Final Blog for the School Year

So, how do I think the school year went?  I think it
went well.  It was not what I had planned, but it went well over all.
 
The beginning of the school year was rough because of
GoMyAccess.  The district mandated that I use the tool, and I think it had
some merit.  But it also interfered with how I teach writing.  I
guess, like anything new, it will take some time to incorporate it into my
curriculum.  
 
Persuasion and critical thinking are the focus of my
teaching.  My belief is that if you want a student to write a better
persuasive paper, you must teach the child to be better at persuading. 
You must teach him how to find something intelligent to say.  As luck
would have it, this year's prompt for the DSTP was persuasive.  The scores
looked good, and I would like to take credit for that, but I DO NOT.  I
will not get into why I feel that way, but I am please and proud of the
students for their performance.
 
The year ended abruptly for me.  In the beginning of
the year, I had great plans for the final presentation.  I thought that we would have been much
farther in our study of blues to hip-hop. 
Instead, the GoMyAccess writing took up more time than I ever imagined.  And I am sure that is a good
thing.  Plus, as the time allotted
for the unit changed, I focused more on research and writing, making sure that
no one would be able to question how the unit covered the required DSTP
material.  The result was a more
in-depth study of the blues, poets of the Harlem Renaissance, and Malcolm
X.  The downside is I was not able
to follow through on the planned hip-hop performance. 
 
I did want to comment on my Malcolm X unit. After I
finished showing the movie and discussing the events in his life, I started to
question where I was going with the unit. 
I showed some of the movie last year, but this year I showed it all
(minus inappropriate scenes).  I
thought studying the story of his life would show the background behind his
dramatic speeches and statements. 
I wanted to show the reason for the passion, not just the idea that one
should act passionately.  I still
feel showing the movie was useful. 
But a student brought up a good point.  He said that we could have just studied his speaking style
and left out all the religious stuff that was in the movie.  In a way, I agree.  But in another way, as literature and
biographical study, I found studying his story fascinating.  Maybe the focus was not all writing,
but I am glad they got the opportunity to study this controversial man and the
turbulent times he lived through.  I guess I feel like it is something they should know about,
just as I have learned about him. 
 
When it comes time to study speech making next year, I
will reflect on the lessons from this year.  But, I will say that I recorded some great speeches.  For a few minutes, each student had the
opportunity to persuade the class through words, music, and pictures.  Some speeches were quite moving.  Now, whether watching Malcolm X helped
create that passion is debatable. 
I will think about this more next year.
 
Did I accomplish everything I set out to do this
year?  Sure.  If your child showed up prepared to
listen and work, he learned more about the art of communication.  His writing would have grown as well
has his outlook on life.  There are
test scores that the district works hard to produce to prove that I, in fact,
did my job.  But being an artist
using the medium of children, I know by feel that I did what I was supposed
to.  The impact will differ from
child to child, and it might not even be felt for years to come, but I know I
made an impact on each of my students. 
In the beginning of the year, the mountain looks so big.  Now that I am on top, I look forward to
climbing a new one next year.
 
I hope you have found all of this communication
useful.  I worked very hard to keep
you informed of, not only your child’s grades, but what I am shooting for in
each lesson and why I feel what I am teaching the children is important.  Who knows?  Maybe I even made you think about a few new things this
year.  Trust me, I hope I did. 
 
 

June 2, 2006

Sorry I have not been keeping up with this on a daily basis.  I have been spending my time finishing up grades for the year.  

I sent home a grade slip this week.  I asked that it be signed.  Very soon I will enter the last few grades: vocab final, speech grade, signed grade slip, and grammar grade for speech.  The year is not quite over even though the students think so.  I am going to spend the weekend making the final push.

I also hope to make all the files I have made this year available somehow.  Last year I made a DVD of every recording of all my students.  If you would like a copy of just your child's works, please send a blank CD with them or give me 50 cents.  I will organize the files and burn them to a cd.

May 30, 2006

I sent this message home with a grade update:

There are only a few more grades that need to be entered for the end of the year: vocab final (75 points), speech grade (75 points), and grammar reading of their speech that was handed in (25 points).  And they must get this grade slip signed (10 points).

The year is wrapping up.  I will send out the final grade update AFTER I have submitted my grades.  I plan to submit them by the end of next week, June 9.

Just to make you aware, I have made many recordings of your child this year: Katrina essay, blues song, Harlem Renaissance poetry reading, and their autobiography piece.  These are mp3's which can be played using iTunes and Windows Media Player.  They can also be played on the portable devices.  (I am also recording half of the students' persuasive speeches as videos.  Ask your child if he/she was recorded.)

