Homework:
Pictionaries 1-10
Start writing the script for the H.B. promotional video.
Today:
Daily Drill
Reviewed the calendar for the week.
Discussed 1- 10 vocab words.
Discussed the requirements for the script.
Work time for a few minutes.
Sections 1 and 2 are doing the ad as group projects. They will be responsible for presenting the ad to the class before it is filmed, but each student is not writing his own piece. Each group member must speak in the ad, and tomorrow I will discuss my high expectations for the ads.
Sections 3, 6, and 7 must write a script first. Each student is writing up a proposal for an ad that is pretty much finished. We will listen to these proposals and decide which ads will be presented. Once the ads are chosen, groups will form to act out the ads for the camera. I am finding that too many students are just watching others do the work. I really want all students involved in writing an ad. We have spent a lot of time preparing for this. I want to see how it all comes together.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
March 27, 2009
Today: In the picture above, you can see what we did today. After checking to see that all the students found 17/21 ad techniques in their magazines, I asked for examples of each. We created this bulletin board. We will use this next week when we start writing our promotional video for H.B. ! I will expect to see 2-3 of the techniques in their ads. This should be an interesting two weeks! I hope we can get them all made by spring break. The testing really played with the schedule I had planned.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
March 26, 2009
Homework:
Students should have identified 17 ad techniques in their magazines with yellow sticky tabs. They will get a grade on this tomorrow.
Today:
Daily Drill
Vocab Quiz
Work time on the 17 ad techniques
I was telling the students today that the reason we are learning these techniques is they must include about three of them in their promotional video. Tomorrow we will make our bulletin board, and next week we will create our ads! I am excited and nervous. But I promise you one thing: this project will produce some memorable footage of these children! It's the type of thing they hope no one sees! It will be fun, though.
Students should have identified 17 ad techniques in their magazines with yellow sticky tabs. They will get a grade on this tomorrow.
Today:
Daily Drill
Vocab Quiz
Work time on the 17 ad techniques
I was telling the students today that the reason we are learning these techniques is they must include about three of them in their promotional video. Tomorrow we will make our bulletin board, and next week we will create our ads! I am excited and nervous. But I promise you one thing: this project will produce some memorable footage of these children! It's the type of thing they hope no one sees! It will be fun, though.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
March 25, 2009
Homework:
Sections 3,6,and 7 should make flashcards
There is a quiz tomorrow (accept for section 3- Friday)
Today:
Daily Drill
Reviewed vocab answers
Reviewed ad techniques
Work time to identify techniques used in magazine ads
Sections 3,6,and 7 should make flashcards
There is a quiz tomorrow (accept for section 3- Friday)
Today:
Daily Drill
Reviewed vocab answers
Reviewed ad techniques
Work time to identify techniques used in magazine ads
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
March 24, 2009
Homework:
Completing the Sentence
Be sure to have a magazine tomorrow
Today:
Daily Drill
Checked the Choosing the Right Word using the clicker system for a grade
I explained the second half of the ad techniques
Some classes started to find ads in their magazines.
Tomorrow, I plan to give them lots of time to hunt for ad techniques in their magazines.
I have started to grade the compare/contrast paragraphs. They will have to go on the 4th MP grade. I cannot get them done in time.
Completing the Sentence
Be sure to have a magazine tomorrow
Today:
Daily Drill
Checked the Choosing the Right Word using the clicker system for a grade
I explained the second half of the ad techniques
Some classes started to find ads in their magazines.
Tomorrow, I plan to give them lots of time to hunt for ad techniques in their magazines.
I have started to grade the compare/contrast paragraphs. They will have to go on the 4th MP grade. I cannot get them done in time.
Monday, March 23, 2009
March 23, 2009
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Grades are done on the Home Access. I put in three new grades. A zero in any of those last three can really pull the grade down! However, the students had plenty of time and reminders to get them in. I will still accept them for late credit. I was going to grade the paragraphs for this marking period, but I will probably use them for the forth MP. I don't want to rush and make mistakes. I will see how the grading goes this week.
Homework:
Choosing the Right Word- We will check them with the remotes tomorrow.
Bring a magazine. It will be easier to do the next assignment with a magazine!
Today:
Daily Drill
Reviewed the week's schedule
Reviewed vocab words to get them back in out head.
