March 30, 2007

Homework:
None! Enjoy your break!

Today:
We were in the writing lab. The students finished typing their essays. They submitted them and handed in a copy. I will take the GoMyAccess score for 100 points, and Miss Bastnagel and I will grade them for another 100 points.

After break we will begin a unit on media literacy. We will study magazines, TV ads, NASCAR sponsorship, and marketing strategies. I will be asking students to bring in a magazine so we can study it in depth.

March 29, 2007

Homework:
The bully essay will be collected at the end of class tomorrow. Students who have been absent during the writing lab time are still responsible for writing an essay. Miss Bastnagel and I will be scoring the essays as well.

Today:
Miss Bastnagel and I both did lessons for students on improving sentence structure in their essays. We also discussed ideas for improving organization by adding transitions. Finally, we looked at the model essay provided by GoMyAccess. We analyzed it to see why it scored so well.

March 28, 2007

Homework:
Sections 1 and 2 should have finished the worksheet we began Tuesday.

Today:
We were in the writing lab. Many students spent their time trying to slowly improve their scores. Tomorrow, Miss Bastnagel and I will teach lessons to help them improve their letters.

The final essay will be due when they leave class on Friday. It will be scored by Miss Bastnagel and me. Judging by the model essays provided by GoMyAccess, she and I will be scoring the essay more thoroughly than the computer does. We will stress the importance of NO grammar errors.

March 27, 2007

Homework:
Sections 1 and 2 should finish the packet we started in class today for Thursday.

Today:
In sections 1 and 2 I talked about how to improve the readability level of an essay. We looked at the readability statistics that Microsoft Word can display when doing a spelling and grammar check. I taught them that the higher readability comes from the words to syllables ratio. Fewer words with more syllables will result in a higher readability. I reminded them about the word bank in GoMyAccess. They should pick words that are one level above their current level. If they write using 25 cent words now, they should not use $50 words! They should use $1 words. Otherwise, the huge words will sound silly... if they even know what they mean!

Sections 3, 6, and 7 reviewed comma usage. Miss Bastnagel taught sections 6 and 7.

March 26, 2007

Homework:
None

Today:
We were in the writing lab. We began typing in the bullying essay. Tomorrow we will work on lessons to improve their sentences. We will be back in the lab on Wednesday. That's it, really. Not much to say.

March 23, 2007

TGIF!

Homework:
Ideally, I would like a letter writen for Monday. This way, when the students get on the computers on Monday, they will be able to use GoMyAccess for revision and not just a word processor. However, if the letter is not done, that is fine, too.

Today:
I handed out the pen prizes to sections 1,2, and 3. We finished the movie for those classes. We discussed what should be included in the letter to the bullied friend.

March 22, 2007

Homework:
Continue working on the letter to the friend who is being bullied.

Today:
I only saw sections 6 and 7, and both of those classes were 35 minutes long. We finished watching the movie. The kids are pretty fried after testing anyway!

March 21, 2007

Homework:
Students should be working on the letter to their friend who is being bullied. Unfortunately, I don't think many students are working on it now. The essay is due Monday, though.

Today:
Ms. Bastnagel taught the lesson today. This was here first day teaching, and she did an excellent job. Since she has been teaching second graders for 9 weeks before this, she had more than enough experience to handle the more mature? seventh graders. :)

Using a lesson she created, Ms. Bastnagel reviewed the characters from the movie and how each coped with Joe, the bully in the movie. After discussing the different reactions to a bully, she asked the students to put themselves in the same situation and decide how they would handle it. She had four different choices for the students to elaborate on. The students chose a paper that symbolized their choice and wrote out how they would handle being bullied. Some students read their papers to the class.

March 19, 2007

Homework:
Work on the bully letter (new assignment page on MrBoZ.com)

Today:
We read over the suggestions on this page. Then we watched more of the movie How to Eat Fried Worms. Today we focused on the bystanders and the role they play in allowing the bullying to continue. Later, we will see how they can affect change.


FYI:
I sent home grade e-mails today. They should be the grade they receive for the 3rd marking period. This week is testing, so there will not be any new grades. Then the marking period is over. There are a few things that can be made up.

