Friday, September 20, 2013

Tell me something good.

At the beginning of the class, we always take a few minutes to catch up with each other.  I simply ask them to tell me something good.  Each day I have a different student type up what we share.  The list below contains almost 300 good things that have been shared with the class.  (Yes, the names are spelled wrong and there are typos. This is done quickly. Oh, and I tried to read all these to make sure something wasn't slipped in.)


Name Good Period Date
Abby She Has A Baby Huskey 1 9/4/13
Abby Getting a guitar 1 9/12/13
abby getting smart tv 1 9/13/13
abby  went to vegas 1 9/16/13
Abi locker didn't get jammed. 1 8/27/13
Abi Going To Six Flags 1 8/29/13
abi he threw up 1 9/3/13
abi found his  watch 1 9/5/13
abi football pads 1 9/5/13
abi won his football game 1 9/10/13
Abi It's Hump day 1 9/18/13
Abi The thing was great! 1 9/19/13
abi football practice is good 1 9/20/13
angel ocean city maryland 1 9/3/13
Angel Christian owes Angel $40 1 9/11/13
angel got a party 1 9/13/13
Angel going on vacation this month 1 9/17/13
angel bro birthday tomorrow 1 9/20/13
BoZ Stay Home By His self 1 8/29/13
boz hes in a mustang group 1 9/10/13
Brian four day wekend 1 8/28/13
Brian Dad is getting him the new iPhone 1 9/12/13
brian didn't miss the bus 1 9/16/13
Brian IOS 7 COMING OUT 1 9/17/13
Brian You can block numbers 1 9/18/13
brian  woke up this morning 1 9/10/13
brian  won $20 1 9/16/13
Brian  broke his foot and now he can ride the elevator 1 9/17/13
Bryshai Read the announcements. 1 8/27/13
bryshai went to the movies 1 9/16/13
Bryshai wide awake and ready for school 1 9/17/13
Bryshai 100 on her HW 1 9/19/13
Chris ios 7 came out 1 9/18/13
DeAndre we have an artis 1 8/28/13
DeAndre His team is ranked #1 1 9/10/13
deandre has a footballl game 1 9/13/13
Deondre Going To Chukey Cheese 1 8/29/13
deondre game this weekend 1 9/20/13
donnie going to the beach 1 9/3/13
Donnie His Parents Wont Be At Home 1 9/4/13
donnie burned his pinkey 1 9/5/13
donnie he got to hang out with his friend from minnisota  1 9/10/13
donnie it's Friday the 13th 1 9/13/13
donnie didn't do anything  1 9/16/13
Donnie First swim practice 1 9/17/13
donnie Grand theft auto 1 9/18/13
donnie no swim practice  1 9/19/13
donnie bonfire and party at glorias house 1 9/20/13
Donovan made it to the swime team 1 8/28/13
Donovan Is Going To His Own Bondfire 1 8/29/13
Gloria happy she woke up 1 8/28/13
Gloria Going To Chukey Cheese 1 8/29/13
gloria didn't go 1 9/3/13
gloria he house flooded through her house in submarine for 2min 1 9/3/13
Gloria Gets a elevator 1 9/12/13
Gloria Seeing Insidous 1 9/12/13
Gloria  Party at 5:00 1 9/19/13
Gloria Party for a girl 15 she not going to sleep so no hw turned in  1 9/20/13
greer got her flute today 1 9/5/13
griffen went tp the beach 1 9/3/13
Griffey His Dad Lost His Wallet And Got I Back  1 8/29/13
Griffin going to the beach 1 8/28/13
griffin finished his homework for once 1 9/10/13
Griffin baseball practice tomorrow 1 9/11/13
Griffin Baseball practice tonight 1 9/12/13