I introduced them to the first page of advertising techniques. Some classes had some time to start searching for an example of each technique.
Grades are done on the Home Access. I put in three new grades. A zero in any of those last three can really pull the grade down! However, the students had plenty of time and reminders to get them in. I will still accept them for late credit. I was going to grade the paragraphs for this marking period, but I will probably use them for the forth MP. I don't want to rush and make mistakes. I will see how the grading goes this week.
Homework:
Choosing the Right Word- We will check them with the remotes tomorrow.
Bring a magazine. It will be easier to do the next assignment with a magazine!
Today:
Daily Drill
Reviewed the week's schedule
Reviewed vocab words to get them back in out head.
I introduced them to the first page of advertising techniques. Some classes had some time to start searching for an example of each technique.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
March 18, 2009
Homework:
Pictionaries 1-10
Compare/Contrast paragraph is due Friday. This sheet has the requirements.
I asked students to bring a magazine tomorrow so we can start studying advertising techniques.
Today:
Daily Drill
Listened to 1-10 vocab words for the next unit
Looked at two samples for the compare/contrast paragraph
Students read each other's pieces and commented.
Pictionaries 1-10
Compare/Contrast paragraph is due Friday. This sheet has the requirements.
I asked students to bring a magazine tomorrow so we can start studying advertising techniques.
Today:
Daily Drill
Listened to 1-10 vocab words for the next unit
Looked at two samples for the compare/contrast paragraph
Students read each other's pieces and commented.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
March 17, 2009
Homework:
Yes, I assigned homework. I want the students to come in with a 300-350 word paragraph that we have been working on. I am having trouble keeping the momentum of the current lesson going through testing. I figured since we are done testing, accept for make-ups, I can assign some homework. I can't wait to get to filming the videos, but we have to cover some important media literacy concepts first as part of the curriculum.
I would also like the students to bring in a magazine on Thursday and Friday. We will be looking at artificial means of persuasion- or ad techniques. I think they will enjoy the lessons more if they are looking at magazines they like. Otherwise, they will be looking at boring newspaper ads.
Lastly, we are starting a new unit of vocab Wednesday. I looked at the calendar. We can keep up the two week schedule through March and April, but in May, we will be doing a unit a week! May will be vocab month, and it will end with the final. I want the students to get their $8.50 worth out of their books!
Yes, I assigned homework. I want the students to come in with a 300-350 word paragraph that we have been working on. I am having trouble keeping the momentum of the current lesson going through testing. I figured since we are done testing, accept for make-ups, I can assign some homework. I can't wait to get to filming the videos, but we have to cover some important media literacy concepts first as part of the curriculum.
I would also like the students to bring in a magazine on Thursday and Friday. We will be looking at artificial means of persuasion- or ad techniques. I think they will enjoy the lessons more if they are looking at magazines they like. Otherwise, they will be looking at boring newspaper ads.
Lastly, we are starting a new unit of vocab Wednesday. I looked at the calendar. We can keep up the two week schedule through March and April, but in May, we will be doing a unit a week! May will be vocab month, and it will end with the final. I want the students to get their $8.50 worth out of their books!
Friday, March 13, 2009
March 13, 2009
Sorry I haven't blogged the past few days, but there was not really much to update. We are working on outlining paragraphs that compare H.B. to a private school. Here are the two prompts students can address. Some have the parent, and others have the student:
Audience: Parents
Should I send my child to H.B. DuPont, or should I send him to the private school you researched? Is there anything I must know before I make my decision?
Recommendation
Audience: Student
I would like to know what middle school I should go to. I hear private schools are pretty nice, but can I get the same experience if I go to H.B.? What do you think I should know about each school before I talk about this with my mom and dad?
The reason we are doing this comparison is to see what the competition has. In many ways, the private schools have more than we do, but for the money and life experience, I am not so sure H.B. is that far behind. That is my opinion. I want to see what the students have to say.
Again, all of these activities are preparing students for the ad they will make to promote H.B..
The final paragraph will be due Thursday of next week. I plan to get some of my classes into the writing lab on Wednesday of next week. I will post the rubric next week.
Have a nice weekend.
Audience: Parents
Should I send my child to H.B. DuPont, or should I send him to the private school you researched? Is there anything I must know before I make my decision?