If you would like a copy of all of your child's files, send a CD to school or 50 cents.  Let me know if you want an audio CD you can play in a player or a data CD with the files for your computer.  (The videos will only be burned as files for the computer.  They will be sized for the video iPod.)

May 24, 2006

I am sorry I have not updated this blog in a few days.  I have been so busy with school work.  I have been a planning machine.  It takes a lot of work to make the Malcolm X unit come off smoothly, especially when I do every assignment they do.  I recently finished my persuasive speech.  It took me at least 5 hours to write and create the podcast.  I still have more to go.  

I believe that when the kids see me doing the same work they do, it inspires them to do their best.  One of the reasons I like teaching is I like doing the projects!  Call me crazy, but I enjoy the fact that I have a speech due!  If you would like to hear my speech, you can download it from the Malcolm X assignment page or the main page.

There is a quiz on unit 15 tomorrow, and the speech is due Friday.  They also have a vocab final next Thursday.  Then that is it!  The speeches will take days to do, and they should be very entertaining!  I am not sure if I am going to record them.  I might video tape some of them.  I cannot spend all my time making videos at the end of the year.  The clock is ticking!

Interesting...  I tried to research the Nation of Islam from school the other day.  The State firewall blocks the content due to, "violence/hate/racism."  Hum...  I guess my students won't be researching the organization Malcolm X was involved with any time soon.

May 19, 2006

For most classes, we are finished watching the movie.  I will spend next week preparing them for the speeches that will begin on Friday.  I suggest they work on them this weekend.

Not surprisingly, many students still do not know what they will write on.  Procrastination.  I suggested they write on their genetic disorder they are researching for science.  They can explain what they thought before they learned about it, how they feel now, and what they will do with that information.  What should we do now that they have taught us about it?  One girl says that students should be kinder to Meadowood students.

Another idea would be to argue for or against the Malcolm X unit.  I will argue that it is a great unit.  In fact, I am rethinking my original idea.  What if I could write a speech that I could read to students BEFORE we begin the unit next year?  What if I create a speech that fires students up and makes them anxious to begin the unit?  That would be cool!

Malcolm X died 41 years ago, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.  I am 37; therefore, I was not around during that time.  But I am a child of parents who were, and their parents fought in WWII.  The history of the struggle is in my family's time.  I do wonder about students today.  Do they understand the struggle, or are they free of the effects whites imposed on blacks all those years?  

I do wonder if the Civil Rights Movement is still relevant.  But I do not see total equality.  But after watching the movie, I do see progress today.  I am not sure if America is racially blind.  And I do beleive there is a class system that separates people socio-economically.  I am not proud of that fact.

I look forward to writing my essay.  I especially look forward to hearing what the students have to say!

May 17, 2006

Homework: Pictionaries and Synonyms Unit 15

I handed out grade slips today.  I did not require them to be signed.

Students are having trouble finding a topic for their persuasive speeches.  The topic does not have to be deep.  It just has to have the proper format of how they felt before they knew the problem, how they felt once they learned about the problem, and what they/we should do about the problem.

As I will say in my speech on why we should study Malcolm X, I did not know much about him.  I learned about him through reading and the movie.  I feel it is necessary, now, to study him in class.  I will prove that this unit is valuable, not just for a life lesson, but it will teach children about being committed to a cause and how to speak on something important.

May 16, 2006

This is what I sent home in the grade update today: 

These grades should provide a more accurate picture of how the students are performing this marking period.  There are more homework grades, another quiz grade, and more classwork assignments.  The poetry reading was frustrating.  Many students did not take the time to prepare.  Some did not even write an introduction.  I finally just made all the students go.  Some actually did well on the reading part.  Imagine how well they could have done had they prepared!

There are plenty of grades left in the marking period.  There is a link to the requirements for the Malcolm X movie we are watching.  You will find that on my classroom web page.  The students are filling out a question sheet as part of a guided viewing.  Throughout the movie I am pointing out how Malcolm X changes and what causes him to change.  Sure, many of his early statements were controversial, but they deserve to be heard and critiqued based on our current society. 

I will be writing my persuasive speech on how I believe Malcolm X should be studied and how I think this unit will have an impact on the students.  I have already been impacted by the movie.  I find it inspirational.  I will post my essay when I am done.

If you have questions about the grades, please feel free to e-mail me.

May 11, 2006

All of the Harlem Renaissance poetry readings are done.  I now have to convert each recording to an mp3 so that I can include them on the end of the year disc.  That disc will include all the recordings we have done throughout the year.  I will put them onto a DVD for posterity; you are welcome to buy one.  I assume you have not heard any of the recordings.  