Griffin New baseball bat 1 9/12/13
Griffin 95 day before you go to Jamaica 1 9/17/13
Griffin His base ball bat came  1 9/18/13
jack won a hockey game & got in a fight 1 9/16/13
Jamella Started school yesterday. 1 8/27/13
jordan new apple thing 1 9/16/13
jose going too hispanic parade 1 9/13/13
Mr.Boz He has a mustang and it is perfect. 1 8/27/13
mr.boz rashashona 1 9/5/13
mr.boz fast went well 1 9/16/13
mr.boz doodlebops 1 9/16/13
Mr.Boz is merciful 1 9/19/13
Olivia Happy At The End Of The Day 1 9/4/13
Rashoan No School Tomorrow 1 8/29/13
rashon he is not tired HAPPY 1 9/20/13
Seth baseball starts 1 8/28/13
seth made his bus 1 9/5/13
seth is cute 1 9/10/13
Seth Iphone 5s and 5c are coming out 1 9/11/13
Seth Tomorrow is Friday 1 9/12/13
Seth Baseball and Football practice 1 9/12/13
seth says hes cute 1 9/17/13
seth gets to ride an elavator with Brian 1 9/17/13
Seth Is The Man 1 9/18/13
seth he didn't fail his test 1 9/19/13
seth its Friday 1 9/20/13
seth tomorrow is Saturday 1 9/20/13
seth said hes cute 1 9/20/13
seth  went to the phillies game 1 9/11/13
seth  insideous 2 1 9/13/13
sidra has a terrible life 1 9/16/13
sterling won at fantasy football 1 9/16/13
t1 start working  1 9/13/13
taylor party at her house Friday 1 9/3/13
Tia Shes Going To Get A Cheese Pretzel 1 9/4/13
Addie Heard the best joke today 2 9/10/13
Addie scored 2 goals 2 9/16/13
Addie boot comes off tomorrow 2 9/18/13
addy its hump day 2 9/4/13
Alex new my little pony season is coming out. 2 8/29/13
alex gr4 is coming out 2 9/4/13
Alex Pre-order GTA 5 2 9/10/13
alex IOS 7 COMING OUT 2 9/12/13
Alex bought a dedicated server 2 9/16/13
Alex Got banned for three months on League of Legends 2 9/17/13
Alex I got grand theft auto 5 2 9/18/13
caroline got into vollyball 2 9/5/13
Caroline   2 9/10/13
Dakota It's raining today 2 8/28/13
Dakota we are all alive. 2 8/29/13
Dakota Only one HW assignment in math 2 9/3/13
dakota just ate lunch 2 9/4/13
Dakota It's Hump day 2 9/11/13
dakota early dismissal 2 9/12/13
Dakota all still alive 2 9/16/13
Dakota got a "decent grade" on his essay 2 9/17/13
Dakota hump day 2 9/18/13
dakota got a 100 on test 2 9/20/13
Ella There is no AR 2 8/27/13
Ella joining field hockey travel team 2 8/29/13
Ella New awesome neighbor 2 9/3/13
ella got into field hokey 2 9/5/13
Ella Doing a cat job 2 9/11/13
ella early copy of IOS 7 2 9/12/13
Ella lead field hockey team 2 9/16/13
Ella our first home game october 2nd 2 9/18/13
ella gets paid for feeding cats 2 9/20/13
Elyse Soccer season started 2 8/27/13
Elyse lacrosse is going to start 2 8/29/13
Elyse Went to the movies 2 9/3/13
Elyse practice today 2 9/12/13
elyse won lacrosse game 2 9/16/13
Elyse Got her field hockey uniform 2 9/17/13
Elyse ella and I are field hockey captains 2 9/18/13
Gunjan No school on Monday and Friday 2 8/27/13
Gunjan Friday 2 9/13/13
Ian Week is already half over 2 8/28/13
Ian last day of school week 2 8/29/13
Ian Likes book 2 9/10/13
Ian I liked this book too 2 9/11/13
ian got 100 on test 2 9/20/13
Jehleen Dance classes start 2 9/3/13
