece should be grammatically perfect.  Have someone else look over it.

___    Use Times New Roman font sized 12, single-spaced.

___    Indent all paragraphs. 

___    Correctly punctuate book and article titles.    

Transitions-

Similarity    Likewise,    Similarly,    Just as…    In the same way…	Contrast    On the other hand,    However,    Although…    Nevertheless…    Instead…    Not only…
Sequence    Next    After…    Finally,    First, second, third	Accumulation    Moreover,    In addition,    For example,

Twelve Types of Introductions-

Humor                                Imagery and Details

Dialogue                            Quote

Question                            Anecdote

Excite Curiosity                Bold and Challenging Statement

Pretending                        Real-Life Emotion

Nostalgia                            Amazing Fact or Statistic

  

 

Be careful punctuating titles and quotes from the book and the movie.

Use The Ant Bully or The Ant Bully because it is a movie title.

In the story Hey, Little Ant, the boy says, “Hey, little ant down in the crack,/ Can you see me, can you talk back?”

Transcribe poetry exactly as it is.  Use  a / to divide the lines.

According to the article “Ants Defeat Enemies,” ants defeat their enemies!

I only saw two classes today.

We did not get through many debates today because there was a rewards movie.  This puts me a little behind.  I sure hope I can get through all the debates next week! 

Today I had one debate where both students scored at the A level; however, as I said from the beginning, only the winner gets the A.  (The loser gets a B+++++)  So far, very FEW students have taken advantage of the visuals option!  The boy who got the B today could have won if he had brought in visuals.  I keep saying this over and over!

There was another debate where the students chose the winner, but I did not agree with them.  The student had said the ants were here to help humans, basically like little fairy helpers.  There were three times I did not give him points because he was being ridiculous.  But the kids bought it because he has a great personality.  We discussed this for a few minutes.  It is very human to overlook logic for a smooth talker.  (The boy who lost earned a B while the winner earned a C+.  Weird, huh?)

The debates have begun!

Winners will be updated daily!

The first day of debates is always rough.  I have had students who were not prepared at all who received a D.  Then, in my last class, I had two students who were so prepared that after 25 minutes I had to cut them off! 

There are so many skills involved in debating.  The students have to know what they will say, be prepared to rebut (which means they have to listen and write quickly), refer to their visuals, and be exciting as a speaker.  All of this is done in front of the class who will determine the winner... and loser. 

I am not cruel, but I am sure a few kids think I am today!  I lead the students through the first day.  Now we pick up the pace.  You could help your child by having him/her present to you and practice the rhythm of the presentation.

Debates start tomorrow!

I had students make a card like below so they would not get lost in the papers they bring up.  They should know what they are going to say!

 

1. The boy should squish the ant because ANTS ARE RUDE!

- Steal our food

- Swear at us!

- Wear bad t-shirts

2. The boy should squish the ant because ANTS SCREAM.

-

-

-

3. The boy should squish the ant because ANTS VOTE.

-

-

Also, I had the students copy these notes to make sure their good drafts are correct with transitions:

To improve your rough draft, be sure to have transitions.

Be sure to have complete sentences:    For example, you need to make sure you have a complete sentence.    However, if you are not careful, you will have a fragment. Use these between reasons.  Use between paragraphs, especially when you transition to the opponent’s reasons. Please use at least 4-6 transitions and underline them.
Similarity    Likewise,    Similarly,    Just as…    In the same way…	Contrast    On the other hand,    However,    Although…    Nevertheless…    Instead…    Not only…
Sequence    Next    After…    Finally,    First, second, third	Accumulation    Moreover,    In addition,    For example,

Be careful punctuating titles and quotes from the book and the movie.

Use The Ant Bully or The Ant Bully because it is a movie title.

In the story Hey, Little Ant, the boy says, “Hey, little ant down in the crack,/ Can you see me, can you talk back?”  

Transcribe poetry exactly as it is.  Use  a / to divide the lines.

According to the article “Ants Defeat Enemies,” ants defeat their enemies!

The rough drafts of the ant essays are due tomorrow.

Parents, please do whatever you can to make sure that your child is ready for tomorrow.  I am doing all I can to help them do well on this project.  Today we read two example papers.

Here are twelve suggested handshake ideas for the introduction paragraph:

(Handshake) The boy in the story has a decision to make: should he squish the ant or not? After researching ants and exploring the topic, (Thesis) I am going to prove to you that the boy in the story should squish the ant. He should squish because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3.

12 Types of introductions Grab our attention. Walk us out the board.  THEN tell us exactly what you will prove.
Humor	Imagery and Details
Dialogue	Quote
Question	Anecdote
Excite Curiosity	Bold, Challenging Statement
Amazing Fact or Statistic	Real-Life Emotion
Nostalgia	Pretending