March 15, 2007

Homework:
None

Today:
I saw the rest of the classes today. We are starting a new essay on bullying. We watched 10 minute from the beginning of the movie "How to Eat Fried Worms." We discussed how three characters in the movie deal with being bullied. One ignores it. Another gives into it and is miserable. And the main character thinks he will stand up to the bully and be strong. He takes a bet that would humiliate the bully if he wins, but the bet will humiliate him in the process. He has to eat ten worms! We will watch some other parts of the movie, but we are mainly going to be focusing on reading an article that has suggestions about what to do if you are being bullied.

FYI:
I have a student teacher who will be with me until the end of May. Here is a letter she sent home with your child. (Some classes do not get it yet.)

Dear Parent(s) /Guardian(s)/ Families of Seventh grade team:
My name is Elizabeth Bastnagel and I will be student teaching in your child’s seventh grade English class for the next eight weeks. I am a student at the University of Delaware working to receive my degree in Elementary Education.

I have had several field experiences through the University, including three other placements in the Red Clay School District at Heritage Elementary School, Richardson Park Elementary School, and at H.B. Dupont Middle School. I have also worked for the Western Family YMCA of Delaware in the before- and after-care school program. These experiences have made me confident that I can succeed in working with your child.

I’m thoroughly excited about the opportunity to work with Mr. Bosler and his seventh graders. I look forward to getting to know your child during the next eight weeks. If at any time during my placement you need to reach me please call the school at (302) 239-3420.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bastnagel

March 14, 2007

Homework:
None

Today:
Sorry about not blogging yesterday. We were in the lab yesterday, and they were to enter the Richard Petty essay for a score. I took the score from GoMyAccess as a grade. Students who were absent are excused. You may have heard that it was hard to get a six on the speech. That is true. I also wanted to say that many students were lax about getting drafts done on time. This speech has been like pulling teeth. Their effort will be reflected in their grade slip which I should have for Friday of this week.

Today, I saw sections 7,1,and 2. Tomorrow I will see sections 3 and 6. We are starting our next writing topic. I handed out the prompt today. I will make a web page for the assignment soon.

March 12, 2007

Homework:
Revise the Richard Petty essay so we can enter it into GoMYAccess tomorrow.

Today:
Buzzword
We read examples of essays that scored 3,4, and 5 for the Richard Petty speech. These were scored by GoMyAccess. I wanted the students to see what the difference is between their essays and the essays we read. All the students have the same details to include, but how is it that they can't all get a five? They must be doing something wrong. My job is to help them find out what that might be.

We used a checklist to see if the 5 had all the details possible in it. It had most of them. Honestly, I don't see what is missing to get the six in the essay we read. I thought it sounded pretty good. But that is the challenge of GoMyAccess. We should keep reading the samples and trying to get our essays to be scored at least a four. The computer is consistent.

We will be in the writing lab tomorrow.

March 9, 2007

I had a substitute. The Richard Petty speech is due on Monday.

March 7, 2007

Homework:
Study for unit 10 quiz
Flashcards (sections 3,6,7, but I explained them to all my classes)
Finish a draft of the Richard Petty speech

Today:
1. Buzzword

2. Reviewed Vocab focusing on parts of speech and preparing for the quiz

3. I talked about being Richard Petty the way an actor has to be in character when he acts. We discussed the many bits of information about Richard Petty that the article contained. We also discussed how he would have a purpose. Some suggested something like following your dreams. His humility might also be a topic. He might stress that even though what he did was great, being a good person is more important. He would not be coming in to gloat about his wins. He would use his accomplishments to inspire the students.

I think there are other purposes he would have. I am excited to see what they come up with. I am trying to get a cowboy hat and sunglasses organized so the students can pretend they are Richard Petty and read their speeches. That would be fun to video tape! (Hum.... )

March 6, 2007

Homework:
Finish Unit 10

Today:
We did a buzzword and reviewed the vocab homework. Then I started taking them through the next text-based writing piece we are working on. I made the assignment page. You can check that out if you want to.

I wanted them to focus on imagining the character who is giving the speech. Since she is in the news, I used Brittany Spears as an example. When I asked them what she would talk to them about if she came into our school, they guessed it would be something on trying to live your live right. (I also told them to image that this was years later, and she had her act together!) The exercise was not to be about gossip. I wanted them to see that if they knew enough about someone, they should be able to think like him/her. That is what I want them to do for the essay. The hard part is figuring out the character of Richard Petty from the article.