jehleen noshins birthday 2 9/20/13
Katie 29 days until grey anatonmy 2 8/27/13
Katie The one direction movie comes out on Friday :( 2 8/28/13
Katie Saw the One Direction movie with friends 2 9/3/13
katie watched 2.5 episodes of greys anatomy 2 9/4/13
katie cookies 2 9/5/13
Katie 16 days until greys anatomy 2 9/10/13
Katie Best season tickets ever 2 9/11/13
katie had the best goalying game 2 9/12/13
Katie on TV 2 9/16/13
Katie Stood next to a post all soccer practice 2 9/17/13
Katie had a fantastic dream 2 9/18/13
katie got to watch her favorite old movie 2 9/20/13
Katie  this is us is coming out 2 8/29/13
Katie  going to win game 2 9/13/13
Kristen excited for pretty little liars 2 8/28/13
Kristen the fire drill and lockdown 2 8/29/13
kristen front walkover  2 9/12/13
Kristen On TV this weekend 2 9/17/13
Kristen mastered arial dance  jump thingy 2 9/18/13
kristin england friend 2 9/5/13
lara  peen state football game 2 9/13/13
Lein  amin mad  2 9/13/13
mr. Boz found a homecoming dress for daughter 2 9/16/13
Mr. Boz Went to bed excited for today 2 9/17/13
Mr.Boz A new box 2 8/28/13
Mr.boz likes work today:) 2 9/5/13
Nathen 1 month till walking dead 2 9/13/13
Nawel Revenge 7 poles came out with a new album 2 9/11/13
nisaia its Friday 2 9/20/13
Shane One more day till the weekend 2 8/28/13
Shane football scrimage today 2 8/29/13
Shane Saw cop chase 2 9/3/13
shane luvs 2 clap 2 9/5/13
shane gets to go on the ud football feild 2 9/20/13
Shannon All up to date on Mortal Instruments 2 8/28/13
Shannon Sleepover w/friends and saw movie 2 9/3/13
Shannon Read Hobbit 2 9/10/13
Shannon Caught up to her friend in a series of books 2 9/11/13
Shannon got to babysit neighbor's dog 2 9/16/13
Shannon got to read a lot 2 9/18/13
shannon gets to be on youtube in a movie 2 9/20/13
Will starting on St. Mary's football team 2 8/27/13
Will Seahawks play tonight 2 8/28/13
Will Corvet fixed 2 9/10/13
Will seahawks won 2 9/16/13
yunishik watching death node 2 9/13/13
yunshik made honor band 2 9/12/13
yunshik got banned in lol 2 9/16/13
Yunsik Twilight is over 2 8/27/13
Yunsik His nose stopped bleeding 2 9/11/13
Yunsik 95% on the essay 2 9/17/13
Yunsik please buy thing 2 9/18/13
Amaya Birthday on Sunday 3 9/3/13
Amaya Birthday is on Sunday 3 9/5/13
Ananya only 178 days of school left 3 8/27/13
Ananya Can talk again 3 9/20/13
Angela its Niall Horan's birthday 3 9/13/13
Angela Mr. Bosler got her name right 3 9/17/13
Angela Liam got her sick :D 3 9/20/13
ben may win fantasy football 3 9/4/13
Ben his dad is coming home from England today 3 9/13/13
Ben won soccer game 3 9/16/13
Ben It's almost Friday 3 9/20/13
Eliza Going to Phillies game 3 9/20/13
Emily 4 day weekend 3 8/27/13
Emily Birthday was yesterday 3 9/3/13
emily an extra day of school 3 9/11/13
Emily its Friday 3 9/13/13
Emily Got over the cold Liam gave her 3 9/20/13
Erin sisters b day 3 8/27/13
Erin  Saw One Direction movie  3 9/3/13
erin might win 200 dollars 3 9/4/13
Erin Volle 3 9/10/13
Erin has a babysitting job today 3 9/12/13
Erin won volleyball game 3 9/16/13