Recommendation
Audience: Student
I would like to know what middle school I should go to. I hear private schools are pretty nice, but can I get the same experience if I go to H.B.? What do you think I should know about each school before I talk about this with my mom and dad?
The reason we are doing this comparison is to see what the competition has. In many ways, the private schools have more than we do, but for the money and life experience, I am not so sure H.B. is that far behind. That is my opinion. I want to see what the students have to say.
Again, all of these activities are preparing students for the ad they will make to promote H.B..
The final paragraph will be due Thursday of next week. I plan to get some of my classes into the writing lab on Wednesday of next week. I will post the rubric next week.
Have a nice weekend.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
March 10, 2009
Homework:
The students worked well in class, but not all could finish their charts. Since this is our last day in the writing lab, I said students could finish the chart at home. We will be writing compare/contrast paragraphs. They will need to have the chart complete. You can't compare two schools if you don't know anything about them!
Today:
We were in the writing lab. We continued to work on this paper.
The students worked well in class, but not all could finish their charts. Since this is our last day in the writing lab, I said students could finish the chart at home. We will be writing compare/contrast paragraphs. They will need to have the chart complete. You can't compare two schools if you don't know anything about them!
Today:
We were in the writing lab. We continued to work on this paper.
Monday, March 09, 2009
March 9, 2009
Homework:
I did ask my classes to conduct some interviews of people to find out why H.B. is a school worth attending. I know we cannot assign homework, so I said those who did these interviews would be better off than those who just have to guess what people want in a school. I think the interviews will help the students when they create their promotional videos.
Today:
I have created a nice web page that explains what we are currently working on. We have completed the first two things on the page, and we are in the middle of the third. Since we have to promote H.B. duPont Middle School, I thought it would be best to study what private schools do to promote their schools. It's like studying the competition. Sure, these schools offer many things H.B. cannot, but I am hoping we can make our school shine like these schools do on their web page. Our school does not cost $20,000 a year. H.B. is a great value in some ways.
This research will be turned into a compare/contrast essay. I will have the outline posted soon.
I did ask my classes to conduct some interviews of people to find out why H.B. is a school worth attending. I know we cannot assign homework, so I said those who did these interviews would be better off than those who just have to guess what people want in a school. I think the interviews will help the students when they create their promotional videos.
Today:
I have created a nice web page that explains what we are currently working on. We have completed the first two things on the page, and we are in the middle of the third. Since we have to promote H.B. duPont Middle School, I thought it would be best to study what private schools do to promote their schools. It's like studying the competition. Sure, these schools offer many things H.B. cannot, but I am hoping we can make our school shine like these schools do on their web page. Our school does not cost $20,000 a year. H.B. is a great value in some ways.
This research will be turned into a compare/contrast essay. I will have the outline posted soon.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
March 5, 2009
Homework: None
Today: We are beginning a new unit. We will be making promotional videos for H.B. duPont. You can get the details here. So far we have just started to study audience.
Today: We are beginning a new unit. We will be making promotional videos for H.B. duPont. You can get the details here. So far we have just started to study audience.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
February 25, 2009
Homework:
Sections 3,6,7- Flashcards
All- vocab quiz Thursday
Section 3- Thursday Quiz on Sit/set, rise/raise, lie/lay
Friday:
Sections 1 and 2- Quiz on sentence structure
Sections 6 and 7- Quiz on clauses
Sections 3,6,7- Flashcards
All- vocab quiz Thursday
Section 3- Thursday Quiz on Sit/set, rise/raise, lie/lay
Friday:
Sections 1 and 2- Quiz on sentence structure
Sections 6 and 7- Quiz on clauses
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
February 24, 2009
Homework:
Finish the vocab unit
Today:
All classes are doing something different. I do not have time to type it out. Sorry.
Sections 1 and 2:
I handed back their graded ant essays.
Finish the vocab unit
Today:
All classes are doing something different. I do not have time to type it out. Sorry.
Sections 1 and 2:
I handed back their graded ant essays.