I also posted their oral readings. You can listen to them here.

I sent grades by e-mail today. I will give them to the students tomorrow.

March 5, 2007

Homework:
Completing the sentence Unit 10

Today:
We started a new prompt. When I have time, I will put up the assignment page. Basically, they read some information on Richard Petty, the NASCAR driver, and write the speech he would give to students in our school. As I see it, they have to take two things out of the text. They must figure out how to write like Richard Petty. Then they have to include the highlights from his life that are listed in the article. It is an interesting challenge. I think I will be focusing on voice and audience.

I am working on posting the recordings from the in class readings. I have made them into music files. Now I have to make the web page with the links.

January 28, 2007

Homework:
Choosing the Right Word unit 10

Today:
Buzzword
Checked pictionaries and synonyms
Put pictionaries on the board and tried to guess them.
Continued to record.

Sections 3, 6 and 7 are almost done with the recordings.
Sections 1 and 2 have a while to go!

January 27, 2007

Homework:
Pictionaries 11-20 and synonyms unit 10

Today:
We checked the pictionaries and listened to the rest of the vocab words. FYI: I download the words from Oxford Sadlier and play them through my iTunes in class. I think listening to the words is yet another way the students can become familiar with the words. It could also be a different way to review the words. They could use it for spelling by having the words read to them. I always tell them that the cool kids put this on their iPods and listen to vocab instead of pop songs. (I don't think they believe me, though!)

We continued recording the presentations today.

Grades:
I sent home a grade update today and gave a copy to the students in class. These grades will be the ones I use for the interims.

January 26, 2007

Homwork:
Pictionaries 1-10 unit 10
Practice for your oral reading

Today:
I read my piece to section 3. Just to let you know that I am not perfect, I scored a 96% on my reading. I had a few tiny pauses, but I had a huge stumble where I had to actually figure out what I had written. In a later class, I rerecorded that paragraph so it will sound better. I want to have my family listen to the recording, and I can't have that huge mistake in the final version.

I have been giving some thought to the GoMyAccess scoring of the "Monsters" essay. Even though I complained in the last blog entry that the computer scored a nothing piece of writing as a 5, the same scoring applies to all students. So the students who got a six did SOMETHING that earned them a six. Was what they did sound writing? I don't have time to score the essays. In general, the scores should only vary by one score lower if I were to grade them myself. The scores are not perfect, but they can give useful information about a student's writing abilities. The final verdict: the scores aren't perfect, but they are scores. I will use them.

February 23, 2007

Homework:
Practice for reading aloud

Today:
We reviewed the answers to the vocab book work. I did not check any vocab this week for a homework grade. I will get more homework grades this coming week.

We took the quiz on units 7-9. I will have that graded early next week. Interims are due by Wednesday.

We continued our readings. Next week, I will try to get all the readings done. It is fun to listen to the different stories. There are some really good readers in my classes. They make their stories interesting to listen to by adding inflection to their words and sentences.

Troubling:
I did find out something about the essays on "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." I made a submission using three writing prompts, just some random document that I found on my computer. The submission was not even and essay. It was just one page of questions and titles, things you would find on the top of my writing assignment web pages. When I submitted the paper for a score to GoMyAccess, I got a 5 out of 6. I was shocked. How frustrating is it to know that any old stuff scored a 5. We had spent a lot of time trying to improve our scores.

Now, maybe it was my writing style, vocabulary, and good grammar that earned the high score. However, shouldn't the words on the page be somewhat related to the story in order to get a good score? Shouldn't there be an intro and a conclusion that resemble each other as they do in an essay? Shouldn't the writer, the name of the piece, characters in the story, or ideas from the story be present somewhere in the piece in order to get a 5? You would think.

At this point, I am not sure what I will do with the scores from these essays. I doubt their validity, and I do NOT have time to read them. We did have good discussions about the essay and how to improve them, but I feel like the students we robbed of their hard work. Maybe the score is a result of the prompt being a pilot essay, unlike the detailed scores students can receive on a standard prompt from GoMyAccess. I will be letting someone important know about this anomaly.