Erin and Maddie I made the volleyball team 3 9/5/13
HARRY The sun didn't go super nova yet 3 9/3/13
harry the large haden collider didn't cause hole yet 3 9/4/13
Harry an asteroid did not destroy the world today 3 9/5/13
Harry Didn't get killed by virus 3 9/10/13
harry harry is happy 3 9/11/13
Harry Moon is still in orbit around the earth 3 9/12/13
Harry a solar flare didn't destory the world yet 3 9/13/13
Harry gamma rays did not destroy the world yet 3 9/16/13
Harry Animals didn't go crazy 3 9/17/13
Harry Havent been insinerated by supernova  3 9/18/13
Harry A freak storm didn't kill us all 3 9/20/13
Harry  maniacs haven't blown up the world yet 3 8/28/13
Jeighten Dog is gettng out of the hospital today 3 9/5/13
Jeighton Maxed out on pacer test 3 9/20/13
Liam has first hockey game this weekend 3 9/13/13
Liam Did not get kicked out of his game 3 9/16/13
lukas next period is lunch 3 9/4/13
Maddie her mom lets her have coffee 3 9/5/13
Maddie Getting contacts today 3 9/10/13
maddie 1d album is  to order  3 9/11/13
Maddie didn't have math first today 3 9/12/13
Maddie failed math quiz 3 9/16/13
Maddie ed sheeran concert shes not going to 3 9/18/13
Maddie Happy about winning 3 9/20/13
Maggie lunch next 3 8/27/13
Maggie dad is coaching lacrosse team 3 8/28/13
Maggie Birthday is on Sunday 3 9/5/13
Maggie Fathers car got waxed 3 9/10/13
Maggie Doesn't have to go outside for activity 3 9/17/13
Maggie  was out of school for 3 days 3 9/16/13
Mr. Boz Today is Roshashana 3 9/5/13
Mr. Boz Yam Kippur 3 9/16/13
Mr.Bosler Excellent day 3 9/17/13
Nadia Not sick today 3 9/10/13
Naria Brought a pencil 3 8/28/13
Naria Flag is beautiful 3 9/12/13
Naria Maggie is back 3 9/16/13
Naria Boyfriend walked her to lunch 3 9/17/13
Naria Happy with her 85 3 9/20/13
Nikkil Joe Corbi's Fundraiser 3 9/17/13
Nikkil Woke up ten minutes early 3 9/18/13
PJ baseball practice today 3 9/12/13
PJ two baseball games in three hours tomorrow 3 9/13/13
PJ won baseball game 3 9/16/13
PJ Going to batting cage 3 9/17/13
Shinny less polution  3 8/27/13
Shinny our area is not as polluted as other places 3 8/28/13
shinny syria hasn't been bombed yet 3 9/4/13
Shinny there are jewish people in syria and after roshashana they will be happy again 3 9/5/13
Shinny Mustang 3 9/10/13
shinny 12 years ago she was not in our country  3 9/11/13
Shinny had math first thing in the morning 3 9/12/13
Shinny used 12 vocab words in essay 3 9/13/13
Shinny Thinks she failed her essay 3 9/16/13
Shinny Doesn't have to go to Williamsburg 3 9/17/13
Shinny A killer has been killed 3 9/18/13
Shinny Test didn't count for a huge grade 3 9/20/13
Shinny  Mosquito bites don't itch 3 9/3/13
Tayla no homework 3 8/27/13
Tayla made a new friend and made the broadway trip 3 8/28/13
tayla found 10 dollars on the ground 3 9/4/13
tayla Getting a free education 3 9/10/13
Tayla did most homework 3 9/12/13
Tayla today is picture day  3 9/13/13
Tayla 100 percent on science test 3 9/17/13
Tayla Did stunts 3 9/18/13
Tayla Cheerleading captain 3 9/20/13
Tayla Cousin taking her to a Drake concert 3 9/20/13