The homework is to finish up unit 14.  I also asked them to bring in song lyrics of a writer who is searching for himself or has found his place/purpose in this world.  It will be a small class grade.

If your child says we are watching Malcolm X in school, please note that I am taking care to only show parts of the movie that I think explain how Malcolm X found his place in the world and how he searched for Truth. (I am also not showing any curse words.)  He was as great a man as a human can be, meaning, he was with fault like all of us.  There will be some discussions about his philosophies, and his religion was his guide, but the unit is not about the Nation of Islam or religion.  It is about Malcolm X and his stuggle for his black identity.

I want the students to see why he should be remembered.  I want them to know that there was another activist who had other plans for equality in America.  I want them to see a man struggle with himself to figure out who he is.

Ultimately, I want students to emulate the writing and speaking style and stand before the class with conviction.  I want them to search out a cause worthy of our attention and their efforts to present it to us.

May 10, 2006

Today was a weird day. I only saw three classes: sections 7,1, and 2. They were longer classes.

Homework varies from class to class because of the weird days. The schedule is on my classroom web page.

We are starting to study Malcolm X. When things calm down, I will make a web page explaining the final project. As it stands now (and that will change) I am looking for a presentation that is individual, incorporates visuals and music, and has some written aspect that expresses how they see their place/purpose in this world. We have been studying blacks finding their identity. In the movie on Malcolm X, we will see that he went through many changes in how he saw himself and the world.

More will come later.

For Friday, I asked the students to find lyrics to a song where the writer has found or is exploring his/her place in the world. One example is the Indigo Girls, "Closer to Fine." I look forward to seeing what they come up with. I don't want to see rappers who are just bragging. I hope to see some truth in the lyrics.

May 8, 2006

I handed grade slips out today.  They did not need to get signed.  Interims are due Wednesday and will be sent out on the 15th... I think.

We are beginning unit 14 in vocab and trying to finish up the poetry readings from the Harlem Renaissance.  

Giving grades has been difficult with the disruptions of spring break and Cape Henlopen.  There are more disruptions in the next two weeks as students take the NWEA testing.  Many days I will be missing one or two classes.  

As always, I have the assignments posted in my classroom.  The students are responsible for making sure they stay up to date even if we miss class.

April 28, 2006

We are now into reading the poems.  In order to get a B, they must read the poem with no errors in rhythm or pronunciation.  Any errors lowers the score to a B- or eventually a C.  An A reading is expressive and contains emotion.  I gave examples in class, and we read a few poems so they could learn a little bit about interpreting poems.

The problem in many classes is students are not prepared with their introductions.  When it is time to read, they are not ready.  That is a grade down.  Not being ready is the only way a student could get a D.  Otherwise, any reading could get a C.

Next week will be crazy.  I will not see my usual students, so there will be no homework, and we will not be reading the poems.  We still are not doing vocab.  That will start back up the following week.  We have 14 and 15 to finish as well as a vocab final.

April 27, 2006

Signed grade slips were collected today.  Not many were turned in.  Getting them signed is a grade.

Today also was another example of how hard it is to get a good grade this MP.  Many students were absent.  Also, students were supposed to have written an intro for the poem reading, but I still had students wondering what their poem was!  I explained this before break and every day up until today.  Again, I am just going to plow forward.  I will try to keep you and the students informed of all collected assignments.  I list them on the board in class as well as post them on the calendar from this web site.

Next week will be interesting.  Students will be assigned to groups and travel through five academic teachers.  They will be completing assignments for each of the teachers.  They will be responsible for working in each class.  The week will not be a party.  Now, for those going on the Henlopen trip, it will be!  I will be going during the first half of the week.

April 26, 2006

We finished the history of the Harlem Renaissance today.  The students should now have a completed outline of the period which they will use when they figure out what their poem means.  They will need that for their introduction as well.  That outline will be handed in tomorrow in class.

Thursday we will begin reading the poems aloud.  I will demonstrate what I am looking for, and we will discuss the first few students to read.  I will record all the readings for posterity.

The grade slips were sent home today.  They should be signed.