Monday, February 23, 2009
February 23, 2009
Homework:
Completing the Sentence
(Section 3 did this in class)
Today:
Sections 1 and 2 continued their discussion of sentences. Today we focused on finding subjects and verbs in unusual order. We will probably take a test by Friday. I have finished grading the ant pieces. I will return them Tuesday. I gave a lot of thought as to how to grade the papers. The problem was they were so different. There were 4 topics at least. So basically, I had in my head the level of writing I expect for an A, B, or C, which reflected word choice, sentence structure, and amount of development. That is subjective of course. Then I factored in the grammar. Some papers were lowered a half a grade for grammar mistakes. Determining if a paper is an A or a B is pretty easy. Trying to explain it is more difficult because I did not use a rubric. If you have a question, let me know.
Sections 6 and 7 worked on finding dependent clauses.
Section 3 worked on confusing word pairs like sit and set, lie and lay, rise and raise, and can and may. We will be practicing various gramatical skills this week as we wait for the other classes to catch up to us.
Completing the Sentence
(Section 3 did this in class)
Today:
Sections 1 and 2 continued their discussion of sentences. Today we focused on finding subjects and verbs in unusual order. We will probably take a test by Friday. I have finished grading the ant pieces. I will return them Tuesday. I gave a lot of thought as to how to grade the papers. The problem was they were so different. There were 4 topics at least. So basically, I had in my head the level of writing I expect for an A, B, or C, which reflected word choice, sentence structure, and amount of development. That is subjective of course. Then I factored in the grammar. Some papers were lowered a half a grade for grammar mistakes. Determining if a paper is an A or a B is pretty easy. Trying to explain it is more difficult because I did not use a rubric. If you have a question, let me know.
Sections 6 and 7 worked on finding dependent clauses.
Section 3 worked on confusing word pairs like sit and set, lie and lay, rise and raise, and can and may. We will be practicing various gramatical skills this week as we wait for the other classes to catch up to us.
Friday, February 20, 2009
February 20, 2009
Homework:
None
Today:
The big excitement of today was entering the Choosing the Right Word into the remote things we are using. The students entered their answers like a 20 question test; however, they did it the night before. When they were done, the computer sent the score to their remote, so they knew how they did right away! Then we looked at the results. There were graphs for each question which showed how many got the question wrong. If a question had only a few students who got it wrong (or all got it right), we skipped it and moved on to discuss only the ones they struggled with. That was better than just doing all of them. I will figure out ways to utilize the results.
I also plan to use this for Thursday's quiz. This way, when I see that all the results are in, we can see how they did. This way they can get immediate feedback. I am so excited!
Have a nice weekend.
None
Today:
The big excitement of today was entering the Choosing the Right Word into the remote things we are using. The students entered their answers like a 20 question test; however, they did it the night before. When they were done, the computer sent the score to their remote, so they knew how they did right away! Then we looked at the results. There were graphs for each question which showed how many got the question wrong. If a question had only a few students who got it wrong (or all got it right), we skipped it and moved on to discuss only the ones they struggled with. That was better than just doing all of them. I will figure out ways to utilize the results.
I also plan to use this for Thursday's quiz. This way, when I see that all the results are in, we can see how they did. This way they can get immediate feedback. I am so excited!
Have a nice weekend.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
February 19, 2009
Homework:
Choosing the Right Word
Today:
Another day with the responders! The devices are pretty cool, but I have so much to learn, so ee spent some time learning. I can see how to use them for general feedback, and the students got a taste of how I can use them to collect scores for grades. Tomorrow will be the first big test of data collection. I will have the students enter the answers from their Choosing the Right Word from vocab. Most times I just give a quick glance to see if they did it. By using the device, I can see how well they actually did. It's worth a shot.
I will grade the written pieces some day soon. I have been spending too much time the last few days learning how to use the device. I really look forward to reading what they wrote, though!
Choosing the Right Word
Today:
Another day with the responders! The devices are pretty cool, but I have so much to learn, so ee spent some time learning. I can see how to use them for general feedback, and the students got a taste of how I can use them to collect scores for grades. Tomorrow will be the first big test of data collection. I will have the students enter the answers from their Choosing the Right Word from vocab. Most times I just give a quick glance to see if they did it. By using the device, I can see how well they actually did. It's worth a shot.
I will grade the written pieces some day soon. I have been spending too much time the last few days learning how to use the device. I really look forward to reading what they wrote, though!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
February 18, 2009
Homework:
All classes have pictionaries and synonyms due Thursday.