Long week! But we have earned a rest.

Homework:
  • Sections 2 and 3 do not necessarily have to work on their presentation over the weekend (see below), but it wouldn't hurt.  The presentation is due Tuesday, and we will work on it more on Monday.
  • Section 1 could work a little more on their critical analysis piece.  That piece is due Tuesday or Wednesday.  I will see how much time I can get to work with them on Monday.
  • Section 1 has a vocabulary quiz Monday.  We took a practice quiz in class.  Most did not do well.  They need to study.

Today:
  • Section 1 entered the vocabulary homework answers in the responders. I will add up those scores and give them a formative grade.  I also conferenced with about six students today about their pieces.  I will do more on Monday.
  • Sections 2 and 3 took their vocabulary quiz.  The class averaged an A-.  The quiz counts as a summative worth twenty points.  Like I said before, the vocab is supposed to be more of a workout, so five quizzes will equal one essay grade (what I am thinking right now).  I want them to have exposure and practice. I don't want them to burst their brains.
  • Sections 2 and 3 then spent time working on their presentations.  They should have divided up the work.  See below.

Critical Analysis Writing Topics

On Tuesday of next week, your group will present your views on one of the following topics.  Ideally, I would like to use a Power Point (or other visual method) to lead us smoothly through your details.  My goal is for you to teach the class.  Demonstrate that you not only understand the story and it’s theme, but you can be critical of the piece of writing. 

Critical analysis isn’t just determining if a piece is good or bad.  A critical analysis is a detailed examination of a piece of writing looking for the quality of or the effect of certain traits a piece of writing should have, i.e. figurative language, strong sentence structure, well developed characters, among many others.  Critical analysis is opinionated, which means you must be able to prove a position.  Therefore, it is crucial that you use details from the story.  Although you may refer to outside works for comparison, be aware that not everyone knows all stories, so try to stick to the story you are writing on.

1.    Read the background of the writer from your online book.  What can we infer about her motivation for writing this story?  Why does she end the story with those last few lines about fairies and strawberries? Determine the theme of the story.
2.    What is Squeaky’s deal? Through characterization, we get a picture of Squeaky. To what extent does Squeaky change by the end of the story?
3.    A plot should be suspenseful, coherent, well paced, and satisfying.  What is your evaluation of the plot of “Raymond’s Run”? Be sure to assess the climax and resolution of the story as well as the other structural elements of the story.
4.    Pull out every detail you can find which creates the setting, from explicit to inferred details.  Maybe even do some research about Harlem.  The story was published in 1972.  Why is the setting important to this story?

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Leading horses to water... and many are drinking!

Section 1 parents, have you checked HAC lately?  Too many students have work missing that could easily be made up.  I gave them a grade skip Wednesday.  Section 2 and 3 parents, I will update HAC over the weekend with the vocab quiz and homework grades.  They will also have a Raymond's Run test next week.

Homework:
  • Section 2 and 3 have a vocab quiz on Unit 1.  We finished reviewing the book work and used the flashcards on the Quizlet link on my website to practice the parts of speech.  There are practice questions on that site as well.
  • Section 1 should finish the Completing the Sentence on page 24.  We did the first ten together in class.
  • Section 1 should also bring in a rough draft of the critical analysis of "The Elevator."  They should have all they need.  I even discussed the sources of conflict in class.  We will see what they have tomorrow and look at how to improve their piece.

Today:
Sections 2 and 3 
  • Sections 2 and 3 should be ready for the vocab quiz as I stated above. We spent probably forty minutes discussing "Raymond's Run."  We discussed the main conflict and the minor conflicts and which ones were resolved.  We discussed the imagery of escape the writer uses.  We dug deep and looked at how the setting causes conflict.  What impact does living in the city have on Squeaky?  Why must she win?  But my favorite part of the story is the last few lines: 
  • "I smile. We stand there with this big smile of respect between us. It’s about as real a smile as girls can do for each other, considering we don’t practice real smiling every day, you know, cause maybe we too busy being flowers or fairies or strawberries instead of something honest and worthy of respect . . . you know . . . like being people."
  • I am going to ask the students to unpack what is said in these lines.  There is a lot going on in the character of Squeaky.  We have to infer many of the details from the clues in the text.  Our goal tomorrow will be to dig deep and explore Squeaky.
  • They will be writing another analysis piece that will be due around Wednesday or so.

Section 1 worked on vocabulary.  Then we discussed the sources of conflict in the story.  Then I gave them thirty minutes of writing time.  I am leading horses to water some days.

 


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Homework

Just a quick one today.

Homework:
Sections 2 and 3 should do Completing the Sentence in the vocab book.  They will be checked with the responders.
Section 1 should do the synonyms and antonyms on page 25.  They should also complete 11-20 on the Choosing the Right Word on page 26.


Due Dates:
Sections 2 and 3 will have a quiz on Unit 1 vocabulary on Friday.
Section 1 will need a ROUGH DRAFT of their critical analysis of "The Elevator" on Friday so we can peer edit.
Section 1 will hand in the FINAL DRAFT on Monday.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Moving right along.