April 24, 2006

I posted the best songs from the blues songs recording sessions.  You can listen to them here: http://www.mrboz.com/school/assignment_blues.htm .  I made the songs so that when you play them on an iPod, a picture of the students singing will appear as artwork.  Creating the songs did take a lot of time, but I love to create things for posterity.  I hope the students will keep these files and appreciate them when they are older.  I also hope that I can find storage options so that I can keep their files handy.  If they ever stop by, it would be nice to show them what they sounded like years before.  But my laptop can only hold so much.  Even my 20GB external drive is getting filled by past years' files.  Donations welcomed!  (joking) ... (um sort of joking)

The students should be ready to explain a topic assigned to them before the break.  They had at least two days in the writing lab to research.  The requirements are listed on the Harlem Renaissance assignment page.

I will be handing out grades tomorrow if everything goes well.  I have them on paper.  I just need to enter them into the computer.  I have taken so long because the research papers overwhelmed me.  Sorry about that.

April 13, 2006 (I forgot to post this that day.)

The students are currently working on exploring the times surrounding the Harlem Renaissance.  Wednesday we reviewed some of the topics they explored in the writing lab the previous day. Today, Thursday, we will go to the lab again so that they can get the research they need to present their poem to the class.  

I have listed a specific way to read the poem.  The most important part of the reading is creating an introduction to set the stage for reading.  A reading of a poem is not just a recitation of the words.  The reading adds to the piece.  One way that is done is through preparing the audience by setting a purpose for listening.  Since we in the audience do not have time to read the poem over and over, the preparation allows us to listen for something, focuses our attention towards a specific message.

Today we will work on exploring the lives of the writers and research the poems.  My goal is to give those who do not have access to computers at home time to gather their information.  I will give examples of how to read poems when we return from break.

Everything is spelled out on the worksheet.  You can find it under the Harlem Renaissance assignment web page.

April 11, 2006

I updated many of the pages on the classroom web page.  Therefore, I ran out of time to write this entry.  Sorry.

On Tuesday, we went to the writing lab to do some research.  I need the students to understand the times surrounding the Harlem Renaissance.  This way, they can be more expressive when they read their assigned poem because they will know what the writer is trying to express.  For example, if they do not know what lynching is, they will not understand the despair the poet is trying to express.

I used the timeline from the Negro Baseball League movie as the basis for studying the background of the times.  The movie examines the struggles of blacks from the Restoration after the Civil War up through Brown vs. Board of Education in 1956.  We are examining how blacks struggled to form their identity in a society that did not always accept them as equals.

Ultimately, I want the students to be examining themselves.  The final project will project their understand of themselves and their place in the world as they see themselves today.  Just as the black writers of the Harlem Renaissance were excited to explore their roots and express their hopes for the future, I want to see the students expressing themselves through a creative presentation.

April 10, 2006

No homework.  I will update the pages soon.  I am trying to wrap up the media essays, plan the next unit, and update the grades by Thursday.  Sorry.  I don't have time for more.

April 6, 2006

I have not been so diligent with these entries as I have been in the past.  I guess I am prioritizing.  I do have a calendar linked to my home page.

Lately we have been recording our blues songs.  I have to process each one of them individually, so it will take a little while to get them all done.  I am also still grading media essays.  My time is limited.   When I do find time, I will make recordings available.  I probably won't post them all on the internet as before, but I will look into it.  Most likely, I will make CD's available for a small cost.

Next week we will do daily drills and a root word packet.  The packet will be homework, but I will discuss the words on Monday.  We will also be beginning the Harlem Renaissance study.  The blues recordings are taking longer than expected.

April 3, 2006

The recording of our blues songs is under way! I think I will go crazy by the end because most of the students have chosen the same song: John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom Boom." We are making recordings using Garage Band which I will save as MP3's. I will also be adding their pictures to the song so that when you listen to the songs on iTunes, their pictures will appear on the player. That includes iPods as well.

Homework is to finish unit 13 in the vocab. This week we will have a quiz on Wednesday. We will also be recording the songs for as long as it takes. After that, we will begin a study of Harlem Renaissance poetry. They will be responsible for finding a poem and performing it for the class. Again, I will record them.

March 29, 2006

I realized that I did not blog that much last week.  Wow, what a crazy week.

Today we checked the pictionaries and synonyms in class.  Tonight's homework was to do the choosing.  Section 3 did them in class.

We studied one last blues artist today.  I always like to add onto what I did the previous year.  I decided we should at least look at John Lee Hooker.  We listened to the song "Boom Boom Boom."  I told the students I would make a blank version of the song so we could add our own lyrics.  That is now on the blues assignment page.

I do take the blues song seriously.  I hope the students take the time to prepare for the performance.  I know I will!  I work very hard on these lessons because I love doing them.  Many of the performances will be ok, but a few will be awesome!  We all excel at different things.  We also learn through different styles.  I try to appeal to many styles.