Today:
In some of the classes, I have introduced a new device we will be trying called the Engage Responder. Itis made by Scantron, the company that makes the bubble sheets we use in school. If I have time, I will explain this in more detail later. Right now I am trying to figure out how to integrate it smoothly into our classes. Like anything new, there will be starts and stops. Real quick, there are two main benefits. The first is that all students will be responding, hence the name- Engage. The results can be displayed on the screen so we can discuss why many chose one answer over another. The second way this can be used is for assessement. Instead of running a bubble sheet, the answers are entered into the device. When the student is finished, the score will be instantly available. I am going to try this with Friday's Choosing the Right Word. Most times, I walk around and glance at their books to make sure they are done. This way students will enter their answers into the machine and I will know how WELL they did their homework. Hey, it's an idea. I will update you as things progress.
As of now, Sections 1 and 2 are doing sentence structure. Sections 6 and 7 are slowly beginning sentence structure. And Section 3 is helping me with the new device, but they will start a written piece soon.
All classes have pictionaries and synonyms due Thursday.
Today:
In some of the classes, I have introduced a new device we will be trying called the Engage Responder. Itis made by Scantron, the company that makes the bubble sheets we use in school. If I have time, I will explain this in more detail later. Right now I am trying to figure out how to integrate it smoothly into our classes. Like anything new, there will be starts and stops. Real quick, there are two main benefits. The first is that all students will be responding, hence the name- Engage. The results can be displayed on the screen so we can discuss why many chose one answer over another. The second way this can be used is for assessement. Instead of running a bubble sheet, the answers are entered into the device. When the student is finished, the score will be instantly available. I am going to try this with Friday's Choosing the Right Word. Most times, I walk around and glance at their books to make sure they are done. This way students will enter their answers into the machine and I will know how WELL they did their homework. Hey, it's an idea. I will update you as things progress.
As of now, Sections 1 and 2 are doing sentence structure. Sections 6 and 7 are slowly beginning sentence structure. And Section 3 is helping me with the new device, but they will start a written piece soon.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
February 12, 2009
Homework:
Sec. 1: none
Sec. 2: none
Sec. 3: none
Sec. 6: seven sentence answer on Hey, Little Ant ending
Sec. 7: final draft of ant essay due
Today:
Again, all my classes are on different schedules. However, in general...
The honors classes are finishing up the ant project and will be doing sentence structure for the next two weeks or so.
Sections 6 and 7 are finishing the ant stuff as well, and will be doing sentence structure as well. However, these classes have already had studied sentences before. We will be adding to the previous unit on sentences.
Section 3 is just about finished the sentence structure unit. They will have a test early next week. They should have all the sheets we did in class. They can use them for the test. After the test, we will be doing a class project that has to deal with story telling in some way. We have not done a big unit on narrative writing yet.
Sec. 1: none
Sec. 2: none
Sec. 3: none
Sec. 6: seven sentence answer on Hey, Little Ant ending
Sec. 7: final draft of ant essay due
Today:
Again, all my classes are on different schedules. However, in general...
The honors classes are finishing up the ant project and will be doing sentence structure for the next two weeks or so.
Sections 6 and 7 are finishing the ant stuff as well, and will be doing sentence structure as well. However, these classes have already had studied sentences before. We will be adding to the previous unit on sentences.
Section 3 is just about finished the sentence structure unit. They will have a test early next week. They should have all the sheets we did in class. They can use them for the test. After the test, we will be doing a class project that has to deal with story telling in some way. We have not done a big unit on narrative writing yet.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
February 10, 2009
Homework:
All classes should finish the vocab unit.
Section 2 should turn in their final draft Wednesday.
Section 1 should have a typed rough draft of their ant piece.
Section 7 has their good draft due Thursday
Section 6 handed in their good drafts today.
Today:
All classes are on a different schedule. Too much to explain.
Sections 1 and 2 have started doing Daily Drills. If a student is absent, he must make up the sheet.
All classes should finish the vocab unit.
Section 2 should turn in their final draft Wednesday.
Section 1 should have a typed rough draft of their ant piece.
Section 7 has their good draft due Thursday
Section 6 handed in their good drafts today.
Today:
All classes are on a different schedule. Too much to explain.
Sections 1 and 2 have started doing Daily Drills. If a student is absent, he must make up the sheet.
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