Homework
Sections 2 & 3 should complete pages 25 and 27 in the vocab book.
Section 1 should do 1-10 in the Choosing the Right Word page 26 in unit 1. 
The homework will be checked for accuracy using the responders, so do a good job.

Extra practice for the vocabulary can be found here.

Today
  • Sections 2 & 3 spent time with the vocabulary book. We were discussing context clues.  I want to establish my expectations for the work.  
  • Sections 2 & 3 also started to think about goals and what motivates us in preparation for the next piece of literature, Raymond's Run, which can be found in their online literature book.  We also discussed inferencing, which is combining details in a story with your own knowledge to make an educated guess.  We will be making inferences about the main character in the story.
  • Section 1 spent some time reviewing the vocabulary words.  
  • Section 1 is also retaking the literary terms quiz because they did not do as well as I thought they would do.  I gave them a short story which they had to map.  While they did that, I worked with a small group.  We will take the quiz part tomorrow.  I will post the grades ASAP.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Both classes have started Vocabulary Workshop!

Homework
  • Sections 2 and 3 should make pictures of each of the twenty vocabulary words for unit 1.  They should also do the Choosing the Right Word for unit 1.  I will check the Choosing on the responders tomorrow, so they should be correct.
  • Section 1 should make pictures of the twenty vocabulary words from unit 1.  Many of the students did not bring in money for the consumables, as found on the supplies list.  Therefore, those students MUST write all answers on a separate sheet of paper.


Extra practice for Unit 1 can be found on this Quizlet page.  (I will gather other links soon.)

 Today
  • Sections 1 and 2 reviewed the rubric I used to score their critical analysis pieces on "The Elevator."  The scores are on HAC. The rubric I used most is page one found on this link.  I am also going to have the students look at the rubric on page three as well. The rubrics are used in AP ELA in high school.  The wording is heavy, but I like the way the levels are differentiated.
  • I introduced Sections 1 and 2 to the words in unit 1.  Then I gave them time to start the pictures in class.
  • Section 1 started the day with a test on the literary terms.  They did not do as well as I would have liked, so I am going to have them take an alternative test tomorrow.  I am curious if they knew the words but the test was confusing.  
  • The test took Section 1 some time to do.  I gave them a writing assignment, but we did not get much time to start it.  I will officially assign it Tuesday and give them time to write.  They must be able to analyze a piece of literature.



Friday, September 13, 2013

The first full week is over.

Homework:
Sections 2 and 3 do not have any homework.
Section 1 students who did not finish the assignment in class should finish their story map of "The Elevator."


Today
Sections 2 and 3
  • They took the literary terms test.  I will post the grades on HAC soon.  
  • I collected their short story analysis papers today.
  • I handed out the vocab books.
  • I am thinking of having a quiz on unit one at the end of next week.  We will see how smoothly we can get this rolling.

Section 1
  • We reviewed the story maps they created yesterday from the fairy tales.
  • Then we applied the story mapping to "The Elevator."
  • We reread the story and answered the questions.
  • I gave them time to finish, but not all did.
  • Next week, I will give the students their vocabulary books.
  • They will also practice writing a short story analysis.

Have a nice weekend.


Thursday, September 12, 2013

We are working hard!

Homework:
Sections 2 and 3 have two things they are responsible for tomorrow.  They have to turn in the final draft of the short story analysis.  They also have a quiz on the literary terms that I had posted in earlier blogs.

Section 1 does not have homework.  However, school pictures are being taken, so all students will need their money.


In Class
Sections 2 and 3:
We spent time reviewing the story "The Elevator."  We discussed the sources of conflict and tried to agree on what the ending meant.  The ending is a cliff hanger, so students need to use details from the story to prove their theory.  Some are more plausible than others.

We also applied the literary terms to fairy tales like The Three Little Pigs.  We also plotted the stories on a story map.  We will use this map all year.

Section 1:
We reviewed the literary terms using the list on a previous post.  The students do NOT know the terms well.  I reviewed the terms, and they were supposed to copy them down. 

Then I had the students read a fairy tale, either The Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  The students filled our a story map.  I will grade those maps to see how they are doing with the terms we have been learning.

We have to catch up to the other sections.  We will be writing an analysis of the story next week.  We will also start vocab next week.